My Family Wall

Ever since we bought and moved into our 1890's little old house I've had my eye on the wall going up the stairs. I wanted it to be what every home has - a family wall. As my friends know AJ and I's families get a little interesting but I thought that a wall would help showcase all the bits and pieces that do come together as our family and help others understand where we come from. The project has been a work in progress for many months but I finally pulled it together last night and think that it came together nicely. The crafty part of this project was the actual window/text graphic/picture I've put in the middle. I really should have taken a before and after on this one! I will do better with that in the future I promise! Here's what I did:

1.  I found the "Our Family" wall graphic in an uppercase living catalog and ordered it in chocolate brown (an accent color of that particular room in my house)
2. I knew that I didn't want to apply the graphic directly to the wall just in case I wanted to move it in the future so I decided that I would apply it to an old window that still had its glass. This way it was framed like a picture and I could always move it. 
3. I went in search of an old window that was just the right size and had a little bit of character. The one I chose had a little bit of the old hardware - just enough so you would know it was a window and fit the graphic nicely.
4. Once I found it I really didn't like the color (a pinky mauvey color that the paint looked too fresh for my taste) so I, for the first time, worked with crackle paint or the antiquing affect you can do with the Valspar Weathered Crackle Glaze.
5. I painted the first layer with dark brown Satin paint. This is the layer that will show through the top layer where the paint cracks. This way the brown all pulled together. 
6. Then you apply the Valspar Weathered Crackle Glaze - I followed the directions on the glaze exactly - THIS IS IMPORTANT!
7. Then I finsihed the top layer with plain white flat paint. All the trim in this room is white - again trying to pull all the colors together. This is for sure the hardest step!
8. At this point my window finally looked the way I wanted it to. I then applied the uppercase living graphic to the glass
9. I also had to rig up a strong way to hang this window so that I didn't ruin all my efforts if I fell off the wall. 
10. I hung my window picture centered on the wall
11. I gathered family photos in various frames and hung them around my window picture and this is the final product.