Another Rainy Day

My husband and I are waiting to go out to the yard and get some work done, but once again, rain.

What a perfect opportunity to finish up some small projects around the house before spending all of our time outside.  This past year we have remodeled our powder room, but there are just a few finishing touches that are needed.  I was looking for something to hang on the walls that has meaning, but nothing had popped out.  I decided to display some of the photos we had taken from our honeymoon.

After having no luck finding a set of frames, I decided to go in a different direction.  Here is how I decided to display our pictures.

What you need...

Photos or any other item you would like to display

Canvas, I used 8 x 10

Black craft paint

Paint brush

Spray adhesive

Nails

Double sided foam tape

Hammer

Level

To begin, select the photos you want to display and edit them if needed.  I decided to make my pictures a sepia tone and I had them printed as 8 x 10's.

I went with black paint because I wanted the focus to be the photos.  Paint a border around the canvas, making sure all edges are completely covered.

Use a spray adhesive, which is best used in a well ventilated area or outside.  For a permanent hold, I sprayed both sides and let them dry for 1 minute.

After the adhesive has dried, carefully position the photo on the prepared canvas.  At this point, both surfaces are very sticky, so do not to let the prepared surfaces touch until the photo is centered.

When your photo is centered and placed onto the canvas, flip canvas over on a clean surface and firmly press the canvas and it's corners to ensure there is a secure adhesion between both the photo and the canvas.

Before hanging anything on a wall, I take all pictures and/or objects and lay them out on the floor.  This allows you to play with the placement and spacing.  If you have ever heard the saying, "measure twice, cut once", the same goes for hanging items on your walls.  Measure twice, nail once, but admittedly, there are times when I need to reposition a nail.  Some people feel comfortable eyeballing it, which is fine, but I always measure to ensure even spacing.

A tip for hanging art, I add a small piece of double stick foam tape to the bottom corners of my art before hanging.  When cleaning or if your wall is bumped, your artwork will stay in place.  If you need to remove the art and the foam stays on the wall, use a hairdryer to warm the adhesive and the foam tape will come off easily.

*FYI, the foam tape is on the wall in this photo because I had forgotten to take a picture before hanging the artwork, but wanted you to see the concept, so I took the picture down after the foam tape was firmly pressed to the wall.  Make sure you place the foam tape on the art and not the wall to ensure correct placement.

Hang the art, but do not press the bottom corners to the wall.  Use a level to  ensure a straight hang.  When you are happy with the placement and leveling of your art, firmly press the bottom corners to secure the double stick foam tape to the wall.

Viola!  My rainy day project is complete.  We have art in our powder room and this room is finally complete. 

Until next time,

Blair

Spring Has Sprung

The weather is finally starting to warm... a little and some of our plants are starting to emerge.  This has given me the itch to start designing my garden and think about adding to our flower beds.  Designing a yard is just as important as designing the interior of a home.  Our exteriors are a visitor's first impression of our home.

When thinking of adding to your flower bed, ask if anyone you know has plants you can split.  It is free and then there is a story behind that plant.  We get a lot of my plants from my Great Aunt Dixie who will be 100 in July and is still an avid gardener.  My in-laws give us tons of plants as well.  Now, when I walk around our garden, there are memories to go with the plants we have.

Here are a few pictures of plants starting to grow around the yard.

Our daffodils came back unexpectedly.  We had work done on our front walk and thought they would be a no show from all of the digging that was done.

The scilla siberica was a surprise.  We split a hydrangea from Aunt Dixie last year and these popped up with it this year.

The hops belong to my husband who is a home brewer.  He planted these last year and they are coming back in full force.

One of our maples have these beautiful pink buds on them, they add a nice pop of color to our backyard.

I can't wait for my lilacs to bloom, one of my favorite scents of all time.

This is the second year for our rhubarb plants, so strawberry rhubarb pie, here I come.

There are a handful of herbs that made it through the winter, oregano being one of them.

Until next time,

Blair