Today is for all you renters out there or those who are just afraid of commitment. I’m going to share with you a few of my favourite hanging techniques that don’t leave a mark. As I mentioned in my living room post, being in love with an artist means there is a lot of art to be hung. Being a renter, each nail pounded into the wall not only drives your neighbours insane but can also mean less money back from your damage deposit. Or maybe you just like to rearrange the art on your walls often and don’t want to patch the holes with each new arrangement. I fit both categories: I am a renter and I am fickle. So let me share with you my favourite hole-free hanging (not so secret) secrets. 1. Hooks Command Hooks stick on easy, come in enough looks to match any decor, hold a decent amount of weight, and, most importantly, come off clean. These hooks were designed with the fickle renter in mind. I use them for everything and they are in every room of my home. In the bathroom they hold towels. In the entryway they hold keys. In the pantry they allow me to hang my apron. In the bedroom they are on the inside of the closet doors to hold odds and ends or the next day’s outfit. In the kitchen they hold cloths, rags, and oven mitts. In the living room they hold art! As mentioned in the blog post about my living room 4 evenly spaced hooks along the biggest wall create a gallery-like feel that allows me to change out the art as often as I wish. But I could also change the arrangement of the hooks as much as I like because Command Hooks are reusable so long as you buy a new sticky backing. These have got to be my #1 hole free hanging solution and no one is even paying me to say so. *Though, 3M, if you’re listening, I will gladly be a spokesperson for Command Hanging products. 2. Sticky Strips Speaking of the sticky backings on Command Hooks, they can be stuck to almost anything else as well. Here I have stuck them to the back of bulldog clips to hold a map I made of our European road trip, but they could also hold just about anything. I love the industrial modern look of the clips but you could use clothespins for a more rustic look or just attach the sticky to anything else. I have attached a magazine file to the inside of my cabinets to hold plastic wrap and tin foil and I attached the file with Command Strips. Your imagination really is the limit. 3. Picture Hanging Strips Also by 3M (I swear they’re not paying me), Command Picture Hanging Strips allow you to hang pretty much anything with these reposition-able strips. They allow you to remove and replace the frame or canvas or anything else as many times as you need to get it level or in the exact position you want without needing new sticky backs. They are like little velcro strips that are super strong. You stick the 2 velcro bits together and remove paper from the sticky back of one side of your velcro sandwich to adhere it to your object. Depending on the weight and size of your item you may need 2 or 4 little sandwiches. These frames are fairly lightweight so I just have 2 strips, one in each of the top corners. Then you simply peel off the paper from the other sticky backs and stick it to the wall. Once it’s good and stuck you can peel your item from the wall and one side of the velcro sandwich should be stuck there. You are then free to adjust the hang slightly to get it perfect. No pressure! That’s my favourite part. The strips look like this and can be bought pretty much anywhere. You’ve probably seen them in stores but walked right by them. Don’t hang your next frame without them. Not only do they allow you to easily get level frames, they don’t unlevel themselves. You can’t knock them out of place so you’ll never have to straighten a picture again. I could go on and on about these *ahem, hint, hint 3M* but for now I will move on. 4. Washi Tape This was super trendy a few years ago which has led to oodles of colours and patterns to choose from. I’m still digging the visible tape look and will continue to so long as the tape is gold. This method is perfect for posters or papers that maybe are too trendy to pay to frame or is maybe a current inspiration or even just a seasonal printout. Some tapes peel paint or leave a residue but the gentle papery nature of washi tape means it comes up clean. You can create a full border that looks like a frame or just tape the corners. You can make patterns and designs around anything or even just use washi tape on its own. When we were living in Copenhagen we didn’t want to buy anything to hang on the blank walls of our rental so we bough a roll of washi tape and went to town. We created a honeycomb pattern on the wall to add visual interest. This stuff may be trendy but I think it’s going to stick around for a while. 5. Double Sided Tape For a cleaner look I like to use double sided tape. This is perfect for postcards I bought while on my travels or anything else light. If you buy good, acid-free double sided tape it shouldn’t damage the postcard or the wall. The key is to keep it acid-free, and if you are worried that the adhesive is too sticky you can stick it to your pants first to lessen the stick-factor. BONUS: 6. Cute Pushpins
Ok, ok, so this tip is not hole-free, but it is a very small nail-sized hole. Some things you hang leave the nail or hook visible and sometimes that’s just not cute enough. To hang my calendar I didn’t want an ugly nail or bulky hook so I opted for a super cute pushpin in the shape of a bow. Seriously, is it not the most adorable thing you’ve ever seen?! Creativity is not just about what goes on the canvas, sometimes it is about how you hang the canvas. Think outside of the box everywhere you can. If the norm feels cumbersome, out of place, ugly, or damaging, there is probably another way to do it. You don’t have to just accept the way things have always been done, your personality can shine even in the way you hang your calendar or art. Let this seep into every area of your life as well. Let me say it again: you don’t have to just accept the way things have always been done. Let your personality shine in all you do. No one else has your stunning personality and no one is going to see the world the way you do, so leave your sparkle wherever you go. You are an innovator. YOU ARE CREATIVE! You may just not know it yet. Truly. Tasia.
