Frame of Memories...

In the last post about updating the guest room, I mentioned that it was really important to me to keep Oma's things from Germany in our guest room.  I had some empty frames that my mother was getting rid of when she finally decided that her entire house didn't have to be gold & hunter green & I decided to make a picture collage using the biggest frame that I had.   Now these frames wouldn't ordinarily go with the themes in my house, but in the updated guest room, the gold frames look good with the French Provincial furniture & the jewel tones.  

My grandmother was a war bride & met my grandfather when he was serving in the US army in Germany.  They met & fell in love & she moved back to America with him.  Although she lived in America probably another 60 years, she never lost her accent, her connections with her family there, or her love of Germany.  She went back a few times & I always wished I was able to go back with her one day, but unfortunately she got too sick too fast.  She kept lots of things from Germany...old photos, postcards, maps, etc.  I decided to use these things in my collage.  

So first, I took the big gold frame.  I had some bendable wire that I strung across the frame three times, using my upholstery stapler to staple it down to the sides of the frame.  

I then took one of my Oma's old maps...

And stapled it to the back of the frame, leaving the wires in front of the map.

I then took regular clothespins & pinned on the letters, postcards & photos that were my Oma's from Germany.

I also pinned on a few other things of my grandparents like my grandfather's monogrammed belt buckle, his whistle from the war & a big pearl pendant from one of my Oma's necklaces. 

I really love how this turned out & I like being able to look at the things that remind of my grandparents on the wall rather than having them stuck away in a shoe box somewhere or something.  And it always sparks lots of convos with our guests since this is our guest room after all. : )