Creating a Photo Collage

   Hello there! Today really is April 1st (incase you're wondering, I thought yesterday was!)! We currently have at least two feet of snow still in our yard, but I am hopeful that spring (not that silly date on the calendar), but the real spring is coming! 
   That really has nothing to do with today's post! In one of our houses we had this huge wall behind our sofa. The room opened up into the dining room, and so, what it really turned into was one, enormous, long, empty wall! I looked at some art that we could buy, but for the sizes we would need to fill the space it would be too much $$$ (I did start painting two large pictures for the dining room side, but I still had a whole lotta wall that needed something!). Anyway, the walls stayed empty, until one day on Pinterest I saw this! A beautiful photo collage that made me say, "oh yeah! I don't need one BIG art piece, I could fill the space with 20 smaller/different sized pictures!" Duh. For real, I hadn't even thought of doing it before!      

(Ahem) Please ignore the crocked photo! This is a small collection of photos going along our stairs. I am going to keep adding to it.

   There is no real trick to creating a nice collage, but there are a few rules that (I think) should be followed so that you have a "piece" that looks good. 
   Firstly: Just decide if you want it to be a perfect square, or rectangle (fyi, this can add a lot of extra time to the project), or if you want one with no borders. You will want to know this before you start.
   Secondly: Make sure you have big & small frames. If all your frames are too small, it will look more like a jigsaw puzzle (and people won't really be able to see all the pictures). 
   Thirdly: I would personally recommend having your frames be similar colours (or all one colour), or a general colour scheme. Think all white, all black, all earth tones, or if you're living on the edge, all jewel tones!
   Fourthly: Try to have a general spacing idea. You can be strict (everything will be one inch apart from each other), or within a rule (everything will be between 1-3 inches apart from each other).
   The point is that when you step back from your collage it feels like it belongs there, not like you just helter-skelter put some stuff on the wall!   

I thought it was important you saw my terrible face in the photo in the middle. Also, this young man in the last photo is of no relation to me, but I found him at the St. Jacobs Antique Market, and thought him quite interesting. :)

   I need to change out some photos here and there, but I have enjoyed adding things (besides photos) to make the collages/tell a story. Don't feel confined to photos, add art you like, random things you like, just go for it, and make it personal!  

The family photo in the top left is an oldie. That's me in my Mom's lap in the front. I was brand-new! :) And that beautiful women in the bottom is (again) not related to me, but I like her, and I call her Diana Barry!

   To know what you want before you start making holes in the walls, take everything you plan to use, measure the size of the space you will be using on the floor or a bed (in the room you are putting these up in), and lay your photos/art, etc. down within those confines. This way you can get it "right" before  making the commitment of a nail or screw in the wall! The gal in the tutorial link (from Pinterest) shows you this.  

Can I just point out how dirty that bottom right mirror is! Yikes!

   The wall collage above has pictures, art, lots of mirrors (it's a dark room, so the mirrors make it feel more open), a "family" sign I made from some old barn board (out of our barn), and one of the old windows from our bedroom (the window guys thought I was a little coo-coo for wanting to keep ALL our old windows!) 

   That Wheatlets bag is a beautiful cloth bag I got for $6 at an antique place. The "Sommer" sign is one I took from my horses stall when she was put down (years and years ago). 
   The point is not just to fill a space, but make a story. Create you, in collage form, in art form, on the wall!