shhh... wanna know a secret?

I have found such a cheating way to decorate for the holidays... it involves the dollar store and the generous sharing of vintage graphics from some wonderful women out there. You see, we've got these shelves at the bottom of our stairs, right next to my studio. I used to have framed photographs sitting on these for years. Got pretty boring. Every holiday I would take them down and try to put up some kind of themed holiday decor in their place.

For awhile, I had pieces of scrapbook paper that matched the season framed in those big square 12"x12" scrapbook frames from the big M but I tired of changing out the paper each time and struggling to rehang them. What a pain! Then it hit me- why not just use regular (read: el cheapo) frames and pack the whole shebang up once the holiday was over?

(oh.... PLEASE excuse the lamp cord snaking down the left side there... I need to glue it down and paint it to match the wall!!!)

Dollar store to the rescue! I bought document frames (they're 8 1/2" x 11") and spray painted them (of course!) to hang as the background on the wall. This background layer gets changed out periodically (I just store each set in a box- they stack flat and weigh nothing so it's simple to change them out).

Then I start layering. The small frames are also from the dollar store (and again, spray-painted) and always have either vintage images I've found or little collages I've made. I also regularly replace the layers of smaller frames, depending on the holiday or season. I think this year after the Easter images are put away I'll replace them with sheet music and little bird & nest pictures instead.

After some trial and error I discovered that using Velcro hook & loop tape to hang them was so much better than trying to get the nails in the right place each time. The Husband doesn't know that there are about 30 little nail holes in the wall behind these! Now I just leave one side of the hook & loop up on the wall all the time and glue a matching piece on the back of the document frame. It makes it so easy to take the old ones down and replace them with new ones. Does this all make sense? Please excuse the nail hole!

The Easter images I've used have come from many sources-

The Grapics Fairy http://graphicsfairy.blogspot.com/

The Feathered Nest http://the-feathered-nest.blogspot.com/

Vintage Catnip http://vintagecatnip.blogspot.com/

The Last Door Down The Hall http://thelastdoordownthehall.blogspot.com/

Cleary Vintage http://www.clearlyvintage.blogspot.com/

Magic Moonlight Free Images http://magicmoonlightfreeimages.blogspot.com/
Shabby Chic Papir Skatter http://shabbychicpapirskatter.blogspot.com/

Please visit these fantastic blogs and see what they've got!