i love me a good “gallery wall”… i guess it’s kinda like the home decor equivalent of a scrapbook page? maybe that is why i love them so much! in fact, my gallery wall obsession inspired my newest collection of products available only at Michaels *specifically* for creating your own DIY gallery wall! i was delighted when the producers from Studio 5 (a local lifestyle TV show) invited me to share my tips for creating your own gallery wall! 
i love it when they invite me! Brooke Walker is seriously the BEST host, and just makes it so easy to chat on air! everyone there behind the scenes totally rocks! click here to watch the segment on KSL Studio 5!
ok: WHAT IS A GALLERY WALL? 
my definition of a gallery wall is: “a collection of your favorite things that you combine and hang on the wall”…. it’s supposed to make you happy, motivated and inspired!
that is EXACTLY what this grouping in my home office does for me! it’s beautiful and it just makes me happy! i love these excellent reminders everyday! 
even though we ALL have a blank wall that we would LOVE to fill with a personalized and kinda “quirky” gallery wall… it’s a little OVERWHELMING and intimidating to put one together… so, i wanted to share a few TIPS that might help you just throw caution to the wind, and GO for the GALLERY!
TIP#1: GATHER up what you have! most the time, i am just using frames and stuff that i have on hand, and am not using at the moment. it doesn’t matter what it looks like – it can be easily spray painted to fit your color scheme! look for frames, clipboards, magnet boards, cork boards, clock, shelf, light-up-stuff (Marquee Love) etc.
TIP#2: BRAINSTORM OR GATHER the quotes, messages, words, photos that you want to feature in your gallery wall! the location of your gallery wall, might influence the messages you include. i went onto Pinterest and Instagram and started writing down messages that i wanted to incorporate.
TIP#3: DETERMINE THE COLORS! once you have a color story, it’s so much easier to plan and combine.
Tip #4: ARRANGE your collection on the floor! FIRST off, measure the area for your gallery and then mark off that amount of space on your floor. this makes it so easy to arrange, and rearrange and get the perfect “bird’s eye view”.
this is where the camera phone comes into play- snap photos of your arrangements – you may have to move things around a little bit until you get it just right…
Tip #5: HANG! once you are happy with the plan – use your phone as reference to hang! i like to start with the middle, or largest piece… and work out from there as you hang each piece. hang the largest piece first, and work out from there.
the arranging is tricky… especially when you are working with different sized and shaped objects. i do have one little rule of thumb that i like to keep in mind… it has to do with the X/Y axis…
- position the first and most significant item.
- the next item should align on either or x or y axis.
- as you add additional pieces… use alignment on either of the horizontal or vertical edges; trying to stay consistent with the spacing between items.
- try to group like sizes by at 2 or 3 in each grouping. those redundant sizes offer strength to the overall collage. (notice how i have 3 clipboards the same size below)
*keep moving things and trying different arrangements.
Tip #6: USE CLIPBOARDS, magnet boards and bulldog clips to make it super easy to change out prints or photos with the seasons and holidays… or just to make a change!
notice in this photo above… i used extra large bulldog clips to hang this poster which not only added a fun design element, but it was an easy way to dress up an inexpensive poster. (i mounted it to foam core to hang). another favorite tip from this above photo is that i added teal glitter to the clips on the clipboards. it’s SO cute all sparkly!
Tip #7: START SMALL! even just a couple of items combined together can be a “gallery wall” or sometimes people call it a “vignette” – maybe you have a little side table or shelf that could use a little love! take a look at how simple just combining a DIY Marquee letter and a gold foil print in a pretty frame! 
it might even be fun to start using a shelf or large frame to “define” your gallery… this shelf with 9 openings is a great natural gallery – and all i had to do was fill the holes!
i also like to use an oversized frame (this frame has been painted about 10 times!) to outline/define the space for me to add decor:
Tip #8: ADD LIGHTS!! never underestimate the power of Marquee Love in your collections! they add so much WOW factor and visual interest! even just a simple letter or number packs a lot of gallery wall punch!
ALSO! be sure to check out my new LightBox Collection … it’s so fun to switch up, and switch ON!
Tip #9: IF YOU CAN’T FIND IT… DIY IT! if you scroll up to the top, and look closely at the photo i posted of me arranging everything on the floor… there is a different item on the bottom right- i realized that the quote was too busy, and i needed something more simple but still with some dramatic impact! i traced the exact size of the sign, and cut out a piece of black foam board and attached to the top of the wood quote, then i cut this gorgeous ampersand out of white vinyl and i simply adhered it to the black foam core surface – and it looks awesome! you can’t tell this is just a foam core and vinyl project!? right?
adding pops of color using paint, color shine and even FOIL touches is just the right amount of DIY! the new Hot Pink color shine was just the perfect POP of pink for my gallery wall.
i created 3 different printables to get YOU started! (if you want… you can print them onto smooth white cardstock using a LASER PRINTER and add foil using my Minc Machine!!) you can hang them inside a frame or clip onto a clipboard or use the magnetic board like i did! these prints are available for FREE (click here) for a limited time; they are for personal use only please.
Click HERE to take a look at ALL the different elements available in my new Gallery Wall collection available exclusively at Michaels! i would LOVE to see YOUR gallery walls!! I just posted this “overview” video of my new gallery wall collection on my YouTube channel… take a look (and make sure you are a subscriber!) and start planning! post your pics and tag me on instagram @heidiswapp and #hsgallerywall **** it’s so much fun to wear your memories on your walls!
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