Under $15 Gallery Wall

We're not really a "photos of ourselves kind of couple", which you're probably aware of if you've checked out the "about" page.  We have a couple frames we got as wedding gifts that we've been meaning to put wedding photos in (for the last 2 years) and once we're unpacked I'll probably actually do it, but that's about it.  Maybe our feelings will change once we have kids, but until then we've got a lot of blank wall space.

I was at a thrift store over the weekend and I saw they were having a frame sale.  All the frames you could fit in a box for $5.  Who could pass that up?  So I grabbed a box and filled it with frames.  I knew I was going to paint them all black, so I wasn't too picky about the condition or finish.  After 20 minutes of digging through frames, 10 frames and a cute little mirror got to come home with me.

Next I stopped by Jo-Ann Fabric and Dollar Tree to pick up a couple more supplies.  In all I ended up with:

~ 10 Frames & Mirror ($5)
~ 2 Sheets of Foam Board ($1 each at Dollar Tree)
~ 6 Sheets of Scrap Book Paper ($0.96)
~ 2 Sheets of Decorative Matting Paper for the bigger frames ($2.50 each)
~ Spray Adhesive
~ Krylon Black Gloss Spray Paint

I'm going to say up front that I should have taken more pictures along the way, but it was a pretty simple project, so I didn't think about it.  I promise I'll do better next time.  And I'm not sure where the camera is, so you guys are stuck with cell phone pictures.  Sorry.

First I took the backing and glass out of the frames that had them.  Then I painted all the frames with Krylon Black Gloss.  When they dried, I had this:

While I waited for the paint to dry, I cut the foam board down to the size of the frames using the removed glass as a template.  I should point out that since a couple of the frames didn't have any glass I traced those frames on the foam board before painting them so I would know what size to cut them down to.  I forgot to take a picture of this step, but you're smart so I trust you can imagine what a piece of foam board looks like.

Next I focused my attention on the paper.  Once again, I didn't take a picture of this step, but everyone's cut paper before right?  That's what I did.

I went out to the garage to check on the frames and while I was out there I adhered the paper to the foam board with some spray adhesive.  I also sprayed my hands (hmmm... there seems to be a pattern, maybe I shouldn't be allowed around aerosol cans), but I think the project will work just as well if you skip that step.  When the adhesive had dried (on my hands and the foam board), I had this: 

Then I popped the papered foam board back in to the frames:

By far the hardest part of this project was deciding on a layout.  I sat on the living room floor for at least an hour arranging and rearranging the frames until I found a layout I liked.  A hammer, a couple nails, and some poster tape to keep them from shifting and I was done.

Grrrr...that one went crooked on me, that's where the poster tape came in



Ignore the random crap on the shelf underneath.
We've just been setting stuff there as we unpack.


I'm so happy to finally have something up on the walls.  It makes the house feel lived.  And for less than $15, I certainly can't complain.   


 

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