This is the best shot I have of the old wall. Some of the art is cut off but you get the idea.

After painting, (Birds Egg by Benjamin Moore) I had some new annoyanceschallenges to work around. I couldn’t use the awesome polar bear print since the blues were too similar. I had accommodate a wall mounted tv, so there was less space to work with and I had some new prints to add. Basically, the wall needed a complete redesign.

I’m jealous of anyone who can pull out the hammer and just start putting frames up. But I have a really hard time living with the slightest mistake so I do a lot of planning before I get the nails out. Here’s how I make sure I get it perfect before putting a bunch of holes in the wall.

The Process:

1. Trace the shape of all your frames onto big cheap newsprint. (You can buy big pads of newsprint in an art supply store.)
2. Cut out each “paper frame”.
3. Use painter’s tape and arrange the paper frames on the wall.
4. Rearrange.
5. Rearrange.
6. Rearrange.
7. Once you have a configuration you like, replace the paper frames with real ones.

Tips:

• It’s easier to start with bigger pieces and arrange smaller pieces around them.
• If using nails, mark where the nail should go on the paper frame then nail right through.
• For smaller frames, I recommend using 3M Picture Hanging Strips (I buy mine at Canadian Tire). They’re more expensive than plain old nails, but they don’t leave holes in your walls. (Genius and priceless to me!)
• Live with your paper frames on the wall for a few days to make sure you like the design. BONUS: It makes for a good conversation starter when people come over ask what the heck those pieces of paper are doing on your wall!

Here’s are the two configurations I was trying to choose between.

Hmmm... do the five small frames belong on the bottom or the top?

You’ll notice that this gallery wall is fairly grid-like. There are all kinds of layout possibilities but I like mine to be a bit more orderly than most. This design*sponge best of gallery walls post is full of inspiration and features a lot “messier” designs that I just can’t seem to pull off. One of my ideas to make this a bit more unique is to extend the grid to the ceiling and to the floor so it’s a big stripe of art. For now though, I’m pretty happy with this look.

The complete hawtness. Configuration 2 wins! Click for bigger view of the left image.

Do you have any hot tips that might help me out next time? Do you think a floor to ceiling art stripe would look dumb or amazing? Let me know in the comments!

SOURCES
Here’s where each of the pieces came from. All the frames are from IKEA unless otherwise noted.

Top row: Botanical Card set from Rifle Paper Co.
Second row left: ISO 50, custom framed at Frame it on Bloor.
Second row right: Sugarloop.
Second row left: card from Russet & Empire.
Second row middle: Michelle Maude illustration.
Second row right: Empty! But will hold another Michelle Maude illustration when I find it.

Making my foray into YouTube Super Stardom.

Truly madly deeply in love, true love!

Unfortunately it’s a summer 2010 collection colour and no longer available. But the blogs (they never let me down) had various dupes for this colour that I went to buy instead. China Glaze’s For Audrey is what I purchased and painted my nails with tonight.

For Audrey - get it?

The bottle isn’t as glamourous but it’s also about 5x less expensive than Chanel. I’m really happy with the way it applied (two coats) and the colour itself. If it lasts for a good few days with no chips I will be a new convert to China Glaze. I still want to try a Chanel polish but I’m waiting until I see another colour that I think will be worth $30.

Somehow my hands look giant in this photo.

I also bought Seche Vite which is supposed to be the bestest top coat. I’m hoping it might salvage some of my cheaper polishes that I love the colour but chip almost immediately. (I’m looking at you, L’Oreal!).

The first present was for my friend Jayne. She and I trade Etsy links on a daily basis and I knew she loved this awesome little sloth necklace from marymaryhandmade. So cute! I crossed my fingers that she wouldn’t buy it before I had the chance to give it to her for her birthday. I even wanted one for myself and may still buy the Narwhal.

Sloth Necklace

The second present came about because my friend Kate loves squirrels. She’s Scottish and (I’m not sure if this is related to her Scottish-ness but) calls them “ground squirrels” for some reason I haven’t figured out yet. It’s cute! Anyway, I always have a hard time shopping for her and I usually end up buying her a book. (She usually gets me a book + something really cool from Etsy.) So this year I wanted to get something squirrel-related. I did an etsy search for “squirrel” and it returned a bunch of stuff that should totally be on regretsy.com. Then I got to these adorable earrings squirrel & pine cone earrings from Vector Cloud. Perfect!

