We've Been Framed

Today I wanted to share with you one of the projects for our living room. 

When my M.I.L. was getting ready for a yard sale last year, I went snoopin' in the piles of things she was getting rid of and I came across a stack of black picture frames. JACKPOT! She had purchased all these frames from Michael's over the past few years.

So, I brought them home and decided that  I wanted to display our family trip to the Outer Banks, N.C.  in them.  I was able to get some really great photos of the house we stayed in.  It was a 1900's refurbished hunting lodge.  It was right on the water in a quiet little Cul-de-sac.  We had a lot of great memories there!  I was able to snap shots of the kiddos on the beach, the family fishing off the dock, and my guys canoeing.  I think the funniest picture I took is when my daughter got mad at her cousin and sent his flip flops floating in the water.  Luckily we were able to retrieve them. 

After traveling around Pinterest and my favorite blogs, I came up with an idea for the larger wall behind our couch.  Why not do a gallery wall?

Here are a couple of the inspirational pics that I came across...

Source: Pinterest

Source:  www.emilyaclark.blogspot.com

So I put my trusty husband to work...   

He measured out where the pictures where to be placed by drawing up a template.

It may be hard to see here, but he measured the distance from window to window.  Then he measured the distance from the top of the couch to the top row of pictures. He measured the distance from the window to the start of the frames on each side, which was 15 inches.  He was left with 58.5 inches width of the picture area.  A tip when you want the pictures to have the same width all the way around is to always measure top to bottom (height) first.  That's how he does it. 

 Here is a close up of his sketch.

 Doin' good!  Four down, eight to go...

 Is he measuring or reminiscing?  I can't tell.  Eight down, four more to go...

 And we're (apparently I'm French, since all I did was hold the camera) done...   I am so happy with how it turned out!  Wait... I did choose the pics, clean them up, print them, and put them in the frame, so I can say Oui or We did it.

 I wish I could show you how it looks over the couch, but you will have to wait for the finished living room post, mwahaha!  Hopefully, that will be completed this week.  The blinds arrive Monday and I have a little work to do on the drapes.  Today I am heading out to a local antique shop to find an old ladder to display my throw blankets.  Wish me luck!

So, I will leave you with a few up close shots of our trip to the Outer Banks.

 My wild and crazy daughter on the upper deck of the house.

 A shot of her carrying sand back and forth on the beach.

 One of the upper decks. See what I mean, relaxation at its best!  Just looking at this picture makes me feel at peace.

 Here are my guys canoing.

 Here is the house itself.  It was so beautiful waking up in the morning and looking outside!

And here is the "infamous floating flip flops" picture.  Definitely my favorite shot I took!

So don't forget to check back for the post of the completed living room!!!