"Creative" Gallery Wall

So since moving to this side of the world, I've gotten a little more "daring" with my decorating. 

Not because I suddenly got the urge to, but because for some reason my husband doesn't seem to really care what our house looks like on this side of the world... and he does in America- we have a giant Tuscan painting over our couch if that says anything.  

When we moved into our apartment here there was a giant chalkboard over our couch, which isn't really us.... (don't worry friends who used to live here, we gave it to the guys)

SO I had a giant wall to tackle. 

So far a while, there were a lot of ideas in my head... then fabric and picture frames started accumulating in the floor and everyone started to wonder what I was up to and when they started asking what my plan was I just said "Something creative." SO the guys started asking "When is 'creative' going to happen?" 

Therefore, this is our "Creative" Gallery Wall

I used different prints and fabrics in different sized frames I bought at Ikea. 

.....and made a big mess in the process. 

For some of the frames, I picked my favorite fabrics that I've bought at the fabric market here and framed them. 

Since I'm on this obsessive bird kick, I had to incorporate a few. 

I got this idea from Becca over at The Jordan Jive. Her's is much cuter than mine. 

I found this scrap of black corduroy at the fabric market for free. 

I free handed a bird standing on a little branch and cut it out. 

I mounted it on this retro yellow fabric polyester. 

Then, I had 2 shadow box frames and decided to coordinate the fabric in them with this brown corduroy and purple polyester.  

For the large picture in the middle I wanted to use a quote of some sort. I decided to go with a line from the hymn, "It Is Well With My Soul" that I love:

"Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say, It is well, It is well with my soul." 

I originally thought about printing out the words, tracing them onto card stock, cutting them out and then mounting them and then realized how pain-staking that would be. 

Around that time, a friend over here tipped me off to one of the many little perks of living in EA. She took a PDF of a giant tree to put on her son's bedroom wall to the print shop down the street, and they printed it on vinyl for her for a wholewholewhole lot less than it would ever cost in America. So I did the same and for a few dollars, got the lyrics and the silhouette of a bird printed. Definitely the next best thing to having your own Silhouette! 

I stuck it to this blue and green stripped linen and framed it in this clip frame. 

I also used 2 tree prints I found. 

Then I laid everything out on the floor to plan how I was going to hang them. 

And several Command Hangers (our walls our concrete and "nailing" into them is quite a process that is rather destructive) later,  Voila! 

It actually is symmetrical and doesn't lean a little to the right- Our living room just isn't big enough to stand far enough away to take a picture straight on. 

I have since switched the little bird frame and the small blue frame. I did not intentionally make 2 of the exact same birds and it helps a little that they aren't at eye level now. 

I thoroughly enjoy "Creative" {as Adam calls it} every time I look at it. I'm also pretty proud to have created my own little make-shift gallery wall with such limited "creative" supplies over here. I would also like to continue to add to it as I go along. We'll see! 

Joyfully "Galleried,"

I'm linking up over at:
Under the Table and Dreaming
Craft-O-Maniac
Me Making Do
C.R.A.F.T
Get Your Craft On
Not JUST a Housewife
Blue Cricket Design
A Little Knick Knack
The Shabby Nest
WhipperBerry
Tatertots and Jello

Etsy Finds: Birds

In the last year I have developed an obsession with birds- not live ones.... I actually REALLY don't like those- way too unpredictable, the beaks, the talons, the pooping on you whilst flying overhead... not a fan. However, I lovelovelove them decoratively on anything... Jewelry, home decor, art, you name it. There's such cute stuff out there. Of course Etsy is FULL of fun bird things of all kinds.

Here are some fun things I've found:

There's tons of really fun jewelry....

I REALLY like these earrings......and if they weren't $35, I'd buy them in an instant.

Bird Hoops

These are fun too..... and reasonably priced.

Turquoise Birds Earrings

and lots of fun necklaces like these......

Bird Locket

Gold Pendant

Flock of Birds Necklace

I think that cute little simple birds- like just the silhouette with a wing, beak & an eye - are super fun on stuff for little girls.

This would be really easy to make on a shirt or a little canvas tote bag.

Birdie TShirt

These are cute little hair clips that would also be really easy to make.

Bird Hair Clips

....as would these. Jamie & I used to make magnets like this with stuff out of magazines all the time. These are really cute and very simple.

Simple Bobby Pins

This would be cute in a little girl's room......

Yellow Bird Painting

The possibilities for home decor with birds are endless.... But here are some simple things I found that I love.....

This is really creative. I never use sachets since they typically smell and look pretty funny, but this one is pretty cute.

Little House Sachets

I'm not a huge fan of the font on this hand towel, but I LOVE the applique. It would be really cute on a t-shirt or onesie for a little girl.

Personalized Hand Towel

This is really pretty and simple. It would be cute filled with black sunflower bird seeds with a few little candles in it for a centerpiece on a patio table.

Ceramic Bird Dish

Here's a fun, simple tote bag.

Simple Shopping Bag

That only scratches the surface of fun things I've found...... There's lots and lots of fun bird stuff to be found on Etsy! I'll let you know if I give in a make any fun purchases.

Joyfully Chirping,