what to do with a laundry line?

in israel, and in most place that aren't america, everyone hangs their laundry out their windows on clothing lines.

so when i saw this photo on pinterest, i was immediately smitten with both its adorableness and the shout out to the many countries in which i've grumbled as i've hauled my clothes out of the washing machine and taken the time to hang each item of clothing over a line and pin it well enough that it doesn't fall tumbling down to the streets below, as happened to my pillowcases in tel aviv! despite my grumbling though, i learned to find meditation in the task of taking each piece of clothing out, straightening it, and smoothing it over the rough edges of the laundry line.






so, on one of my drive around lansing from goodwill to salvation army tours, i stumbled upon a mirror that came in this frame.


originally it was $10 but it was half off day so it was only $5!

the frame felt too bright and shiny to me, so i decided to paint it. but as i sanded it down, i loved the way it the bright burnt red turned a little softer and rugged looking. i took the gold off the edges.

then began the process of deciding what photos to choose! i spent hours going through all the photos i have on my computer and finally landed on the ones below. in iphoto i used the antique effect to make them look a little more aged. every store i went to could only print 4 x 6, not 3 x 5, so i had to cut down on the photos i had chosen even more! but now i can rotate ones in and out which is nice!

i found twine at my parents' house, and bought mini brass paper clips and clothes pins at meijer while i waited for my photos to print (which, by the way, took an hour. isn't technology supposed to make everything immediate now?)

first i tried the photos with just the brass pins, which looks like this:


then i added the clothespins. they were too clean looking so i painted them a dirty sand color (sounds gross, but it gave them an aged look).


i spent a few days looking at it and couldn't figure out what was wrong. finally i realized i had the photos pinned right on the twine, instead of allowing a little space between the photos and the twine. so i did that and then took it to ann arbor and hung it on my wall, opposite my bed, so it will be the first thing i look at when i wake up every morning! feng shui says you are supposed to wake up and look at something that inspires you, and i think waking up to see my family and friends smiling back at me will be the perfect thing!

but, silly me i was so excited about decorating in ann arbor, that i forgot to take pictures! i'll be back in a2 on monday and will take a photo of it hanging on the wall!