Decorating with Portraits~My first Mod Podge Project

I have been all over the crafty blogs lately and have been dying to do something with mod podge.  I wanted a unique way to hang some individual portraits of my kids and had planned on doing standouts that I saw from my pro lab with a silver finish around the edge.  However, they didn't make them in the size I wanted (12x12), so my wheels started turning...  I then thought of wood and mod podge. 

I went to Home Depot and found a 2ftx4ft board that was 3/4 thick.  I wanted at least one inch, but I settled for the big board because it was only $10 bucks.  I had the guy at Home Depot cut my squares to a 12x12 and I got 8 of them! I only needed 4, so really only $5 for my wood (you can share with a friend or save it for another project).  My 8 pieces of cut wood below.

I decided on an orange edge, so stacked them up and first primed them and then sprayed them orange all together.  They got a little stuck together and my hubby had to help me yank them apart.

I also needed a little more around the edge for a border, so sprayed them seperated, too.

Since I was being crafty with my prints, I decided not to pay the extra $ for pro lab prints.  I am usually a big advocate of the color quality that a pro lab offers, but with this being my first project, I wasn't sure if the mod podge would alter the color anyway.  I also played it safe by sticking with a black and white print.  I saw that Sams Club offers a 12x16 print for about $3 each (wowzers).  I made up a layout in photoshop that looks like this:

I cropped my image to a 12x12 and placed in on a 12x16 and they trimmed for me. Now somewhere between the guy at Home Depot cutting the wood, and Sams trimming my pictures, I didn't get exact 12x12 on both--didn't quite line up.  The pictures were a tad smaller, so I ended up having a little border instead of having it flush as I planned.

I slapped a layer of mod podge on the wood and on the picture (not sure why that is necessary, but I read to do both) and then rubbed it on with my hand. After it dried (20 min or so) I did a little sanding to the edge, wiped it clean, then mod podged the top.  It gave streak lines--sortof canvas like.  I messed up on the corner of my oldest son, but oh well. 

My daughter showing how big it is next to her head.

I did also buy the orange spray paint (note to self, Joann's sells the same can of paint for $8 as Home Depot does and it's $4 there).  $21 total for the wood, pictures, spray paint, and had the mod podge on hand.

I feel oh so crafty...

Decorating with Portraits

I've got a much needed lull with photography these days.  Getting settled into the house and its getting hotter, so the biz is definitely slowing down.  But it won't stop me from taking pictures whenever I get the chance! More on the decorating with portrait series, this is the front room of one of my friends here in Austin.  I took a good number of the prints here, and its fun to watch how she has decorated with them.  I think they are all 8x10 and smaller, so goes along with the grouping theory with wall prints that are smaller. 

Fun idea, right?  Some on the wall, some leaning on the shelf. I love all the different shapes, and with some matted, some not. Email me with how you have decorated with portraits.  I want to see something BIG!

Decorating with Portraits

I have been so grateful for your submissions, and I've gotten quite a few!  I will try to post them as they have come in, so be patient:)

This entry is from Gina:

I live in the panhandle of Nebraska. I LOVE decorating with photographs. We recently remodeled and so the living room arrangements are very recent. I have yet to decide how/what to put up in my hallway. I enjoy symmetry so when putting up photos I try to have a theme of sorts and then arrange them to be somewhat symmetrical. The hardest part for me is choosing which photos to display and deciding how often to change them. Children change so quickly and I love taking pictures so I have new 'favorites' every week! I tried to choose photos for the east wall that had kind of a timeless quality about them and for the west wall I chose photos of each of us that I plan to swap out a couple times a year. I have yet to display a really large photo like you suggest because I want to make sure I choose one that I plan to keep up for a very long time and I just can't seem to commit to one (especially when a new member has been added to the family every couple years). What are your thoughts?

My thoughts on that are plan to have the current family portrait in a prominant spot such as above the fireplace or in an entry way or a dining table.  I think hallways are great spots to then place that portrait once a new one comes along.  Most of us don't fill our hallways with much because they are so narrow, so it seems to be a great place to have a "hall of fame" if you will, displaying year after year of portraits. 

I also love the candid moments you have framed. My suggestion is to do a large horizontal portrait of a family candid moment directly centered with the couch, and then around it place these smaller images.  Thanks for sharing, Gina!

Now, we have a submission by Anita, who has nicely displayed her large portraits. The family portrait above her grand piano (isn't that beautiful?) is a 20x24. 

And in her hallway is a 20x30.  I like seeing the portraits in comparison to the room because you can see that even though those sizes sound large, they really fit well in the room.  Could even be bigger.

I'd love your submissions whether you have questions on how to display something in your room, or just want to share.

Kristen

Decorating with Portraits

Thought I'd get this in quick since I have 2 sessions to post and 3 more coming up!  Thanks to those of you who have submitted how you have decorated your home with portraits, I will post them all--eventually!

Here is a clients home and her decorating.  I photographed them last fall, and she used a design I suggested for her layout.  16x20 in the middle and 11x14's on the side.  She told me when I saw them up that she wished she went bigger.  I think it looks beautiful and she did a great job with the matting and framing. 

Here is her layout in the room:

And here is the arrangement up close: 

Do you have a great example of decorating with portraits?  Please send me an email of your ideas!

Giveaway announced tomorrow...I can't wait up til midnight.

