DIY // Yarn Wall Hanging

I have been lusting after those beautiful wall weavings that have been floating around Instagram the past couple of months. This account particularly piques my interest and has even made me think seriously about investing in a weaving loom! The idea of creating something so beautiful for my family and potentially turning it into a small side business sounds so intriguing. But for now, instead of spending lots of money on a loom or hundreds of dollars on a custom weaving, I thought I'd make a yarn wall hanging as a cheaper alternative. ;)

The supplies you'll need:

• 4 foot wooden dowel (or really, whatever size you want. Home Depot will customize any size for you!)
• 4 spools of your favorite yarn
• 1 spool of twine

My strategy when picking yarn was two-fold: to complement the existing color scheme of our living room and to also find different styles with fun movement. The chunky beige yarn was actually just thrown in a bottom bin at Michaels without a label. The moment I saw it I immediately knew it'd be perfect when balanced with smaller, patterned yarn.

The process of putting it together was so simple, although it did take me a couple of hours to cut each piece and tie them on the dowel. I wanted the placement to feel random, but it still took a lot of effort to get the look just right ;) Here's a look at how I tied the yarn:

I absolutely love how it turned out. When Tim helped me hang it up, it was even better than I thought it would be! A very well-spent Saturday afternoon crafting if you ask me.

Style // Here Comes the Sun

I love pattern mixing, but I also love easy outfits. When I was putting this outfit together, I considered just wearing the blouse and jeans, but thought this scarf was a great pop of color (and a fun way to mix patterns!). I’m not really an accessories girl, so you won’t ever see me wearing tons of costume jewelry, but I do love scarves and hats <3 Ultimately, I think the scarf was just what the outfit needed!

Days like this remind me how lucky we are to have the city as our backyard. The best days are spent exploring with my husband and being able to spend quality time together. And in case you were wondering, yes, he took these photos; he’s an Instagram husband, for sure ;) And he swears he doesn’t mind it!

Outfit details: Blouse // H&M | Jeans // Levi’s | Scarf // Forever 21* | Hat // Forever 21* | Shoes // Nine West (Macy’s)

*I'm actually not entirely sure where these came from, but when in doubt, it's probably Forever 21 or H&M ;)

DIY // Gallery Wall

The best way to make a place feel like home is to frame photos and hang pretty things. Or at least that’s what makes our rented space feel like home to me. In our last apartment, it took us a year and a half to get our gallery wall up and we only got as far as hanging the frames with no pictures in them! This time around it only took us about 5 months and we got the pictures in the frames before hanging them… what a concept! ;)

Everyone has their own way of creating gallery walls. The last time we did one we used a roll of white paper to trace the layout of the frames. Once the layout was finalized, we placed the white paper where we wanted it on the wall and hammered in nails where each frame would hang. Shoutout to my mom for the idea; it was a great way to get it just right.

As you can see, however, this time around I was a little lazier and just laid out the frames and signs on the floor. I didn’t worry as much about width or height, but used the couch length as a loose guide as I was planning. Once I had it perfect and had all the pictures printed and in the frames, I solicited Tim’s help so I could double check the spacing as he was hanging. It turned out perfectly!

The wooden signs we hung were part of our wedding decor. Tim’s parents made about 8 of them for us and they were just too beautiful not to keep. I’m so beyond thrilled we finally have a few hanging up. We’re planning on hanging a few more in our bedroom, but that’s a different post for another day.

When we were done, all I wanted to do was stare at it. I loved everything about it, especially that it made our apartment feel more like home. And it really does change up the look and feel of our family room, all while representing our style and taste to a T. There isn’t one thing I’d change about it <3