Gallery walls are all the rage right now. You see them everywhere on the popular décor sites, magazines and Pinterest pages. I have a few in my home, but there is one particular gallery wall that I can honestly say is my absolute favorite. It’s a wall full of all of my favorite faces. And the best part? Putting it together was extremely inexpensive and super easy. Keep on reading and I will tell you how I made my very own portrait gallery wall!
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While spring cleaning one afternoon, I came across a box full of printed pictures. They were pictures that at some point in time were in a frame in one of my homes through the years and were removed for an update or change of décor. Some of them were professional shots, some were candid. They were all different sizes. But they were all of my kids and almost all of them were either a sepia or black and white finish. Obviously, getting rid of these treasured photos was not an option. I started thinking of ways I could use them other than in the typical frame (with 8 kids, frame space – heck, wall space – is limited!)
I decided to take these precious pictures of mine and use them in my own version of a gallery wall in my guest bathroom. I happened to already have the main ingredient, ModPodge, on hand (as well as a few small foam brushes). *ModPodge is an inexpensive glue product easily found at any craft store or in the craft aisle at a big box store*
There was no prepping necessary for this project because my plan all along was to cover the entire wall. If I had only wanted to do a portion, I may have taped the area and possibly painted the wall if necessary. I also wanted a very random picture wall, so I did not have a planned place for each picture. Each photo was chosen at random.
Forewarning: this project is a bit messy. I used a cleaned-out, plastic dairy whip container to hold the ModPodge and a canvas drop cloth to catch the glue drips. The trick is to apply a LOT of ModPodge on the front and back of the picture (yes, the front needs covered as well!) Once the picture has ModPodge painted on the back, position it on the wall. One by one, add each picture to your wall until you have filled your space. I personally preferred my pictures to overlap a bit. Let your wall dry for about an hour. Add your coat of ModPodge to the front of the pictures and let them fully dry according to the bottle instructions. That’s it!
Like any DIY project, this can be personalized to your own liking using full-color photos, scrapbooking paper, music sheets or even book pages – the possibilities are endless!
If you try your hand at your own portrait gallery wall, I would love to see it!
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