Decorating with Portraits

I love this layout. It is my brother and his family, they live in the Philadelphia area. I took the center portrait over the holidays and the others I've taken in years past (notice their boys are a tad younger). We debated over the phone what size portraits for them to hang. They were nervous to go big, but I think it looks great!

Center is 20x30. 11x14 and 8x10 for smaller. I've received a few submissions, I'd love more! I don't have to attach your name to it...I just want examples!

Decorating with Portraits~My dream for you

I have this dream that I want to share with the world (yes, I see you checking in from Germany, Japan, and Austrailia). Now stick with me and hear me out. My dream is but a simple one—to beautifully display family portraits around your home. I’m not just talking about professional images (though I do know someone who can help you with that) but the images of your family that tell a story, share an adventure, or just show off how cute you are as a family.
Though your children may not notice those images enough to mention every day, it is tucked in the back of their minds, and they feel the security that they are in a loving family. Parents, do you want to know the secret to raising loving, creative, honest, self-confident kids? By nurturing their self- esteem. How better to nurture that self-esteem than to decorate your home with THEM! In her book "The Magic of Encouragement,” therapist Stephanie Marston suggests placing portraits of your child being loved next to their bed. These images will be "the last thing before they sleep and the first thing they see when they awaken." Images speak louder than words.
And moms—make sure YOU are in some of those images! Your children NEED to see you loving and squeezing and adoring them. They need to see that family portrait engrained in their memories as they pass through the revolving front door every day because they DO notice. We love to look at our children (and so do they) but they also need to look at you. Don’t worry about the fact that you still need to lose that last 15 pounds, your children love you for you, and you need to be remembered at this time in their lives.

In my opinion, each room should have at least one picture displayed. In rooms with larger walls, large prints can either be clustered together in varying sizes or standing alone. Have you ever seen what an 8x10 looks like hung on a big wall all by itself? It doesn’t look right—it looks too small! I do think that if a cluster of 8x10’s are huddled together on a wall, it works better. But ideally, an 11x14 is the smallest that should go up on a wall—16x20 is even better--20x30 every better! I try to educate my clients on the importance of large portraits. They are scared, worried how it will look, then when they see it, they LOVE it! Something about BIG just doubles the happiness, not to mention the visibility.

I used to worry that people would come to my home and see family pictures everywhere and think I’m vain for displaying so many prints of my family. Well guess what? I love my family more than anything and its true—I think we are AWESOME and I love to look at us! I much prefer my family to black ironwork wall hangings. When I go to friends or strangers home, my favorite thing is to walk all around their home and silently peer into their frames, have a glimpse into their lives. I am currently in a one story home, and I’ve dreamed of two stories so I could decorate the stairwell with portraits through the years like my mom has done. Each time I go to her home, I look at portraits from our family and watch myself grow up through the portraits on the wall. I LOVE it!



Anyway…I am going to blog at least once a week on decorating with portraits and I need YOUR help. I want to see how you have decorated your walls. I want to see pictures of your stairwells, your family area, your bedrooms, above your fireplaces--even a tabletop display. Show me where you have pictures displayed and I will share them on this here blog. Even send me the images you aren’t sure about and I’ll give my advice on what you can do differently. I'm not a super home decorator, but I've studied and work on decorating with portraits quite a bit.

I want my children to feel that family togetherness, the unity. I want the pictures displayed around our home to remind them that they are a part of a family who loves them. This is my wish, for me and for you. I want to get those great family moments off of the computer and onto the walls.

Here are some snaps from around my home.
This is our Family Room

I created this about 4 years ago and our new baby isn't even in them (that will change soon). My photography isn't up to par here, but I love it anyway. I put my heart into this wall display. I found the "D" at a craft fair and really wanted to center portraits around it. It took a long time to plan out, but I really wanted this large wall to be 2 things: black and white and candid.
Notice none of them are "smiling/looking at the camera." They are life as we know it. My favorite is my husband on his bike. He was heading out for a ride, I just got my new camera in the mail and playing with it as my kids sat on the sidewalk to play. We did this often. 2nd favorite is my two boys peering into the treasure box as we took a nature hike one day.
I love the one my husband took of myself and my kids, and I love my son flying his star wars guy around in the bottom left. They have digital mats around the edges. I created the border in photoshop instead of using a standard mat.

Below is my girls room, this is a 16x20 of my older daughter. I took one of my younger daughter just a few weeks ago in the same outfit and plan to have them hang together.
Room at a glance with the portrait on the very right.

This is my boys room. I printed 20x30's, and they helped me pick out which sports shot to include. Though you can't see the portraits below, you can see where they are in relation to the room and how big it is (sliver on the left of the image is the frame). Their room was just not up to par when I took the first imge a few minutes ago.

Our kitchen. This goes along with my rule to not put 8x10's on the wall unless clustered together. This is plate rack and the 8x10's are mounted on a hard board so they stand alone without a frame. I change these throughout the year.

Our old living room below, but only example of the 24x36 portrait on the easle--LOVE it BIG!

They you have it...now share with me! Don't worry if they aren't perfect.

Email me at kristen@kristendukephotography.com with the subject Decorating with Portraits. I want:
1)To know where you live (vague or specific)
2) A pull back shot of the room with wall arrangement
3) Close up shot of the wall
4)Any other info such as how you decided on the images to put up, or the sizing or whatever.

Share this with your friends—the more participating, the more we all benefit.