Gallery Wall Archives - Twitchetts

Gallery Wall Reveal!

Kate — Mon, 23 Feb 2015 12:00:00 +0000

Well folks, I did it! I finished my wall! And I can’t stop looking at it!

It has everything I wanted. Kind of random…

Full of pieces that mean something…

And COLOR…

Thanks to all of you who have been following along from the beginning! Can you believe that it all started with those mirrors? Then came the hand prints.

Next, I did the wooden sign.

The next week I did the string art project.

The puzzle piece cross came next.

Finally, I wrapped an old frame. I took the old picture, from the frame, and wrapped it in fabric.

Then I pinned some burlap and pictures.

This weekend I laid everything out on the floor and decided on the final layout. Our living room rug was the perfect size to be my guide.

Once I had everything arranged, I started attaching Command Picture-Hanging Strips to the back of my pictures. I wouldn’t do a gallery wall any other way. All you have to do is set a level on top of your picture and press down. Done! No measuring where the nail should go. No million holes in your wall. No cursing because you picture won’t stay straight.

All but 2 of my pieces were hung with these strips.

I had almost everything hung before the babies started waking up from their nap. Little Miss did get to help with the finishing touches.

So here it is again. Weeks of work, but surprisingly little money. I did splurge and buy new frames for our wedding picture and the kiddo’s pictures. But other than that, everything was either created or already in my possession.

Thanks for following along! If you missed any of the posts in this series, you can check them out here.

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Re-purposed Wrapped Frame

Kate — Wed, 11 Feb 2015 12:00:00 +0000

The hardest part about this wall project has been the main focal point.
It’s gotta be big. It’s gotta be interesting. It’s gotta tie the whole thing together.
It’s gotta be just right…No pressure…

I know, last week I hinted at the kids working outdoors for my next project. Well, I was going to try doing some “stick art”. You may have seen a few of these projects on Pinterest. Well, I didn’t like how it was turning out. It just wasn’t right. I don’t think I was doing it wrong. I just think I didn’t really like how it looked. So I scrapped the project. Sometimes you just have to cut your losses! Am I right?!?

I moved on to the main project. The one that I have kind of been dreading.

All I’ve really known about the project was that it would involve this:

My mother in law gave me three large photographs that used to hang in her office. They were all large and in nice frames. I knew eventually I would find a use for them.

I didn’t really want the wood frame. I mean, it’s a nice frame, just not the style I was going for. I headed to the craft store for some inspiration. I walked out with some burlap ribbon, some reed diffusers, and a bottle of glue. The reeds were not relevant…but I was kind of excited about them.

I started by opening up the frame and taking out the picture and glass.

Then I started wrapping.

I kept in mind that it was a nice frame, and I made sure that I didn’t glue anything to the front. That way, if my style changes, I can always go back to the original wood.

The project was going great…until I ran out of ribbon. So after another trip to Micheal’s, I was back to wrapping. The whole project took about 20 yards of ribbon.

The kids were nice to me and let me work on it while they played outside. Aren’t they sweet?

Everything was going great until I hit the corners…
Not so sweet.

When I just wrapped the corners, the ribbon got too bunched up, and I knew that my picture wouldn’t sit right in the frame.

I ended up cutting small pieces and tucking them under the wrapped ribbon.

I added a touch of glue to the ends of the ribbon so that they would stay in place.

So now I have a wrapped frame. And it looks really cool.

Now I just have to figure out what I’m going to put in it!

Oh, the possibilities!! I love this color I think it’s all going to look Amazing!

Check out the rest of my wall series!