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With Bonus Tips On Being PhotogenicFor my readers in Halifax, Vancouver, or Victoria (which is probably all of my readers) you are most likely tired of snow: hearing about it, shovelling it, and navigating it. Bear with me today as I talk more about it. My true hope here is to change your perspective on the white fluffy stuff and possibly even your perspective on daily life. This is first for me and then for you. I need my perspective changed, but chances are you do as well. I see difficulties before I see hope and despair before joy. It’s easy to allow the responsibilities of life to weigh on you instead of embracing your responsibility to live joyfully. Here in Halifax we had a week of storms: I’m talking blizzards and storm surges and flooding and then a second round of it all. School kids attended classes one day this past week and spent the other four most likely cooped up at home. This is a picture out (or mostly of) my deck window on Monday morning. Since then the snow has piled 2 to 3 feet deep. If you live here none of this is a surprise to you. In fact your home may look far more buried. My point is, there is lots of snow. Another totally unsurprising fact is that snow can = work. Shovelling, navigating a vehicle through slick roads, traversing un-shovelled sidewalks, maybe even bailing out a roof or deck that can’t bear the weight of it. I understand these realities full well. I grew up in Victoria where there is rarely any snow and shovelling sidewalks and driveways was not a part of my childhood. I then moved across the country and suddenly had to shovel, walk to class without slipping on the ice, and drive in the stuff. It was a rude awakening. I spent my first winter horrifically unhappy about it all. Snow is not any different than it was my first winter, in fact, my third winter was much much colder, and icier, and snowier. I am now in my fifth winter and while each winter is unique and delivers varying amounts of white, the white stuff itself remains the same. Snow always has and always will be a frozen form of precipitation that accumulates on the ground and needs to be moved before one can safely drive or walk down the road. What has completely and totally changed in the past 4 years is my attitude towards the stuff. I have returned to my childlike ways and now stare out the window with joy and wonder as it dances down from the sky. I lay awake at night to watch the sky glow and reflect light. I now delight in snow and remember the joy of it instead of the pain of it. I have been learning lately how joy is possible in any circumstance, it is only dependant on your attitude. This photo is from the other day when Karl and I were out and paused and took the time to play and snap a few pics and embrace the beauty of it all. I have found that a photoshoot forces me to have fun and be lighthearted or the camera will show that I am not. Here are a few of my photoshoot tips from a complete and utter non-professional (model or photographer). First, let me just get out of the way that I am not photogenic. If you believe that I am I am proud I have fooled you. When I look at a camera and smile you can almost always tell that the smile is fake. So my tip on how to fake being photogenic is to stop pretending and start actually having fun. Karl told me to walk like a duck and it ended up being one of my favourite photos because I am genuinely laughing and having fun. He also threw a chunk of snow at me and I attempted to catch it (photo seen above). The moments of real joy and honest smiles are far more photogenic than any of the ones I posed. Some of the fun we had was what you might call “posed.” We didn’t go outside with the intent of walking like ducks in the snow. We did go outside with the intent of having fun and taking photos and I love the way the photos force me to have fun. If you hate snow, I dare you to do a snowy photoshoot, your attitude will change.
