What's In a Frame....

 

One project that we've had completed for well over a year is our gallery wall in the hallway. The reason it's taken me so long to post anything about it is because it's the hardest space to photograph due to the narrow angles. And unless I can get some light from the guest room window during a bright, shiny day with snow on the ground- there is usually hardly any natural light to take a picture.

 

I lucked out the other day though so I made sure to snap some pictures and finally post something about it!

 

 

 

This hallway is right off the main living area, which leads to the bathroom, staircase, and guest room. It's long and narrow, but full of potential so I was itching to get something up here soon after we got married. After being inspired by the blog of all blogs, I chose all white frames and mats not only because I like the freshness of it, but I didn't want to overwhelm the wall with different colors and tones. There's already a ton of frames, and I didn't want it to bee chaotic.... Not to say that I don't love different color frames on walls if it's in an open space (I really do love it), but it would have been to much for this small area.

 

I collected the frames for quite a while- HomeGoods, Hobby Lobby, and even the Dollar Store (although I had to spray paint most of those). Once I felt like I had a good collection- and made myself a deadline- we started to hammer in some nails.

 

 

This is where my husband and I differ on execution... along with the hammer and nails, he pulled out his tape measure. I was quick to mention that it would make things more complicated than they had to be. Being an engineer, he couldn't understand the fact that I just wanted to 'eye' things and slap them on the wall. (I also don't have the patience for things like feet and inches). With this project, I started with the large frame somewhat in the middle and then worked my way out... and started nailing. Eventually the tape measure was thrown to the side and Nathan finally conceded. It worked out better for all of us.

 

I will say that while measuring is sometimes necessary, a lot of times it can really mess up the look of a wall. Just because a frame is placed exactly in the center of the wall and is exactly 36" away from the window frame on both sides, doesn't mean that it needs to be placed there. It could actually look much better and more interesting if it was a little off-center (it all depends on the space). My tip- just go with what looks right to you and don't worry so much about things matching and measuring....  AND please ignore things like light switches and thermostats. They blend in if you don't pay attention to them! If you try to measure off of things like that, you'll just accentuate that they are there.  I don't have a photo, but our security system panel is actually blended in with the frames on the wall... and it's hard to notice it's there. Easier said than done I guess.

 

 

Anyway- other than an abundant amount of wedding and family photos that we collected, I wanted to add some more interest to the wall. I'm definitely not a pack rat and actually really enjoy purging items, but I AM sentimental and will hold on to some random items that have some meaning to me.

 

One of the items I held onto was my key to my old apartment. If anyone knows me, they know how much I loved my old place affectionately called "The Robin". Moving out of there and starting in a new home was surprisingly emotional for me (but exciting of course), so I kept my key and made sure it was included somewhere in my new home... other than a junk drawer. I'm sure at some point it will be replaced by something even more sentimental, but for now I love that it's simply framed next to a picture of its front porch.

 

 

Another one of my favorite things I have framed are the place cards from our wedding. At some point during wedding planning, I made the ridiculous- but ambitious- decision to make things "personal" and draw caricatures of each of our wedding guests... yes all 300+ of them. I don't know what I was thinking at the time, but I was determined and somehow got them done. I don't know who it was (probably my mom), but someone was awesome enough to grab our place cards so they weren't thrown away after the reception. They are one of my favorite mementos we have from that day and were one of the first things framed in the house.

 

 

 

 

One very simple thing that I did, was type out some lyrics to our first dance song. I probably need to reprint it on cardstock now that I look at these pictures, but I still like the touch and made sure to place it under the picture of us during our first dance.

 

 

 

 

Finally- I ended up hanging our wedding shadow box and framed our plane tickets to Hawaii from our honeymoon (lower left). I think small touches like this can really break up all of the photos, and add some interest. Definitely brings back some awesome memories as well.  

 

 

 

Wow- this wall is really a mushy, sentimental wedding shrine isn't it? But that's the beauty of your own home- do what you like! And no fear- it will soon be a mushy, sentimental, baby shrine. You will certainly be updated with that!