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Puzzle Piece Art

Kate — Mon, 02 Feb 2015 18:00:00 +0000

This week’s gallery wall project is my favorite so far. It was the most time-consuming project, but totally worth it. It was easy, relaxing, and I love how it looks. It was so much fun to make that I actually made two! And most families have a few extra puzzles laying around the house! Why not use them to get a little creative!
The idea came to me while I was browsing Pinterest. I saw a children’s craft using puzzle pieces. The child had just laid the pieces in a pile that was the shape of whatever they were making. It was cute, but not something you hang on the wall.
I actually had to go out and buy a puzzle from a thrift store, because all the puzzles in our house are toddler-sized. But that only cost a couple of dollars. And putting the puzzle together was really fun too. It had been years since I put together a puzzle that had more than 48 pieces.
I did a quick base coat on each piece.
Then I planned my color scheme by marking each piece with what color I want it to be. It saved me from going crazy remembering what pieces I wanted to paint.
After all the pieces were painted, I attached it to a piece of white paper and gave it a quick coat of Modge Podge.
I felt like there was a little something missing. So I added a small painted heart.
I was originally going to mount the cross to a wood board. But it didn’t look right, so instead, I mounted it to a piece of paper and placed it into a frame that I had bought from a rummage sale. (I have a hoarding problem when it comes to old frames…at least it paid off this time.)I’m really excited to get this one hung on the wall.

Check out the rest of my wall series!

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String Art

Kate — Wed, 28 Jan 2015 12:00:00 +0000

Week three of my wall project took me to into Hubby’s turf…Home Depot.

This is a project that I’ve been wanting to do for a while. Turns out, it’s a pretty easy project! I can see myself making more of them.

I started with a wood board that I purchased from Hobby Lobby, a store much more up my alley.
But can I say, whoever thought it would be a good idea to put a sticker on the front of a board meant to be decorated needs a good poke in the eye. So irritating.

I put a coat of stain on the board and a few lines showed up. My mom later informed me that a good sanding before I stained it would have prevented those lines. Lesson learned.

Next, I drew out my guide lines. Like my stencil? I drew my “F” free hand.

Then I started adding nails. I used 1″ nails with a decent sized head.
I tried to keep them spaced fairly evenly. About a 1/2″ apart.

Can we all agree that I will never be responsible for nailing anything important?
Cause I am awful at it! I don’t think there’s a single straight nail in the board.

Next, I took my string and started wrapping. I did a lap around the outlines first. This process was pretty easy. Almost relaxing! Play around with it. Find what pattern works best for you.

I did one last trip around the outlines. Tie off the ends and you’re done! Nothing to it!

If my nails would have been straight the edges would have been better,
but I still think it looks pretty cool!

The collection of stuff for the wall is starting to fill up! I’m half way through with my projects.

Next week I’m upcycling something I’m sure every mom has in her house.

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DIY Wooden Sign Tips

Kate — Wed, 21 Jan 2015 12:00:00 +0000

It’s the 2nd project in my Wall Series. I’ve been wanting to make one of these wooden signs for forever.

There are tons of tutorials about how to make your own wooden sign. They all look super easy. Guess what, not as easy as they look. So I’m going to share the tutorial with you. The one that’s been done a few hundred times. But I’m going to be real and let you know where I stumbled in the process. Hopefully you can learn from my speed bumps.

I started with a quick base coat of a neutral acrylic paint on my wood board.Then I found a quote that Hubby and I both liked. It’s short and sweet. Perfect for a rookie’s sign.

I typed it up using picmonkey.com. My first go had a Serif type font…not a good idea for a beginner. Those serifs were a pain. I switch to something that looked a bit easier.

I taped the printout onto my wood board.

Then I traced the letters using a pen. I started by going over the outside of the letters. That was good for the larger font. But for the smaller font, just tracing the letter itself was good enough.

Make sure you press hard! Some of my lines didn’t show through very well. And it’s kind of a pain to re-line everything up!

Next, you paint your letters. This is harder than it sounds. If you’re a skilled painter, then it’s easy. But I’m a novice for detailed painting. Normally I paint something and then glue paper to it.

A couple things I learned.

~Choose your paint well. I used an acrylic paint on a porous wood. So the paint didn’t flow evenly.

~You don’t have to follow the lines perfectly. My best-looking letters were the ones I just drew free hand using my pressings as a guide. When I tried to stick to the exact tracing, it looked to “forced”.

~Use a flashlight to really see what you’re doing. The shadow of my hand or the bad lighting in my house made seeing my guidelines difficult. I laid a flashlight down and boom. There they were!

