Once upon a time my husband and I decided to buy “real art” for above our fireplace.  It was a great idea until we grew tired of it, because then we felt obligated to keep it because we knew how much it cost.  It stayed up there much longer than I would have liked.  Since then, I have only bought my “art” at thrifty spots (like Minted, World Market, or Target), or made my own, because I don’t feel guilty swapping the pieces out when I need a refresh.

After repainting the foyer and stairwell, it was time for some new art at the top of the landing.  I turned to my favorite trick of using wrapping paper for art and made the Easiest DIY Wall Art Hanger ever, and now I have two adorable new art prints on my staircase landing!  You won’t believe how simple this project is.  I have a feeling you’ll want to update your “art” with some wrapping paper and a DIY wall art hanger, too!  

Supplies Needed for a DIY Art Hanger

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• Thin piece of wood trim (I purchased this kind to make two wall art hangers)
• Wood stain (and applicator) or my favorite stain cloths
• Saw and miter box
• Pencil
• Tape measure
• Double-sided permanent mounting tape
• Hot glue gun and hot glue
• Twine or ribbon
• Wrapping paper or poster (I used this sheet of wrapping paper and this sheet)

How to Make a DIY Art Hanger

Begin by measuring the width of the poster you’re hanging, and then add approximately two inches to that measurement.  Mark your trim piece and cut it with the wood saw in the miter box.  

Then, stain or paint the trim pieces however you like.  I used my favorite wood stain cloths for this project because they have no odor (so I can use them indoors), and the stain dries really quickly!  I love how using a light coat of stain on the trim left the leaf pattern unstained.  The contrast is awesome!  

Once the stain dries, flip the trim pieces over and measure about two inches in from each end of the trim.  Mark that off with a pencil.  

Cut a piece of twine to serve as the hanger (so, cut it to whatever length you want).  Place a line of hot glue on the pencil marks you’ve just drawn, and press one end of the twine into each line of hot glue.  

Once the hot glue is dry, press permanent double-sided mounting tape along the backside of the trim piece.  If you can avoid it, do not run the tape from edge to edge (like I did) – leave a little bit at each end untaped since your poster or artwork is not that large.  

Once the tape is in place, remove the top protective layer and press the trim piece into place on top of the art.  

Do the same for the bottom piece.  

Make sure the trim pieces are secure on the art and then you’re ready to hang and enjoy!  

This easy DIY Wall Art Hanger makes it so easy (and affordable) to add new art to your home!  

I’m already so happy with how this little spot in my home is shaping up, but I am SO EXCITED because I have even more big plans in the works for this area and I can’t wait to show them to you in the next few weeks!  

Stay tuned!  And until then, think about where you could use a DIY Wall Art Hanger in your home!

-Bre

Last week was spring break for my kids and we had a lot of fun with little adventures and taking it easy at home!  Being on more of a relaxed schedule gave me some extra time to get little projects done around the house, like repainting the mirror that hangs in my foyer.  Here’s what it looked like, pre-paint job.

I purchased that mirror right before my daughter (first child) was born – thinking that once she arrived I would never again have time to go to a store in my life.  So I rushed into the purchase and bought the first thing I found to fill the wall.  Needless to say, the faux silver finish wasn’t really doing it for me anymore (ever, really!), and with our foyer freshly repainted and new brass ceiling light on the way, I needed to give the mirror some pep!

The problem was that I couldn’t get the mirror out of the mirror frame!  I tried really hard but it just would not budge.  Whoever made it did a great job with the glue.  Having spent a lot of time trying to get the mirror out, I was invested at this point and ready to paint!  So I figured out a SUPER EASY way to paint a mirror frame without removing the mirror, and I didn’t even damage the mirror in the process!

You won’t believe this trick.  I rubbed Aquaphor all along the edges where the mirror met the mirror frame.

The reason I used Aquaphor is because it’s what I had on hand.  You could absolutely use Vaseline or petroleum jelly, which is cheaper than Aquaphor!  (Funny note about Aquaphor: I became addicted to it in college when I went on Accutane for my major acne problem.  It saved my lips and my skin from burning to a crisp!  Now I always have it at home, and I use it for everything!)  

See that nice line of Aquaphor all around the mirror?  It saved me during this mirror painting project!

