Framed!

    Today I'm going to write about something thrifty.  My idea of thrifty is getting what you want without paying very much money.  And by "very much money" I mean the price you'd pay for something brand new in a store.

    We have been in our new home for six months now.  We love this house.  It's everything we wanted (except the fenced yard that I was promised would be the first priority when we moved in. Pft!).   Out of all the houses we looked at this was the only one that had a bit of a Southern feel.  We loved it instantly and knew it was meant for us.  And now it's time for decorating.  Well, it's past time actually, but I've finally come to the point where I just can't stand its bareness anymore.  I decided I want a picture collage going up the stairs.  I love picture walls of randomness.  I'm not a "line it all up" kinda girl.  I'm a "throw it and see where it lands" kinda girl.  I also like the mix and match feel.  So I didn't want a bunch of the exact same frames.  Where's the fun in that?!  So I went to my local Goodwill.  We have an awesome Goodwill.  I poured over the stacks of frames.  I wanted to make sure they weren't broken.  Nothing worse than getting home and realizing the back won't stay closed.  I made sure the glass wasn't broken, obviously.  I wasn't too concerned with size or color.  I just had to like the shape and design.  I bought six frames and didn't pay more than $2.49 a piece for any of them.  Here's what I brought home.  (Ignore the other stuff.  That's for a later blog.)

    After Goodwill I ran by Lowe's and bought a can of brown spray paint.  I chose something with the slightest hint of red in it.  I like color and I didn't want anything too dark.  I removed all the glass and backs and spray painted them all.  I actually added another frame I had bought a while back for another project and never used.  While they were drying I pulled out my Windex and cleaned all the glass.  Then I chose the pictures I wanted to go inside.  All of the frames were 5x7 or larger and I only had the standard 4x6 prints.  So instead of spending more money to print bigger pictures, I simply added a piece of burlap fabric behind each picture as a kind of matting.  I love the way it pulls all the different pics together with a neutral background while adding a little texture.  Four days later I decided to hang them.  (My enthusiasm runs out quickly.)  It took forever for me to pick a good layout for hanging them because random placements are not truly random.  So this is a before and after of that wall....

    See all that empty space farther up the stairs.  I call that the place where dreams come true.  Because one day I'm hoping my hubsband will wake up and say, "The rest of that wall is really bare.  We need to put something there."  And I'll say, "Yeah, you're right.  Some more family pics would look really good.  Ooooo....Maybe with mountains in the background!"  And he'll say, "Oh yeah!  That would look really nice!  Why don't you go ahead and find a photographer for us?"  And I'll say, "Okay!  That's a good idea sweetsie pie."  And he'll gladly pay for and participate in family photos and we'll live happily ever after.  And since I'm dreaming it will truly be a dream come true.  See how the wall got it's name..... 
    Here's an up close shot so you can see the burlap in the back.

    Dawwww....  Isn't that the cutest wittle picture.  Here's another one for the cuteness....

    Precious!  Quite frankly I probably could have hung these pictures on the wall with thumbtacks and people would still think they were wonderful.  Look at Ian's afro puff and Wesley's basketball head.  I miss those tiny wittle guys.  Wait a minute.....they're potty trained now and they weren't then.  Maybe I don't miss them that much.
     Here's the last frame.  I had intended on putting it on the wall, but I like it better on the fireplace. 

    I'm finally able to display some of my favorite snap shots.  So for roughly $12 in frames, $4 in spray paint (which I didn't use all of), and $2 in burlap (which I only used half of) I was able to decorate half of my staircase wall and begin decorating above my fireplace.  Spending $18 to decorate and display my family pics, I'd say that's pretty thrifty! 
    More to come in the decor department.  You saw that table.  I got lots of gooooood stuff. 

Peace,
Rachel