Stairway makeover...

The kitchen cabinets, make the countertops looks a little stale, the countertops, made the eating area need a little pick me up, made the family room look a little boring, which inspired a face lift for the stairway. The captain craftsman (not at all like crafter) did some great wood working magic, and despite the 20 or 300 foot tall walls above the stairs, we repainted and I went to work on reframing and rehanging some family photos. I got a great deal and when I say great, I mean one of those Kohl's 70% off and then a coupon and some $10.00 vouchers and two sets of black frames were practically free after Christmas.

Then I took a bunch of the old wood frames I have had forever and spray painted them white, velvet border and all. Scanned some family pictures to black and white and ordered them all from Snapfish, which I love because I don't have to leave the house and they deliver right to the mailbox, which for those of you under 30, I realize is probably now just another inalienable constitutional right, but for me, is such a luxury and miraculous that I want to kiss the mailman when I see him put the oversized envelope into the box.

Now I wanted an arrangement, collage on the wall, but I am one of those that has to put the nail in the wall about 3 or 6 different times, to get it in the right place and the spacing responsibility was daunting, yet my pretty frames and pictures were crying out to me to be hung. So...

I made a template out of paper, laid all the frames out, until I had them the way I wanted them.


Took a picture of the collage and then measured and marked on the paper, where the nails should go.

I put the paper up on the wall and nailed the hangers on the marks.

Then I tore the paper off, leaving the hangers in place and then referred back to my digital picture to duplicate the arrangement. Ta da...a little tweeking, moving, quake wax and I love to glance up and see my kid's faces & fingerprints up and down the stairs, . Kinda like the old days...but I miss the fingerprints.