 

 

-Tricia

I Swear I Have an Excuse... and the Built-Ins are almost done!

 

Oh hi there! It's been a while,  but I swear I have a good excuse. So, one of my biggest pet peeves in the 'blog world' is when a blogger just randomly stops posting out of nowhere- especially when people are at least used to a consistent schedule. You mean to tell me that these blogging people actually have a life outside of their computer that would constitute them associating with the real world? While I doubt any of my 2 blog followers went through withdrawal (Nathan and Mom, you can be honest), it's still way annoying and I hate that I took two months off….  IT IS BLOG BLASPHEMY!

 

Anyway- when I started this thing I swore I would never be one to drop off the face of the earth, but then I was introduced to the "First Trimester" and became good friends with my couch. Not to be dramatic- well maybe a little- but I literally didn't do any productive project from the end of October to about a few weeks ago. I even had so many plans for Christmas posts, but eventually the thought of putting up decorations made me want to vom. Thankfully, my mom and dad came down and helped get my house into the holiday spirit, but no blog posts were produced. Maybe I'll do a Christmas in July special since I did manage to get a few pictures of some décor.  Scratch that- I'll have a newborn baby in July. Sooooo Side Note:  Looks like I will also be taking a blog hiatus this summer too.  I hope you survive it.  

 

Back to blog stuff and an end to my rambling…. One thing that we were productive on was the built-ins. (And by we, I mean Nathan and Josh). I know it's not the most exciting project in the world and has taken a while- but we are almost complete! You can see the previous posts here, here, and here.

 

 

 

 

The only thing left to do is install new doors on the existing cabinets, add some hardware, and finish off the legs of the NEW cabinet!

 

 

 

Yes- the new cabinet has arrived in all of its glory. It was constructed in Josh's workshop and those handy guys measured it to fit perfectly up against the existing bookshelves. They're so smart. We did have to mount it to the wall to leave some clearance above the floor vent, but I think it works pretty well. I don’t really like the "floating" look of it, so we're investigating some leg options which shouldn't be too difficult to produce. I'm glad we also go rid of the old, dark, existing cabinet- The new white cabinet just pulls it all together and actually gives us more storage than before… and it's white- so yeah. 

 

Below is the a picture mid-progress and you can see the old TV cabinet. Not working.

 

 

 

I wanted everything to be closed off and finished, so we added this 'flip down' detail when we want to use the Blue Ray player. I did not want the equipment to be showing if it didn’t' have to be, so when it's not in use, it's closed back up just the way I like it.

 

 Open...  ( and yes this is all of our equipment)

 

Closed.

 

Below you can see the difference in the doors. Sooner rather than later, we'll be replacing the old cabinet doors so they match... and get rid of those exposed and painted hinges.  

 

 

 

Looking at the Before picture, it's crazy how much of a differencce this little makeover has made- and the TV is still "eye level" so all are happy in the Weldy home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I wouldn't allow myself to put anything on the bookshelves until the cabinet was installed. (It was intended to give us motivation, but ended up really just driving me mad)- so as my first "Second Trimester" project, I dusted everything off and filled up those shelves. Now that this whole conglomeration is more to my liking, I'm going to pay a lot more attention to what I'm actually putting on my shelves. A TON of it is just what I have had lying around the house, but I'm definitely wanting to do some editing and maybe invest in some nicer pieces.

 

I will say that it definitely makes a difference by putting up stuff that you really like- and using meaningful pieces. I try to stay away from random objects just to fill up space, but sometimes its unavoidable. Hopefully soon I'll do a more 'in depth' post about some of the meaningful pieces we've put up on our shelves.

 

 

In the meantime, I have a plan to make a pretty cool mirror to hang above the mantel… I stole the current one from the guest room just to get an idea of size... but I'm liking it's temporary home for now.

 

And FINALLY- if you haven't seen this on facebook- here is our New Years Baby Announcement! Nathan LOVES photo shoots... and we also really need a tan!

 

Due June 2014! 

