Blank Canvas - Now A House Full Of Pictures

Every year when I take down my Christmas decorations I get the urge to change things around a little bit.  My house looks so empty when everything is put away and as much as I love the clean/organized feel I also see it as a blank canvas to do some new decorating. 

This year my spot of choice was a wall that had some baby pictures of Alyse on it.  I had never gotten around to putting any of Breeley on that wall so I decided to just make over the whole thing.  I love a gallery wall, so I went to work picking pictures, getting them printed, and framing them.  This week I got Josh to help me hang them all up.  He wasn't sure about all those holes in the wall, but I love the final look.

Since I was working on pictures, I thought that I would also try to create some canvas prints of the pictures my friend Angela took for us before Christmas.  After I looked up prices of canvas prints, I decided that I would try to make some myself.

I used this tutorial that I found on Pinterest.

It was very easy and much cheaper than the canvases you can order.

(I got packs that had 2 canvas - 11x14, for $7.99.  I ordered the pictures off of Snapfish.  I think they were $6.99 each.)

*Note - some how I forgot the scrapbook paper on the edges.  I tried to add them after the pictures were dry, but they looked odd to me.  Very "gappy".  I took the paper back off.  I think I am going to just paint the whole sides black.  (See the tutorial for this to make sense...)

After the canvases were in place I decided to do a full mantle make over. 

This has some Valentine's touches to it too, but I got the lanterns at Hobby Lobby. (I paid a little more than planned for, but I couldn't help it.  They are so pretty!) 

I made the monogrammed picture.

(Frame, material, ribbon, and vinyl cut on my Silhouette.)

That was a super easy project and I really LOVE it.

I also put some canvas prints on a table in my bedroom.

Here is a closer look at them.

Now, onto another project I have planned.....