Monday, May 28, 2012

$5.14 Gallery Wall

Before we start, I want to say it's unfair of me to tell you that you can have this gallery wall for $5.14. It might end up costing you a tad more (like, an itty bitty bit)... that is, if you don't have a ton of scraps. But hopefully it'll show you a way to cheapen how you can have a gallery wall! And, if you do have scrap boards around, you just CAN get it for $5.14*!



Wait, I was supposed to start with this.


It was dubbed, "The Green Thing".... and I decided that I just did. not. like. it!

You know when you do something and you TOTALLY expect to love it? And then it falls flat? Then you try to convince yourself that you love it because you want to sooooo badly? And you can't?

If you don't know that feeling, you're not missin' out.

Annnnnd you're lucky...

Because I hated it. I just couldn't convince myself that I loved "The Green Thing," and the longer it was up there, the more my dislike grew.

I decided that it was time to start my gallery wall, so I referred to this photos for an idea on where to start.


Little did you guys know that I did those sizes intentionally, thinking that this layout would be what I would want! Oooooh, sneeeeeeaaaaaaky!

So I needed:

1 - 20x20
7 - 8x8
2 - 11x14

Ok!

Wait!


$45 for all the prints I wanted...

Um..

No way that was gonna happen.

So I opened up Photoshop, created a 36x48 canvas, and laid out the prints I wanted.


Pulled up Staples.com and went to order an engineering print.


$4.99 for a 3'x4' print ($5.14 after taxes). That holds the pictures in the sizes I needed... Well, not really, but I'll get to my big "oops" in a sec...


I cut the pictures out with at least a 3/4" border around all sides.


Used some scraps to create 8x8 frames (well, I did the other sizes, too... but didn't take a picture)


Then I wrapped the pictures around the frames like a present. I used glue sticks to adhere the sides of the photos to the boards. I know a ton of you would have probably used Mod Podge, and would have probably put a coat of Mod Podge on the top of the photos... but I have never had luck with Mod Podging photos to stuff, and they always end up looking like a child's craft... So this worked for me!

I did this for all of the 8x8 and 8x10 pictures (remember how I said I needed 2 - 11x14s above? I somehow totally spaced, and got 8x10s... oops!)

The 20x20 got taped to a piece of cardboard, and thrown into a frame I built out of 2x2s and used some leftover paint on..


I hung the 20x20 first, and used my laser level to mark the nail spots for the 8x8s.


I had to put the 8x10s up since I did all that work, but I absolutely plan to change them to 11x14s soon.


'Til then, I can honestly say that I love this. Much more than "The Green Thing"....

4 comments:

  1. I love that, it looks wonderful! You are so talented! If you didn't want to re-do those two, why not just add another 8x10 and make it three in a row? And I have to say, I agree, much, much better than "the green thing!" :)

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    1. That's a great question! I actually mind the 8x10s less than I thought I did, but I'll have to take a whole-room shot for you guys. The display needs to be just a tad wider, and the 8x10s just can't fill it out as much as it needs to be. There's too big a gap when I move them over.
      Oh, and THANK YOU! I was afraid everyone was going to tell me to put "the green thing" back! lol.

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    2. Are you kidding me? It came out great and beautiful family shots are always better than regular decor. It has so much more meaning...

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  2. This is so adorable! I wish I had a wall to hang pictures in my family room (too many windows and not enough wall space). I may have to try this in my office room make over. Thanks for the tip.

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