This week I’ve been working on a little DIY for my daughter’s new room. I know I haven’t revealed this room yet but I promise it’s coming soon. This project started with a gift she got for Christmas, a Fuji Instax 8 Mini Instant Camera.
This little camera takes super cute 2″x 3.5″ instant photos (my daughter promptly took forty.)
Forty plus photos…How do we display all these little guys?Well, I had an old 18″x 24″ frame in the garage so I came up with a plan to make a clothesline display for them all.
At the start the frame was red so it needed little work. I’m using a lot of gold accents in the new room and since gold leaf works perfectly over red I thought it would be a great update for this frame.
This is not a full gold leafing tutorial but I will give you an idea of how it’s done.
Using a leafing adhesive, paint the object you want to leaf. Let the adhesive dry until all the milky whiteness is gone and it is tacky to the touch. (I used the gold leaf and adhesive found at most hobby stores)
Then apply the leaf by setting it down at one edge then tapping it down with a soft brush from one edge to the other, being sure to work it into any contours. If you want a smooth finish keep it as flat as possible, if you want a more vintage look let it crinkle as you apply it.
If you get cracks or gaps in the leaf you don’t like you can come back over it with another piece of leaf using the same method. Once the adhesive is completely covered sweep the excess leaf off with the brush and smooth down any lumpy areas with a burnishing tool or your finger.
If you’d like you can apply a protective coat of clear sealer, but I left mine raw.
For the back side of the frame I used a quick coat of gold spray paint so no red would show.
Next I added the clotheslines. For this, I bought a striped twine and mini clothespins in an assortment of colors.
I spaced the fist piece of twine about 2″ from the top of the frame opening and then applied each additional piece about 5″ apart.
I used a staple gun to attach the twine. You’ll notice I used a zigzag pattern so the twine would not pull out.
I decided not to apply my twine rows completely even but at alternating angle to make it a bit more fun.
Next step, hang your pictures using the clothes pins. You can also add stickers, tags, or other objects to add more interest.
This arrangement holds forty or so photos but I’m sure with my daughter’s love of taking pictures with her new camera we will have to make this is a rotating gallery.
Very cute! Love the garland too. Where can I find that?
Thanks Beth! I got my garland on a trip to Paris when we lived in Germany which sounds fancy but the garlands are actually pretty common. Google “felted wool ball garland” and you’ll find a tons on Etsy, Amazon, and even kits to make them yourself. I think I paid about $15 per 6′ strand for mine which is a pretty average price for them. One thing I would notice when your looking is the spacing between the balls, some of them are more widely spaced which I don’t think looks as nice as the ones that are pretty close. Mine are less than an inch apart. Good luck!
Great idea, love it Maggie!
Did your girls get an Instax too? I would also work great for cards or larger photos just adjust the spacing.
This is totally darling! I have never tried gold leaf, but it looks pretty doable here, even for a person like myself. Craft-challenged, lol. I think I need to try it! I’m not a huge fan of gold spray paint sometimes, so this seems like good alternative for a picture frame and possibly other stuff. I have to say, after seeing this I kind of want an Instax for myself, but I’m going to be an adult and realize I don’t need a DSLR, an iphone AND an Instax to take pictures of my dogs. 🙂
Give the gold leaf a try, it’s one of those things that you really can’t do wrong. This go round (on accident) I found they have a new kind of leaf (in the link) called “Ready Leaf” that is lightly attached to the backing paper so it doesn’t go flying off when your handling it. I was frustrated by it at first because it wasn’t what I was used to, but I have to admit it made the leaf lay much flatter. (The piece shown in the photo is the regular leaf/ kind of rumpled.)
As for the Instax it is totally impracticable but a whole lot of fun. We used it New Years Eve to take photos with props (one is in the photo above) and everyone got to take theirs home with them as a party favor. The kids loved it!