Big E's Wall of Art

Hello Facebook followers and Pinterest fanatics, and welcome. I have decided to step away from my purchased site to save some bucks (a lot of bucks), and I will now reside here where the land is free. It feels pretty good to be blogging, creating, and breathing for that matter. See I landed a full time gig as a 3rd grade teacher in this past summer. Having a steady paycheck for the first time in my life has been amazing, but I have zero time/energy for anything that goes beyond the luxury of falling asleep on the couch. That being said, at this moment we are right in the middle of our first winter break. Notice that I said "we". Yes, Hayden found a job as well. He is a 4th grade math teacher. We are just living the dream, folks.

Aside from our enthralling professional lives we have recently had some big huge news. We are expecting Big E to have a brother or sister come July of next year. We are so darn excited, and I really wish I could find a way to fast forward in time. As is life though, I will have to endure the joys and pitfalls of pregnancy in the sweltering heat of a Texas summer.

Now I know you are not here to read about all of my glorious personal news. But you see, all of these changes in our lives have caught up to our house. We have said goodbye to our beloved office, but it's a small sacrifice for what is to come. We are now moving Big E into the used-to-be office (because it's bigger) and the new bundle will set up camp in Eli's old bedroom. I have been so beside myself with plans and ideas for both rooms, and I'm sure Hayden has had it up to his ears by now. We have so far to go though! Aren't you excited? Do you see all of the upcoming posts?

I will start this marathon off with the first project in Big E's new room: the art wall. With Hayden and I both working Big E has been in school, and he brings home these cute little creations with his handprints and fingerprints all over them. I am no hoarder, but I just could not throw them away. On the other hand, I could not allow them to pile up on a shelf, taking up valuable real-estate. I figured that since they are adorable hand-printed works of his they should be on display somewhere. So, I decided to dedicate a wall in his new room to his work. I overwhelmed myself with methods of hanging kid art on Pinterest, and none of them were what I was picturing. I wanted to cover that entire wall, but I didn't want to spend a lot to do it. A trip to Home Depot, a mere 20 bucks, and a few hours later it was complete.

Feast your eyes. 

Not too bad for 20 bucks, eh? Below I will do a step-by-step tutorial.

First I gathered my materials at Home depot (all except for the mini clothespins). You will need:

> 2 1x2 lumber strips; I used 6 foot select pine strips

> Screw eyes; the size is up to you

> Multi-purpose wire; I used 4 strand, 20 gauge 

> Clothespins; I used mini clothespins

The next step is to measure out where you will twist in the screw eyes. I began two inches from the top of the strips and marked at 15 inch increments all the way down. You are going to want to pre-drill just a tiny bit so that your screw eyes have a starting point. Then simply twist them in. I had room to twist in 5 on each strip. 

Next, you will pre-drill holes so that your wood doesn't split when you drill it into the wall. I pre-drilled 3 holes in each strip. I use a bit that also creates a pocket for the head of the screw.

Now you are ready to mount the strips on the wall. They can be as far apart as you like as long as you bought enough wire to accommodate the distance. Once you have them mounted you are ready to string the wire through the screw eyes. 

The only thing left to do is fill this bad boy up with your kiddo's work.