My Secret to a flawless Plate Wall!

Plates are not just for your Grandma anymore! Ok, well, sure, she can still use them I guess, to eat on and stuff. But what I mean is,  plates have come out of the curios and are making a big impact on modern spaces!

Check out some of these awesome installations!

top: Not-tom, Place to Bloom, Living Etc.

bottom: The Inspired Room, Lisa Congden, Liz Marie

We've been renting our new townhome for 8 months now (wow, 8 months already?), and I'm slowly covering up blank walls and finding new homes for my wall art. It was time to bust out my collection of plates and find a place for them!

You can see the first time I did this plate wall in our previous house, a little over a year ago. That post is a little hard on the eyes. Looking at it now I can definitely tell it's pre Rebel Camera upgrade!

I settled on putting my plate collection back up in our new formal dining room. My mother-in-law gave me a fabulous antiqued square mirror last year, and after spraying it white, we hung it over the buffet in the dining room. These plates would help fill out the wall and add some color and character!

I've picked up some new plates here and there at thrift stores and other places, and I was excited to put them up in a fresh arrangement.

I followed the same procedure as last time for arranging the plates. Here's the scoop!

My Secret to a Flawless Plate Wall

My BIGGEST problem with plate walls, or any other arrangement with lots of items is getting all the elements to go in the exact right spot. If everything shifts a few inches, by the time I'm on the last plate, I'm usually out of wall space. So aggravating! 

Here's my procedure for getting it right, the first time out!

Mock it

Mock it up that is. I laid out all the plates on the floor around a piece of cardboard the same size as the mirror. That way I could see how they would look together once they were up on the wall!

(Con) template it

Once I was relatively happy with my floor version, I cut out paper circles the same size as each of the plates and taped them up on the wall where I wanted them to go. 

If you're wondering what those weird squiggles on each cut out are, I had to draw something like what  the pattern looked like so I'd remember which circle was what plate. 10 points for my drawing skillz! Yeaahhh....!

When I finished, the paper template arrangement exactly matched the one I'd made on the floor. Phase one: success.

Toothpaste, Nails, and Glue

That's not a list of things you shouldn't ingest. Although you really shouldn't eat them. It IS a list of how I got all my plates hung precisely where they needed  to go!

Like last time, I used the toothpaste trick to mark where each nail hole would go. You can see the full explanation here, or suffice to say that a dab of the 'paste on the tip of the plate hanger makes a mark when pressed against the wall. Poof: guess proof nail hammerage.

                               

I went about replacing the paper circles with my real plates. Here's how things were looking later that night, mid process. 

I used 3M Command Strips to hang the lighter and smaller plates. Sort of like glue, right? I love these things! They hold just as well as nails, but without the holes left behind.

For the larger, heavier plates I used traditional plate hangers and nails to keep them securely on the wall.

A close up of a few of my favorites!

I think I should hang something to the left of the mirror, to balance things out a little bit. I'm still on the look out for just the right thing. For right now I grabbed a flower arrangement from Michael's in a cheapie vase I sprayed white on the inside.

Here's a shot of this space from the living room. The front door is on the right and the kitchen is through the cut out, on the other side of the plate wall. You can see my refinished mid century modern desk, Leggy, through the cut out on the left too.

I'm so happy another naked wall has disappeared! Do you have some naked walls staring you in the face too? tell me I'm not the only one! :) Is this how you hang large arrangements?

    
Do you have a blog, facebook, or Pinterest board to share? Put a link in a comment, I'd love to check it out!:)

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19 Things Every DIYer Should Have!

After crafting for several years, I've compiled a list of my favorite, must have "tool kit" for DIYing. It's full of stuff I love, stuff I've discovered along the way, and stuff I wish I could have! How many of these do you have in your arsenal?

Big Girl Glue Gun (with a stand)
I'll be the first to admit to being too cheap to invest in a good glue gun. I had one of those $2.99 mini guns for too long. I wasted so much time refilling itty bitty glue sticks, trying to get the gun to stand upright, giving up and letting it fall over, only to have it melt into the paper plate I used to rest it on, etc, etc. Enough is enough!  I finally spent the $29.99 for a "big girl" gun, and what a difference! And I LOVE the stand it came with. That part alone is worth the money!

Fabric Scissors
I mean a pair of high quality, SHARP scissors. That means no sharing with anyone under the age of 10, not also used for gardening, cooking, or car repair. It will change your life! Once you own them, write something ominous on the handle so everyone else in the family will know not to go near your scissors!

