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Happy New Year, Readers!

As you know, I am a writer and an artist, but I am also a homemaker. I make homes…pretty. I love decorating and doing projects that make a house a home. One of my favorite ways to decorate, and one that is a quick, inexpensive, and easy way to create impact, is to design a feature wall in your home. A feature wall is a wall in your home that has been designed to stand out. This is usually done through wall hangings of various sorts. The idea is that the hangings create an impact because they are either large in scale, or a large collection of smaller pieces. Think Salon Style gallery hangings.

Today I am going to take you through a feature wall option anyone can do. Remember those 2013 calendars you just took down? Well, don’t toss them out! You can take those calendars, which are filled with images you loved for 12 months, and turn them into art for a whole new year, or more.

Step 1: The Art

For this project to work, you will need a standard 12×12 wall calendar. Start by removing the staples out of the center of the calendar. Then, one sheet at a time, fold the page along the crease backwards and forwards. You want to do this to weaken the paper so that it is easier to separate. If it is worn enough, you should be able to simply pull it apart, but if it is still a bit tough, you will want to use a scissor, or cutting tool, to make the cut. Remember to be gentle; you don’t want to rip the calendar page, ie, the art!

Step 2: The Frames

Next you will need frames. Craft stores like ²Ñ¾±³¦³ó²¹±ð±ô’s and Jo-Ann sell scrapbook frames which are exactly 12×12. Please note that while these may look the same as the increasingly popular Record Album Frames, they are not. Record Album Frames are larger by .5 inches on all sides. Picking these up will leave you with an unflattering gap around your art image. You want the artwork of the calendar page to fit the entire frame.

From what I have seen, you have two options for these 12×12 scrapbooking frames. You can either get metal, or natural wood.ÌýThe natural wood frames, which can be purchased from, can be stained or painted any color. Ideally, the metal frames, which you can get in store at , typically come in black, and occasionally in red, can also be painted any color.

Though Painting frames is more easily done using a can of spray paint, you still have to know what you are doing. Here is a quick video from which provides great tips on how using spray paint.

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In terms of price points, these 12×12 frames can run anywhere from 9.99 to 12.99. Often though, these frames go on sale from 40%-60% off. And of course, be on the lookout for coupons from your favorite craft store. .

Step 3: The Fitting

Once you have your frames sorted, fit your artwork in them. These types of frames usually have easy open backs; most likely metal clips that slide or snap up and down, back and forth, or in and out. Your metal frames will have a hook already in place, but your wooden frames may need a hook added, which you will need to hammer in yourself. Be mindful of measurements when you are doing this. You want to make sure that each hook is in the exact same spot on each frame or this can cause discrepancies in the overall hanging. Use a good measuring tape or ruler and a red or black felt-tip marker to mark the spot of your hook and nails.

Step 4: The Hanging

The hardest part of this project will probably be hanging the frames. There are a number of options available to you. Here are two videos that are sure to help. The first video by shows how to properly measure and hang your collection of frames, while the second video by will give you some ideas on how you might like to pattern out your frames.

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After your frames are hung, you can sit back and enjoy your new feature wall. And the best part? This new feature is interchangeable! Once you have the nails in place, all you need to do is take down the frames and switch out the images. Your feature wall art can be its own exhibition space, always changing, always fresh, always exciting.

Are you a fan of An Ordinary Boy? Did you love reading about Tom Grove and his friends and family? If so, then take a moment to share your appreciation for my debut novel with potential readers!

The very important website has featured my novel. One of the main goals of this site is to provide LGBT readers with a variety of LGBT themes books to read.

If you grew up gay, or even if you didn’t, you know exactly how important finding a book to connect with is. In the spirit of paying it forward, help a new (or old) reader out and tell them exactly why they should read my novel.

Thanks for all your support and kind words.

