Adhesives. There are plenty of adhesives on the market to help you hang things. Tapes, hooks and tacks with sticky backs can make things easy! When using adhesives, make sure your wall is clean, smooth and dry. If you are looking to hang something that you will be moving or using a lot, velcro is another great option. Depending on the weight of what you are hanging, sometimes something as simple as double-sided tape can do the trick. Pro-tip, leave a little of the adhesive backing still visible to make it easy to remove when that time comes!

Monkey hooks. Monkey hooks are a handy, J-shaped hook that creates a very small, almost unnoticeable hole. These hook are as easy to press into the wall as a tack so it doesn’t require any tools. They can also hold up to 50lbs!

Hanging strings. Have you found a few holes in your wall already? Simply push in tacks or nails into pre-existing holes and tie a string or twine between them. This way you can clip, tie or hang photos onto this string. Be careful, sometimes these can’t handle much weight.

Speaking of hanging, you can use S shaped hooks and hang things from moldings, railings or anything you can hook it onto. First, hang the hook a sturdy surface. Tie a string to the back of a painting or lightweight frame then attach this to the hook so it hangs. This can look pretty neat, especially if you using twine or colored string. You can even use these hooks to hang images from a ladder, off the fireplace or from a window.

Damage to your walls shouldn’t stop your creativity. There are plenty of ways to maintain your sense of home, and the integrity of your walls!

Black frames are a great way to frame modern or elegant pieces. Darker elements will be enhanced with black frames. If you have a busy image, black frames can keep the attention on the detail within the piece.

White frames are starting to gain popularity more recently. These are often used for a more whimsical look with candids, and do great for beach and vacation photos. Both black and white frames tend to look good in groupings and collages.

Wood frames are a great choice to give an image a more rustic feel. These are great when framing nature pictures, especially when warmer colors like red, yellows and oranges are featured in the picture. Having your wood frames match your wood trim can help the images tie in with the overall home feel. Having a hard time making a wood frame match? You can stain, paint, or sand a wood frame to your liking!

Metal frames are good for simpler images to help make a more modern vibe. These frames are great for those spaces that are trendier. Metal frames can draw the eye to an image which otherwise might be hard to stick out. These also do well with black and white images, creating a contrast that won’t jarr with the colors, but doesn’t blend in with the frame.

Some last minute tips! Pick a frame to match the décor in your home, and not the image. Creating continuity throughout the home is more important than matching one piece. Pick darker colors for formal pictures and light colors for candid and casual photos. Last, make your mat and your frame different colors, the contrast makes the image pop.

Choose a color. The staircase can be a tricky area to paint; it must be harmonious with both the upstairs and downstairs color schemes. Plus, staircase lighting can be tricky! Another thing to remember is people, especially kids, like to run their hands along the wall, or use it for support when going up and down. Be sure to pick a color that can help hide the grime and stains that their hands can leave.

Don’t let the angle of the staircase throw you. Hanging your pictures on a slope can be tricky! A good way to achieve balance when working with staircases is to pick a distance from the step to the hanging site and have that be consistent, between 40-60 inches from the step is generally is a good height. For those who want to play with frames sizes and styles, having a large picture every few step with this consistent distance as an “anchor” can help keep the harmony with your design. As always, laying out your pictures on the ground first to determine the layout can save you a lot of time, hassle, and unnecessary damage to the walls.

Pick a theme. Pictures are often more fun to follow if there is a story. Maybe save the stairway for vacation photos or back to school pictures. You also don’t need to be committed to framed photographs either. Mounting items that are special to your family can also be a great to utilize this space. For example, if you enjoy quilting hanging a quilt every few steps can showcase your talents while giving the area more “homey” feel.

Don’t forget the railing! You can paint or stain the railing to match your new home decor. Or use it to hang props. Decorate it with fake flowers or hang things that can match your theme. 

First, Leave the bad ones on the ground. It is important to pick leaves that will press well, so it is helpful to have leaves which already are laying somewhat flat. Ones with bumps, curls, rips and bends won’t look as good in the finished product, and can be difficult to press.

The simplest way to preserve leaves is by pressing. Place your leaves in sheets of newspaper or wax paper so they are lying in a single sheet, no overlapping. Then place at least one heavy book on top of your paper-covered leaves. After a week, check to make sure the leaves aren’t rotting, although they will probably need another week or two to fully press. When the leaves are completely flat and dry, they are done. Use leaves preserved this way on mantels, filling baskets, or as a festive table covering for Halloween and Thanksgiving!

Preserving leaves in wax paper with the help of an iron is a great option, especially for kids and those adults lacking patience! Begin with sandwiching the leaves in wax paper and placing a towel over them. Take your iron, which is on high, and run it carefully over the towel on top of the leaves in the wax paper. Be sure to be gentle so your leave don’t shift! Check every few passes, when the wax paper begins to seal, hold the iron directly over the leaves for 3-6 seconds to fully melt and seal the leaves. Wait for the leaves to cool, then use to decorate! Leaves preserved in this manner will last for 4-6 months.

