Frames All Around

I thought for this week, I'd take you around my house a little, and show you some of the ways our family is using frames these days. With apologies for the CFL quality of the light ... anyone know of a good way to filter that? I'd love to hear it!



Our stairway has these big blank walls, and I wanted someplace to to display my kids' art that wasn't "in-your-face" but also not just confined to their bedrooms. These walls are perfect! If you stay in the main part of our house you don't see them much, but they're there to greet all the members of our family as we walk downstairs from our bedrooms every morning. As you can see, it's not finished yet ... I still have frames in the garage to paint, and plenty of wall space to fill (I'd love to just cover these walls, like a gallery). This little red guy is one of my favorites. My daughter made it when she was probably 3-ish, after reading "Frederick" by Leo Lionni.


This hangs in our living room right now. It's hard to see, but it's one of my favorite things ever. When my mom made my wedding dress, she added some beautiful white-on-white hand embroidery and beading. On the train of the dress, she put this butterfly. But she wasn't satisfied with it, so she took the entire panel of the dress out and did it again. I think it's perfect. I had it framed to remind me of how much my mama loves me, and that most of the time we are the only ones who see our imperfections.


These are our family rules, hand embroidered and framed by one of my dearest friends. I love that we have them right there where we can see them every day, and the way they're presented is so friendly and warm.


In the kids' bathroom. This is the front of an old t-shirt my daughter grew out of years ago. But I loved the little bird, so I bought a thrift store frame, stretched the shirt over the wooden back, and trimmed it. Easy!


And this is in my son's room. My little sister made it after he was born. She took a thick, smooth frame and Mod-Podge'd paper squares all around. Then she added ribbon and a C for his first name, then she replaced the glass with a sheet of metal and added some cute little magnets. It's great for switching out art, or sticking photos and important reminders, like the one above. :)


This is in our hallway, exactly across from the kids' rooms and right next to their bathroom, as a daily reminder. It's another thrift store frame, with the glass removed and the backing painted with chalkboard paint. Again, super easy. I used to have our family calendar written in chalk there, and it hung in our kitchen. So there's another idea.


This is in my daughter's room. Yet again, I removed the glass, covered the backing with cute paper, then used a glue gun to attach ribbons to the backside. You could also put hooks on the bottom for necklaces and headbands, etc.


Also in my daughter's room. These cuties are actually stationery that she received as a birthday gift from one of her best friends. Most of these ones have "I love you Mom" written on the back. Which still makes me smile when I see them, even though I can't see the words anymore. I just thought they were so cute and so her that they should have a special place on her wall.


This one's yet another glass-removal project. Actually, I think on this one the glass broke somehow. In any case, I covered the backing with some of my favorite fabric, then screwed some of my favorite knobs through. This one hangs in my bathroom right next to my mirror.


And this is our "we don't have a bed frame, let alone a headboard" solution. The colors of my bed linens change so often, and right now they're so bright and colorful, that I wanted something simple on the walls. Simple black and white and silver frames, with just black and white family photos all around, suits me just fine.


And finally, this is my plea for advice. This is a piece of embroidery that my mom started years and years ago, and I'm too intimidated to finish. She meant to make it into a piano bench cushion, but I've been thinking of framing it. But! Should I? Or should I do something else with it (maybe a pillow cover? or ... ???) And if I frame it, should I leave it as-is, with all the pencil marks showing (I sort of like it unfinished, it's somehow symbolic to me in a way), or should I try and work up the courage to finish it first?