Squirrel & Pinecone earrings

Both of these ladies seemed over the moon about these presents and I was so pleased to give them something handmade and special you wouldn’t find anywhere else. Etsy love!

Green Rubber Vase - It's the fact that this is rubber that really intrigues me. I want to touch it. Also this is the accent colour I'd like for my kitchen so I can definitely see this fitting in!

organic percale ash grey sheet sets - I have always wanted grey sheets.

facet vase - It's glossy white and I have a thing for facets.

Proof Nightstand - I think the fact that it isn't wood makes this piece really interesting. We have a really low bed with not a lot of room on either side so I'd like to measure to see if this would fit. The price is also quite reasonable!

What CB2 items are you dying to see in person?

Essie - Carousel Coral

Here are some different shots of it:
Polish or Perish: http://polishorperish.blogspot.com/2010/04/essie-carousel-coral.html
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lili2007/3102837606/

The other day I had an idea for the GREATEST TATTOO EVER and now I can’t get it out of my head. I thought of getting this communicator badge tattooed on the left part of my upper chest. Good idea? I know it’s way better than barbed wire, a dragon, a butterfly or a maple leaf (no offense to yee who have those tattoos). My love of Star Trek TNG is undying. But would I regret it? Is it the kind of thing that seems cool now but in 10 years will be super lame? I’m thinking of drawing it on to test drive it. The whole concept of getting a tattoo is so foreign to me that I’m having a hard time getting used to the idea even though I think it’s genius.

UPDATE: Oh no, I’m not the only one who has thought of this idea.
http://www.geekytattoos.com/stephen-hawking-and-star-trek/

Well I wrote that post and then appeared to drop off the edge of the earth. But really I just worked hard on my living room. We painted. And I made cheap artwork.

The artwork is actually framed wallpaper. It’s from a roll by Julia Rothman for Hygge & West. I got the last roll of it which was on-sale for $50! Stick it in a big Ikea frame and I have artwork under $100.

I do wish it was a smidge bigger. And since I took this photo I moved it down about half a foot towards the couch. But I am loving it! The lines are so interesting to look at, sometimes I lay down on the couch and just gaze.

Above the couch BEFORE photo (doesn't it need some warmth, and maybe some new pillows too?)

For the last year I’ve been trying to figure out what to do with the wall behind my couch. It is the first thing you see when you walk into the room and it has been blank since we moved in 11 months ago. I’ve considered a lot of options for this wall.

• Art - I would love to hang either one big landscape painting or two portrait paintings behind the couch. Finding something that was big enough for the wall and affordable for me has been a challenge. I still hold out hope that I might find something, but after 11 months I’m ready to put that dream on hold for a while in favour of just filling the space.
• Wallpaper - I love wallpaper! But since this is a rental I don’t want drop a couple of hundred bucks on something I might move away from in a year.
• Black paint – I considered painting this entire wall black because I thought it would be amazingly dramatic and a nice contrast in a room that is mostly white. But I have painted over black before and I know what a pain in the butt it can be. Plus, it’s pretty risky since I have no idea if I would love it or hate it.
• Embroidery hoops – Having the excuse opportunity to buy a lot of pretty fabric had a lot of appeal. I rejected it because on the opposite wall I already have a bunch of frames in a bit of a gallery wall and I don’t want the room to get too busy looking. I just feel like this space needs to be filled all the way up with one BIG thing.

Fabric in embroidery hoops wall art by emmmylizzzy (so cute!)

When this post about painting herringbone patterns on your wall from Design*Sponge came up in my GoogleReader I knew it was the perfect solution. It has the appeal of wallpaper but the price tag of paint. And since I plan to use subtle colours that compliment the white gray-ey blue paint already present on the walls it will be easy to paint over should I change my mind. In fact, one of the colours will be the exact wall colour with just a gloss over it (read all about it in the Design*Sponge tutorial).

Chevrons with paint from Design*Sponge

My next step is to putty and sand the holes that the surround sound speakers created. Then I’ll buy some Froggy Tape, measure out the pattern, pick some paint colours and get to painting! I can’t wait to share my work in progress images on this blog. Stay tuned!