DIY Picture Wall

Ok, so this took me aver a month to complete, what with deciding which size frames to buy and which pictures to use, then colour choices and placement.

Here are the tools I used for putting up the frames. 

So, here are a few pictures on how I did our family picture wall. There are a lot of pictures coming up, but if you need help on this DIY wall, browse through. I hope it will help.

Once you have ordered your prints, you may be very surprised to realize that you may need to reorder and reorder until you get it right. Frames and placement play a major role.

My supplies…If you look on, you will see that I did order some 'petal' painted frames from Restoration Hardware. (These are pricey and very large, so I took one frame and had it colour matched at my nearest hardware store. I'm a Rona fan.) 

Use a very fine grit sand paper to gentley ruff up the frame so that your new paint will stick.

My newly painted frames.

Other frames were a very hot pink, so that would not do. Our eldest daughter helped me to spray paint them. (This is an art. Shake the can, spray a little before your project and a little beyond your project, then shake and repeat. If you stop and shake periodically, and keep the coatings light you will not get the drips and spits.)

Here is a Restoration frame. On the back is that little arm that needs to be removed in order to lay flat on the wall.

First, pop off the back.

This little stubborn piece needs to come off.

Take your hammer and screwdriver. Wedge the screwdriver into the edge by the plug in the back and give it a whack with your hammer.

Sometimes it is necessary to use those pliers and give a tug.

Pop out the plugs.

I did lay my pictures out on the floor but found that I changed it dramatically on the wall. I started with my centre picture first and worked somewhat symmetrically around it as I went.

Place your frame on the wall, put your level on top of the frame & mark the corners. 

Measure the back of your frame where the nail will go.  (How far in from the corner and how far down from the top)

Draw your lines where the two measurements meet.

Put your hook at the bottom of where the two lines meet. Ta da! Erase your lines and hang your picture.

Ok, on to the vinyl. 

Take a long level and mark where you want your vinyl. I drew a line on the bottom of my vinyl and had it match where I wanted it on the wall. As you can see, my lines match up.

Take a clean white eraser, (although I probably should have tried a magic eraser by Mr. Clean, but I didn't have any handy. An eraser can leave marks so press lightly.)

I purchased some other letters to make my wall a bit more interesting; spray painted them and attached them to the wall to create an amazing collage.