FRAMED!!

For almost 2 years, my living room gave off that I-just-moved-in vibe because of a big ole empty wall above the couch.  I knew what I wanted to do on this wall a long time ago but it took me a while to actually get 'er done because it involved several little projects.  Can you figure it out yet?  I'll give you a hint.....ever wonder why several of my last few projects have been art but I never showed you where I decide to hang them?

Well, here's where I hung them!

Yes, I finally finished my first gallery wall and I couldn't be happier!  The best part about it, is most of the art I either already had or I created myself.  Every. single. piece. of art is symbolic and has special meaning so it makes it that much more special.....(aww.)  Before we go any further, I must go ahead and put it out there....I did not randomly start dating a dude whose name starts with a T.  The T stands for Tippy.  I thought that was pretty self-explanatory but apparently it's not because multiple people (people who are nearest and dearest to me) either took a while to figure out what the T meant or thought I was in some secret relationship that I failed to mention.  True story.  

So back to the gallery.  As for the frames, I didn't want it matchy-matchy.  Since I like shiny and blingy things, the "theme" I was going for was metallic.  Different tones of silver and gold.  Luckily, I already had the majority of the frames, however they were black but with a couple coats of silver or gold spray paint, they fit right into my happy little metallic family.  The frames that I had to buy, I scored them at Hobby Lobby or Michael's during one of their 50% off sales.  I refuse to buy a frame that's not 50% off because one of those 2 stores will usually have a sale.  And if they don't at the time, they will next week!  

So to start this little big project, I made a list of everything I wanted to include in the gallery.  Some pieces were already complete and some were not.  After I got everything finished, I laid everything out on the floor.  It took several different arrangements until I decided on this one.  If you're wanting an up-close shot of all of the different pieces, hold your horses.  I'm gettin' there!

Then I traced each piece onto newspaper and cut it out.  I even marked where the picture hanger was so I could simply hammer a nail right through the newspaper and rip the paper off after I had the nail in the wall.  But before I did any hammering, I taped all of the newspaper on the wall to make sure everything was where I wanted it to be.  This step involved a lot of taking down and putting back up. 

Once I got everything where I wanted it, it was HAMMER TIME!  As I started putting holes in the wall I had to PRAY that I didn't have to put any extra holes in the wall.  My arms were getting a little tired from all the reaching and hammering but I told myself I was TOO LEGIT TO QUIT.  Tippy so lovingly offered to help out but I said, U CAN'T TOUCH THIS!  On that note, who here wishes MC Hammer would come out with a new album?  Those were such hot tracks! 

Now that I have everything hanging, I'll take you on a little tour.  Starting at the top left, I have this piece.  One time I went out to dinner with my friends Tonya and Tim and their mom.  I mentioned that I was named after Shari Lewis from Lamb Chops.  The next time I went their mom's house, she gave me this DVD of Lamb Chops that says, "The Shari Show."  I absolutely loved it and new I would make some art out of it one day.  Then two years later, I popped it in a frame with some black scrapbook paper behind it.  Next to that I have the S which I got from Hobby Lobby for 50% off as well as the T........for TIPPY. :)

Then I have my Granny tribute that I showed you here.  I wanted to put her at the top, along with my cross that I already had.  Putting her at the top kinda makes me feel like she's looking down on me. 

In keeping with the Granny theme, I have the remote from the TV she passed down to me that I talked about here.  Then I have the wonderful masterpiece that Tippy created for me for Christmas. 

The frame below is for my interchangeable seasonal art.  It's simply scrapbook paper that I plan to change out monthly depending on the holiday or season.  Since my birthday is this month, this month's theme has cupcakes with a candle in them.   I'll try to show you as I update it but I can't make any promises.  Beside that is the photo of me running my first 5K, the Thin Mint Sprint, that I talked about here.  I'm sure I was still outta breath when I talked about it.  I also have that thing I pinned on my shirt and the Thin Mint Sprint Girl Scout Patch.  If only I still had my Brownie sash from the late 80s that I could sew it onto.  When I framed this, I added some Zebra print scrapbook paper behind it.  I wanted to find some paper that could relate to the race so I picked the Zebra print paper because I ran fast like a Zebra!  Yeah, that made me giggle too. 

Right smack dab in the center is the water color painting of my duplex that my brother so kindly gave to me at my closing.  I'm not crazy about the color of the frame so that may change.  I feel like it needs to pop more with it being in the center.  I'll keep ya posted.

Oh, the infamous and disappointing peacock picture, the picture I was originally going to design the entire living room from.  You can read here why it was so disappointing.  Next to that, I have the art I created out of gift bag from a birthday present that my friend Stephen gave me. 

Finally, the bottom row consists of my Snoop-D-O-Double-G-inspired cross stitch, my paint swatch art, and a mirror that my cousin gave me for Christmas 6 or 7 years ago.  Then I capped it off with the T.  

And there ya have it!  It looks more dramatic in person.  I have 9 foot ceilings so it automatically draws your eye up. 

I have some more plans for my living room but at least it doesn't look like I just moved in anymore!