Wouldn’t you prefer a life of joy? Wouldn’t you prefer a house of joy? Wouldn’t you prefer a workplace of joy? The duties of these places are real and probably aren’t going to suddenly become super fun, but the reality is we have a responsibility of joy, not others’, but our own. The best part is, joy is contagious. It takes work and negativity can be a hard habit to break but joy is so much healthier. It will get easier with time, (she promises herself), and then even the worst circumstances of life will be no match for you. This is one makeover tip that will transform the way you look and feel, the effects are immediate and as long lasting as you allow them to be. So here’s to joy, *raises mug in a toast*, and the transformative power it has on our lives. It will change you, and everyone you encounter. Truly. Tasia. Hi there! Here in Halifax we are buckling down for a blizzard but I have been busily gearing up for Valentine’s Day. February 14th also happens to be my birthday and I like to pretend that the hearts and flowers and candy are in celebration of my birthday. That is why even on years I am not avidly celebrating Valentine’s Day I still love all the red and pink and hearts and flowers. This time of the year isn’t busy just because my birthday, though, I also do some floral design work during the “floral holidays”. As you could well imagine, Valentine’s Day is one of the busiest times of year for the floral industry. I thought I would take today to show you a little bit of what I am working on this lovely season. Whether you have a significant other or not I hope you can appreciate and join in the prettiness and use this season to surround yourself with fresh flowers and yummy treats. I'll start off by showing you some of what I have been working on at the flower shop. Pink, red, and white are everywhere in the shop during this season. It is just so pretty when they are mixed all together. There is something so girly and fun about the combination of colours and flowers. Above is a snapshot of dozens of bouquets packed together, awaiting wrapping. How can this sight not make you happy? Pink, red, and white are the most common colours, but the most common flower for Valentine’s Day is absolutely the rose. We handle dozens upon dozens of red roses almost to the point where they lose their charm but there is something about the bunches of pink roses that never ceases to make me swoon. These beautiful bouquets elicit images in my head of a bright and airy ballet studio. I picture young girls in leotards and white tights and the little girl in me falls in love. Regardless of my love of pink roses, red are still the most common. We have to remove all the not so nice leaves and petals of each flower and make sure they are clean and beautiful and ready to be given to a loved on. This image is of the carnage of a morning of cleaning roses. No one has more beautiful garbage than a flower shop and sometimes it’s a shame that these scraps aren’t repurposed in soaps and whatnot. Sometimes, I do take home some of the unwanted pieces and use them in DIY projects. These rosebuds are a prime example. Sometimes they get plucked off by accident and, unfortunately, no one is ordering rosebuds. If I didn’t take these little guys home they would have landed in the trash. I’m drying them out for bath bombs, I think. I’m not 100% certain what they will become but they were too beautiful to see go to waste. I also have a bowl of petals drying out to become potpourri or something. Valentine’s Day isn’t just about flowers though, it is also about sugary sweets. Haha! Soft sugar cookies are my favourite and many years ago I had a co-worker who would make them for my birthday with pink icing. I loved them better than the cake or other sweets people would bring in and since then I have always cherished these cookies on my birthday. This year I attempted to make them heart-shaped for some added whimsy and I happen to love the way they turned out. The last birthday DIY I’ve been working on are a few Valentines for people that I love. I painted little hearts on some card and then did some calligraphy on the top. They are simple but I think they turned out adorable.
This Valentine’s Day, whether you love it or hate it, I hope you find love. I hope you find it within yourself and that you cultivate this important virtue so that it radiates out of you. I hope you find people to love and causes to love. I hope you find food, and activities, and places you love. I hope you fall in love with who you are and are swept off your feet by the beauty of the world. Most of all, I hope you never stop believing in the power of love, just like St. Valentine himself. I wish you all a very happy Valentine’s Day. Truly. Tasia. |
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AuthorTasia Craig recently graduated from Dalhousie's School of Architecture with a Bachelor of Environmental Design Studies and now hopes to showcase her design work on her very first blog. She is currently living in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Archives
June 2017
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