I have been drooling over picture frame collages for a long time, but was hesitant about trying my own because I wasn't sure how to place the frames so that they were spaced evenly apart. I also wasn't sure about black & white vs color, pictures vs mirrors, words, plates, etc... There are so many options out there. Even though it's been done to death, I decided to go ahead and do my own. Google had tons of information and I took the time to research and read tips from others who had knowledge to impart. One person said she used a paper template before nailing anything to the wall, which is so simple and actually makes a ton of sense. Feeling better about the whole thing, I ventured out to Hobby Lobby. While picking out scrap book paper for another project, I came across a piece of paper with a beautiful design in turquoise, hot pink, green, and orange. I knew I wanted to incorporate it into my collage, and so I based my color scheme on that one piece of scrap book paper. Wouldn't you know it, when I walked to the picture frame section, they had a sign up advertising a 50% off all frames sale. I looked around and spotted three beautiful resin frames in black, hot pink, and white. They were really shiny, which isn't the look I was going for, but the shapes were too pretty to pass up, and they matched my scrapbook paper color scheme. I knew that I would be using a large framed picture of Nick and Eva as the centerpiece so I ignored the bigger frames and focused on 4x6's and 5x7's. I tried to mix it up a bit by choosing oval and rectangular shapes. That night, while on Pinterest I came across this:
It's from The Vintage Wren and I absolutely love it! You can check out her beautiful blog here.
After I found that picture, I knew I needed to incorporate framed words and a mirror into my collage. The next day I took my little big behind back to Hobby Lobby. Turns out, it was my lucky day because they were having a 50% off metal sale, which included metal words like, 'live,' 'love,' 'laugh,' 'laundry,' etc... Since I had already purchased a frame with the word 'love' in it, I decided to get the metal 'live' and 'laugh.' Yes, yes, I know, 'live, love, laugh' is cliche and also done to death, but they are words I live by so I got them. I went to the clearance section and they had a few hanging frames for sale so I found two that would fit over the words. Now I was FINALLY ready to start my collage...or so I thought. I had unknowingly purchased a few frames that were strictly for table tops (meaning they were missing the rings necessary to hang them). After a few expletives, I decided no big deal, I would just go find some kind of hardware to attach to the backs. Hobby Lobby had to have something, and sure enough, they did. I found a little pack of picture hanging hardware for like $1.50. Thank you Hobby Lobby, you never let me down. I also found a nice resin fleur de lis, a resin scroll, black & white letter 'B,' and a $20 round mirror. I took everything home, drilled holes into the backs of the table top frames, and attached the hanging rings. They went in super easy so the dilemma was solved. I was so eager to put everything up, but decided to hold off until I had antiqued the large framed picture of Nick & Eva. I'd never antiqued anything, but had read about the process and it seemed like a fairly easy DIY project. I had some paint and stain in the garage, so I decided, what the heck, why not? It turned out better than I expected. Once everything was dry, I put all the frames on my table and started shifting them around until I found a composition that I thought looked great. Then I hung each one up on the entryway wall over my vintage buffet (my favorite piece of furniture in the house). Here is how it turned out:
Was it a pain? Yes, but only because I purchased the wrong kind of frames and decided to take a few days to antique the large frame. As with anything, it is a learning process, and you are bound to make mistakes. I love the wall and have gotten so many compliments on it from visitors. I'm still considering painting the small blue frame at the bottom left-hand corner. It came that way from Hobby Lobby but it's not quite the right shade of blue. That'll be a quick Sunday afternoon project, for now it can stay.
Here is the wall now that I've had crown moulding installed throughout the house:
and a close up
I had to take down the resin scroll at the top, but it found a new home in the laundry room, which is still a work in progress.
I can't say enough how amazing this looks! I love every single item in this frame collage. The colors all flow well and compliment each other. Just beautiful. You did an amazing job! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, thank you! I still love that wall every time I see it, which says a lot because I tire of things very easily. You know that better than anyone else :)
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