pretty as a picture

many of the projects i undertake are fundamentally founded in my overwhelming need for structure, order and organization. i crave it. while i'm sure this is mostly a result of my hyper type a personality, i'm also certain that it has been exacerbated by the fact that i have so little control of so much that happens during my typical day. i adore my sweet little kids, but they can always be counted on to wreck my plans for an entire day in three minutes flat. those of you with kids understand.

and speaking of a lack of control, even cleaning my house has new meaning now that both of my children are mobile. bug and lulu are pros at making quick work of undoing just as many things as i accomplish while straightening. it was during one of these vain attempts to "clean" lulu's bedroom that i recognized a prime candidate for my type a fix. lulu's hair bows. sugar and spice and everything nice - sure, yes, of course. but hair accessories galore is really what little girls are made of. and hers were strewn everyplace, making it impossible for me to quickly find that adorable felt ladybug clip when i really wanted it.

and so the picture frame as art and hair clip keeper was born. i had purchased a dozen white frames from my local arts & crafts shop during bug's first year of life (to hold his monthly snapshots). and since that baby theme no longer fits with his new "big boy" room, my frames had been languishing in the basement storage area without purpose for quite some time. it didn't take me long to finish my first effort. 15 minutes (tops) and it was on the wall. and it has been a big hit ever since. filling both my everything-in-its-place craving, and also covering that small wall in lulu's bedroom that i couldn't quite figure out what to do with.

this is clearly a for-the-blog photo... on any given day our project holds upwards of twenty clippies.

hair clip keeper project

what you'll need: a picture frame (mine is an 8x10 in white), ribbon (i chose 1.5" width), measuring tape, scissors, glue gun, nails and hammer.

1. remove backing and glass from frame

2. place frame on an open work surface, backside up

3. use measuring tape to measure length from top frame edge to bottom frame edge

4. add 1/2" to your measurement and cut ribbon(s) to this length

5. using heated glue gun, glue the top of each ribbon to inside top edge of frame. i find it works best to first lay each ribbon in its approximate spot, and then start by gluing the center ribbon and working out. once glued, press ribbon into frame edge using the blunt side of scissors



6. once glue has dried (which will only take a few moments), glue the bottom of each ribbon into the bottom inside edge of frame



7. clean the glass from your frame

8. place glass into frame and use your glue gun to glue all corners. this prevents the glass from falling out of the frame when it is hung since (in my version of this project) the backing to the frame is never re-inserted. i preferred to let lulu's wall color filter through the glass rather than look at the black frame backing



9. once all glue is dry, use hammer and nails to hang your frame (at a height that will keep it out of the reach of little hands)

10. add hair bows and clips. tada!

tell us what you think... nice solution?