Decorators share where to start with home remodeling

Information on home remodeling and making unique paper flowers will be the featured topics on “Creative Living” on Tuesday at 9:30 p.m. and on Thursday at noon. (All times are Mountain.)

Decorators and sisters Cassidy Self and Megan Hamilton will talk about how to start a home remodeling project and which room to start with. Then they will discuss choosing flooring, cabinets, countertops and backsplashes. They are from Portales.

Atma Khalsa is going to show how to use craft paper and wire to make a bouquet of flowers that never die. These unique flowers become a photo frame and can be displayed in a vase or used in a card. She’s a designer and lives in Boston, Massachusetts.

Information on using three-dimensional dolls in scrapbooks, making lingerie, and using stabilizers when modifying ready-to-wear garments will be the featured topics on “Creative Living” on Tuesday at noon and on Saturday at 2 p.m.

Dianna Effner is a designer of doll molds, and she has figured out a way to use 3-dimensional dolls in scrapbooks. She’ll show how to press the molds as well as how to paint them. She’s from Jamestown, Missouri.

Laura Keith is in Vancouver, Washington, and she’s going to demonstrate how to make lingerie by machine, which used to be very painstaking with precise hand stitching required.

Author and designer Cindy Losekamp will talk about what stabilizers to use when modifying ready-to-wear garments, especially sweatshirts. She’s from Trenton, Indiana.

How to create a wall collage

Do you love the effect of filling an empty wall with a collection of photographs and pieces of artwork that have special meaning? There’s something fulfilling about arranging things into a pleasing display. While the final look appears casual and uncalculated, there is actually a method to the madness. Creating a wall collage can be a challenge - but with a little help, it can be done by anyone.

First, what pieces do you have that you want to display? Mixing the same medium is usually easiest – photographs, black and white prints, colorful artwork etc. The pieces can either be the same size or varied. It is usually best to frame and mat everything the same. If you want to mix it up, just be sure to keep it balanced.

You can use scraps of leftover wallpaper, old photos, pages from a vintage book or even leave them empty. Or use your favorite personal photos — it’s a great way to add a touch of warmth and personality to your space. Next, where do you start?

Multiple frames look best when based around the following shapes: rectangle, diamond or square. Straight set rows are nice too. Groupings look most cohesive when frames are spaced tightly together (about 1 to 2 inches). However, if there is an extra-large piece in the mix, like a skull or piece of ceramics or something more three-dimensional, give it a little extra room to breathe and become the focal point. I like to start in a lower corner and work toward the other side and top, but you can actually start anywhere. Just start with the biggest pieces first and then work around them if you are mixing sizes.

To avoid nailing a bunch of unnecessary holes into your walls, lay out your collage first. Plan out your collage on the floor by placing the frames on top of a big piece of butcher paper (more on the butcher paper later). Then test it. Just because the collage looks good on the floor doesn’t mean it will work on the wall.

Once you have arranged the collage to your liking, outline each frame on the butcher paper with a pencil or marker. Then cut out the paper outlines and tape them to the wall to visualize your collage. This is the time to move things around until it’s just right and before you start hammering!

Once you have collaged the cutouts to your liking, install the hangers over the cutouts and remove each cutout as you replace with the actual frame. If you mess up, don’t worry. It’s nothing a little paint and spackle can’t fix. Just enjoy.

“Creative Living” is produced and hosted by Sheryl Borden. The show is carried by more than 118 PBS stations in the United States, Canada, Guam and Puerto Rico and is distributed by Westlink, Albuquerque.