Wedding photo wall - how to create

I wanted to do something special with the photos from our wedding day. It seems crazy to spend so much on the photographer and then have a couple of the mantelpiece and the rest hidden away in an album. So I took inspiration from American photographer and mummy blogger Mandy Chiappini who I follow at A Sorta Fairytale and also on Pinterest and decided to create a photo wall.

I had the idea last August, just after we'd booked the venue and wedding planning was seriously setting in, so for all the major gift-giving opportunities between then and our February wedding (our first date anniversary, my birthday, Christmas as Valentine's Day), Tom and I gave each other white frames. There was no criteria other then the fact that they had to be white. We also bought three frames with the John Lewis wedding gift vouchers my work gave me and made the rest up with a mix from Paperchase, Ikea, M&S, Sainsburys (surprisingly good quality for the price), Hobbycraft and Homebase.

Our photographer edited some of the photos so we have a mix of beautiful black and white images alongside full colour, showing the amazing blue sky and green rolling hills on the day. The hard job was deciding on which photos to use, but together we cut it down to the final 16 to fit the frames. To add a little variety I also used one of our wedding cards (perfect match - I had to trim the card to fit the frame, so bought a duplicate) and a couple of the trinket baubles we were given on the day - a horseshoe and a ceramic and wooden heart, both with wedding messages on them.

How I did it - a step by step guide

1 - Buy frames and select the photos to go in them - I wrote a description of each photo on a post-it and my husband and I shuffled them around the frames until we were both happy with which one went where.

2 - Print your photos the correct size for each frame. I used Boots Photo because I earned Clubcard points and they had emailed me a discount offer the week I was about to order.

Source - Pinterest

3 - Add the photos to the frames and work out the shape you want on the floor. I saw lots of helpful guides like this one on Pinterest, but when it came to it, the amount of frames and the wall space I had were the main decision makers. I went for a wide diamond pattern because that looked best on the wall I chose - above the dining table in our living room.

4 - Get a hammer, spirit level and wall tacks (I originally bought a picture framing hook kit, but found just tapping in a tack works just as well). I also needed a pair of pliers and some paint (the same colour as the wall!)

Remove the stands from the backs of the frames with pliers so they hang flat against the wall. At this stage I also realised that some of the frames we bought originally could only be used on shelves as they wouldn't hold picture hooks, so make sure the frames you buy come with a hanging hook, or you're able to add  your own hook.

Select your middle frame and hang it in the centre of the wall area. Remove the frame and use the spirit level to help mark where the next tacks go. Use a pencil and make crosses to ensure they are straight and at the right height for your design. I worked outwards from the centre to ensure every picture was evenly spaced.

5 - Keep standing back and viewing your wall. I changed my mind several times, which is why the paint comes in handy - to touch up any holes on view if you change your mind! If you're hanging trinkets, you don't necessarily need to add extra tacks for them, in the end I placed them from the additional tacks I used on the frames with words (Mr&Mrs and Love) so they hung down below each word. The trinkets give an extra depth to the wall.

6 - Keep on hanging until you're done! The great thing about a project like this is that you can come back and add to it. I've been doing touches here and there for the last month before I was really happy with it.

Get some sleep

A conversation with the boy, in his cot, about to be left for his afternoon nap.

Mama: "Love you, sleep tight, time to get some sleep"
Charlie: (pretending to hold something in his hand) "Here you are Mama"
Mama: "What've you got there?"
Charlie: "Sleep"

Life changing apps - little but lovely

Since getting my smart phone my life has become, well, smarter thanks to the power of the small and humble app. Here's a few of my favourites.

Source

- Buschecker - living in London means I use buses everyday, sometimes 5 or 6. The most important one for me is from the station to home after a long day. There's two buses that pass my house, one goes to a stop close to the station and both go to the next stop along. The buschecker app let's me see real time arrivals so I can save time and energy by going to the correct bus stop. Simple but smart!

Source

- Instagram - I never realised this was a social network until I joined, I love seeing friends (and blogger friends) photos before they appear on FB, Twitter or a blog and I also love being able to edit my own photos simply and easily. Send me a follow request on Instagram to megr23, I look forward to seeing you!

