My 1st Hole in the Wall

I have officially devirginized my walls.  That's right.  After living here for eight months, I finally nailed in the first hole.  Well, seven holes, actually.  I made a   frame collage stolen inspired by this picture at Young House Love.

To make mine, I started by finding a frame for the middle to save the most money I could.  I have collected so many frames over the years with my dad being a framer.  This particular one was a mahogany color with a black and gold mat.  I sprayed it write and kept thinking about ways to salvage the mat.  Then, I kept an eye out for frames anywhere I went.  

I found the 5x7 frames at Garden Ridge.  These are the only two that came in my white color scheme.  I got the 8x10 and 11x14 frames at Wal-Mart.  They came with a white mat; however, they were all black frames.  After spraying all frames white, I knew I needed to add a little texture and contrast in there to break up the white frames on the white mats (plus the black and gold mat was still an issue).  My solution - cover the mats with fabric.

To cover them, I just ironed my fabric, cut out a piece that was about 1/2 inch larger than the mat of all four sides, sprayed the front of the mat with spray adhesive and placed it face down on the wrong side of the fabric.

Then, I cut a hole in the middle of the fabric, cut an "x" and stopped sharply at each corner, trimmed the excess fabric and tightly hot glued down all edges.  

Yes, a really good blogger would have pictures of each step that were Photoshoped for optimal aesthetic pleasure!

The last part was to hang them.  My strategy: center the large picture above my bench (which is already centered on that wall), hang the frames on the right side and then try to match the left side.  The outcome: total success!  Here are some after pictures:

The last part of this project is to fill the empty frames with some art and color.  I have been chewing on that one since I wrote this post weeks ago.  I have ordered a few things from ETSY and have made a little art myself that you will get to read about soon.  Until then, I just stare at the progress I have made so far and keep thinking that these frames will get to hold a lot of cool things over the years as our lives and styles change.


Here is the final breakdown of my expenses:


Large frame: FREE
(2) 5x7 frames: $9.98
(2) 8x10 frames: $6.00
(2) 11x14 frames: $25.94
1 yard of fabric: $1.00 (clearance)
spray paint: already had
spray adhesive: already had


Total: $42.92


What is it that makes nailing that first hole in a new wall so difficult?  What do you like to frame other than photographs?  Have you even been inspired by a photo online?

I am linked up to The Stories of A to Z

Eye Candy

Over the past 24 hours, I have become an addict.


I am addicted to browsing ETSY.


Over the years, I have heard of this place, but I have never explored it.  Mostly because I couldn't pronounce it!  Well, since it was so cold and nasty in The Promise Land yesterday, and because I am putting together a huge collage of white frames in my living room, I ventured on over to ETSY, with my friend, Reginia, to search for some prints for the frames.  


You know, I have been torn as to what to put in all of my frames to hang on my walls.  I hate walking into a couple's house and seeing only pictures of them.  Tons of wedding pictures are the worst!  That is where ETSY has helped me out!  I have found some simple prints that scream "couple" and "love" yet don't turn our home into a shrine of wedding photos.


Here are some things I am loving right now and thinking of incorporating into my collage of frames:

This is available in many colors!  And at only $6.99 for the PDF file, I can snatch it up and have it in my e-mail within minutes.

 This is a little folksy looking, but I think it is too cute.  I would love it for my office.  You can also purchase it in any custom colors you wish.  For only $12.00, it is such a steal!  I am totally OBSESSED with owls this season!

This one is my FAVORITE!  The artist calls it light painting.  It is a patent-pending art form created using beams of light on light sensitive paper. Working in complete darkness, she creates using beams of light with a tool she invented. By manipulating the color and the intensity of the light onto light sensitive paper, she literally paints with light. After photo-chemical processing, the painting is revealed. No camera, film, or computer is used in the creation of light paintings.

This print is only $15.00 for a 5x7.  I e-mailed the artist to see about other color combinations because I wasn't sure about the fuchsia color really working with my Sherwin Williams "Ancient Marble" gray/green walls.  She offered to go to the paint store, pick up a paint chip in my color and suggest custom colors that she thinks will go best.  We are e-mailing again tomorrow to finalize the order!

I have a few other projects up my sleeve that will add a little personal touch to our casa.  Here is what I am trying to make for our living room wall.

I love this one because it is visually interesting, will be personally monogrammed as a "T" for Transue and has to do with literature (our passion).  This is from a magazine article, but you could also use the first sentence from a favorite chapter of a favorite book!  Click here for directions on the actual project.

I have asked for Photoshop for Christmas to make some silhouettes of the two of us (as well as our dogs)!

Click here to see how to use Photoshop to make one for yourself.

I think by mixing some of these pieces with some candid photos of the two of us, our house will become more personalized without being too "couple crazy"!

What are some of your favorite things to put in frames?  Have you ever shopped ETSY?  What projects do you have going on in your home right now? 

I'm linked with Sahara's Memories.