DIY Mirror Makeover

I've had this little number done, for a while now, and I totally spaced posting this, until a friend asked me if I ever posted the tutorial for it! Oopsie daisy. I've been a little out of sorts with being sick, yet again, with this pregnancy, and also experiencing the infamous 'pregnancy brain' early on. But! Alas, I got my rear in gear today, to share this awesome transformation with all of you!

I've been waiting for the perfect piece to hang on this large wall, in our dining room. I was hoping to stumble across a large, ornate mirror to take up most of the space. I randomly lucked out at the beginning of the summer, and found this beauty, at a friend's yard sale! I was so excited and knew EXACTLY what I wanted to do with it, as soon as I saw it...."Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, here I come!"

The bold gold, was a little too much, for my style, but I definitely still wanted to keep some of the original color and personality. I also wanted to incorporate the other colors of my dining room, all while choosing a color that would go with some other decor in other rooms of my house, so I have the option of using it in other rooms, in the future, when we move again. So, Annie Sloan's Provence, it was!

I started off taping the mirror off, so I would have less scraping at the end, if any paint got on the mirror, in the process. I then used our handy air compressor and blew off all the dust, to ensure a clean, dust free foundation. 

I then used a round, chalk paint brush to guide the paint into all of the deep surfaces, along with the shallow. I decided to try the Blue Hawk, Natural Bristle Brush, from Lowe's, since it was a fraction of the cost of the Annie Sloan one. I figured, since this was a mirror, hanging on a wall, and not going to be a well used piece of furniture, I wanted to save a little extra money and test it's performance. It worked really well, and covered the areas, really easily. I was extremely impressed! The brissles on this brush, seemed to be a little more rigid then the Annie Sloan one, which I think might have helped a bit more, with this ornate piece, and my technique I wanted to use it for. I don't know if I would use it for a piece of furniture where you would need fine bristled brush strokes. This paint was so fun to work with, and the color is amazing! Just a little, went a long way. 

I only used one coat, since it's all I needed to execute the wet distressed technique. After the paint was just barely dried, I used a damp cloth to 'sand' or wipe away the areas where I wanted the original gold color to show through. This allowed the original gold to show through, without damaging or compromising the original lustre, like it might have, if I used fine sand paper. I was jumping for joy as I saw the mirror come back to life, with it's new look!

Once the wet distressing was all done, and I achieved the look I was hoping for, I applied Annie Sloan's Clear Wax, to seal the chalk paint. I only applied a thin coat and did the best I could with all the deep surfaces. I wasn't too worried about getting every millimetre of this frame, since it's not a piece that is intended to be handled very often. 

I absolutely LOVE how this turned out and would do it 100 more times, if I had 100 more mirrors to play with. It was so easy, and only required a little patience, and extra attention, during the distressing portion. 

After my husband helped me hang it back on the dining room wall, I'm fairly certain I shrieked like a little school girl. Haha! It's always so exciting to see a plan come to life! I love creating a mood for every space. My goal with this statement piece was to bring some more elegance and color to our dinging room, and I couldn't be happier with the results.

(Next dinging room project...the china cabinet! haha.)

Happy Tuesday, my fellow DIY friends! Drop me a message, comment below, or feel free to email me if you have any questions!

DIY Picture Frame

 To make a long story, short, my Mom bought us an early anniversary present, and when I went in get a quote for how much it was going to be to get it professionally framed, I just about fainted. I literally thought to myself, "Bring on the power tools."  As soon as that thought crossed my mind, it all made so much sense. Why on earth have I not thought about learning to make my own frames, by now?! Not only is photography a huge part of my personal life, but I've also built a photography business from the ground up. I love to display images of my own family and our adventures, around our home, and I also encourage my clients to do the same, with the images that they hire me to capture. It just all made sense. So, in true My Eclectic Eye's spirit, off to Lowe's I went to price out a router.

I'm going to be the first one to say that my husband helped me tremendously, in this department, because I don't ever recall even looking at a router in any of my shop classes, when I was in school. It was really fun to learn as we went along. We first practiced, with some 2x4s and then once I finally settled on some moulding, that I ordered online, we were confident enough to start turning it into a picture frame. With a rabbiting bit, the router was used to create an inside edge for the mats to sit inside, while protecting the print.