Source

- Thomas app - this is probably the most expensive app I've bought but totally worth it. C loves the games (even though he needs help) and it keeps him quiet and still when we're on the bus or waiting at the doctors.

Source

-Google Play Books - allows me to use my phone as a e-reader and the screen (it's a Htc One Sense so slightly bigger then an iPhone) is the perfect size for this.

Source

- Blogger app - allowed me to start this post on the commute to work! Though it's a little clunky to add images - I can't seem to get them in the right place. So I've started to write posts on my commutes and then add the images and publish when I back home.

Making a house a home - one hour at a time

After I wrote this post holiday's blue post I realised that I could make a difference to my home a little at a time, it took me over a year to hang up the coat hooks? I'm not going to let that happen again. When I work from home  on a Friday it means I have an hour lunch break at home, in a quiet house, so I've started a mini project - making my house a home one hour a week.

So far I have concentrated on our little toilet. For over two years the smallest room in the house has been pretty dull, the white tiles and magnolia walls I can't change (our flat is rented) but I've done a few mini jobs over the last few weeks to help brighten it up:

I picked up this card a while back because we live in the area. They still have vintage car races once a year in the park and I really like that this is about where I live. The tower in the background (I think) is the one Logi Baird used for really early TV and it survived the fire that burnt down the Crystal Palace. It's no longer there now though. I put it in a simple white frame and it's hanging on a little strip of wall by the door frame.

 

These two prints are on the east wall, we bought them on holiday, and I actually bought frames and had them up a couple of weeks later, rather then let them sit around un-framed and un-loved for ages.

And finally:

 I know, slightly crazy posting a photo of the toilet roll holder, but I'm embarrassed to say it's taken over two years for us to put this up. It's mad how we got so used to resting it on the radiator, which to me, says all it needs to say about the difference between a house and a home!

Our Week by Android

I've missed a week out here, so a quick round up on what we've been doing.

- Playing football in the park
- Hiding in the pop up tent
- Dinosaur walk
- Silhouette

- Jellyfish
- Apple snack in the sunshine
- Walrus
- Corn in the sunshine
- With my boy

- Playing in the park
- Piggy back with Daddy
- Peepo tree
- Crazy eyes and yogurt tube
- Final piece in the jigsaw
- Looking through the duplo window (slightly scary, not sure why I included it!)

Linking up with Amy@ a good life.

The 27 Month Check

On Friday C and I went to the health centre so he could have his 27 month check. I had a call about it a month ago and as they only open Mon - Fri, 9-5 I took the day off work. What is it about calls from the NHS that makes you feel like a bad mother? There's no reason for it but as soon as she said it was the health visitor calling, I felt guilty.

We'd been sent a questionnaire, 4 A4 pages of questions about what he can do, sometimes does or not doing yet. I was able to tick 'can do' for pretty much all of them with a few 'sometimes'. The thing is he's learning so fast at the moment that I ticked 'sometimes' for jumping with both feet off the ground and he's suddenly doing it all the time.

The questions varied for all the different development areas, from pretending to give dolly a bottle to threading beads on a string and speaking 4 word sentences. There was an area at the back to highlight any concerns and I wrote about him being a fussy eater and shorter then his peers.

The HV said everything was fine, here's what I took away:

- Start giving him a toddler vitamin called Abidec, this is a lemon flavoured syrup. I was worried about him not eating meat and she said to give this to help peace of mind, if he is getting enough vitamins, the additional ones will pass straight through and if he's not then this will make sure he is. I got some at the supermarket and the first spoon he swallowed, then burst into tears. The next day I hid it in his milk and all was fine.

- Get him weighed and measured more. I pointed out I work full time and she said to try and just pop into one in the Christmas hol or the Grandparents could take him if they see him in the week - they don't but the hol idea is a good one.

- Potty training when he's ready. Not to use pull up nappies, just cotton pants so he can tell when he's wet. Can call to get more advice if needed.

So that was it, I'm glad I took him as it did give peace of mind but I wish they had a weekend option as I'm sure there's some mamas who can't get the time off.

The difference between Men and Women...

...summed up in two shelves

Duck pond

We found the duplo duck this morning so he played in his 'pond' whilst Mummy did her make up!