Monday, February 25, 2013

Family Room ReDo Completed

Well, we finally got everything hung up on the wall in our family room and I love how it all turned out.  Eclectic for sure, but it all seems to work.

Here is a look at the whole wall.  I have one little spot on the upper right side that has room for something else, so I'm on the look out for something to go there.  Six of the 10 items I actually made/crafted myself (with assistance from the hubs) so I'm pretty happy about that. 


Here is a look at the left side closer. 

The chalkboard sign you've already seen, the P was purchased at the craft store, its one of the cardboard letters that they have in different sizes.  I painted it with a base coat of this spray paint with a few layers of this one sprayed randomly on top.  The photo of Simone above it was one I took with my iphone and edited with a few different apps, it's a favorite for sure.  The shadow box was purchased at Home Goods and I filled it with a few souvenirs and do-dads from around the house.  Simone added one too, can you guess which one?  I also left some space so I could set something on top of the shadow box at a later date.


In the center of the wall is our most recent family photo.  I purchased a groupon at the end of last year for two photo canvas' and this was one that I did and I just love the way it turned out.  Above it is another version of the embroidery I did recently in my Project Life album, seen here.  It's done right on a 10x10 canvas that I stained with some random stain we had laying around.  I framed out the top of the canvas with some balsa wood I purchased at the craft store.  It was painted with the same paint I used above on the P for the second coat and I just hot glued it to the top of the frame.


One of the things I wanted to do with this wall was have a place to put some photos and change it out here and there.  I've seen several different types of photo hangers out there but wanted to make one myself.  I purchased this frame at Ikea and we painted the backing piece with the same spray paint I used on the P for the first coat.  My husband drilled a few holes into the interior molding and ran three lengths of copper wire for me.  We reassembled the frame backwards so the glass would be on the back instead of the front so I could have access to change out the pictures.  Super easy project that can easily be done in one day.

Here are some photos of the process;

this is the interior piece that he drilled the holes in for the wire.




Here is a look at the wall from the right hand side.  I purchased the silver gilded tray at Home Goods as well.  I plan to add flowers to it instead of a candle.  The chalkboard tray below you've seen already and the map below it was a last minute edition that I made Saturday evening.


I really wanted to add some sort of map element to the wall and couldn't find anything that wasn't really large.  I had initially laid this out in Photoshop to fit a 12 x 8 frame I had on hand, but in the end I wanted a more hand made look so I decided to try to cut the map out with my Cameo.  There is a map image in the Silhouette store but the states all fit snug together and I wanted just the state outlines.  I ended up having to make this myself and it took quite a few hours to get it right and quite a few starts and stops because things weren't working for me.  After a few not so good attempts I finally got it to cut and lift off the mat in one piece and I was so happy with how it turned out. 
 
I cut it out of textured white cardstock, and picked another piece of gray cardstock as the background.  I didn't want the whole thing stuck tightly to the backing paper so I only put a bit of adhesive randomly, mainly in the areas that had larger sections so it would stick.  One trick I've come up with for adding adhesive to really tiny areas is to lay a piece of waxed paper down and roll my dot roller over my items while they're on top of the waxed paper.  The extra adhesive sticks to the waxed paper but still allows me to lift it off.  I covered three Studio Calico veneer hearts with three coats of Red Glitter Zing embossing powder and placed them on the map to represent where our family lives and ourselves too.  I printed the quote on a piece of vellum and cut the banner shape myself.  Even with the veneer hearts I was able to reassemble the frame with the glass and it closed up just fine.
 

Here are some close ups.




I do believe this is now my most favorite item I've ever made and I'm beyond thrilled with how it turned out.

I had a lot of positive responses on Instagram the other night when I posted it and several asked for the file.  So if you want it, I'm happy to share.  You can download it here.

I did add both Hawaii and Alaska to the file but will say I have not cut these myself and seeing as so many bits of these states are tiny I cannot vouch for it working for you.  However the mainland states will cut but I would advise slowing down your cutting speed, not using super thick paper and taking your time lifting it off your mat.  I did a fair amount of clean up with an exacto knife after I got mine off the mat.

Thanks so much for looking and I hope you love the file.

49 comments:

  1. AMAZING! I adore it all! Thanks for the cut file, I cannot wait to try it out.
    You rock!

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  2. Looks amazing! Thanks for sharing the file ;)

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  3. Your project is absolutely gorgeous! Thank you so much for sharing the cut file! :) Love your frame with the hanging instagrams, too! You and the hubs are a clever pair. :)

    g

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  4. This is SO amazing, Barb! LOVE it!

