Framed

I've been busy altering the appearance of my new frame. Initially I contemplated painting and glazing the frame, but in the end I decided to coat it in a dark walnut stain instead. With the stain, the grain and the imperfections in the wood would still be visible, and the variation in color between the brown and green tones would noticeably toned down.

Too shiny!

I really liked how deep the color looked without rubbing the stain off and decided to leave it on to dry. It's shinier than I want, but it's still a bit tacky (I've been picking dog hair out of it like crazy!) and hopefully will dry a bit flatter. If not, I'll spray a matte polyurethane over it to get the duller finish when it's completely dry.

Now, to get this thing hung... I decided to hang it with those plastic hooks with removable adhesive strips, since I'm guessing the wall I'm hanging it on is brick or some other equally hard surface that's too difficult to hammer a nail into. For good measure I used three of these hooks.

I was able to use the string mounted to the backside of the frame to hang this—that saved some extra work, plus in hanging it like this, it's easier to get level!

And, ...WALLAH! Here it is all put together! 

The camera's flash makes this print look more washed out than it is. 

And lastly, I'd just like to share with you that while I was hanging this and decorating my mantle today, my kid kept nagging me to rake leaves so that she and the dog could go play in them. Call me crazy, but I think it might still be a bit too early...

Happy Fall, y'all!