For years I have been envisioning doing a sea life gallery wall in my home. The biggest roadblock was plunking down money for a slew of frames. Finally I found 10 matching ( silver tone, 2 styles) frames on clearance at Michaels Arts & Crafts. Clearance frames are abundant, matching frames however not so much. So when I found them I snagged them. The total for 10 frames was $72. For me that is a lot because I am a total cheapskate. However I have been thinking about this for years and over this time I learned that matching frames (or at least similar) are hard to come by especially at a good price. So I bit the bullet and plunked down the cash. Here is the final product (minus some décor tweaking on the shelf).
I love the way it came out! I can’t wait to accessorize the shelf with coastal accents.
When doing a gallery wall planning is a MUST. First layout all the frames to your liking. Once you have your layout chosen, use kraft paper (or newspaper) cutouts that are the same as the frames, be sure to add a marking as to where the frame hangers are located. Tape them up on the wall according to your layout, once hung you can hammer your nails in the pre-marked spots on each. Then remove the paper and hang frames accordingly. Many people may think these steps are time consuming or a waste but I assure you this is a HUGE time saver. These steps really take the stress out of hanging frames and no mistake holes to fill. Here is a picture to give you an idea.
via Laurenconrad.com
Once I decided on the prints I wanted I took to my photoshop and cleaned them up a bit. Most of them were antique prints and had sepia toning to them which I did not want. Again I wanted a blue and white look. So I removed the background and left it white. Some of the images had several images on the page and I only wanted one of them so I edited out the ones I did not want and some I tinted blue. Once I edited my photos I printed them out on canvas paper. You can use cardstock but it has a smooth surface and I wanted the texture of the canvas paper, you can even use watercolor paper as it has a nice texture as well. All these papers can be bought at Michaels Arts & Crafts either in the scrapbook section (cardstock) or the art/drawing section (water color paper/ canvas paper). Some are available in pads which you just cut to your printer size , 8.5 x 11 inches which is what I did. Once they were printed I used the glass from the frame to mark where I would cut the images to fit the frames.
Once they were marked I used my paper cutter to cut along the lines. The pencil lines will not show in the frames. You can also use regular scissors if you do not have a paper cutter. Once cut, pop them in the frame and hang. Voila!
Here are the images I used for my gallery wall. They are all set to print (2 images per sheet) on standard 8.5 x 11 sheets. Just click on image to open to full size then right click the image and save to file.
