Cottage shutter... now picture display

Years ago a friend gave me a cute cottage shutter after I had admired how she had made one into a shelf by securing it to brackets like these:

 

Ekby Hall bracket from Ikea 

As usual, it was set aside with other things into my shoulda, coulda, woulda pile.  There it remained, cute and forlorn until last week.  I have been so wrapped up with schooling the girls and attending university that I let everything creative in my life slide, except for writing necessary for assignments.  Not a good thing.  While I don't really do New Year's Resolutions, I would do reevaluate and reexamine my habits and goals.  I want work on more things, work on the house more, create more!  After a very stressful semester I did not want to read or write anything.  At all.  Highly unusual for me.  I just wanted to DO.  It was so very refreshing and needed to work in this way that feels so different the creativity and effort I put into my lessons.  I need this.  It is good for me.  So, no grand promises of a project a day, BUT I can work on something or another everyday.  It rests my mind and spirit and above all makes me HAPPY.

Here is where I started:

The shutter was a weathered gray and had fallen into a little disrepair.  I had to fit parts of it back together.  Since only one side would be showing I opted for staples instead of repairing it properly with wood glue.  Barry helped me by stapling the slats closed so they would not move around when handled.  

 In the meantime I spray painted the little brass eye hooks white.

We then painted and sanded the shutter.

Next the eye hooks were screwed into the top sides for hanging on the wall and the front top corners for the twine that the pictures would hang by.

I then tied the twine, adjusting for how I wanted it to hang.

I used mini clothes pins from Hobby Lobby.

The finished product:

A cute way to display photos with the ability to change them whenever the mood hits me. 

Supplies list:

Shutter- big or small

paint

sandpaper

eye hooks

twine (*thrifty tip* I checked at a craft store and twine was $3 and up.  

I bought mine at the hardware store for .99 cents.)

mini clothes pins

pictures of choice