Making Picture Frames Match

 Hello Readers. I had a hodge-podge of picture frames that I wanted to use on one wall. I wanted them to coordinate and look intentionally put together. But they were all very different and did not match each other at all. I was not going to go out and buy all new frames, I knew I could make this work. 

I made this look like a planned collection of pictures in frames. Let me show you what I did. 

Here are the picture frames. There were brown wood frames, a gold frame, a silver frame and one picture with no frame at all. I picked one color to tie them together. Gold was the color that I focused on. I also did a few more things to connect all the frames.

This picture also shows the first way I tried to make a unified look. All these pictures are old looking. They all have a black and white or sepia color scheme. This helps make this whole group look more put together. 

This is the wall I want to hang these pictures on. There are 2 control panels on this wall. One we use a lot. One we only need to use if the alarm goes off. I thought the whole wall would look better if I could cover it up. I had an idea for that.

One of the pictures was almost like a box. I thought I could remove the back and the picture could hang over and cover the control panel. 

I used a thin knife to pry the back loose from the picture and remove it. 

That made the folds of the sides of this picture start to unfold. That was a problem. But it was OK, I had a plan.

I used some gold Duck Tape. Gold was going to be my unifying color. 

I wrapped the gold tape around all 4 sides of this picture. I wanted the color of the tape but I also wanted the tape to hold the sides in place. This worked well. 

The tape was wider that the sides of the picture so I folded the tape towards the back and pressed it down so it would hold secure. 

I simply hung this picture on the control panel. It was very light weight so it will not cause damage. I can lift it off in a second if I need to get to that control panel. 

That control panel is totally hidden. But still accessible. 

I want to highlight the color gold so I used some gold paint. This "Rub'n Buff" is like a thick paint. It can be applied on and it never drips. 

I used a sponge applicator so I could rub the paint on the frames. I wanted a thin coat that would tone down the original colors of the frames. I didn't mind if the original color showed through a little. The sponge let me apply a very thin coat. 

I painted this wooden frame with the gold paint. The roughness of the wood still shows through but the gold is dominant and will tie this frame in with the others. I let this dry over night. 

I used the gold paint on this silver frame too. I applied the gold to the sides to hide the silver a little. I let this dry over night too.

 

I started to hang the frames. I did not use a level or a stud finder. These pictures are not heavy enough to need to be hung in a stud or need a special anchor. I just eyed the pictures and marked the top center of the frame. 

Then I put in a nail where I thought the frame needed to be hung. I wasn't trying to make a precise alignment of pictures. This arrangement was not symmetrical and that helped because it did not have to be exactly even anywhere.

My new picture wall is fun and looks good all put together. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

***Year End Update***- My wall still looks like this. I love it. Fun family pictures are the best.

Pillows and Pajamas and Pictures, Oh My!

Hello Readers.  There are times when I have worked on small projects that don't seem worthy of an entire blog post of their own. I have a few of those to show you today. I am just going to put a few of them all together in this post.

*** PILLOWS ***

 The first project is a set of pillows my daughter made. Someone requested she turn two sweaters into pillows as mementos of her loved one. She cut two circles from the sweatshirt below and stitched them together to make a pillow with this cute tea applique on the front of the pillow. 

The sweatshirt was so soft that the edges looked a little lumpy after it was stuffed. She added this little green blanket stitch detail around the outer edge of the pillow. It was pretty and it made the edges look smoother. 

Here is the second pillow. It started as a pretty sweater. The center placket was very pretty and so it became a focal point of the pillow.

This one was a simple rectangle. The bottom edge of the sweater was a nice balance to the center design. These were a sweet way to honor and remember a special woman. It made me wish I had a sweater of my grandmom's to make into a pillow.

*** PAJAMAS ***

This quick project was just an emergency measure to prevent my son from taking his pajamas and diaper off when he went to bed. All of my kids eventually figured out how to take off their clothes and it is a serious problem. (A lot of mess can occur when toddlers take off their diaper. POOP!!!!!)

I took his footie pajamas and cut the feet off right below the elastic at the bottom of the legs. That way I could turn the pajama around and zip them up the back. He knows the zipper is back there but he can't reach it. They are just as comfortable as they were before and fit fine.

I am being honest when I say that I was serious about this. I did this to all the footie pajamas. If it is really hot I have cut the arms off the pajamas so they are short sleeved and cooler to wear. And if it is cold I would add socks and an undershirt. 

This solution has worked with all 3 of my kids. No more naked naps. No more terrible messes to clean up. 

*** PICTURES ***

This final project was large but not complicated. I have always spread my blog projects out on the floor for photos but it didn't always work well. I thought a white background would be better. I decided to make a white backdrop. It took a while to figure out how and where to do this. After a few failed ideas I used a king sized dust ruffle from my old bed and a white full sized sheet. I basically made a giant rectangle. 

I turned the top edge under and made a small pocket for a curtain rod. I hung my giant rectangle from a tension rod that I hung across a closet doorway. The closet light is a gentle back light. And the wide sides of the dust ruffle are spread out on each side to hide the walls. The fabric is long enough to come forward over the floor and cover the carpet. 

I can put my dress form or myself in front of the white background and hopefully the clothes will show more clearly in photos.

That is all for today. Thanks for reading, now go make something fun for yourself.