the space between

upcycle, repurpose and reinvent your space

the one screw {gallery wall} is HERE!

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I did it! I really did! Here’s the proof! (Beware – there are plenty more exclamation points to come!)

If you’re new here, you may want to go here, here and here to get caught up on my “I Might Be Screwed (Just Once), A Gallery Wall Experiment”.

Because today is all about the result. The glorious, one little screw, only cost me $15 result! Booyah!

Although, it did almost cost me my sanity … and the tip of my right index finger. Which I really can’t spare … although I’ve learned I never really needed the left one. 🙂

Unfortunately, I have no pics of the times when all balance was lost. When one suffers in solitary, there are no spare hands for photo ops when you’re almost breaking the antique mirror your mom just gave you.

My original layout was this. (Minus the canvas pic of downtown Willemstad, Curacao along the top.)

I wanted the canvas silhouettes of the dogs to be front and center – they are by far my favorite DIY project of all time part of this project. And when I had it all laid out on the floor I thought I would be OK with just the 2 canvases in that one column. But, once it all got hung, there was too much space at the bottom for my liking.

Don’t you hate it when that happens? :/

I think it is because the frame with the coral, to the left of the center column, is hanging just a scosh lower on the left side than the right. Which is due to the driftwood shelf hanging a little lower on the left. More details on that another time. Let’s just say, driftwood shelf = bane of my one screw gallery wall existence. 🙂

Also, the B (you can find the deets on how I made that baby from a cardboard box here) just doesn’t do enough to solidify any sort of straight line, which (I think) would create a cohesive look along the bottom. To me it just needed something else.

Lucky for me I had this beautifully aged, aqua and white, rusty nailed piece of driftwood. Which, as it turns out, is the only piece that is not actually hanging from the one screw. I guess that’s what happens when one is afraid to tackle what had become a teeter totter of art after I had it so nicely settled. 🙂
It fit just right.

And then I threw in another one of my favorite pieces of driftwood for good measure.
I just propped her up as a little accessory on the driftwood shelf. Maybe she’ll distract from that side of the shelf being just a bit low? Not really? Sigh.

But this is what she ended up looking like all together. Smile.

And now a plethora of pictures … because they make me happy.

I couldn’t decide on what to put on my black canvas, I’m looking for word art ideas and am open to suggestions. If you have any inspiration pics I need to see please link them up to the space between Facebook page.
I am so thrilled with how the whole thing turned out. Like down right giddy. Like I’d totally pull a Tom Cruise and jump up and down on our couch if I wasn’t worried it would throw the beauty off balance and send her tumbling down.

I think it is a great solution for many renters who really can’t riddle their walls with holes but love the gallery wall look.

I truly feel like I’ve tackled my impossible. I took. her. down. Or rather, hung. her. up. 🙂

If you’ve tackled your Impossible too, or have a story to tell about how you tried, grab a button! And come back tomorrow for the Imagine the Impossibilities link party to show off your stuff!  We go live at 7amET.

Update – The $50 Lowe’s Giveaway is here! (now closed)
Update #2:  The Imagine the Impossibilities Link Party is here.
Update #3:  The Nitty Gritty Hanging Details are now here.
Update #4:  What I did with the black canvas is here.
Update #5:  Details about making the wedding memento are here and here.
Update #6:  Learn how to make the dog silhouette canvases here. (BTW – this has become my most popular post for 2012! Thank you, thank you!!)
Update #7:  The how-tos for making the stencil HOME art and coral framed art are here. 

the space between

I would so L-O-V-E love to hear what you think! What’s your favorite part? What’s your least favorite part? What should I put on the black canvas? How would you have made a one screw gallery wall? Are you overwhelmed with anticipation about the Superbowl?

Fair warning, there are many details still to come. How she’s all hung. How I spent my $15. How I made those dog silhouettes out of floral canvases found at Goodwill. What was the hardest part. How long it took. I tell you … many, many details. 🙂

If there’s anything in particular you want to know about just shout it out. Or, if you really want me to hear, leave it in the comments. 😉

And then, because we’re one big Impossible family here, be sure to click on the header images below to take a look at what my uber talented challenge co-hosts accomplished!

And THEN, don’t forget to come back here this afternoon to get signed up for our very first GIVEAWAY!  A $50 gift card to LOWE’S. And you’ll learn about a little obsession I have. Joel, you may not want to come back this afternoon. 😉

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I will be pimping out my one screw gallery wall where ever I can. Including here, here, here, here, here and here.

Just for fun, here’s a little before and after.

Comments

  1. LOVE this! I got my chair reupholstered but I am scrambling to get my woman cave done! The project is going well but bigger than I anticipated. Keep your fingers crossed!

  2. This is absolutely AMAZING!!!!! I never imagined! : ) It looks fabulous!!!! What a treasure this is and I APPLAUD you for your incredible creativity! Color me impressed…I LOVE IT!!!! one thing is missing in the after shot though…where’s the pup : ) LOL!!!!! Thank you for all that you do and thank you for being a loving and caring new friend!…hugs!

