Gallery Wall IV {DIY Art}

Grouping like photos to make a giant display is art. For sure. It's bringing together many different though similar items and making a big statement out of them.

This particular gallery wall was in a stairwell and included a window and a corner. I collected black frames for awhile--many weren't originally black, but a can of glossy black spraypaint took care of that! I framed as many pictures of my boys as I could before starting my gallery wall. I included a few frames with blue mats, a couple pictures that were black and white, and one or two snapshots, but mostly posed pictures taken in a studio.

And then I started making holes in the wall.

I started in the corner and then the window. I filled in the space between and worked out. I was more careful than with yesterday's more organic approach, but tried not to line up too many edges so it could still "grow".

I also hung empty frames. There are pictures I need to print! Sadly we moved before I had time to print them, but I did do some and that's progress!

Here's a tip about hanging frames in a stairwell: They will get bumped. I hung most of these frames with two screws--something about how the wall was built made pounding nails impossible. Some of them still needed some poster putty or sticky-backed velcro strips to keep them from going wonky every time someone bounced down the stairs!

But I loved this gallery wall because I got to stare at my kids! It took the pictures out of storage and put them where they could be enjoyed! It also transformed a boring stairwell with ugly carpet, weird handrails and a desperate need for paint into something that was fun to look at! To see the original post about this stairwell gallery wall, visit this post!

And it taught me the value of a well-patched hole the day we moved out. Because I patched every one!

Today is Day 15! Are you planning a gallery wall yet?

A Chalkboard {DIY Art}

Today is the 9th day of my series!

I've had this chalkboard for about a million years. Minus 999,987. As in, I remember writing certain initials on it in 7th grade!

Currently, my chalkboard lives in my son's room with a cute saying on it: So, there's this boy... he kinda stole my heart. He calls me Mommy! Pretty much sums it up.

Although my chalkboard was always a chalkboard, I did re-paint it a few years ago. It was scratched and didn't erase well, so I used chalkboard spraypaint and gave it a new life. You could easily make one with a large, framed thrift-store painting, for example. Just tape off the frame and give the painting a few coats of spraypaint. Or spray the glass in a large picture frame you don't use.

Chalkboards are so much fun! Do you have one?

Run Like a Girl! {DIY Art}

It's Day 4 of  my 31 Days of DIY Art for Your Home series! I'm having fun, are you? If you've missed any, you can see Day 1 here and Day 2 here and Day 3 here. 

Today's art is a sign that a friend of mine asked me to make for her. She had seen the idea somewhere and wanted to have a sign that says "Run Like a Girl" with knobs to hang her medals from her runs. My friend ordered the vinyl for the quote from someone on Etsy and found the knobs at Walmart.com.

My friend knew she wanted the sign to match the size of the memo board above it, so I had specific measurements to work with. I also had my husband's help, and that turned out to be a big advantage!

I bought a 1 X 12 board from Lowe's and Gary cut it to the right length. I sanded the board by hand being especially attentive to the edges. (And then we moved from Ohio to Nebraska and the whole thing got put off while we unpacked for a few weeks. Good thing my friend is patient!) I used a small bottle of "magenta" paint from the art department at Walmart and gave the board a couple coats of paint. Next time I would buy spraypaint in a gloss finish because the paint dried rather flat. It just wasn't bright and exciting, so I used a spray-on poly to give it some shine. Learn from my mistakes and go with the glossy spraypaint, because the poly just wouldn't dry uniformly shiny! Gary ended up taking it to work where they were finishing window and door trim that day and he gave it a couple good coats of lacquer. It's wonderfully, perfectly shiny now!

Those extra dots are shadows from the knobs. Oops!

The next step was to apply the vinyl which was easy--just measure, peel the sticky side off, place the quote, rub it carefully with a credit card, then peel off the backing at an angle. I then measured for the knobs, spacing them equally. Again, my friend requested 11 knobs and that they were staggered like this. You could make a wider sign and just have one row, or only do 5 or 6 knobs if you don't have as many medals to hang. It's totally up to you!

I was super nervous to drill holes for the knobs, so I asked Gary to do it. I know I could have, and if it hadn't been for a friend, I wouldn't have been so nervous! I just wanted it to be perfect, which is exactly how it turned out, thanks to Gary! 

I added a hanger to the back with a couple of tiny nails, then wrapped it in bubble wrap and sent it to my friend. Everyone is thrilled with how it turned out!

So this isn't a step-by-step or illustrated guide, it's just a friendly reminder that you are creative, that you can dream up and make whatever it is you want to make. If you see a sign that inspires you but you can't afford it or you want it a different size or color, make it! It's possible! Boards from Lowe's or Home Depot are really affordable, and most times they'll cut it to your size for a very small price (if any). Spray paint is available at the same place you buy the board, or at Walmart or any number of craft stores (Michael's, JoAnn, Hobby Lobby). Those stores also sell pretty knobs like my friend found for her sign. You could also try Ebay if you're doing quite a few of them. As far as the quote goes, you can be like my friend and order it from a seller on Etsy. I have a Cricut machine and lots of people have Silhouettes, so you could use a font you have or ask a crafty friend if they'll let you cut with their machine if you supply the vinyl. You could use a stencil, or if you have amazing handwriting, just paint it on! The sky and your imagination are the limit!

Make something this week!

Family Rules Sign {DIY Art}

Family Rules signs and subway art abound on the internet. This idea is somewhat modified, but it is another example of working with what you have to create a look.

This sign was made using what I had: an old cork board, spray paint and letter stickers. First I spray painted the whole board white. Then I carefully spelled out the "rules" which is my translation of the 10 Commandments simplified, using stickers. I then spray painted everything black. After waiting a day for the paint to dry, I peeled off the stickers. There is some underspray, but I can live with that.

In our current house, this sign is a little bit hidden up on top of the computer cabinet in our living room. Can you find it?

It's a little more obvious in person, and it's a great reminder.



In our last home, the sign was more prominently hung above my sewing corner in our dining room.

In the house before that, it moved around a couple times, but finally found a home in collage wall in the hall.

This is Day 3 of my 31 Days of Art for Your Home series!

Have you made any art lately?

Put a Frame On It

One of my successes as a blogger is this collage wall that was part of our youngest's nursery in Iowa.

Sigh... I miss that room! 

Here in Ohio, we decided because of the layout of the house and the ages of our boys to put them all in the same room. Only the youngest naps anymore, and they seem to be so tired at night from all of the outdoor play they get that they usually go right to sleep instead of keeping each other awake. 

But this isn't about our parenting choices, it's about a collage wall! 

I knew since most of the furniture from Josiah's nursery would now be used in our guest room, the white frames would follow suit. Here's where it is now.

I've been picking things that are a little more colorful for the guest room than for the nursery. I added the two pictures of my little guys in the bathtub too (still need to edit and print the third--oops!). 

This wreath hung on the barn door headboard at our old house. Remember it? I hung it on an empty frame that used to feature a cute little outfit in the nursery.

And then there was this empty frame from the nursery that had twine strung on it. Why not clip some paint chips to it? Instant color! 

Moral of the story: If it's cute, put a frame on it! Or if it's the right size or texture, or if you can group like items together, or if you just like a bunch of pretty things, frame them! And if your frames don't match, spray paint is your friend!

Now what else can I add to that collage?