 

 

-Tricia 

 

Our Big Day Displayed: DIY Wedding Shadow Box

After getting married last July, I ended up with boxes and boxes of wedding decor and mementos that have been very difficult for me to get rid of.  The older I've gotten (you're killing me, 27) the bigger 'purger' I have become, so it's humorous to me to see the multiple boxes full of this stuff stacked up in my basement. I mean, I have about 30 invitations leftover, but can't seem to throw them away. What in the world am I going to do with them? My old shower invites and Save the Date magnets... just sitting in a box. God forbid they end up in the trash can! 

In the back of my mind, I knew I wanted to do something special with the items I have held onto, so maybe that is a big reason why it all found a home in the basement for over a year. I'm usually not a big fan of shadow boxes ( I always thought they were a little cheesy), but I figured this would be the best way to display some of those items that take me back to some of my favorite memories.

So... I finally caved and bought a shadow box at where else but Hobby Lobby. The frame was 50% that week, but always remember that you can download the 40% coupon if you can't wait for things to go half off (I actually have the link bookmarked on my phone... and use it on the reg).  I also bought some white ball pins to secure everything into the back panel. Super easy.

When I got home, I sorted through my 'junk' and pulled out an invite, reception card, save the date, ceremony program, and some items from the reception including our cake knife and place cards. I also had some of my shower invites, but realized soon that the box wasn't big enough to fit everything... Well it could, but in my opinion it would look way too cluttered and not very cohesive.  

Included the label for the apple butter that was made for favors.

Including the cake knife gave the box some shiny interest, which then reminded me of some important items in my jewelry box from the wedding day. I decided to include my earrings, bracelet, and hair piece to bling it up a little bit. I also included my garter and bouquet brooch. If I ever wanted to let someone borrow them or pass them down, they're easily removable. Nothing in here is permanent. I think the pieces made it a lot more interesting and helped to contrast with all the paper that was going on.  It's also nice to see the jewelry for a change instead of hidden away... it's not like I was planning on busting out those earrings on a Thursday night!

Also added one of the flowers from my bouquet.

 

So there ya have it- A year's worth of boxed up wedding leftovers turned into a 10 minute project. I should have done it much sooner!  It's a nice reminder of that July day every time I walk down the stairs. I'll probably move it up and hang it in our bedroom once that is complete... which reminds me that that room is another thing on the list that needs to get started! Who wants to help us paint some ugly trim?

 

 

My attempt at a non-cheesy shadowbox...

 

 

 

What about you? Are you into Shadow Boxes or have done any cool projects with them? They're not so bad when they contain some meaningful things!

 

-Tricia

A New Home for My Granny's China

The china cabinet. This has easily been one of my favorite projects we have ever done. Not only because the outcome came out much better than I could have imagined, but because this cabinet holds one of my most special possessions- my Granny's china.

I was only two when my great grandmother passed away, so I don't have any memories of her, but I've heard countless stories from my mom and have looked through several photo albums growing up so in a sense I feel like I know her in some way... or at least I like to imagine what it would have been like to know her...

Granny with her 1960s style

I believe my Granny received her china when she got married in the 20s. My grandma then held on to it for some years and eventually passed it down to Aunt Teri, my Godmother, when I was a girl. We traveled every year to visit my aunt and uncle in Georgia, and my Aunt Teri would mention several times that I would be the next to have that china in my own home one day. It was displayed in her dining room and I always thought they were the most beautiful dishes I had ever seen. It was so fun to imagine myself using it for all of those 'grown up' dinner parties and family holidays once I was married and a mom of my own. However, I always assumed I would be getting this china when I was much older. So, it was definitely a huge surprise when my aunt called me during those months of wedding planning to see if we would like to have it now. It was- without a doubt- one of the best gifts I have ever received.

