I absolutely hate being late. I despise the feeling of walking into a work meeting that has already started, searching the crowded, dark movie theater for a seat after the previews began, or anxiously sitting in traffic twiddling my thumbs while staring at the clock until I reach my final destination. Just thinking about these scenarios makes me uncomfortable. That being said, I often try to run out of my house as quickly as possible when I know I have to be somewhere.
One of the major issues however, is that while I’m so focused on not being late, I often forget necessary items, mainly my keys, phone, or bag/wallet, in my scramble to get out the door. That is until I crafted one of my favorite decorative projects inspired by my loving boyfriend and one of my best friends.
Being that Todd (my boyfriend) and I live together and he works from home, he would frequently get phone calls about 10-20 minutes after I left the apartment that I forgot something, yet again, and needed him to deliver it to me. I think we knew something needed to be done the time I tried to get gas and quickly panicked because I realized I left my wallet at home, was 30 minutes away from my apartment, and was already running late for work that morning. Disasterous, I know. Todd’s mantra was always “Keys, Phone, Wallet. You NEED to make sure you say this to yourself every time you leave the apartment.” But of course, I never remembered that either.
I have a good friend who gets just as frazzled as me, if not more, when trying to leave her apartment to get somewhere on time. When I was staying with her in the city one time I noticed that she has a giant rug in front of her door that reads KEYS, PHONE, WALLET. I LOVE/NEED IT! was my immediate reaction. When I mentioned the rug to Todd, we brainstormed ways to create our own inexpensive DIY project inspired by the rug. Here’s what we came up with….
DIY Wall Art – Keys, Phones, Wallets – Only $3!!
We bought three of the same 3.5×5 inch frames at the Dollar Tree.
Next we decided to put our own personal touch to the project. Instead of using generic stock photos of keys, phones, and wallets, we took pictures of our own items. This definitely made the project more personal and it’s a lot harder to forget when you’re staring at your actual belongings!
Once we took the pictures, we uploaded them to a Photo Editing app to change the color to a Sepia tone to match the decor in our apartment. We used the Camera+ app, but you can easily use Instagram, Photoshop, or any other photo editing program.
Next we sized the pictures in a word document and printed the pictures out on regular printer paper, cut them out, and framed them.
In order to get the frame to hang flat on the wall, we ripped off the back cardboard stand. Finally, we hung them up at eye level right next to the door!
We absolutely LOVE them and they get so many compliments! But most importantly, Todd is extremely happy that he no longer has to waste half of his day delivering my forgotten belongings. :)