  4. What an awesome gallery wall. I love all the texture and the interest you have added. Thanks for sharing with my newbie party. PLEASE add my link or button as well, so that others know about the party too. Thanks

  5. That is AWESOME! I’ve been slowly building a gallery wall (and I now NEED a dog silhouette to go on it!) and I’m really impressed by this. I’d love to know how you did it.

  7. Picture me doing the Tom Cruise crazy jumping on the couch!! It looks fabulous – love all the art you chose. Maybe the blank canvass should be a portrait of you posing like Rocky!
    Kelly

  8. Karah,

    I love so many things about this…..not only is the entire project incredible….each little bit….each little piece of the puzzle is fabulous! I love those dog silhouettes and of course you know my opinion of your CARDBOARD (I’m still dealing with that) letter! Congratulations on a job well done my friend!

    blessings,
    karianne

  9. Wow! Just Wow!

    I would be thrilled if you shared your idea at my “Get Ready For Romance” party today. I’ve tackled my very ugly basement pantry and will be sharing my impossible task tomorrow 🙂

  10. Well done! I can’t believe you did that with one screw! I love the dog canvases…now I want to make one! Thanks for sharing. I still need to finish my impossible project!

  12. Your gallery wall looks really lovely! I like the piece of wood across the top. It reminds me of a piece of old piano I have hung across the front of my fireplace’s awkward faux mantle.
    I don’t think I’d have the courage to hang all from only one screw…I’d have to use two 😉 Can’t wait to find out how you did it!

  13. Absolutely wonderful …did you use fishing line?. You could do some string art on your blank canvas

    • I did! And when I say it I think it sounds tacky, but you really can’t even see it in person. I LOVE it! Thanks so much for the nice comment. I love the string are on canvas idea…how would I stick in my thingy things to hold the string???

  14. karah, it looks so cool! i love, love, love the driftwood you used…very beachy and appropriate for your locale! your arrangement is great too…love that “B” and mirror!!
    i’m very glad you didn’t lose a finger either 😉

  17. This is amazing! This is the best idea! Thanks for sharing it! I love it! I’m a new follower! Thanks for stopping by my blog so I could find yours! I love what I see!

  18. Wow, it looks incredible. I like every piece, especially the driftwood – it really adds to the eclecticism of the whole – gorgeous – wall !!!
    Well done – Fiona (my challenge to be linked up tomorrow !!!)

  20. this looks great, can’t wait to hear the details! thanks for the invite to the party- I’ll be there! 🙂

  22. Yea! This looks so great! I will definitely be checking back – I’m dying to know where that one screw is. Thanks too for linking up @ the Delectable Home. Can’t wait for your reveal party tomorrow – I’ll be there!

  23. Seriously, I had my doubts that you could pull this off….But here it is, and just beautifully done! Congrats on tackling the impossible and winning, Lori

  24. It looks so fabulous!! I think my favorite part is the small driftwood ledge – how cool is that?! I can’t wait to see how you did all of this!

    I’ll be back tomorrow to show off my “impossible!” and to see everyone else’s!

    Again, job VERY well done!

  25. It looks great. I love DIYers. I watch the TV program all the time and it has inspired me to do some of the work in my house myself. Great Job!

  27. This is absolutely amazing and I wish you had made a vlog about it instead. LOL. The only reason is becaus I know when I tell my hubby he won’t believe me and he’ll give himself a headache trying to figure it out.

  28. I’m in awe. We are dog lovers, too, canvas silhouettes are great. Here it’s illegal to harvest driftwood from our New England shores, but I sure like looking at it. Just love what you did. For your black canvas; I
    DID
    IT
    !
    Janet

  30. This is amazing, Karah!! Wow, your creativity is overflowing! Congratulations!! 🙂

  31. I am so amazed at this wall! You have dreamed up an idea I couldn’t even imagine!
    Love anything with animals, by far my favorite.
    How about a sentiment or verse on the blank space.
    I am joining tomorrow to share my organizing

  33. Awesome! You are right you totally can’t see any canvas sag now that they are done!

    Great job!

    (Seems I like exclamation points, too!)

  34. So did that totally make you feel like an engineer? (It’s amazing how they build things and they don’t fall down.)
    Love the dog canvases! Miss the girls! (And you too, obv. And Joel. :))

  37. I love it. It looks truly amazing. I think you did a great job with the gallery wall. I like the lay-out of it. And the dog canvases are great.
    Greetings from Germany
    Catrin

  38. Oh goodness me! I am so impressed by so much – the beautiful art work to begin with, which is inspiring. Your ingenuity of how to hang all those pictures – I was totally stumped as to how you’d do it, but of course, now, the answer is so obvious! You have a real creative eye. Congratulations on achieving your impossibility!

  40. Karah, it turned out fantastic! I’m seroiusly going to be walking on the beach more often looking for driftwood. I can stand and stare at your gallery wall all day!