~Drips can be corrected. Just touch them up with a bit of your base paint.

I think I did ok for my first try.

Next, I did a little weathering.

My weathering trick is to water down some acrylic paint.

Next, I dip a paper towel.

Start with your edges. I pull my paper towel across the edges and then blend into the wood.

After the edges, I wiped my paper towel across the whole board. It’s a quick and easy way to weather a craft.

Finally, I stapled a piece of twine to the back of the board.

It may not be perfect, but I’m pretty proud of myself!

For next week’s project, I’m heading to the hardware store! Make sure you’re signed up for our emails so you don’t miss out on the reveal of my wall project!

If you don’t have any brown paint you can use coffee to weather wood as well!

Check out the rest of my wall series!

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Hand Print Canvas Art

Kate — Wed, 14 Jan 2015 12:00:00 +0000

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Did you guess the sneak peak from last week?

If you guessed hand print canvas art, you were right!!

For my wall project, I wanted to have something that the kiddos helped me make. And since they’re 1 and 2, that only leaves a few options. And what’s easier than hand prints?
Well, lots of things, but I went with hand prints anyways.
(doesn’t it kind of look like Little Miss stole Mr. Monster’s pinky? hee, hee)

This project is super easy. After the paint dried, I was able to get all of it done, including pictures before Anna even made it to Elsa’s ice castle.

I started with some pretty basic supplies. (scissors and tape not shown…oops)

I snagged these small square canvases a while back. Another Target $1 bin clearance score.

First things first. Get your handprints. I’ve learned that less paint equals better hand prints…most of the time. Have extra paper on hand, just in case.

After the hand prints dried, I lined them up on the canvas.

Then I started folding the paper around the canvas.

I wanted some really nice creases.

Next, I cut away the extra paper.

In the end, I just wanted a little bit past the last crease. Then I taped the paper to the canvas.

To clean up the corners, I just took my scissors and snipped the flaps to a point. Then I added a final piece of tape to keep everything in place.

Super easy and the kids had fun helping.

I’m excited to get these up on the new wall!

Next week I’m doing something fun with this bad boy.

Make sure to check back or sign up for our emails. That way you don’t miss the big reveal!

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If you love this craft for kids, you’ll love these:

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Living Room Wall – The Beginning of a New Project

Kate — Fri, 09 Jan 2015 12:00:00 +0000

You know how some years you hope and hope that you will get a gift, but you don’t think that you will. I’m not sure if Hubby just played it off all season, or if it was a completely last minute gift, either way…I got that gift.

I first spotted them on a random trip to Hobby Lobby. Hubby was even with me. I pulled him into the isle, pointed to them and said “I want those for Christmas”. This was months before Christmas, so I sent him a reminder picture with just a few weeks to go. He kept asking me what I wanted, and he’s an Amazon shopper, so I felt like they weren’t going to happen.

To my happy surprise, I got them. All three. And you know what that means?

It means I’m redoing my living room wall! Project!!

This is currently what my wall looks like. Blah.
When I first hung this collage, it was hanging over a bookshelf. Then we learned that bookshelves were just baby jungle gyms, so we rearranged. The wall has never looked right since. I’ve just never gotten around to doing anything with it. I’ve even let the pictures get crooked.

I didn’t realize just how bad they were until I took this picture…wow.

So now I’ve been sketching ideas since Christmas and I’ve been pinning like crazy. I want this new arrangement to be kind of random, full of pieces that mean something and in COLOR!! I’m not 100% sure why I was so afraid of color when I did the first arrangement. Lesson learned.

I’m thinking the mirrors are a good starting point.

I’ve started working on some new pieces. The kids have even gotten in on the action.
During the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing these projects. (It’s Twitchett’s first project series!)
I’m planning to have everything up and photo worthy by the end of February.
Here’s a sneak peak of the project I’m sharing with you next week.

Stay tuned!

I always like to have mirrors on my walls. Makes the room bigger!

Check out the rest of my wall series!

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