Still More Progress: Family Photo Wall.

Oh, knitting. After casting off all my last two projects I've been itching to get back to the needles. But with all the painting and purging I haven't seen much time with yarn in my hands. With the exception of a few rows at bedtime my knitting is on hold, I tell you. But progress is being made in so many corners of my  home I don't miss it a bit. Yesterday I tackled a project I've been looking forward to for a few weeks.

I want to utilize what I have on hand. I'm not interested in investing in any more stuff, and I don't want little stashes of this-and-that-that-may-be-useful-some-day cluttering up my world. I want it to all be useful now our it can head out the door.

Enter my picture frame stash. I've had one for as long as I can remember, treasures I've picked up from second hand stores and rummage sales, even a few from a neighbor's curbside free box. They were mixy-matchy and so most sat unused for years. After seeing a friend's family photo wall I got the idea of unifying the frames I already had with a coat of silver paint.

The project was easy-peasy and the result is delightful. It took me one evening and a bit of the following afternoon. I suppose it could take longer, but I suggest you leave your perfectionist at the door and crank it out fast.

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I gathered my frames and tallied up how many I had of each size. I ordered printed in the appropriate sizes. I set my silver metal frames aside.

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I gathered up the wooden frames for painting. Some needed dusting but I didn't prep them beyond wiping them on my pant leg. Here they are before. (Not so cute together, but some good lines.)

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And here they are after. Black and white frames, maple and oak, painted and stained, brought together by a quick coat of paint. (I bought two different silver paints so that the metal ones wouldn't look out-of-place among the unified painted frames so we have a few shades of silver going on here.)

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After the paint was dry I cleaned the glass and inserted photos. I laid them out on my bed until I was pleased with the arrangement, then moved them one-by-one to a blank hallway wall.

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Ta da! All told I spend about $20 on prints and $15 on paint. All the frames were "free" as I had them on hand. And now? No frames cluttering my basement and a pretty sweet reminder of my lovely family. That sounds like a double-win if you ask me.

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20 thoughts on “Still More Progress: Family Photo Wall.

  1. brooke says:

    what a great idea! I think I will use this one… when we move… it will be within a couple months and I would hate to have to do something more than once!
    did you use spraypaint?

  2. Kim says:

    We did similar, although without paint. We’ve decided to go with black and white frames for our photo wall in our living room. So far, we’ve got 9 frames up and I love the way it looks and I’m excited to add more as time goes on!

  3. Rena Beyer says:

    What a great idea! I was about ready to toss my frames (also collected from thirft stores and garage sales over several years–so hard to pass up on a good frame!. I’m totally coping this idea. Thank you!

  4. Rachel Wolf says:

    Brooke,
    It seems like a perfect way to make your new house feel like Home. Yes, I used spray paint. In our small-town hardware store that was the only silver paint option but it smelled awful and in hindsight if I did it over I would order some brush paint in a couple of metallic colors.

    All the best,
    Rachel

  5. Rachel Wolf says:

    Kim,
    Fantastic! My friend did hers in all mis-matched black frames picked up here and there and it looks wonderful too. My stash of metal frames led my decision to unify them with silver paint. So many sweet options!

    ~ Rachel

  6. Rachel Wolf says:

    Mama Michie,
    The stashing is so tempting, but the using up is often so far in the future, why bother? Sage said to me (as I organized my yarn), Why dont you use that yarn up and just get the yarn you need for the projects as you start them? Smart kid.

    ~ Rachel

  7. Zymeth Blues says:

    When I was young, I was jealous of my classmate’s family photo. I kept asking myself, “Why can’t we take a picture like that?” I even used to edit my sister’s (who stayed in Hawaii for almost 11 years) solo picture before just to complete our family picture. Yeah, that was crazy. But now I’m very happy that the family’s all together. There’s nothing more satisfying than that.

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