 

Now, if anyone knows me well, you're probably aware that I have a love for anything gold. I always have. I may be a bit partial, but had I seen this china anywhere else, it would have been the first thing I would have chosen. I like to think my Granny and I must have had the same taste... or maybe that is wishful thinking.  I think it's perfect...  and I also think it deserves to be shown. Even though I had no china cabinet to display it in (and there were still wedding presents lined up waiting to be unpacked), there was no way this china was going to be boxed up and put in storage.  Once the wedding stuff died down, Nathan and I took a weekend trip down to Georgia to pick everything up and haul it back to Louisville (very carefully).  So, before we even got in the car to head south, I was already browsing countless Craigslist ads looking for the perfect piece to makeover. As I've said before, budget is always priority. Who has time for full price?

It took some searching by the both of us, but Nathan finally came across a potential piece on Craigslist. It was exactly what I was looking for. He had some doubt when we went to see it in person, but I knew right away that it was the perfect size, had plenty of character, and showed a ton of potential. So 24 hours after we got back from Georgia, we purchased it for about $90.00. (I think it was originally $100, but Nathan was able to negotiate. I am never in charge of negotiating... knowing me I would have somehow paid more than what it was listed. World's worst.) I made the mistake of not taking any of my own before pictures of the cabinet. I must have been too excited to get the project started that it just slipped my mind. The only picture I have is the one from the ad that I thankfully saved on my phone. Even though it's an awful quality, I think you can get the idea....

Please blame the Craigslist seller for this awful picture...

OK I blame myself for not taking one.

We have limited wall space on our first floor due to an open floor plan, so size was definitely a factor when searching for a cabinet. I was actually looking for more of a curio style instead of a larger standard china cabinet so it could fit a small wall in our dining area. I knew I wouldn't be able to display all of the pieces, but as long as I could have room to provide a nice mix, I would be happy. I was also looking for a cabinet with lower closed storage so the piece felt a bit more substantial. I think an all glass cabinet would make me too nervous and tend to look too fragile in the space. The cabinet we found was a very dark (and cheaper) wood. It wasn't the highest quality, so I didn't feel bad at all with my plan of painting it (white of course). It originally had wood shelving and an old yellow light bulb at the top that lit the inside. The wood shelving didn't allow any of the light to shine through the cabinet, so we knew we would be switching those out for glass. One of my favorite features was the curved glass doors- it was definitely an added bonus and gave us more room to display the china inside.

The first thing we did was unscrew the doors and carefully remove the curved glass from the frames. We also took off the old hardware that was a little too 60s for what I was going for (However, I did keep all of it because you never know where you can use that stuff next.) We then wiped it down with soap and water... not surprisingly my least favorite part. Ughh grossness! (I'm weird about things... Don't get me started on bathrooms.) We were then ready to break out the primer. We had a can of Zinser primer on hand, so there was no need to get any extra supplies that night. We did 2 coats of primer and then (im)patiently waited to start painting the next day.

Primed and ready to go! And now we wait.....

 

The next day we went to Lowe's so I could search for a 'clean white' paint. After looking for more than what Nathan thought was normal (poor guy), I found the right white. Low and behold it was called Clean White by Valspar. Meant to be! I feel like there are so many whites to choose from and they can all look different in so many spaces, but this one seems to stay consistent and I plan to use it for some more projects. Basically, it's not too warm and not too cool. We ended up applying 3 coats of the paint- I wanted to stop at two because of my project impatience, but Nathan convinced me it needed another. That third coat definitely gave it a finished look. He's usually right....

 

'Clean White' by Valspar.

I had been wanting to try out some stenciling for a while and thought this could be a perfect opportunity to test it out... especially since it was in a small dose. If we didn't like it, we could just paint over it and all would be fine. I had been looking at stencils online here, but I didn't want to spend that much money on something I wasn't sure would work out. While I was at Hobby Lobby (I'm there a lot), I came across the exact stencil I had in mind for a much lower price. The scaling was also perfect for the back of the cabinet. I picked it up along with some gold craft paint and a stencil roller and got to work.