The molding that I chose, of course was too wide for the biggest setting between the rabbit bit and the fencing. So, my genius husband created another 'fence' on the other side, using a 2x4 and some c-clamps. Genius, I tell you! Genius! It worked like a charm.

Once all the pieces were routed, we decided how big we wanted it to be, based on the print and the mats that I cut for it. (I forgot to take pictures of the matting process, and can do a quick tutorial in the future, if anyone is interested. Once you've practiced on a couple of scrap pieces, it's not too hard to get the hang of mating a print.)

Then, we used our chop saw, and cut our 4 - 45's, at the desired length. 

When I initially opened up my the molding, I was surprised to find that the back of it was hallow. So we had to get creative, to add some integrity to the frame. We used solid maple and made some corners that we secured into the back of each corner of the frame. Since the moulding was polyurethane based, we had to be careful with using the corner clamps, while waiting for the glue to dry. So, we used glue and staples to keep the corners in place, as it dried. As with the solid maple corners, we made sure to corner clamp each one. Once everything was dry, we used E600 glue to secure the wood to the polyurethane frame. We definiltey made sure to do it in a ventilated area, since the fumes are pretty harsh. (But from past experience with other projects, I knew that I wouldn't have to worry about it getting the job done.) We placed weights on each solid wood piece, while it was drying, to ensure maximum contact with the two pieces of material.

Once, everything was all dry, I spray painted the frame, with a glossy white finish. Then all that was left was placing the matted print inside the frame, and closed it off with some backing and secured it all in with some brads. Again, I totally forgot to take pictures of this part and can include it in a picture mating tutorial, later on, if anyone is interested. I didn't use glass in this, because we ordered a metallic print (it's printed on a thin piece of metal, to give it a unique look). I research about different opinions about putting glass over a metallic print, and I decided to not add glass in the end.  The metallic print is very durable and doesn't normally need the protection from the glass like a normal print would. And secondly, I read of situations, where the combination of the light hitting the glass and then the metallic print, made the image look blurred in some areas.

The print is a Megan Kelly - Rexburg, Idaho Temple  print. The Rexburg LDS Temple is where my husband and I were married, 6 years ago. We've always wanted a big print, to hang in our home, with a classic, Idaho sunset in the background. When we lived there  I never had the opportunity to capture one with a sunset and so I've always tried to keep my eye out for one. One day, I came across Megan Kelly's Temple Prints and fell in LOVE with them! She definitely has a talent for capturing the beauty of the temples. And I LOVED that she captured the Rexburg Temple so perfectly! I love supporting other small town photographers and was I so excited to order this beautiful metallic print to hang in our home, curtesy of my very thoughtful Momma. 

I decided to hang it on the large wall on our staircase. I love how it's the first thing we all see, when we head downstairs for the day. It's a great reminder of where our little family all started! 

Blueberry Sour Cream Muffins

   Blueberries have always been a very popular summer refrigerator item, in our house. Costco always seems to have a great deal on them, and just last week, I decided to take my boys blueberry picking at our local fruit orchard. We had a blast! All this berry lovin' had my fridge full of blueberries. So, I decided to find a new blueberry recipe to try and make a double batch of, to clear up some more space in my fridge. I came across this recipe, from Yammie's Noshery, called The Best Blueberry Muffins Ever. Since I absolutely LOVE all the recipes that Yammie's Noshery posts, I had no doubt that this one would be awesome!

Public Service Announcement: Calling all foodie friends, if you haven't already discovered the amazing world of Yammie's Noshery, drop whatever you are doing and go take a look (unless you're reading this blog...which chances are, that's exactly what you're doing. So, maybe head over there after your done here). You won't regret it. Seriously scrumptious stuff, over there. 

Like I said before, I wanted to make a double batch, since I had so many fresh blueberries on hand. Once I mixed everything up, the batter seemed a little too runny, so I adjusted the flour amount to make up for the consistency. I'm still not sure if it's because of the altitude difference, or if maybe doubling the recipe did something to the normal consistency. But regardless, I love how they turned out and love the fact that we used up some of the extra blueberries we had. I also made a few extra tweaks, to suit our own Blueberry Muffin preferences. Next time, I'm going to just do the normal batch and follow her recipe exactly to see if there's still a consistency issue, just for curiosity's sake. I've had to adjust quite a few of my own recipes due to our new altitude level, here in our new home state. So, I really am curious! But nevertheless, I loved how the muffins turned out so much that I made sure to write down how I made them, as a double batch using Yammie's recipes as a guide.