You can also speed the process with a microwave and silica gel. Silica gel is found those strange packets you find in new shoeboxes which helps prevent moisture damage. You can collect these packets, or pick up a jar at a craft store. Place a 1-inch layer of silica gel in a microwave safe bowl. Lay leaves, without an overlap, on top the gel then cover with more silica gel. Microwave the leaves for about a minute and check to see if they look dry and flat. If needed continue microwaving and checking in short intervals. Be sure to check them often leaves, like many things, can catch on fire when microwaved!

Draw a chalk outline. Have your child lie down and help them outline themselves or each other in chalk. Have your child sign and color their outline, preserving their artistic style and penmanship. This is a much more fun activity than standing for a picture!

Make a collage. Take a picture of your child in their first day of school outfit and combine hang it with a framed handprint. Let them choose their favorite color for the handprint and see if that colors changes as they grow. At the end of the year you can take another handprint and last day of school picture, and hang all the pictures together with the dates labeled.

Go to the school a few days before to snap pictures. Although some kids love to have their picture taken, some not so much! Save the stress day of and take your child to the school before it starts to grab some images. Not only can this get you and your student comfortable to the school, it makes a much more relaxing photo shoot. Plus, without their peers watching your kids might feel a little more extroverted and willing to getting creative.

Take pictures with your kid’s personality in mind. Yes, it is tempting to dress your child up in their nicest clothes for the first day of school. Leave some room for an additional shoot as well. Let them pick out their own outfit and background. Have them pose with favorite stuffed animal, book, family pet and friends. Kids are growing and changing so much at this time in their lives, try to capture some of it! Worse case, you will have excellent blackmail material of how your kid wanted to dress themselves that you can show when they are a teenager.

Take some of end of year pictures as well. You will be surprised how much can change in a year! Wishing good luck to all the returning students and teachers this fall!

1. Pick a focal point. Just because landscapes are often wide sweeping images, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have something that the attention should be drawn to. Whether it is a snow-capped peak, a bird or old growth tree, make sure your photo is capturing something intentionally.
2. Have an interesting foreground. Having a foreground with interesting details provides your image has more depth and gives it more of a 3D look. It also provides context and helps tell the story of what you are displaying.
3. Be aware of lighting. Natural lighting can be tricky! The best time to take pictures is the “golden hour.” This is the hour after sunrise and the hour before sunset when the lighting is softer and glowing. It can give images an ethereal look. Be careful of light bleaching out parts of your picture, or not illuminating a focal point enough.
4. Experiment with close-ups and landscapes. A sweeping view of a canyon can be just as arresting as a close-up of a leaf. The beauty found in nature is both overwhelming and overlooked. Try to connect with your surroundings, take the time to examine and appreciate the world around you.
5. Go with the flow. Working outdoors rarely goes to plan! The weather, landscape and lighting generally run on their own timeline. Wildlife doesn’t prioritize selfies as much as we do! Enjoy the experience and hope for the best, you never know what you will stumble upon in the natural world!

We hope these tips will help you take some photos in honor of Earth Day! Remember, once you a get a good picture you’re going to need a good frame too.

Figure out what you want. There are lots of photographers with lots of different styles and specialties, determining what you want before you start looking can save you a lot of time. Look at lots of wedding photos, and decide what type pictures are important to you. If you want more candid’s or portraits, doing a first look or the type of editing you want. Finding examples of images you like and saving those can help you out later when working with your photographer. Also, determining what your budget is beforehand is a good idea as well. That can save you from wasting your time with an unaffordable package.

Do your research. Read reviews of photographers and reach out to your friends and see who they used. More importantly, ask if they liked who did their photos and ask if they would recommend them and why. Look at the photographer’s website and see if their styles match what you are looking for. Read the biographies and see if this is someone you think you can get along with, you might be spending a lot of time with this person. Request to look at full wedding albums and critique these as if they are your own, what do like about them? What do you want done differently and talk to your photographer about these ideas.

Take time to get to know your photographer. Make sure this is someone you will enjoy spending time with. Your photographer is going to be involved in some of the most personal and emotional moments of your big day, make sure it’s someone you want there. Feeling comfortable with this person is important so you can brainstorm ideas and advocate for yourself and what you want. Be sure to confirm prices, and determine when you will get your images. Wedding photos can often take much longer with the editing and file sizes needed.

A helpful hint is to give the photographer a timeline of the day of the wedding. During the day of the wedding, remember the photographer is the expert. If you’ve done your research, be confident in your decision and enjoy your day! 

If you are looking for some unique ideas for your doors this spring, see below for some great crafting tips on how to greet the new season in style.

Make a friendly rabbit with some old frames. If you have a few circle frames and oval picture frames that you are looking to repurpose, this adorable craft is for you. Not just for Easter, this crafty rabbit can greet your guests all spring long. Simply attach the two circle frames together using some hot glue or ribbon in a vertical shape to make your rabbit body. The use your two oval frames to make ears at the top of your circle frame. Spray paint them a gorgeous vintage white and distress the frames for a vintage look.