So here comes a minor design disaster... Right away, I broke out all of the supplies and got moving. The template fit perfectly inside the cabinet (although it's easily cuttable with a scissors if you need a custom size.) I then started rolling the paint on to the stencil that I placed on top of the back panel. (Note- to avoid stenciling vertically, we laid the cabinet on its back on the floor. This made things much easier.) I didn't read ANY directions and didn't take time to check out any tutorials.... so when I pulled up the stencil, my lack of experience definitely showed. It was a globby (is that a word?) mess and the paint was so light that it wasn't even close to the contrast I was looking for. I knew that the paint I selected wasn't going to work, so I didn't even bother to read directions and try again. I wiped up the globs... which led to another coat of primer and then another coat of the white paint.... Not fun at all. I also didn't have any desire to take pictures of the mess because I was so frustrated. Next time I plan to take pictures in my project failed rage.... don't worry.

About to give it a go... About to unknowingly fail!

Not wanting to wait any longer, the next day I picked up some gold spray paint and figured we would give it a go. I don't think the stencil packaging recommended spray painting at all, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to try. (Spray paint. Fixes. Everything.) While it definitely required the two of us, we taped down the stencil and then covered the rest of the cabinet with paper and plastic to prevent the paint from getting anywhere.

No looking back now!

Nathan- and his patience- slowly sprayed the paint on the stencil and after about 30 seconds we pulled it up to reveal exactly what I had in mind. The spray paint was the perfect solution and I was able to get the contrast that I was looking for. It also dried right away and didn't leave the goopy mess that the craft paint did. We have a winner, folks!

Success!

We then moved it down and repeated the steps to finish the back panel. This was a much easier and better result than my original plan, but if you end up spray painting remember that more than one person is probably needed. We also made the mistake of spray painting in our back room... We may or may not have been a little lightheaded after 20 minutes.... Next time we will take it outside!

Tape... Paint... Repeat

Once everything was dry, we inserted the glass back into the painted door frames and attached them back onto the cabinet. We did the same with the bottom storage door.

 

The glass was just held in like a picture frame so it was easy to reinsert.

I was able to pick up some small clear knobs from Hobby Lobby for about a dollar a piece. The new hardware is a welcome difference from what was originally on the piece....

Hobby Lobby also never fails.

 

Finally, we already had some glass leftover from the old kitchen, so Nathan cut the shelves to size with a glass cutter... Have you ever used one of those things before? It's the simplest tool, and you can get great results. I guess I've been living under a rock! Anticipating the glass shelves to be the hardest part, I was shocked at how easy they were to cut. If we hadn't had any glass already available, we planned on just picking some up at Lowe's. (Or Home Depot... or local... whatever your preference!)

We installed some wood on the sides 

before painting so the glass could easily rest.

 

Once the glass was in place, we got a new light bulb to insert into the top of the existing fixture. Surprisingly, all of the wiring was in good shape and there was no need to do any fixing. Nathan also wanted the cabinet to be secure since we walk by it so often, so he anchored it to the wall with a screw and some metal wiring. It's good to have an engineering brain at work....

And here it is ready to house the china....

 

Ready to go in all of its 'clean white' glory...

 

There were a few areas that were blurry from the spray paint,

so I just went back in with white paint and touched up with a small paint brush.

 

I spy our neighbor's siding....

 

 

And now the best part... displaying the china! Things like this really excite me. I had so much fun styling it in different ways, but I ended up thinking less was more. I was also able to include some wedding gifts we received including a beautiful bowl and some of our new wine glasses. It's a small space, but this tiny cabinet holds a meaningful collection of items that I will always love. I think in our next house, I will have to makeover a larger cabinet so it can all be on display. More projects! Wooo!

Finished product.

 

I feel like I want to host Thanksgiving now...or maybe not.

 

 

I'm so happy and eternally thankful that I have these pieces in our home.... It's so cool to think about the different generations in my family that have used this throughout the years. But just thinking about all of the many holiday dinners and (traditional Christmas breakfasts) that they'll eventually be a part of is an even greater feeling. I hope when I pass this china down the female line one day, it will be appreciated and cared for with as much love as I've already come to have for it.... but God willing they like gold ;)

 

Hope my Granny would be proud!

1986.



-Tricia