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How to Hang a Gallery Wall

A few months back, I finally got around to arranging the  9 frames that I picked up from Michael’s on my wall into a 3X3 grid for a gallery wall.

Being very conservative let’s just say the frames sat for 3 months with nothing in them. One day while glancing at them I grabbed my computer right then and set about ordering prints to go in them. I finally settled on going with 5 X 5 prints as I thought the matte would be a nice touch.

Can we say I have so many pictures, thankfully most are organized so I had a easy time finding them based on my photo storage method. With so many to choose from instead of getting overwhelmed I just grabbed a few that jumped out at me through the Instagram link method on Walmart’s website to just assess the quality of the photos before taking out the time to really dig in and find all of my favorites throughout the years.

Unfortunately due to the size they were not available for immediate pick up. I had to wait a few days for them to go site to store but for a little over $4 for 9 photos I was impressed with the quality.

Once the photos were finally in hand, I set about putting them in the frames. Here are a few tips to make life a little easy when setting up your gallery wall.

Gallery wall

 

  • Measure the entire area where you will be hanging your photos. You’ll need to do a little math to determine where the center of the wall is. Once I found that number in inches I hung the middle of my middle frame there and worked out.  That being said it SEEMS to be easier to work with an odd number, but whatever works for you.

 

Gallery Wall

 

  • Once you determine where you will be hanging put a piece of tape over the hanger on the back of the frame and put a hole in the tape  where the nail should go.
  • Put all of your pieces of tape on the wall. If you are unlike me, now would be the time to make sure things are level. LEVEL AT THIS POINT and make any adjustments
  • Now put a nail where that tiny hole in the tape is.
  • Do not insert a 7 month gap between here and putting pictures in the frame.
  • Before putting pictures in the frame, be sure to clean the glass well

 

how to hang a gallery wall

 

  • Put in your print and determine where you want it. Once that is determined add a small piece of tape to the top to keep the print from shifting.

 

how to hang a gallery wall

 

  • H A N G!

 

how to hang a gallery wall

 

Now that I am certain of the quality of the prints and I am happy with a mix of color and black and white prints I can go through all of my photos and really pull out my favorites, most of these are just place holders for now. I’ll be back to show you the final photo selections.

 

how to hang a gallery wall

 

how to hang a gallery wall

It might be 6 months from now, but I’ll be back with the absolute finished product!

Have you ever hung a gallery wall? Will you attempt one now?

 

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Home

My Top 3 DIY Home Makeovers

House Hunters and other shows of the like can really camouflage all of the drama that goes down when purchasing a home. The saying that goes something like you will never get the house you absolutely want without building it yourself is absolutely true. If only there was a half bath, and a true mudroom are things that I MAY or may not have uttered a million times or more while we were house hunting.

Compromise is a real thing when it comes to purchasing a home and if you’ve been around this blog long enough you remember how difficult our home buying process was back in 2013. We went from building a home to scrambling for a resale when our old home sold and we had no definite date on when we could move into our new one. Talk about stressful, God willing and the creek don’t rise I don’t hope to buy another home and move any time soon.

If you are in the market to purchase a new home, locating the proper insurance to cover your investment is just as important as finding your perfect home. Outside of paperwork galore, and the sheer nosiness of underwriters there will be some things you need streamlined and using Esurance to locate competitive insurance quotes for you may just keep you sane in the process. If you are not currently looking, searching new rates periodically, especially at the end of the year is a good time to see if you can save money. Esurance is a good tool for evaluating your current rates on not just home insurance but auto as well.

After purchasing this home I embarked on making it my own by doing a few DIY home makeover projects on the areas that I just couldn’t stand to look at. As 2017 looms I’m making a list of other areas that need a little love and nothing really gets me excited about making a few changes like looking back at past DIY projects. Make sure you sign up on the email list so you don’t miss a post in 2017!

Here are a few of my favorite transformations to date!

Laundry Room

Laundry B&A

Laundry Room Makeover

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Addison’s Room

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Girls Room Decor

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vintage school desk

 Screened Porch

Pier 1 Outdoor Furniture

Pier 1 Outdoor Furniture

Pier 1 Outdoor Furniture

From quote to claim, Esurance is working to help you make smarter, more efficient choices with your insurance. Using state-of-the-art technology, they offer a seamless online and mobile experience along with intuitive tools that help take the hassle out of insurance.

Thank you to Esurance for partnering with Unlikely Martha. I have been compensated for this post.

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Home

Prep Your Home for the Holidays in 10 Minutes with Conair

My curtains and I thank Conair for partnering with Unlikely Martha for this post. I have received compensation for this post.

We hosted Thanksgiving again. For the fourth year in a row, family and friends came to our home to enjoy family and fellowship. With hosting, whether it be Thanksgiving or a holiday party, there are a variety of behind the scenes things that need to happen to create a welcoming environment for your guests.

My home has undergone a number of transitions over the past three years, specifically the kitchen. Paint colors, curtains, paint color changes, no curtains. Recently I decided to add curtains again, this time in the bay window area. With Thanksgiving and the holidays on the horizon, I’ve been trying to make some affordable changes to the house.

If you’ve ever pulled folded up curtains out of a plastic bag you know that panel has all of the wrinkles and creases, then add in the difficulty of ironing those wrinkles out on a simple ironing board and yes, the struggle gets really real.

After getting the curtains hung up, my Conair Turbo ExtremeSteam handheld steamer came in handy.

Conair Steamer

I was able to hang the curtains and then use the steamer to get those stubborn wrinkles and creases out with ease. Unlike other steamers this one stands, this feature was invaluable as I was able to place it on the table as I moved on from panel to panel.

Conair Steamer

Before guests I arrive I’ll be able to use this lightweight steamer for not only the curtains but I can also easily give my couch pillows, tablecloth and even my outfit a once over and be ready in less than 10 minutes!

 

 

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white kitchen
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Open Shelving Inspiration

In preparation for Thanksgiving, I’m attempting to make small changes that make big impacts through out the house. One area that has baffled me for some time when it came to what to do with it was this window. It gives amazing light so I wasn’t interested in curtains.  I adore open shelving and thought I might try two open shelves on either side of the window.

Friday night I took a trip to Home Depot to pick up the wood. I decided to go with two feet shelves. I as able to get an 8 foot board and have them make three cuts. The board cost about $10. I’m not sure if they will get a coat of stain or paint. I want to get them up before I make a decision. Hopefully I’ll find time before the end of the weekend to get them up.

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When looking for inspiration regarding the finish of the shelves and how to style them I headed over to Pinterest. Here are my favorite inspiration looks.

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I’ll update you next week on the progress.

Have any weekend DIY projects lined up?!

See you tomorrow….cause NaBloPoMo

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