Update: DIY Postcard Wall Art

It's been 10 months since I installed my DIY Postcard Wall Art so I thought an update was in order. If you haven't read the post where I installed it, it was a pretty easy process. But since I was doing something new-to-me I had no idea if it would actually have staying power.

The good news is that it still looks great and I really like it! And thankfully there is no real bad news. The only behind the scenes maintenance I've done is to stick back up a few that have fallen down. Almost all of them were originally stuck on with 3M stickers but I ran out of the stickers towards the end so the rest just got scotch tape. A few months later I added 3M stickers to those without them. The few that have fallen off since have been the ones that only had scotch tape or ones that are on bumpy or cracked parts of the wall (because my walls are plaster there are more imperfections than on drywall).

But a new phenomena occurred this week:

Wondering what that new little white box in the corner is?
It's a motion detector because I'm super fancy like that.

Oops, there are a few crooked ones, but oh well, it adds to the DIY charm.

It's been rainy and humid here the past few days so I'm wondering if that has anything to do with it but several of the postcards are starting to curl away from the wall. Some of that has to do with the fact that on a lot of the post cards I only put one 3M sticker right in the middle (during installation when I realized I was running low on them I started to only put one on as opposed to two). So some of that would be cured by adding a new sticker. But also, I don't hate it.

Of course, if they all start falling down then it'll be an issue, but until then I sort of like the added texture. That was the whole reason I added foam core the the back of some of them in the first place. It seemed like it would give the look dimension but it ended up not make much of a difference. The curling postcards definitely do give the look more dimension though so I'm happy for now.

Overall, I highly recommend this project! It was extremely cheap to do ($15 for the postcards and around $20 for other materials) for the impact it has and it was very simple and fast (it only took me about two hours to do, way less if you skip the foam mounting part).

Pinterest Challenge: Fabric Wrapped Picture Frame

I've been actively blogging for over six months now so I think it is about time that I join a link party. If you don't know what a link party is it's pretty simple: Four or five 'big' bloggers pose a challenge or theme and then at a specific date and time everyone can link up their posts that relate to the subject. It is a really fun way to find new blogs and see cool projects. The link party I decided to try out is...

image from younghouselove.com

Being that is one of the few blogs I read regularly it is apropos that I would join younghouselove.com's Winter Pinterest Challenge. You can read all the rules here but it's basically a 'stop pinning and start doing' challenge. Considering I've had Pinterest for well over a year and I've pinned exactly 2,390 things up to this very minute I could use the push to actually do some of the stuff I pin.

Trying to comb through 2,390 pins to find the one that I actually wanted to do this weekend was maybe the hardest part of the challenge. In order to not go insane I made myself some rules to help limit my choices 1) It had to be free and 2) It couldn't take more than two hours. My weekend was pretty busy and I just put in new cork floors in the kitchen so I'm not looking to spend tons of money on another project right now. The rules helped and I landed on this: 

modabakeshop.com

Yeah, it's not the most inspiring image I've ever pinned and the fabric is ugly and it's cut with plinking shears which is not my thing but it got me thinking... I have a lot of scrap fabric and I'm obviously obsessed with framed art so why not mix the two together? 

Plus the gallery wall in my living room hasn't been updated (or dusted or leveled) in some time so I figured it would be nice way to add some new life to the gallery. 

After looking at all my frames I decided to wrap the two brown frames at the bottom of the image. The main reason is because of this: 

Whatever the price tag was stuck on with is resistant to GooGone, vinegar and baking soda, and a lot of swearing because it would NOT come off. I finally just gave up and hung them on the wall but it's been bugging me for a year so I figured they were the perfect frames to cover in fabric.

I have a lot of random fabric I've collected over the years (if you squint you can see it all piled up in the picture above), but I ultimately decided to go with the subtle chevron pattern that I used just a few weeks ago to cover the lampshades in the second bedroom (here).  I literally didn't even look at the tutorial for this project because how hard can it be to wrap fabric around a picture frame? I probably should have read the tutorial but I sort of forgot. I just started cutting random strips of fabric and started wrapping. 

I figured out pretty quickly I needed glue or something to keep the fabric in place so I got out my low-temp hot glue gun. I didn't glue every piece just the end of the strip and then at all the corners. 

If there is one thing blogging has taught me it's that I really need a third hand. It's really hard to take pictures and do crafts! So here is a sort of unhelpful picture of me wrapping fabric around a picture frame.

As you can probably imagine the corners posed the biggest challenge. I attempted a few different techniques but found that the best way is to wrap the fabric so that the middle of the strip lands at the corner of the frame like this: 

And then fold down the wings and glue them on the back. 

