Category Archives: Thrifting

Photo Gallery Wall

I have been wanting to do a fun photo gallery wall for some time. I had the perfect spot for it going up the stairs to the boys’ bedrooms. Pinterest gave me some really cute ideas. I imagined this cute little collection of photos. And then I started laying out the frames that I had that I wanted to use. They were not the cute eclectic look. They were the ugly eclectic look. So I spray painted all of them cream to match. I had quite a few frames already, but I have been keeping an eye out for cute ones at Goodwill as well. I watched for fun shapes and sizes knowing I could paint them if the color was wrong.

My Mom was in town to help me. THANK GOD because the
project got out of control!

Then I got a little creative. I didn’t want just frames with pictures in them. Here, I used a frame without glass that I got at Goodwill, hot glued some fabric to it, then glued a wooden letter (from the craft store) to the middle. I also used a finger nail file to rough up the edges of all the frames for a distressed look.

The biggest problem I had was that after hours of searching through pictures, I couldn’t narrow it down. And so the project grew. I needed more frames. And more spray paint. Goodwill and the craft store came through with more cheap, cute choices.

Back to the spray painting. My poor mom’s fingers. And mine which apparently
wanted to be in the picture too.

Once the frames were dry and the pictures were printed and put in frames, I measured the walls I would be using. The first space was just about the size of my rug so layed the frames out and just started moving them around. I started by laying my focal piece in the middle and working from there. THIS WAS STRESSFUL.

I read lots of different ideas on how to hang pictures. Use wax paper, cut out the size of your frames and tape them to the wall. Pencil it all out on the walls first. On and on. But that just felt like double the work to me! Especially after two days of planning and thinking. My mom and I are the kind of people that just do it. So we did. Once the layout was figured out and measured so I knew it would fit, we just started hanging stuff. Again, working from the middle first, then the edges, then back in towards the middle. I used lots of command strips. I’m telling you, that made the job a billion times easier.

So here you have it, the end result. The pictures ended up going all the way down the stairway. When I showed it to my husband, he said, “Wow. That’s… a lot.” Yep. And I love it!
Anyone want to come refinish those stairs for me? Anyone?

Some of my favorite pieces:

I did multiple pieces where there is a picture inside a frame with no glass. I love how unique it looks!

Most of these family photos on the main wall are by Luann Bailey Photography.
I love this one of us holding scrabble tiles to spell out our last name.

My other favorite is the big letter L in the frame. It’s just a wooden letter from the craft store spray painted and stuck inside an empty frame. So fun and cute!

It was a fun but overwhelming project. I’m glad it’s done and every time I go up the stairs, my eyes are very happy!

Goodwill Tip of the Day!

I share one of my biggest tips as a lover of Goodwill and thrift shopping in general on Goodwill of Northern New England’s Blog today!