Hanging a picture

We had a lot going on today; our baby boy was having his 1st birthday and was not able to get any work done outside on my workshop. This does not mean I got the day off though, I had plenty of honey-do's on my list. One of them was something we have been overlooking for some time now.

We looked for a long time for the right picture to hang on this wall and when we found it, I set it there with every intention of hanging it up right away. Well days turned into weeks and "It doesn't look so bad just sitting there, right?" was my go to line when Katie asked to hang it up. With a group of our family and loved ones coming over for Harrison's birthday party, it was time for me to do it!

The tools I used for this project: 

• Tape measure
• Level
• Drill
• Drill bit ( size not labeled , it was part of a kit )
• Drywall anchors and screws
• Pencil
• Sheet of scratch paper and Tape
• Screwdriver ( Philips ) 

The frame has two hooks on each side that you could connect using a wire. This way you would only need to drill one hanger, but I didn't feel comfortable hanging this heavy frame on 1 drywall anchor. If you are lucky enough for a stud to be perfectly centered where you need it, then I'd say go for it. Otherwise, you can follow these steps to make sure your holes are in the correct spots.

I have a large 4 foot level that I used to mark the distance between the hooks, but I understand a 4 foot level isn't a common tool to have (you could also use a tape measure to find the distance). My distance was 39-1/2 ", Once you have this, divide by 2 to get your center. I marked a line on the wall that corresponded with the center of the piece of furniture below. I held the picture up, asked Katie to help find a good height, and she made a small dot on the wall against the bottom side of the frame with a pencil. It's nice having someone help you, but you could also do this on your own with a tape measure. 

Now that I have my center and how high i would like the frame to be, I need to find out how far the hooks are from the bottom of the frame. The hooks are 19-1/2 "  from the bottom of the frame, so I measured on the wall 19-1/2 " up from the dot Katie made. Using my level, I made two dots 19-3/4  " apart from the center of the piece of furniture. 

                                               

Once we know where to place the screws, we have to drill a hole to fit the anchors inside. 

Here is a small tip I found to be useful (especially when drilling into drywall over furniture): use a piece of paper and tape as a cradle to catch any dust when drilling holes. Then take the paper and throw it all in the trash. Little to no clean-up needed!  

I am going to take a second here to explain; I bought the anchor, screws, and drill bit as a picture hanging kit from Bargain Hunt a few years ago. The bit is to be used for the anchors and screws to be used for those same anchors. When I drilled the holes, the provided bit was a little too large. When the screw was inserted into the anchor, it wasn't tight enough for my liking. What do we do now? Simply make a tighter fit by wrapping tape around the part of the anchor that will go inside the wall. It works perfectly!

After using the tape trick and inserting the screw, the only thing left to do is to hang the frame and enjoy our pictures! 

Thanks for stopping by!