That may or may not makes sense but that's the best I've got. 

When it was all wrapped and glued I stepped back to take a look at it and...

All I could see were these little threads sticking up everywhere so after a lot of little snips I got a much cleaner looking finished product. 

 Not too bad! The next issue though was the little pieces that secure the back of the picture frame. They were all covered in fabric but after a little hunting I located all of them. Most of them were hiding like this:

But with a little snip of the scissor I freed them so they could securely hold the frame backing on. 

It was definitely a tight fit getting the glass and frame backing in. I took out the extra thick cardboard piece that a lot of frames have and that help free up some space. The fabric I used is 100% cotton and was thankfully pretty thin so as a caution don't try this with anything thicker than that, it will be too hard to get the glass + picture + frame backing to all fit together under the tabs. 

Overall, this was a very simple project that only took me about an hour to do.

Materials:

- One yard of thin fabric (I used about four 3" wide strips per frame) 

- Hot glue gun

- Picture frame

- Good music

I also did the second frame the same way. They are sort of messy and weird and not my style and trendy and tribal and strange and I think I like them. 

I'm so cool I wear sunglasses in every picture. 

Holla butterbeer at Harry Potter World in 105 degree heat!

For a zero dollar project I think I really like them! It is a much cheaper alternative to buying a trendy chevron frame (like this one), but they also look homemade so it's a toss up. If you have more time I think it would look better to ModPodge the fabric on the frame to give it a more streamlined look. The way I did it makes them look almost ruffly which is not my style but maybe it's yours. 

The bottom line is this: It was free and I think it looks pretty good. 

Do you think fabric wrapped frames is a good alternative to buying trendy patterned frames? 

Clocks

Confusion never stops
Closing walls and ticking clocks

Let's talk clocks (not Coldplay). I've been suffering from some serious clock envy lately. I'm not sure why because I loathe the sound of a ticking clock. I mean, it will seriously drive me out of my mind. I once had one of those $5 clocks from Walmart in my dorm room in college but it drove me mad so I threw it away (to the chagrin of my roommate). But I may consider living with the sound again because these clocks look so so good (I can always take the batteries out right?).

I am so in love with this clock I want to eat it. Unfortunately, it is $160 :(

I love this clock. It comes in silver, mint, red, and white and it ranges in price from $25 to $40. It's adorable.

This sunburst clock is awesome and amazingly it's only $25! It reminds me of the sunburst mirror in my entry.

Here's another little retro number.. adorable and only $24 it would be a cute addition to any room.

This is a great clock and it would look great in a living room and it's only $25 so yay!

For some reason it seems like the most popular place for clocks is in kitchens... like these:

(Source)

(Source)

(Source)

(Source)

And they look great there, but I think clocks look good in lots of places.

Okay so this is technically in the kitchen but this a seriously 'go big or go home' take on the kitchen clock. (Source)

This kind of reminds me of those clocks at fancy banks, but homey and cool. (Source)

I've already professed my love for gallery walls and a clock would be an awesome edition to any gallery wall.

It's a pretty classic look to have a large clock in the living room. This clock really stands out because it's the only thing on the walls and the statement is lovely.

In my house I currently don't have any clocks, not an alarm clock, or a stove clock, or a microwave clock... I'm like living in the stone age over here. The only clock I have is on my phone so *fingers crossed* I never lose it! Maybe I "need" to get a new clock (I like to trick myself into "needing" things so I don't feel bad about buying them). How do you feel about clocks? Are you as torn as me about them?

Thoughts on Gallery Walls, Pt 2

Deciding on the type of gallery wall you want is one thing but filling all that wall space is a whole different animal. Here a few of the things that I have filled my walls with:

1) Framed Photographs. I prefer color photographs, but black and white is nice too. It is easy to just grab whatever 4"x6" prints you have lying around but I highly recommend only framing 5"x7" photographs or larger so that they can be easily seen (I do not currently follow this recommendation but I hope to in the future). I like to put up favorite travel photos or funny pictures from childhood like these:

2) Prints. Yes, you can buy prints from Etsy or a local artist, but the prints I am talking about are free printables. All you need is a color printer and voila! You have amazing free art for your walls. I really like Vintage Printables. Here are a few that I have printed and framed:

3) Notecards. I love to frame notecards because sometimes they are just too pretty to give away (I'm pretty selfish I guess haha). Last year Missoni did a line for Target and I bought a set of notecards that I love. I've used most of them as thank you notes but I saved a few that I have framed on my walls. I also have several vintage postcards framed. Almost every antiques store has a bin of old postcards for $1 or $.50. I love to look through them and get a few that catch my eye.

