Sunday afternoon project

I bought some plates off of eBay shortly after Christmas, hoping to do a nice display in the kitchen. Once they arrived, though, I stalled and stalled and stalled because I didn't want to have to do the detail work associated with hanging them.

Hanging eight plates of varying colors and sizes around a platter seemed a bigger mountain than I cared to climb once they actually GOT here. But today I finally decided to tackle it, and -- lo and behold -- it only took about 30 minutes!

On Saturday, I prepped the plates by washing them and adhering the handy-dandy hooks to the back. These things are SO COOL; they're much easier to use than the metal hook thingies that wrap around the plate and hang all loosy-goosy on the wall.



All you have to do is remove its packaging, wet it to activate the glue and stick it to the back of the plate, making sure that the hook is pointing "up" according to the plate's design. Let it sit overnight, then hang it the next day. Thanks to my friend KELLY for the tip on these plate hangers!

Today after church I checked to make sure that the hangers were all secure (they were) before proceeding. Next, I traced all of my plates on white paper, noting the plate's design on each one so I'd know which template was which. Then I placed the template over the back of the plate and poked a hole through the spot where the hanger sat so that I'd know where the nail would rest.



I placed the plates in a circle on the floor, deciding which designs and colors worked best next to each other. The placement didn't have to be perfect, because I had my templates to work from on the wall itself.



Once I had the arrangement the way I liked it, I started nailing the templates VERY LIGHTLY into the wall, putting the nail through the little nail hole I'd marked on each template. Once they were set, I stepped back to make sure everything was even.



The next step was to remove the paper templates and hammer the picture hangers into the wall, directly into the light nail holes I'd put there when hanging the templates. Then I just popped the plates onto the hangers, and voila!



IT ACTUALLY WORKED. No one was more surprised than I at this turn of events, since I didn't use a level or a tape measure. Will wonders never cease?



But I'm really happy with the results! They're hanging at one end of our kitchen table, the site of many meals and, of course, today's epic Army man battle.


If you thrive on little projects like this (or WISH you did), visit Nesting Place and read her wonderful tips on ways to take 10 minutes to transform a room in your house. I love her sense of style and her practicality!