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  5. Love the wall, and the file is amazing, thanks for sharing!

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  6. Thanks for sharing, it is fabulous!!

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  7. Such cute projects. Love them. Thanks for sharing!

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  8. you are totally AMAZEballs once again!!! :D

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  9. Thank you so much for the cut file. I LOVE it!!!

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  10. Thank you for the cut file. This is totally awesome!

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  11. Love the wall! It came out great! I will be using it as inspiration when we finally get around to our family room wall. LOVE LOVE LOVE the map!! Thank you SO SO much for the file! You are amazing!

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  12. This is awesome! Thank you so much for taking the time to share it!

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  13. Thanks a lot!!!
    I'm gonna try it soon and would love to learn how you did it...

    Aline (from France)

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  14. I love how this turned out!! Simply gorgeous! Thank you so much for sharing the cut file!

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  15. Amazing! Thank you so much for sharing! Love your family room wall! :)

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  16. This is sooo cool! Thanks so very much for generously sharing it with us. Can't wait to cut it!

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  17. Great Thank You!!!

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  18. I tried to download this file and nothing comes up. Do you think you could email it to me to tell me where you got it. I LOVE this idea.

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    1. There is a link at the end of the post that says click here, it will open in another window to box.com. I created the file myself so this is the only place to find it.

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  19. Thank you SO much! Pinterest sent me your way... :)

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  20. So kind of you to share your hard work with the rest of us! Thank you.

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  21. Pinterest sent me here, the US outline. This is the coolest thing ever, EXCEPT that you are even cooler for sharing the file of all your hard work. It does not go unnoticed! Thank you so much PicnicBasket, much appreciated.

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    1. You are so sweet Laurie, thank you so much! I really hope you enjoy it.

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  22. Thank you for this file - I have been searching for something to use for my boys to track where their daddy has flown off to for work!

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  23. Thanks for the file!! Hope I find a cute way to use it!

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  24. thanks so much for this fun file, can't wait to use it...

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  25. Thanks so much for sharing all your hard work with us! Did you use the weld feature to make it print one solid figure?

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    1. You are so welcome. My original design was just the lines so no I did not need to use the weld tool to make this shape.

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  26. Thank you for sharing the file and project. I tried printing it on cardstock, but the lines were so thin it just all ripped up. any ideas on how i can increase the state boarders a bit, so they don't tear apart?

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    1. You are welcome. I have cut this several times on both American Crafts and Bazzil cardstock with no problem. You definately need to go slow when removing it from the mat and if your mat is super sticky and new it might make the removal even harder. Making the lines thicker would not work for the smaller states.

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    2. Thanks I will give it a try with Bazzil cardstock. Hopefully i can figure out how to get smooth cuts as well. Have not mastered that yet. My cuts are all rough. with jagged edges. (beginner silhouette person here).

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    3. it worked perfectly with a new blade and Bazzil cardstock. You by chance don't have one of these for Europe do you?

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  27. Like your map. I want to do something with travel markers. Trying to visit all states.

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  28. Thank you for sharing your design!! I have tried to download it and it says "Page not available". Is there anyplace else I can download it/buy it from? Thanks!

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    1. Thank you. I haven't removed the file and just clicked the download link and didn't get an error. It took me right to the download page. Maybe try from a different browser than you are using. Hope that helps.

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  29. The wall grouping looks great and I love the US map. I have a frame with string for clothespins but no backing. I am def going to put a backing on it now. It looks so much more polished. Thank you for sharing your file of the map.

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  30. Thank you so much for sharing your file!! I have two sons in the military so I'm making these now for Christmas gifts. I'm having trouble finding the 12x8 frames. I checked Hobby Lobby and Michael's online. Could you share where you bought yours. Thanks again!! Merry Christmas!

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    1. My brother is in the military which is the reason I made this in the first place so I sure hope they love it. My frame is from Michaels. Here is a link, its the last size listed. They have always had them in store so I hope you will be able to find one. Merry Christmas to you as well.

      http://www.michaels.com/M10409409.html?dwvar_M10409409_color=Black

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    2. Thank you Barbara for the frame info. I think my map will end up looking a lot like yours!! I'm in Central CA and one of my sons is also in Norfolk VA and the other up in Oak Harbor WA. Thanks again!!

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  31. I LOVE your map project and it is exactly what I'm looking for. I downloaded it but am having trouble opening it. What program should I be using?

    Thank you so much for sharing!

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  32. Just discovered this via Pinterest. I am going to use it on my US wall where we have all the pictures and memories of our travels in your beautiful country - thank you so much for sharing

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