Instagrams on Display.

This past summer I discovered a website/app called FoxGram that prints your Instagram photos. It's the simplest thing ever - you simply log into FoxGram with your Instagram name and it pulls up all your photos.

You check the ones you'd like to print and then choose to print them as 3x3 for 25¢, a 4x4 for 45¢ or as magnets for $2. Then they arrive in your snail mail box a week or so later!





I always go with the 3x3 because that is a more standard size and seems more Instagram-y to me.

But then the question of what to do with them all? I did have them covering my refrigerator but I took them all down when we moved and decided to go with a clean fridge this time. Pintrest and blogs have plenty suggestions for displaying Instagrams but most involve using pins and string or tacks. I've googled the hell out of 3x3 frames and none seem to really exist - especially not in a way that is conducive to buying twenty or thirty of them or avoiding the overlapping collage look.

So I noodled on it and then one morning while I was drying my hair it hit me! I knew what to do.

I grabbed one of the photos and stuck it in my purse to take to Home Depot. In the lumber section I held it up to pieces of wood until I found a width that was about an inch wider than the photo. It was 4 1/2 inches wide and 6 feet long and cost $4.50. SOLD. The nice Home Depot man cut it into six pieces that were each a foot long. (Math genius warning) Actually, we decided on a foot because that length nicely would fit three photos with a little room in between each picture.

But imagine the possibilities - six inch wide wood would have had a completely different feel. Or we could have cut two or three foot pieces that would have also give it a completely different look.

At home I gave the wood a very quick sanding and primed it, but only because I happened to have primer laying around. I (don't tell) spray painted two coats of black semi-gloss and then promptly forgot about them for a couple of weeks.

When I remembered the frames again, the final step was to add some picture hanging "teeth" to the back of each. I debated between making them vertical or horizontal but finally went with horizontal in the end.





I played with the configuration of the six pieces for a few days before I finally settled on a pretty basic staircase. I chose it because it filled the right amount of wall space and it will easily lend itself to adding additional frames in the future.





I was pretty proud of my measuring tactics too. Instead of complicating things I just roughly figured out how far apart I wanted them and then put a piece of painters tape diagonally on the wall that was marked off at 8 inch intervals. That way there was no chance of anything being off center or uneven!

To attach the photos I used putty which any teacher should be able to lend you. Or you could just go to WalMart. It's designed to adhere paper to walls and never dries out - it is definitely handy to have around.

I thought about using spray adhesive or that fancy wall tape and even modge podge but I wanted something that has no chance of harming the photos and that will allow me to switch out photos if I ever want to update.

It's displayed right across from my desk and so far I'm loving the look of it. I like the modern geometric look but I especially dig the pop of color! I probably should have cleaned up my desk for you, but I'm just trying to keep it real here.

What do you think?!

I love it so much.

Making Moves.

So I think I owe y'all a bit of a house tour! We moved into our new house two months ago. In those two months I've dreamed up plans for every ounce of space - I know what walls colors I'd like, I know what light fixtures need to be replaced, I can just see the table and vase that will eventually sit in the front entry way. It's all in my head and sketched out in a notebook just waiting to happen.

We're taking things slowly but I do finally have one room painted. It's not quite complete but the point of progress we reached this weekend has brought it to a functional level, and darn it, it's making me happy to just look at it.

It's the smallest of the bedrooms so we're going to use it as my office. My very own space! I can decorate and clutter and work in it as I chose! I can hardly believe it.

Here's how it looked on inspection with the previous owners belongings. What you can't see here are the amazing vertical blinds and the super cool sheer rosette thing in the half-circle window. It's really something special.





This is what it looked like right after moving day.

Instead of using a real desk I decided to bring in an old kitchen table that has been hanging out in the basement. My uses for an office span from computer work to all sorts of DIY projects so I wanted something big and also something that I'm not scared of getting a little dirty.

I love bright rooms and have grand visions of a giant gallery wall full of all my favorite photos. With that in mind I decided to paint the room a bright white complimented by a charcoal underneath the chair rail. The white makes all that natural light even better and is the perfect canvas for the upcoming gallery wall.

For the table I debated between a few colors but finally settled on my favorite color - dark purple. It brings a fun factor to the room and is a nice pop of color.

Every year at Christmas TC and I spend an afternoon wandering through a few of our favorite auction houses. We just go to check out the cars and bikes but this year we walked in and saw this great Georgia sign made from scrap metal. Expecting it to be way out of our price range I about died when it was most definitely in our budget.





Behind the desk will be the gallery wall. I've got a good collection of prints and photos ready to go but I have a bit more planning to do before I start putting the nails in the wall. Fingers crossed, we should be in business in another week or two.

And, hey! No more vertical blinds or rosettes!

The only other piece in the room right now is my treasured lingerie chest that I inherited from my grandparents. I'm constantly debating whether to paint it or not. It definitely will need some new drawer pulls. Feel free to offer your opinion!

The closet also got a fresh coat of white and, just for practice, I threw in a few stripes as an experiment. I'm so glad I did because I learned a few tricks along the way. The plan is to add some square cubbies underneath the shelf for added storage also.

I'm feeling really good about this progress. Finally a room that isn't brown! Once the gallery wall is up, I'll get a new desk chair and start hunting for a great rug. I'm thinking shag!