Now that you know the trick of how to paint a mirror frame without removing the mirror, let me show you how I repainted my mirror and another fun way I used Aquaphor in this project!  I started by painting the mirror with a red chalk paint.  Notice that I got some paint on the mirror, but on the parts where the Aquaphor covered the glass.

After that paint dried, I used Aquaphor to help create a distressed finish on the mirror frame.  Watch this video to see just how easy it is to distress painted furniture with Aquaphor or Vaseline!

Although the section I distressed in the video isn’t very dramatic, you can definitely use Aquaphor or Vaseline to make the distressed areas more prominent, like on other parts of this mirror.

After all the paint dried, I used a flat head screwdriver to gently remove any paint that made its way onto the mirror.  It came up instantly because of the Aquaphor!  I just wiped it up with a paper towel and then used glass cleaner to remove any residue.

It was so easy to remove the metallic finish on this mirror and give it a new look.  But hey, guess what?  I’m not sure I like the new look so I may repaint again!    

Even though I’m undecided on the actual paint job, I can’t believe how easy it is to paint a mirror frame without removing the mirror!  So, I’m not all that worried about repainting it if I still don’t love it after a month or so.

What do you think?  Do you like the two-tone distressed finish, or do you think it would look better as a solid color?  

Let me know what you think in the comments below!

-Bre

Dear HGTV:

I realize that what I’m about to say is putting my chance* of becoming your next home décor and DIY tv superstar at risk.   (*A .0001% chance that has now been decreased to .00000000000000001%.) But I’m breaking up with you. And it’s not me, it’s you.  

The time has come for me to lay it all out there. You see (though you might not know it), our love affair began years ago when I, on maternity leave, found myself spending hours on the couch nursing and rocking my newborn baby girl. In my half-alive state at that time, you took me off of that couch (in my spit-up covered shirt, messy ponytail hair, and makeup-less face), and put me in the middle of a world that was colorful, engaging, and exciting.

You put on your finest clothes and wooed me with shows like Curb Appeal, Selling New York, Bang for Your Buck, Design on a Dime, and Sarah’s House. Your hosts’ sparkling personalities and shows’ interesting topics made my long days and nights so much more bearable. The way John Gidding could turn the ugliest front yards into works of art on Curb Appeal was captivating! Suddenly I wanted to re-do my yard, too! And don’t even get me started with the adorable Sarah Richardson and her innate ability to mix pattern and color on Sarah’s House. (Plus, her sidekick, Tommy Smythe, was so cute I could pinch his cheeks.) Those two inspired me to start decorating my new/old home with quirky accents and things I loved.

In those days, you and your shows worked hard to fill me with hope and a desire to make the spaces around me more beautiful, but in an affordable and realistic way. Your programming was diverse and unique, and I was a self-proclaimed HGTV junkie.   I’m sure you even had something to do with me starting this little blog.

But time has a way of changing things, and our relationship has soured. HGTV, you’ve let yourself go. You have lost yourself (or, at the very least, the “G” in HGTV – do you even have a show about gardens or landscaping anymore?). With yesterday’s announcement that you’ve added yet another house flipping show to your lineup (Windy City Flip, with the painfully bland host, Alison Victoria (does she not have a last name?)), I realized you have cheated on me and your other loyal viewers with the devil of cheap and formulaic programming.

By my count, you now have at least NINE house flipping shows that all follow the exact same formula: man and woman buy godforsaken home, gut it, find x amount of “awful problems,” install some cheap finishes, and then sell it two weeks later.  Do you really have that many viewers who are out flipping houses?  I don’t think so!

And don’t get me started on the FOURTEEN versions of House Hunters.  At least with those you’ve tried to fool me into thinking you’re still interesting by giving some of them different names (like Beachfront Bargain Hunt, Caribbean Life, Island Hunters, Mexico Life, and Lakefront Bargain Hunt), and forsaking the trademark doorbell ringing sound in the opening credits.

Now that Chip & JoJo have jumped ship, you have nothing left to offer me. HGTV you are boring and unimaginative, and this is the end. It was good while it lasted, but now you can pack your boxes and exit stage left.  Me – I’ll be fine sitting here on my couch with my messy ponytail and makeup-less face (the babies are grown so no spit-up anymore), watching another network.

-Bre

P.S. to any readers who feel the same way, please share this post on Facebook or Pin it!  Maybe HGTV will see it and get it together!  🙂