For all my Blueberry Muffin lovin' fellow foodies, with a fridge full of blueberries, I've got your back! Feel free to click the pop-out below for the FREE double batched Blueberry Sour Cream Muffin Recipe. Feel free to print away, if you're successful with your double batch and it's worth slipping into your binder full of free recipes!

Happy July baking, my friends!

~Top 8 Tips for the Perfect Gallery Wall~

   Since life has taken us to many new houses over the past 6 years, I've done my fair share of gallery walls, as I've had to adapt my style, to each new wall space. So, to kick off My Eclectic Eye's first blog post, I thought it would be perfect to offer my Top 8 Gallery Wall Tips!

1. Re-use, re-use, re-use:

   There's nothing more cost effective than using what you already have. Sometimes all you need is a little paint and gusto...

I've had this clock for over 4 years now. I've always loved it, and have made it work in different set ups, but I knew that I'd love it even more, if I painted it a lighter color. I've always been nervous to do it, though. When planning our new Family Gallery Wall, in our new house, I finally decided to muster up the courage and just do it. It turned out better than I had hoped it would! LOVE it! 

I also had an old oak 8x10 frame, that I ended up spray painting with the same color as the clock. 

2. Collect Statement Pieces:

   Statement pieces can really bring a gallery together. My rule is to use an odd number of pieces, depending on the area you are working with, and spread them out. I use a combination of things that have a special meaning to me, along some pieces that I've come across, on sale. I hardly ever pay full price for anything. There's always things on sale, or some kind of coupon that can be used for full priced items, especially with home decor. If I love something that isn't on sale or can't buy with a coupon, then I wait... If not I don't luck out and it doesn't end up on sale, eventually, then its just not meant to be. Haha! If I do pay full price for something that I love, its always, what I call an investment piece. Something that you'll be able to use over and over again. 

3. Add Depth:

   Sometimes just by adding certain statement pieces, you can add depth, but one of my favorite ways to do this, is to incorporate shelving. I love shelving, because it allows me to display more pieces that cant always be hung on a wall.

4. Make it YOU:

If you haven't already noticed, I LOVE clocks! I actually have a Pinterest board named, "Coo Coo for Clocks". Make sure to incorporate pieces that support the rest of the decor in that room, and that represents your interests. Because in the end, this gallery wall will be in YOUR home, and YOU will be the one looking at it every day. If you incorporate things that you love, then you will instantly love it. 

On another wall in the same room as our Family Gallery Wall, I have large shelf with some of my favorite decorations. A couple of years ago, I repurposed an old wooden clock and it's now sitting on the big shelf, adjacent to the Family Wall. I made sure to use some clock paper when I decorated my "family" letters, and definitely wanted to use my newly painted white clock, as well.

5. Study your Options:

   Lay out everything on the floor and pick your favorite combination. Taking pictures with my phone, of each arrangement, helps me keep my brain from hurting, and gives me a way of scrolling through all the possibilities at the end, to make a final decision. 

6. Play with Color:

   The 12x12 frame I was used came with a light beige 8x8 mat. I decided to cut a new mat with some left over lavender mat board, from a different project.

7. Prepare the Wall:

   Once you have the layout you love, trace each piece on paper, and cut them out. I use a large paper roll, I got from a place in Michigan, called The Scrap Yard. I like using this, because I don't have to use multiple pieces of paper, taped together to trace out the larger pieces. It makes it so much easier. After this, flip each piece over and place the paper on top, to mark the area on the frame, where the piece will hang on the wall. This way, you'll have no doubt where the nail needs to go. Next, with painters tape (so you don't end up taking paint off the wall when its removed), tape the paper pieces onto the wall, where you want them. I use a tape measure, and a level to make sure everything is where I want them to be. Then, either simply poke through and mark where the nail or screw needs to go, or just go ahead and place the nail or screw in the paper, then tear it off, once the nail is secure.

8. Then, simply Hang the Pictures:  

   This is my favorite part! However, I have one BIG tip, with this...make sure you're in a decent mood and/or not rushed. It's never a good idea to have a power tool or hammer around your newly painted walls, when you've got a bad case of the grumps. Trust me on this one! haha!

I hope you enjoyed reading these 8 tips and I'd love to see some pictures of your Gallery Wall creations! Feel free to comment if you have any questions!