Thursday, May 5, 2011

Kids Gallery wall

This project cost me a big fat ZERO DOLLARS!!! Yep, that’s my favorite kind of project :) And now for the details….

I needed a place to showcase the girls art work besides the fridge. They bring home so many things each day I felt bad having to remove some of the ones they were most proud of so quickly. Plus my fridge is OVER FLOWING with all of it! So I decided to make a gallery wall for them in the stair way to the basement. Its still a bit of a work in progress but I wanted to share it with you anyway : )

The first thing I did was to ad a fake chair rail stripe with paint. It helped give the stairway a more homey felling & finished look. I’ll post about that next week  : D

For the frames…..
I kept this “frames” simple & playful. It made the project go so much faster as well. All you need is a 8 x 10 frame, level, pencil, and white paint.

First hold the frame on the wall where you’d like the frame to be. Use your level to make sure it’s straight. Now with the pencil trace around the entire frame, inside & out. I made my frames portrait size and landscape so I could place either kind of art in it.


Once you’ve finished tracing the amount of frames you want on the wall, your ready to paint. Using a small foam brush & white paint, I slowly brushed it on between the lines. 
As I got close to the pencil marks I began to go over them slightly with the paint. This gave the frames more depth. The pencil actually shaded the paint color as well in spots.

Once dry, I started to hang up the girls art work. This is the most fun part of the project. They had a blast deciding what the wanted to show case!
Using some sticky wall tacky to hang it up .....heres whats up so far....




I have only completed the 2 side walls so far & I'm working on the lower walls later this week. There should definitely be enough space for all their favorites!!

Beyond The Picket Fence
Elements Interiors



19 comments:

Paula said...

Another great idea and they look so good. Now they'll bring even more art work home :-)

SarahBeth said...

What a great idea! Love the rail too! Your kids must be so excited and proud! I scrolled down, the lamp shade out of book pages is adorable! Then I hit on the heart meme....and was hooked! Now I'll be on the lookout for hearts!

Thanks for following my blog, and for directing me here -- now I'm following you!!

Poppy @ With a Dash of Color said...

Wow, this is a wonderful way to showcase your childrens' artwork and enjoy them! kids will have fun too picking which ones they wanna display. A really neat idea!You did a beautiful job... they look like real white picture frames! and looks so colorful too.Thanks for stopping by and following me and for your sweet comment.~Poppy

http://withadashofcolor.blogspot.com/

Allison said...

Wow... now that is creative! Where do you get these ideas? I like the railing going up the stairs. :) Sweet.

Grumpy Grateful Mom said...

Such a great idea!!! I used cork boards, but your idea is much cuter. I'll bet your girls love it.

Dawn said...

SO AWESOME!!! Love this idea. Now...wonder if the husband will let me do THIS for Craft Day?.....;)

SPARROW said...

You're such a great mom for making a wall for them. I bet they love it.
Laurie

Inger-M said...

Very clever and very pretty!

Naturally Me Creations said...

This is an interesting idea. :) What a nice way to add a really unique & personalized touch to your home!

Tnx for linking this up at Who Made What? Weekends!

Kath said...

love it! I did a frame wall not too long ago where I painted the frames. it was fun but yours is much cuter! I love the simple white frames. they look nice.

I'm a new follower!
kathryn
@ thedragonsfairytail.blogspot.com

d e l i g h t said...

That is a great idea and great way to use the space going up the stair way!
Very very clever!

At The Picket Fence said...

What an absolutely darling idea! So clever! I might just have to try this in our playroom. Thank you so much for linking this up to Inspiration Friday this week!
Vanessa

Rebecca said...

I love this and wish I had stairs and could paint my walls. I love that you painted a banister too. :)

OurWanderingAdventures said...

Love this fantastic idea!!!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for linking up on Fun for Kids Friday. My sister called me when she saw your gallery wall b/c she loved it so much! I featured it here:
http://www.localfunforkids.com/home/2011/5/11/fun-for-kids-finds-ice-cube-game-kids-gallery-wall-diy-lego.html

Melanie said...

Love it!!!

I would love for you to come link up your post at my "Encouragement is Contagious!" linky party! And... please link up some of your other favorites from blogs you love! Then, those bloggers will also get lots of unexpected, encouraging comments!

Blessings!
Melanie

annies home said...

great look love the display

Heidi said...

I love how you made the faux frames with paint, why didn't I think of that? I am pretty sure I will do this when my kid starts playing with crayons and drawing. Thanks for the inspiration!

Jenna, SAS Interiors said...

Thanks so much for linking this awesome project to Saturday Spotlight @ www.sasinteriors.net
What a great way to display your kids masterpieces! I love this project - I'm going to share it on FB as well!

~Jenna, SAS Interiors