Tree Branch Photo Hanger

Mark and I have been married, living in the same apartment, and talking about getting photos up on the walls for nearly three years. And I've been wanting to paint, hang art, decorate for our space for as long as we've lived there. 

I don't know what took me so long to do it. Maybe it's the fact that putting up picture frames costs quite a bit - if you're like me and want everything beautifully matching and all up at once. Maybe it's never knowing how much longer we will be there, and worrying that painting will have been a waste of money if we move out two months later. Maybe it's the fact that I don't want yet another thing to fix and return to it's original state when we move out. Whatever the answer, I can tell you that a house (or apartment, in this case) feels so much more like home when you have photos of your family on the wall.

This Tree Branch Photo Hanger is the perfect solution for renters like Mark and I. You can display a plethora of photos with only putting a single nail hole in the wall, and you can change the photos out as often as you like. And when people tell you how cool it is, you can have the satisfaction of telling them that you made it yourself.

MATERIALS

hemp twine

3-4 foot long branch (choose one that is relatively straight)

small silver binder clips (not mini!)

super glue

hammer + nail

square cropped photos (printed on card stock, with a white border)

STEP ONE

Cut a length of hemp twine long enough to hang the branch on the wall. Tie either end around the branch twice, make sure it is secure, and trim off any excess.

STEP TWO 

Figure out where you want the photo hanger to hang from, and how high. Tap a nail into the wall at a slant, and hang the branch on the wall.

STEP THREE

Measure out how long you want the center photo strand to hang. Cut another length of hemp twine (slightly longer than what you measured, and tie the end around a binder clip (I used a lark's head knot to keep the lines clean). Dab a bit of super glue on the knot to keep it secure. 

Gently clip a photo on the binder clip. Position and tie the top of the hemp strand over the branch so that the photo hangs straight. 

Repeat STEP THREE at varying heights until the branch is full (I created eleven photo strands).

Dab a dot of super glue on the top of each photo strand, where it loops around the branch.

STEP FOUR

Position and place the remaining binder clips and photos, along the photo strands at varying heights. Rearrange as desired until you like the placement. 

STEP FIVE

Lay back and relax, while you enjoy your aesthetically pleasing new Tree Branch Photo Hanger.

Book Review // A Beautiful Mess Happy Handmade Home

Filled with lots of cute ideas for DIYs, decorating, and hosting, A Beautiful Mess Happy Handmade Home is a beautifully photographed, cheery and bright book. Although there are a few ideas I will take pointers from, most of the book is not for me as my interior style is more minimal rustic modern than cute bright kitschy.

I definitely enjoyed reading the book and looking through the photos. It is well written and easy to read. I do however wish that there were more step-by-step instructions for projects. 

For example, I really loved the look of the box garden + path project, but there were no instructions on how to make it! I guess it's a pretty self explanatory project (especially for book authors used to building things, simple and not so simple), but I definitely don't know my way around power tools and gardening as well as the authors and would have loved more than a simple paragraph about how cute and easy to maintain container gardens are. Some pointers on how deep they should be, should they be lined, what kind of soil to use, etc, would have been greatly welcomed.

If you are looking for a complete instruction manual for DIY projects (like I was), I cannot recommend this book. However if you are simply interested in being inspired, and having a launching pad for ideas of you own, I say go for it.

Ombre Stump Side Table

Hey there good looking! I made this knockoff of a 300 plus dollar side table from cb2 for under 30, and I'm pretty happy with it. Especially since 30 dollars got me a whole stump, and not a quarter of a stump.

As long as you don't mind a little elbow grease, spending some time sanding, and potentially inhaling a little sawdust, this DIY is super easy and pretty much impossible to mess up.

Materials

stump

electric sander

matte black paint

2 paint brushes

coarse sand paper

Step One

Find a stump, and gather your materials! Preferably a stump that is not infested with wood beetles (this means don't pick one with holes in it). I learned the hard way...

Step Two 

Using an electric sander, sand the stump until smooth. Wipe down the stump with a damp cloth, and allow to dry. Choose what end of the stump you want to be the top of the table, and then flip that side down.

Step Three

Using the first paint brush, paint the bottom of the stump (the side facing up towards you). Then using irregular strokes, paint the stump about halfway. Make sure that the edge of the paint is uneven.

Working quickly, take the dry second brush and brush downwards through the wet paint onto the unpainted portion of the stump to create the ombre effect.

Allow the stump to dry completely overnight.

Step Four

Flip the stump right side up and enjoy your new side table!