  41. Oh, Karah!
    It’s wonderful! I think the driftwood shelf is a WONDERFUL idea! It gives you so much flexibility. And, I need to look through your blog to find that wooden tree thing to the right. *Swoon!* Thank you so much for co-hosting the Challenge!

    ~ Dana at Cooking at Cafe D
    (We’ll, hopefully finish our Jimmy John’s Kitchen tonight!)

  42. I keep staring and can’t figure out how you did this! Would you like to come over to my house and fill some empty walls so my friends and family will stop bugging me to “get something up on those walls!”.
    Impressed as all get out……

    Linda at Fingers in the Dirt

    P.S. The black canvass should have a collage of things dogs would find at the beach.

  44. This is so great. I didn’t even notice the plain black canvas at first! It just fits. I would keep it very simple, whatever you do. I don’t have a specific suggestion, because every time I think of something, I look again and think it won’t work with the balance you have going.

    The dog silhouettes are really great, but I love the cardboard letter and will be remembering that as I plan a wall or two I need to design.

  46. I love the wall..everything is so meaningful and clearly you have put a lot of thought into each piece. My favorite would be the Home sign and I do like the dog silhouettes.

  47. Your after is really fabulous looking. It features all the things that are important to you, it looks like. Using only one screw sounds impossible, but I’m sure I will learn how you did it if I can remember to come back for the “rest of the story”. This challenge has really been a great help to me. I love a good challenge!
    Have a great week.
    Hugs, Cindy

  48. This is the coolest thing. I’m still trying to wrap my head around the one screw thing, but I’ll get there. I have a big ugly blank space behind my couch right now and you’ve just given me some MAJOR inspiration on what to do with it.

    Congrats on conquering your impossibility and thanks for co-hosting this AWESOME party!

    -Sarah

  49. Amazing! Cannot wait to get the whole story how you did this. I have a problem putting nails into the walls. We have some truly heavy pieces that require major anchors etc so my husband and I keep putting off hanging them. I’m tired of blank walls so perhaps I’ll push these things aside and make a gallery wall instead. Love your dog silhouettes.

  51. Thanks for stopping by my blog. I love your gallery wall. The silhouettes of the dogs are too cute! And wow at only using one screw!!

  53. It turned out just fabulous! I love the dog silhouette pictures – I’ve been looking at tutorials on making your own silhouette pics but haven’t attempted it yet. The drift wood finds are amazing, too!

  56. I always destroy my mails when I hang stuff up. This is great and I pinned it. I love for you to link it up at my party this week. You are entered for a chance to win $20 of vintage jewelry just for linking up.

  57. Your wall looks awesome! Only one screw… I’m impressed!

  58. I think you should put your word of the year on the black canvas, done in dictionary looking type with the definition. It sort of sums up the entire project! I love the way iti turned out and the pieces you chose to hang! I think my favoes are the canvases of the dogs too, altho’ I love all the beach elements! Looking forward to reading the goos, bad and ugly parts in future posts! Thanks SO MUCH for sharing this phenomenal project! Hugs, Leena

  60. Oh my my- you should be proud. It is great! Love the Labs- I have the same two labs laying by me right now :). Great blog, look forward to checking more of it out.

  61. What a great project and I love the dog silhouettes. Thanks for linking to the Open House Party. Hugs, Sherry

  62. Okay, I have to admit, I was REALLY skeptical. But, you pulled it off!! Yay, you!!! And, I couldn’t really picture it, but it’s SO much better than I imagined!! Wow, it’s SO pretty!

    Thanks SO SO much for linking this up! I really enjoyed following your series. Your project really DID seem impossible! 🙂

  66. Your gallery wall is incredible! I can’t believe how you made that all work! Great job- it’s totally rad!

  67. A gallery wall without the gallery holes? Get out of town! I’m a sucker for a gallery wall, and to get one that doesn’t require spackling as a result of my decorating A-D-D is even better! Thanks so much for sharing at my first Room Evolution party – I hope you’ll be back to share more!

Trackbacks

  20. […] the Ooh la la canvas here, the horse picture/frame here, the cross stitch and frame in the back here and the 2 other canvses here.  Those 2 other canvases are still my most viewed post evah … […]

  22. […] typical evening in our house.  Me admiring the gallery wall while at least one dog and one husband sleep on the couch watch tv. My Valentine’s Day card […]

  24. […] got so many great comments on these guys (thanks to you for that!) when I revealed the gallery wall and here’s how you, too, can make canvas silhouettes of really anything you have a photo of. […]

  25. […] the Ooh la la canvas here, the horse picture/frame here, the cross stitch and frame in the back here and the 2 other canvases here.  Those 2 other canvases are still my most viewed post evah … […]

  26. […] next 8 weeks I’m going to try to: 1. Build floating shelving  – I am still in love with my one screw gallery wall, but I have limited space to work with in this breadbox and I’ve got the fiddling bug so […]

  28. […] We kicked things off in January with 12 Days of Kindness and Imagining the Impossible by hanging a whole gallery wall from one screw. […]