Hanging a Wall Display: The Easy Way!

So I posted earlier this week about my DIY wall photo canvases. I love them! But I do not love hanging photos, especially when there are a bunch together that really, REALLY need to be lined up properly. I consider myself a "big picture" person more than a "fine detail" one. I do take care of the little things, too, but I don't like taking the time to measure and remeasure and use my level and get all the pictures perfectly aligned on the wall. I just want to slap 'em up there! And, at the same time, it drives me insane if they aren't lined up properly. So, what to do, what to do???

I'll tell you what *I* did! I dug through my gift wrap bin, looking for the kind that has the grid printed on the back. Hopefully, you have an idea of what I'm talking about! I buy a lot of cheap wrapping paper that doesn't have it, but the fancier (Hallmark) stuff seems to generally have it. I found a few rolls with the grid, and chose the least-pretty one to use for this (of course!). :)

I laid it out on my dining room floor, grid-side up, and proceeded to lay my six canvases down. It was ridiculously easy. I got them where I wanted them, and made little dots where I needed to put the nails. Easy.

Then, I took the paper itself upstairs to the wall where the pictures would go. I used painter's tape to tape two two upper corners, then got my level and adjusted as needed.

The rest is history! I got my hammer and nails and put them in at all the designated points. Easy. AND I was able to remove the paper without ripping it, so I can use it again for future wall displays. Awesome, right? I hate wasting things, especially brand-name paper!

Anyway, it was super easy. And much easier to do the layout portion of the task on the ground, as opposed to working on a vertical surface. I'm sold! I will definitely be doing this again! :)

Picture Frames That Won't Break the Bank

When we first moved in, I was sort of overwhelmed by all the huge blank walls in this house. I mean, I'm a sometime-portrait-photographer-- I have SO MANY photos and frames and all that. The walls in our old house were absolutely covered. But that house was about one-third the size of this one, which meant that I had a Very Serious Problem. I needed more frames. And my hubby wasn't about to let me drop several hundred bucks on something so non-essential(to him!), either!

I actually stumbled onto a solution without even trying. It was fate! One weekend, we went to a street fair in the next town. One of the booths had a craft area for kids, and my two little ones made a beeline for it. While they worked, I learned all about this cool local recycling facility! It's a place where people bring their yard sale leftovers, etc.-- many things that could have probably been donated to charity, but weren't. And it's absolutely free for local residents (you have to show ID to get in). There were TONS of picture frames to choose from! Some had artwork in them, some were hideously ugly... but they were frames, and they were in good shape! And, best of all, they were FREE! I stocked up! Here are a few of them. These ones weren't too bad at all!

The next step was to clean them up and paint them. I removed the backings and the glass, and very carefully tapped some finishing nails into the back side of the frame. This was so the frames wouldn't touch the ground when I painted them. I put down some newspaper outside, and sprayed them all with Rust-Oleum "Universal Gloss Spray Paint" in black. I swear, I don't work for Rust-Oleum. But maybe I should, because then I could get free stuff? I buy it often enough, haha!

Anyway, it really was that easy. I had some really funky-looking frames that looked great when they were all painted black. And while I understand that not everyone will have access to a cool recycling center like I did, it's easy enough to find ugly old frames for SUPER cheap at yard sales and thrift stores. Never underestimate the power of paint, and its ability to make something old look new again. Plus, you're recycling! Go you!

Check out one of my wall displays of refinished frames (it's at one end of the kitchen, so the theme is "picking fruit"). You'd never know, right??

Note: The "Family" frame was one I actually bought... I want to say it was like $7 at Wal-Mart? It didn't exactly break the bank. :)