danielle muller

~ vintage image download no. 26 ~

image from botanicus

click on image to make larger ~ right click ~ save as ~ enjoy!

~ iPhone friday ~

first row: chatham lighthouse, cape cod, ma; pastel balloons in chatham, ma

second row: hermit crab & dunes at chapin beach, cape cod,ma

third row: stony brook pond in brewster, cape cod, ma; sunset @ chapin beach, cape cod, ma

fourth row: four seas ice cream, dennis, cape cod, ma; church steeple in connecticut

~ roses & peonies ~

out of all the flowers in my garden...i think roses & peonies are my favourites. 

i especially love the old fashioned varieties of climbing roses. 

here are a few photos of roses from my garden...

 

~ some tips on caring for roses ~

~ rainwater alone is often insufficient for roses...water regularly!

~ mulch your roses generously

~ prune them to promote vigorous growth

~ fertilize once a month during the season...i like THIS product

~ pests can be a problem...there are several organic products like THIS

 

here are a few photos of peonies from my garden...

 

~ some tips on caring for peonies ~

~ they LOVE potash and bone meal

~ they DO NOT like to be moved,

{so only do so in autumn and when absolutely necessary!}

~ peonies are very top heavy & should be staked...THESE are wonderful!

~ dead head the blooms once they are spent. this will promote next year's blooms!

~ vintage image download no. 25 ~

this print is from my personal collection of bird ephemera

click to make larger ~ right click ~ save as ~ enjoy!!

~ iPhone friday ~

first row: grist mill, stony brook, long island, ny {swan w/cygnets & canada goose} 

second row: my 3 foster kittens; angel statue @ calvary cemetery, flushing, ny

third row: rosebud in my garden; peony bouquet @ the brooklyn flea

fourth row: vintage prom dresses @ the brooklyn flea; nyc/calvary cemetery view

~ vintage image download no. 24 ~

image from the miami digital library

 

~ iPhone friday ~

first row: peach rose; foxgloves

second row: st. patricks cathedral, nyc

third row: radio city music hall {anita baker concert}; foster kitty "rocky"

fourth row: great south bay, moriches, li, ny; fresh herbs & lilacs

~ vintage image download no. 23 ~

click to enlarge...right click...save as...enjoy!

~ iPhone friday ~

first row: historic house in st. james, li, ny; ivy on tree, cedar beach, mt. sinai, li, ny

second row: my ragdoll cat "lily"; purple pansies, east end of long island, ny

third row: bench & boardwalk at cedar beach, mt. sinai, li, ny

fourth row: chicks & goat at goodale farms, aquebogue, li, ny

~ how to create a gallery wall ~

i don't know about you. but i have always wanted to create a gallery wall in my home but could never get the guts to actually do it. the idea of hammering dozens of holes in my wall to try and create a cohesive look just scared me to death. strange but true. so after letting go of my crazy inhibitions {i mean, it's a wall for crying out loud! that's what they make spackle & paint for}...

i started planning out my gallery wall. 

i visited my local IKEA store and purchased a variety of frames from the same collection. i have seen walls with different frames/colors/shapes and decided that for me...for this wall...i wanted to stick with the same type/color of frames. just different sizes & orientations. so i chose the RIBBA line from IKEA in black (with white mats). so excited to find the size below! the inner square is 5 x 5 and is perfect for instagram shots!

i honestly didn't know how many frames to buy OR what sizes...

so i just started with a variety to get the project going...

knowing that i could purchase more as needed. 

once i had my frames with the various sizes,

i made a list of what i had so i would know what size prints to order.

with these frames you have alot of options. they also come in white!

then i went through my photos & decided that i wanted to have

all black & white prints for this wall.

i processed the prints in photoshop using an action

i had purchased HERE a while ago.

there is also a great set of FREE black & white actions HERE 

that you can use in PS {she also has them for PSE}.

if that all sounds a bit scary to you...

you can also convert your photos to black & white using alot of the photo programs out there.

picmonkey.com is a great one to start with! and it's FREE!

i placed my print order from ritzpix.com.

they are super fast & they offer 5 x 5 prints which are perfect for instagram shots!

the quality is amazingly good! 

once the prints arrived (in a couple of days!)

i put them all into the frames and my husband and i laid them out on the floor

to get a feel for placement.

we first measured the wall space & then put painter's tape down on the

floor to form the outline of the space.

we moved the pictures around until something worked for us.

then i snapped a picture of the layout to refer to as we hung them up.

it took some tweaking...a few extra holes in the wall...but FINALLY!

i am pleased with how this project turned out...

i am going to add one more row to the bottom...off to IKEA!

i hope this post has inspired you to create a gallery wall in your home.

it really isn't that scary ; )

~ linking up HERE this week ~