Picture Wall Inspiration

I really like the idea of having a picture wall.
I've talked this over with Joe, and he likes the idea, too.
We were particularly inspired by this photo which I found on Pinterest:

The reason we liked this so much is not only because of the neat old frames, but because of the subject: Birds! Joe LOVES birds. To the point that he went out and spent *a lot* on a fancy pair of binoculars this winter. He spends a lot of time outdoors looking into the trees and trying to catch a glimpse of something neat. So, nothing seemed more fitting than a bird-inspired picture wall for us.

All of this being said, it is clear that the owners of the above picture wall must have spent quite some time collecting different pictures of birds. We, on the other hand, had a better cheaper quicker idea.

As seasoned thrifters, we knew it would be easy to find an assortment of antique frames at the second-hand shops in town. So, for the past couple of weeks we have been collecting antique, golden frames. (We decided on using only gold frames, but this could be done with all different frames, too.)

I also had the idea to look second hand for a bird book... you know, one with bird drawings in it. Luckily, I did find one! First, I chose a few bird pictures that I liked. Of course, I had to make sure that they fit into the frame without showing any writing or anything. Then, I would trace it and cut it out.

Next, I put it the pictures in the frames. After doing a few, it was starting to look great, comme ça:

But I realized that something wasn't quite right. I LOVE the little black and white Lyre bird on the far left. So, I decided I wanted more black and white pictures. As I was feeling particularly creative, I decided to draw one, and it came out pretty good! Here it is:

I was so pleased with how it turned out that I decided to draw another*. Here they are side-by side!

We don't plan on hanging up our picture wall in this house. For now we'll just display them in the kitchen on the ledge (as seen). However, I'm really excited about this bird project! And I'm pretty excited that it got me sketching again...it has been way too long.

Overall, this project has been fairly inexpensive:
Frames: About $7.50 so far.
Bird book: $2.25
Total: $9.75
Time: A few hours :) Totally worth it.

* For the record, I did draw using inspiration from some bird sketches I found online. So although they look good, they are not overly original. I'll have to ease back in!