DIY gallery-style album holder for $5

Have a blank wall and looking to spice it up with some album art? Sure, you could pay $15 for a frame that doesn't allow you to easily access the record or you could spend a lot of money on a fancy frame that was designed for easy access.

Instead, why not DIY?

We just came back from a trip to the hardware store and picked up a couple items:

• 1 long piece of L-shaped wood molding about 3/4" on each side
• Some picture framing wire (about 10')
• Two small washers
• Two hooks to screw into the wall / hang on molding

Then, here's what we did.

• Step 1: Cut the wood molding with a little handsaw into two 12.5" pieces (one for the bottom, one for the top)
• Step 2: Drill two small holes in the bottom of each piece about 3" from the outside edge
• Step 3: String wire through one hole and through one washer. Twist the wire to make a small knot. Repeat with other hole. This will be the bottom of the record holder.
• Step 4: String the other end of the wire through the two holes in the other piece of wood. This will be the top of the record holder.
• Step 5:  Hang two hooks on the wall next to each other about 6.5" apart. Attach the end of the wire to the hooks.

When you're done, you'll have a bottom piece of wood held up by the washers attached to the wire and a top piece of wood that moves freely on the wire.

Then, just place the record in the bottom piece of wood and move top piece of wood on the top of the record to hold it in place.

Step back and admire your gallery-style display. We hung ours on a piece of molding and it looks really great. What we like about this approach is that it makes it easy to take the record off the wall. Simply lift the top piece of wood and take the record out.

We'll be trying some new approaches in the coming weeks and we'll be sure to let you know what we come up with.

You can also experiment with different materials and approaches. If you come up with something cool, let us know in the comments.