Clothes Line Pictures!

It’s Bonnie again!  And I have a new project ^.^

So I know last time I did that quilted owl pillow.  Let’s face it, even if it’s not “complicated” it’s time consuming.  This time, I’m posting something way less time consuming!  Yay!

This is something I first saw with my wonderful roomie, Amie:

Adorable, sí?

And because it is just oh-so-very-adorable, I’m going to show you how to do it!

You will need:

Hemp (or if you prefer, yarn, twine, string, etc.)
Clothes Pins (I bought a pack of 36 at the dollar store.  For $1.)
Acrylic Paint (I understand most people don’t have this just laying around like me, but it’s reasonably cheap at art stores, and you only  need as many colors as you want.  I used six for the –newly changed- colors of the rainbow.)
Paint brush
Black permanent marker (I used fine, but the regular size will probably be better, or thick if you want to do different patterns.)
Photos
Two push pins

Step 1: Figure out how many pictures you want to put up.  This will determine how many clothes pins you need.  I used eighteen, and my “clothes line” is somewhere between 3 and 4 feet long.  (I do have pictures on top and bottom, though, because I like taking up space.)

Take out the number of clothes pins you need.  Now you have another decision to make.  I did NOT paint all of my clothes pins because I like the mixed look with natural wood color and bright rainbow colors.  If you would like to keep some of them plain, remember to put them aside!

Step 2: Lay out two sheets of newspaper so you don’t get paint everywhere.  (You’ll want to be doing this on a flat surface, by the way!) Separate your clothes pins into piles for the colors you want.  Choose your first victim, pour the paint, and paint the clothes pin!

Tip: You don’t need to paint the whole clothes pin.  If you know which side you want against the wall and don’t want to risk the paint rubbing off, then don’t paint that side.  I painted the front, the sides, and the part that closes on whatever it’s clipped to.

Lay the clothes pins on the second sheet of newspaper to dry.  Once you’re done painting them, leave them there to dry!  Acrylic paint dries pretty quickly, especially if you don’t pile the paint on.  I usually wait about thirty minutes for it to dry.  In the meantime, you have something to do!

Step 3: When you know where you want it, put the two pins in the wall where you’ll tie the line.  I used hemp for my line, so just know when I say “hemp” I’m referring to whatever it is you’re using for your line.  So here’s how I did it!  I tied a slip knot (if you don’t know how to do this, look it up online!  It’s pretty simple =]) Loop it over one push pin and tighten.  Loop the string to the other push pin.  Here’s another decision you get to make: I looped mine several times so I had four or five layers of string.  You don’t have to do that.  Stop whenever you have the look you want, cut the string, and make another slip knot for the push pin you end on!

Tip: You don’t have to make it look like a traditional clothes line, and you can do more than one line!  Amie has two, one right under another.  (I really love the way it looks.)  Mine’s a little different because I’ve already covered so much space on my wall.  I did mine diagonally.  I also know others who do them vertically.  Have fun with this!  Do it whichever way makes you happy =]

Step 4: Go back to the clothes pins.  Hopefully they’re dry! (If not, wait until they are to do this step.)  Take your permanent marker and decorate!  I kept mine pretty simple.  Using a fine-tipped marker I wrote words going down the length of the pins (Imagine, Laughter, Family, Friends, Smile, Enjoy, Life, Dream, Forever, Fun, Explore, and Happiness).  You can do something like that, or the name of the people in the photos, or little polka dots, or stripes, or music notes, or swirly patterns, or just about anything!  You can even leave them plain if you want!

Step 5: Organize the photos how you want them and pin them to the string!  And, like magic, you have an epic wall decoration that’s fun for you and others to look at!