Paper Cutter
It's the fast and easy way to make straight cuts. No more uneven eyeballing! A scrapbook paper cutter or professional "office" cutter is so helpful to have around.

3M Command Strips
These things are amazing. As strong as a nail, but without the permanent hole left behind. I use these strips for hanging plates, frames, art, bulletin boards, and seasonal decorations. They also have velcro-like strips so you can remove and reposition an item. It takes all the stress out of deciding which wall to hang my latest scored item!

High Quality Spray Paint
It makes all the difference what brand of spray paint you use. Seriously. I learned in this post why it's so worth it to "splurge" for the $6 cans of paint vs. buying one of the cheapie brands. One coat of a good brand can do the job of 3 coats of a bargain brand. My faves are Rustoleum and Krylon.

A Level
It's time to level with you about levels. Gotta have one for hanging mirrors, wall arrangements, curtain rods, mounting TVs. And they're handy when you need to mark long straight lines. Thankfully Jason has one that I am allowed to "borrow" all the time.

Scrapbooking Paper
For all manner of crafty craftiness! Matting frames, photo backgrounds, jewelry, origami, mod podging, and all kinds of paper crafts. Some are even pretty enough to frame all by themselves. I always have a selection of colors and textures on hand, and snag ones that catch my eye at the craft store.

Mod Podge
I was a Mod Podge virgin for too long. This stuff really does rock! I love it now! An awesome tool for decoupaging, varnishing, sealing, gluing, and jewelry making. And as I found out in this post, it really does beat any homemade version on Pinterest.

Clear Nail Polish
I always keep a bottle handy. Add a dab on knots to make them stay put, seal or glaze small items, fix chips in wood, keep the ends of ribbons and string from fraying, coating metal to prevent rust, keep nylons from fraying, prevent cheap jewelry from turning colors. That's just the short list!

Clear Storage Boxes
This is my personal preference. Some people may love the look of opaque boxes, but I like to be able to see where my stuff is without having to do a lot of digging. A set of clear plastic bins with lids will work wonders for craft room organization!

Super Glue
It works so well, I'm always a little freaked out when using it. I'm thinking, "Ok, ok you got this. Just squeeze gently, and... Oh, oh, nooo! Omg!! omg!! My fingers are going to be stuck together for life! Somebody call 911!" I'm sure you'll be fine.

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Glue Sticks
Helpful for preschoolers and hardcore DIYers alike. They've got restickable, permanent, washable, and color changing. I'm a sucker for the purple kind that fades to clear. It's great when I'm in a hurry and need to see where my glue is going. You know, for all that speed gluing that I need to do.

Assortment of Brushes
Sponge brushes, large and small art brushes, rollers, a good "painting the house" type brush, and even eye shadow brushes. The right brush for the right job :)

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Scrapbook Adhesive Strips
My life savers for matting pictures in frames, and working with paper in general. I usually cut one tab in half and that makes the roll go super far.

Coupons
Never go to the craft store unarmed! Retail, shmetail. Craft stores like JoAnn and Michael's have apps you can download to get coupons right on your smart phone. When you're in the store, ask to sign up for their mailing list to receive even more coupons! Society of Stampaholics has a fantastic post about how to save even more when using coupons.

Exacto Knife
Box cutter, utility knife. Tomato, tumahto. My husband and I can't agree what the proper name of this thing is. Whatever it's called, it's my best friend when cutting shapes out of cardboard or foam core.

Cordless Screw Driver
So much easier than using one with a cord! We're always busting it out for hanging items, installing curtain rods, or putting furniture together. And they come in pink too!

Silhouette Machine
This is on my wish list. I can't tell you how many times I'm stuck cutting out a bazillion little shapes, and thinking, why don't I have a Silhouette machine yet? True, they're a bit on the pricy side, $200-$300 depending what extras come are offered with it. I'm still dreaming about owning one someday. And if you have a used one that's gathering dust in your closet, drop me a line!

Sewing Machine
Even if you don't consider yourself a pro sewer, you should still consider owning one. They have real simple, inexpensive models these days that would be worth the purchase. If you find yourself using the no-sew iron on strips all.the.time, it probably means you could use a sewing machine! I love mine for quickly hemming curtains, making simple bedding, lite clothes altering, and making throw pillows.

There you have it! Do you agree with the top 19 I chose? What would you add to the list?

    


FYI: I wasn't paid by anyone for endorsing any product in this list. These are things I really use, and really love :)

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