Procrastination: Over

I got this idea from Dooce's page a while back and decided it would be a great thing to put on our kitchen wall.

We sorta followed her directions, but figured it would be easier to just measure everything out (we are engineers after all). So here they are if you feel so inspired to do something similar:
1. buy frames and photos. The pictures here are 5-5x7s and 5-8x10s.

2. Make a template for the top row on wax paper (use permanent marker--don't touch it for a little bit, it will smear if you don't wait for about 5 minutes): lay out the frames on the floor, face down. separate them by some set distance (we used 3"). With the permanent marker, mark where the nails should be hammered in (I also drew where the top line of the frames should be).

3. Get out your laser-level and determine at what height you want your pictures. use masking tape to tape your template to the wall.

4. Hammer nails into the wall (just nail them through the wax paper). If you're like us, you checked to make sure the nails would all be at the same height for each photo (in our case, 3.75" from the edge of frame). So you can set up your laser-level, and then just follow where the line is--that way, if you accidentally have a point marked on your wax paper that's a little off, you can correct it off the get go instead of nailing a nail in the wall, then finding out after everything is said and done that you were half an inch off.
a. Of course, since we're engineers, we also determined that it would be 16.5" between nails on the top row so we just hammered in the first nail, then measured 16.5" to the right, while following the laser line, and hammered in another nail. Wash, Rinse, Repeat.

5. This is the part that is different from Heather's directions: since the second row has nails at varying heights, we determined where the nails should go by measuring the backs of the frames--lay 2 columns of the frames down, measure from the hanger on one frame down to the hanger on the other frame. Note this amount. Do the same for the second column. Congratulations! you now know the distance between the nails for the top frames and the bottom frames.

6. Decide you need a plumb bob and string to do this job correctly.

7. Go to Lowe's to get said equipment (it wouldn't be a home improvement project if you didn't have to go to the hardware store at least once in the middle of your project any how).

8. Hold the plumb bob in front of each nail. Measure the amount required down the string and hammer in a nail. Wash, rinse, repeat for the other nails.

9. Hang the pictures on the wall.

10. Stand back and admire your work.