Acute How-To: Gallery Wall

A gallery wall of pictures is a fantastic and inexpensive way to brighten up a blank wall in your home.

If you are like me, then you probably have stacks of photos and prints that you have been meaning to frame for years. 

When we moved into our new house last summer {can you tell I am a little behind??} I planned to create a gallery of photos and prints in our boring, white-walled hallway.  I decided to do all black and white photos in white frames to give the wall a coherent look.   

What you will need:

  • framed photos and prints {I was able to find a lot of super cheap frames at my local thrift store.  Since I wanted all white, I just spray painted them.  I love how most of the frames are different, yet the white color ties them all together.}
  • blue painter’s tape
  • measuring tape
  • nails or hooks for hanging {I used 3M removable hooks for the smaller frames.}

Step One:

Measure and tape off a section of the wall.

Step Two:

Measure the frames and mark with tape where each will go on the wall.

{If you are a picture hanging pro, you can skip this step, but I wanted to get a good idea of what the wall would look like before I started adding the hooks and nails.}

Step Three:

Hang your framed photos and prints. 

I created this simple picture hanging helper by hammering a long nail through a stick of wood.  Then I hung the frame off the front of the nail and marked on the wall just where each nail should go.  This little trick definitely helped cut down on my mistakes!

That’s it – super easy and versatile.  As the seasons change or you get new pictures and prints, you can easily swap them into the gallery wall. 

 

Words to Inspire

One of things that we’ve all become accustom to here on Scoutie Girl is Tara’s thoughtful and inspiring articles on the handmade community, business, family, and more. And in honor of that inspiration, I’ve decided to make today’s weekly art feature a “words to live by” roundup.

1. Life is Like Riding a Bicycle $20

2. Let Your Worries Fall Away $18

3. If You Can Dream It You Can Make It $10

4. Re-Awaken Your Sense of Wonder $12

5. Let is Be $10

See you next week!

Top Image Become Who You Are

a creative journey to satisfy both sides

pyrography by lauren gray

Lauren Gray was one of many who chimed in on the left-brain creativity discussion we had last week. Her own creative journey has taken her from paint & graphite to Pyrography…

I used to be a painter and graphite artist. Once I started Pyrography, about 6 years ago, the fluid creativity came to a crashing halt.

Pyrography is the traditional art of using a heated tip to burn images onto wood (or other natural materials). Pyrography is a full on left-brained medium. It really restricts ones ability to fluidly work but it is also an amazing medium for someone who works well in a structured environment. When I began working in Pyrography, it was more of a replacement to my interest of graphite drawing. It implemented the same basic concepts but offered a little more substance. I quickly learned my limits within the medium and ways to work around those limits. The two main reasons it is such a structured process is that it is a very slow process (with each square inch requiring many layers of varying temperature and pressure) and that mistakes are almost impossible to correct. If a mistake is made you either need to incorporate the ‘burn’ into the work or you need to attempt to sand beyond the burn to expose the clean wood underneath.

Of course, one learns quickly the importance of each move being quite calculated.

I have been working with Pyrography as my main medium for 6 years now and I have acquired so many skills from working in such a calculated fashion. Attention to detail is probably the most valuable skill that I have gained. Alternately, there are negative aspects too. When a detailed piece that is only 6″ x 6″ (like many of my tree pieces) can take around 12 hours to complete it is easy to feel like you just can’t keep up in the art community. The pressure to have each piece end in grand success can also be very overwhelming, and of course, as every artist knows, not all pieces can end in grand success.

I like to keep all kinds of art supplies in varying media around my house, so I spend a substantial amount of time dabbling with new techniques and merging different materials. I also am very into home decor and craft lately, so my collection of materials and fabric is growing wildly. This has been a nice departure for me and I can see how the new design aspect is positively influencing the way I do things with my art.

I definitely think there is something to be said for satisfying both the left-brain and the right-brain when it comes to ones creativity. If you are left-brained and tend to devote most of your time working in an analytical fashion, break out some clay and let your creativity run for a little bit. If you are more of a right-sided creative type who likes the figurative form, for example, dig into an anatomy book and explore the human form from the inside out.

There needs to be balance in just about every aspect of life, and in craft and art it is no different.

Visit Lauren Gray at her Pyrography shop and her wooden miniatures shop.

vintage camera wall art from jeremy slagle

vintage camera art print

vintage camera art print

vintage camera wall art

vintage camera wall art by jeremy slagle

so, forgive me that this post looks exactly like the one i’m going to send you to so that you can buy these outrageously vintage-modern art prints. but how did you expect me to narrow down these delicious images? seriously.

not only are these vintage camera screenprints delicious, they’re affordable. in a good way. jeremy slagle chose to have these printed on one large poster size sheet that you can then cut into 4 8×10″ prints for your wall. $39 for a wall full of art. brilliant, beautiful, nuff said.

thank you, ellen, for pointing me to these!

fresh & simple :: felt flower wall art

dashing etc - felt flower art

i’ve had an itching to do something fun & pretty with embroidery hoops. there are so many projects just waiting to be translated to that little wood hoop. but alas, time is not on my side.

so, perhaps i’ll pick up one of these lovely felt flower art pieces by dashing etc. i can see these in so many styles of decor – how about yours?

post sponsored by

moop bags