Use an old umbrella as a placeholder for your blooms. This works best if you have a mid-sized umbrella with a hooked handle at the end. Tie a ribbon around the midsection of your umbrella to keep it closed, but open enough at the top to insert your flowers. Use weight plastic bags with sand or crystals from the craft store to place your flowers in, and make several bunches of small arrangements. Drop the bags into sections of your umbrella and have the blooms stick out, and use the hooked handle at the end to hang.

Repurpose a wide-brimmed hat. Wide-brimmed hats are synonymous with gardening and days in the sun, so it’s the perfect base to make a unique door decoration. Take a large straw wide-brimming hat, and secure your favorite flowers all around the center. Then hang the hat vertically on a nail on your door. For a personal touch, you can have your family name embroidered on one side of the brim with the flowers secured on the other.

Make a mossy pallet with a monogram. For this, you’ll need a few supplies. First, glue wooden shims together that you can get at any hardware store to make a small square or rectangular pallet. Then paint your pallet is a bright color like white, cream or some pastel. After this, you’ll want to cover a wooden craft letter with dried green moss and secure it to your pallet. To make it a little less plain, you can add some spring flowers to your letter or around the pallet, or even something like colorful fake butterflies. Then add a ribbon to the back for hanging. 

Florals have always been used in every type of design, but if you are looking for some truly unique ways to display your favorite spring blooms, see below.

Create a gallery wall from free floral prints. Bless’er House offers gorgeous free prints to share the spring love. Simply print your favorites, and put them in some gorgeous antique glass picture frames or some ornate vintage oval frames to place in the sunniest room of the house. You’ll be practically smelling the daffodils as you pass by your new favorite gallery wall when the weather gets warmer.

Use an old black oval frame to make a stunning contrast wreath. With some dark background, the blooms on this simple door wreath will stand out for miles from your door. You can choose to preserve your own flowers from your garden, or use realistic looking faux ones from your local crafts store. Keep things simple and underwhelming by just securing your blooms on one side of your frame, so the black of your oval can be seen.

Use shower rings to make gorgeous floral napkin holders. This craft requires little more than some beautiful green ribbon and a few small artificial flowers. Simply wrap your ribbon around the shower rings to cover the original material, and secure the ends with some glue. Then add your flowers at one side of the ring, and place some beautiful linens for your next garden party.

Convert a colander into a planter. Colanders can be found at just about any dollar store or grocery store, and they can make perfect planters. Paint your colander any color your want, but be sure to leave the holes open for water drainage. Add some twine to each handle of the side and connect in the middle to make a hanger. If you want several to display, make the lengths different so that they are staggered when they hang.

Put those pine cones to use. Pine cones can be annoying when they fall or they get stepped on, but they can also make for beautiful, natural, and inexpensive decorations! Using a sharp knife, cut the bottom off your pine cones so only the wide part remains. Paint them using acrylic craft paint in every color your can think of, and add a yellow dot in the center. After they dry, arrange them in a bowl and you will have a colorful arrangement of faux zinnias that are sure to brighten up any table. 

For some excellent tips on how to really give the royal treatment on a budget or at home, see below.

Start with a theme. Will you be focusing on one type of popular princess or be including elements of all of them? Decide on your theme in order to decide what direction you want to go with decor, food and music. After deciding on the theme, start your invitations. You can print them from home, but make sure to use an old-fashioned script font, and use wording that can be seen on a fancy invitation like “____ requests the honor of your presence for tea at the castle.”

Use elements from your own home as DIY decor. Place a single rose under a domed glass case or create a “magic mirror” by using a printed photo on an antique oval picture framed mirror. Use glitter confetti to make the tea tables sparkle, and have colored balloons floating on each corner. You can even replace the photos in your oval picture frames with photos of princesses and princes, or even villains.

Decide on what and how much food. Tea parties are easy on a menu because you tend to be serving light fare along with the tea. Petit four cakes are always a gorgeous choice, but iced cookies in the theme shape are also a welcome surprise. Make sure that the tea served is caffeine free, or maybe even choose to serve sparkling sugar-lemonade to please both parents and guests.

Have a playlist ready with music. If the children become shy at the beginning, loosen up the mood with some light background music. Choose your favorite movie soundtrack or a kid-friendly list of songs that will be fun to dance to or just fun to talk over. If you really want to get the party going, designate someone to start a dance party and act as the MC to help the kids have even more fun. After all, even princesses need to cut loose!

Provide uniform favors at the beginning of the party. Some of the princesses may not have the right accessories and may seem a little unsure about their attire. By providing each princess with a tiara or wand, you can ensure that each child feels special for that day while they party with the others. Add a little enchantment to say whenever they want to transform into a princess at home, and you’ll create memories for a lifetime for all of the littles.