DIY Instagram Wall Under $25

As soon as I found out our new place was going to have a guest bedroom, I immediately started thinking about how I wanted to decorate it.  I knew I wanted it filled with happy memories and pictures with people who would be visiting.  So of course the first thing that pops into my head is instagram.

I put my guest bedroom ideas on hold for a little while to try and unpack boxes.  (I guess unpacking pots and pans so I can cook is more important than decorating lol)  Then I came across this quote on Jordan's blog and was immediately obsessed.  I loved that idea:  I have left my heart in so many places.  Isn't that such a prettier way to think about moving and leaving people and places you love?  I immediately started thinking of all the places and people that I had left a piece of my heart with and knew that this quote needed to be in my guest bedroom!  Since we are renting, I didn't want to put too many holes in the walls so when I saw this project, I knew it was the perfect way to get a lot of pictures up with minimal holes.  I really love how it turned out.

Supplies:

20 Square Prints (See step 1 for printing instructions): $2.50 at Wal-Mart

4 Feet Hemp Cord: $3.00 at Wal-Mart

20 Mini Clothespins: $4.00 at Wal-Mart

12x18 Print: $4.50 at Wal-Mart

12x18 Frame: $8.00 at Michael's

Nails (6), Push Pins (4)

Total: $22.00

Step One: Print Square Pictures
I was completely impatient and couldn't wait for instaprints or something similar to print my pictures.  Plus I would hate to pay for shipping for such a minimal cost.  I decided to do a little extra work and just print them at Wal-Mart.  Much cheaper, ready in an hour, and turned out great.
I went to PicMonkey and uploaded a regular 4x6 picture.  (It doesn't matter what the picture is)
Then I went to overlays (5th button down) and added my own overlay.  This is when I chose the square picture that I wanted to print.  I put that straight up against one side of the picture like this:

I saved it to my computer and printed the pictures as 4x6s.  When I got the pictures, I just cut the extra side off and had perfect 4x4 square pictures....in one hour for only $.09 a piece.  I printed 20 pictures.
Step Two: Print Quote Print
I loved the original "I have left my heart in so many places" print but the pinks/oranges did not match the room.  I figured it would be easier to just make a new print that would match.  I used this site to create the watercolor map.  I printed this as a 12x18 at Wal-Mart and bought a 12x18 frame at Michael's.

Step Three: Assemble Wall
I started by hanging my print in the middle of the wall.  I made sure to leave enough room below for the pictures to hang.  I cut my hemp and tied each end to a push pin, making sure that both lines of hemp were even.  I clipped ten pictures, evenly spaced, to each hemp.  I pinned the bottom and tops rows of pictures about three inches away from the frame, with the frame centered.

The best part is when I inevitably find new pictures that I want to add, I can just print them and swap out older pictures!