4) Fabric. I like to frame fabric. If the fabric has a nice pattern it can look like art when framed. I also think it looks cool if you use fabric as a faux mat. If the picture is simple than a patterned fabric mat can add more visual interest. (Yes, that is a child smoking a cigarette but don't worry it's fake and it was hilarious.)

5) Art. Art can be expensive so I like to get mine from unexpected places. My number one favorite place to get art is a place called FREE. Okay I'm just being annoying but seriously a lot of my art prints were hand me downs (I have amazing friends and former employers). Another good source of art prints is an art museum. You'd think that art museum shops would be super expensive and they can be but a lot of times their prints or postcards are pretty cheap. Take for example these two Hopper prints. The top one is a professionally matted print that was given to me and the bottom one is a $10 print from the MET framed in a clearance frame from Target. I also have found framed art at garage sales and thrift shops for decent prices like the little floral below.

Those are just a few of things that fill my walls. What do you like to put on your walls? Have you found any great and unexpected pieces lately?

Thoughts on Gallery Walls, Pt 1

I love a good gallery wall. If I had to describe my style it would be 'eclectic vintage with a side of gallery walls.' In my fantasy land my walls are covered floor to ceiling with art and photos and other beautiful things. What I love about them so much is that when people come over to your home they can almost instantly get a sense of who you are as a person.

In my opinion there are two kinds of gallery walls. Matching and uniform and eclectic and mismatched. Both have their merits so lets take a look at them both.

1) Matching and uniform.

(Source)

(Source)

This type of gallery wall is definitely more popular in homes across America. They are very pleasing to the eye and they are easier to accomplish in your own home. I love this look when all the images in the frames are related images like black and white photos of the same city or all portraits or something like that. The problem with these types of gallery walls is that it can be expensive to buy that many frames that match. My tip to getting this look is getting frames from garage sales or thrift shops and then spray painting them in a uniform color like all black or all white. An easy way to create a template for a gallery wall like this is to use painter's tape and computer paper to test out the placement of your frames. Oh, and always use a level.

2) Eclectic and mismatched.

(Source)

(Source)

As I am sure you can guess this is my favorite type of gallery wall. I love the mismatched look of these walls, it's as though they have been collected and cultivated over years of travel and experiences. The best thing about creating these kinds of walls is that there are no rules. You can uses whatever frames you want, whatever art you want, and you can go rouge and do unframed items. The daunting thing about this type of gallery wall is the fear that it won't look the right kind of 'mismatched.' Well my advice is this: Do whatever you want. It's your house! If you have thirteen black frames, five white ones, and two natural wood frames... use them all, mix it all together and do it with confidence. If that is hard for you I'll try and give you a few tips from my own gallery walls.

Here is my process for creating gallery walls:

1) Choose your wall. It can be a large main wall, a smaller section of wall, or a hallway. Once you find your wall get a good idea of the size of it (4'x6', 2'x5', etc) so you can plan your frames accordingly. I like to lay my frames out on the floor before I hang them so I can move them around until I find the perfect lay out.

2) Consider the surroundings. What color are the walls? What furniture will be near this wall? What is the overall feeling of this room? Will people be walking past or sitting under this gallery? Are you looking to showcase family photos or your map collection? Once you answer these questions you will have a better idea of what type of gallery suites your room best.

3) Use what you have. If you want a perfectly uniform gallery wall you may have to make some purchases but if you go for a more free form look you can easily pool together what you already have and make it work. Gather the frames you have and start playing with arrangements. Don't worry if the frames aren't filled with the perfect pictures yet you can work on that later (in fact, tomorrow I'm going to post on what to put in all those frames).

4) Push yourself. This may seem like a weird step for gallery walls but this is something I really try to do myself. Yes, perfectly matching frames with perfect family photos in black and white looks amazing but an important part of designing your own home is accepting imperfection. Don't second guess yourself. If you like something go for it. Maybe you've never seen black and white frames mixed together but that doesn't mean it won't look good.

5) Go with the flow. Probably the best thing about gallery walls is that they are fluid. I have rearranged, added, and subtracted items on my gallery walls several times. Some changes are simple like exchanging one photograph for another or spray painting a frame, other changes are more complex. A couple of months ago I bought a larger piece of art and decided to add it to my dining room gallery wall so I took down two smaller items and added the new large piece in their place.

The first image is from about a month after I moved in and the second is just a few days ago. You can see the difference between the two. Is started out smaller and over the past few months I got a little bolder and when all the way to the ceiling. Tomorrow I'll be back with my tips on what to fill all those frames with.