Bxxx

To celebrate the anniversary ofÌý the publication of my mini e-thology, I Voted for Biddy Schumacher: Mismatched Tales from the Mind of Brian Centrone, has made Biddy available on the for the very first time. In addition, Biddy is now priced at .99! If you have yet to read my collection of short stories, this is the perfect time to download the eBook.

Biddy has received 5 Star reviews from some of the best writers in the business.Ìý

“With the fewest of brush strokes, Brian Centrone hauntingly crawls into the psyches of the characters he creates producing whimsical, absurd but deliciously relatable short stories.� � Arthur Wooten, author of .

“Good things come in three, and so do Brian Centrone’s stories including in his newest collection, I Voted for Biddy Schumacher: Mismatched Tales from the Mind of Brian Centrone. Each story intrigues, delights and leaves readers begging for more. A short but eye-opening read, Centrone’s collection of shorts is the book one goes to bed with, at the end of the day.� � Alina Oswald, author of

“This is solid, engaging stuff � the work of someone who clearly knows what he’s doing. I look forward to a novel-length work!� � Brent Hartinger, author of .

This short, three story collection features original artwork from the incredible .Ìý Download today for Kobo, or for these other .

Thursday, November 21st @ 10.00 & 11.am
Westchester Community College
Gateway Center - Davis Auditorium
Reading & Book Signing
Books will be available for purchase.

Join me:

In November, Poets and Writers is pleased to present former Westchester Community College student and English Department adjunct professor, Brian Centrone.

Thursday, November 21stÌý 10:00 & 11:00 AM

Gateway Center � Davis Auditorium.

Brian Centrone’s short stories and poems have appeared in literary journals from WCC, Fordham University, and The University of Manchester (UK). Four of his one-act plays have been produced for the stage as part of the National Foundation for the Arts� The Big Read Program in Ohio. His debut novel, An Ordinary Boy, was an instant bestseller on Rainbow eBooks and topped the Gay and Lesbian Literature section on Amazon.

For more information, checkout the . Books will be available to purchase at the event.

Sunday Morning Freshness! Enjoy this brand new interview I did with the awesome and talented . We talk about my favorite character in An Ordinary Boy, the music I listen to while writing, and where I would go if I had a time machine. Take a look:

Selfie! Brian Centrone

“Loren Kleinman (LK): Do you listen to music while writing?

Brian Centrone (BC): I try to listen to music when I write. I find it helps set a particular mood. When I had to write the heartbreaking scenes in An Ordinary Boy I listened to a lot of Nora Jones. Of course for the more upbeat and pop oriented parts of the novel I listed to a lot of Madonna, Kylie and Britney.Ìý There is where readers can listen to many of the songs I listed to the most while writing the book.â€�

Read the rest of this fun, fab interview at.

is available in eBook and trade-paper editions from Seventh Window Publication.

To my great surprise, I have been spotlighted in the September edition of The Viking Voice Newsletter and e-Newsletter for Alumni and Friends of Westchester Community College.

“BRIAN CENTRONE â€�03Ìýan adjunct professor in WCC’s English Department, is the author of a new book entitled An Ordinary Boy. Centrone was a columnist for The Viking News while studying at WCC. He went on to study English and Creative Writing at Fordham University and later earned his Masters degree in Novel Writing from the University of Manchester. â€� An Ordinary Boy is on sale in the WCC Bookstore, and copies have been flying out the door!â€�

You can read the full writeup on the .

The summer of An Ordinary Boy is on FIRE! as I chat with author Lichen Craig about Literature, , the Short Story, , Playwrights, and of course, ! GSC: Fireside is jammed packed with so much goodness you’ll feel positively stuffed � but still wanting more!

Brian Centrone, Author

The summer of An Ordinary Boy is becoming Hot, Hot, Hot! On Tuesday, August 20th at 5.30pm est, I will be talking with host Cyrus Webb of about my literary journey and of course, An Ordinary Boy. You can listen in at blogtalkradio.com. As always, if you miss the live broadcast, I will post an updated link to the show’s archived page for you to listen in at any time.