Hang Pictures with Aluminum Foil

Well, yesterday I showed how I matted my picture frames with posterboard and today I will show you how to hang them with aluminum foil:)

This technique can also be used with tissue paper or any other lightweight, easy to tear paper.

First, here is what my picture frames looked like before. I got them at various thrift stores ranging from $.50 to $1.00.

I originally wanted them all white or ivory...but with them all being different textures I wasn't sure if they would look streamlined in such a light color. I knew black would make them look more uniform and hide any imperfections in each frame.

I was really dreading spray painting them. I don't consider myself to be weak...but my fingers have never had enough strength for spray painting. It would always turn out uneven. But my need to conquer something overcame my fear of spray paint.

Plus I found this amazing color that Krylon sells. It's called Oil Brushed Bronze and it has the exact same finish as the brown/black furniture at Ikea (which we have a lot of)...so I was beyond thrilled to find it!

Then, my husband showed me this:

Have you seen one of these gun attachments for spray paint? It was $2.47 and it changed my life! I was able to spray paint each frame effortlessly and evenly. Now I want to spray paint everything!

So...getting back to the subject of this post...you want to start by arranging your frames on the ground and then taking a picture for reference.

Materials:

aluminum foil

black marker

scotch tape

1. Roll out your foil and place your frame on top. Just pull up on the foil to get an even tear all the way around your frame.

2. Looking at your picture of your arrangement, fold your foil pieces in half whichever way they will hang (vertical or horizontal). This will give you a center point of where to put your nail.

3. Flip the frame over and place the foil on top. Press down the foil to find the hook on the back (or where you will hang it from) and mark it with a dot.

So you are marking your dot on the vertical fold line and the horizontal point where you want the frame to hang.

4. Arrange your pieces of foil on the wall, using your photo as a guide. I used a small piece of scotch tape on the back of each one.

5. Now you can hammer in a nail at each dot on the foil pieces.

6. Start to hang your frames. I left the foil on to show you just how accurate it was!

7. Once you are happy with the placement, simply rip the foil off the wall (your nail should stay in tact).

At first I thought this technique may not be worth the extra work...but I was wrong! This was the easiest way to hang pictures and I liked how the foil was pliable and already in my kitchen pantry:)

Here is my wall all complete (well...without my photos):

I don't think I could love it any more than I already do! Now I just need to fill in the frames.

Price:

13 frames: $12.50

spray paint: $2.67

posterboard mattes: $.50

Total: $15.67