She is Fierce: Bedroom Art

Anyone who knows my four year old knows that she has a mind of her own.

I present to you one of her latest self chosen preschool outfits as a small piece of evidence.

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So when I came across the Shakespeare quote, “And though she be but little, she is fierce,” I knew it described Caroline and it would be perfect somewhere in her room.

One day while the boys were at school Caroline and I made this sign:

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Here’s how we made it:

We found a board in the garage that was roughly 1 1/2 ft by 3 1/2 feet and gathered some paints. Since this is going in her “rainbow room” we grabbed an assortment of colors.

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We then slapped on some color with the foam brushes, pausing after each color to dry the paint with the hair dryer.

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“Please don’t touch the hair dryer it’s hot.”

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Aaaaaand we touch it anyway.

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I’m thinking maybe I should make another sign that says, “And though she has good hearing, she chooses to ignore most of what her momma says.”

After we had covered the entire board with bright colors I took some gold paint and randomly placed it on the board and completely around the edges.

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I then found some leftover vinyl letters that we used on science fair boards several years ago and fashioned them into the letters we needed. I cut the letters and number below to create “she.”

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Once all of the letters are arranged the way you would like them, peel the stickers off and place them onto your board.

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For the last step, I spray painted the entire sign white. Once the sign is dry, peel off the letters to discover the fun design underneath.

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The sign is now sitting on Caroline’s bed frame waiting to be hung up

IMG_4130Describes her perfectly.

Man I love that kid.

 

Independent. Spirited. FIERCE.

A Colorful Bedroom Wreath

My name is Jennifer and I am a craft materials hoarder.

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When you are a craft materials hoarder it’s easy to say, “This project didn’t cost me anything.”

At least that’s what I tell my husband.

He is well aware that at some point in the past five years we’ve paid for these materials but he chooses to go along with my “free projects.”

I’m pretty sure we’ve found the key to a successful marriage.

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Not sure where I accumulated all of these materials from but I’m thankful I did.

Wrap a wreath in fabric strips and secure with glue gun.

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Make rosette flowers with fabric scraps.

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Make felt flowers with felt leftovers.

Have a few extra buttons lying around?

Go crazy and glue them on.

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Arrange and rearrange until you get it just right.

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Then use that glue gun very liberally.

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Free decorative wreath for my daughter’s bedroom.

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Score one for craft material hoarders everywhere!

Caroline’s Room Plan

Whenever we paint around here my 4 year old gets super excited and asks if we are going to paint her room next.

Since nothing in her room has really changed since she was born (minus the crib change out for a big girl bed) and she’s getting ready to turn five (sniff sniff), I decided now was a good time to redo her room.

She settled on a rainbow theme.

Less than thrilled I went with it but really like what we’ve pulled together.

And by pull together I mean found around the house and made.

Besides the paint color (75% Repose Gray), ceiling paint (white), and the main fabric the big project in her room, I used what we already had. (Gramma will be throwing in a new comforter set once we get to that point – thanks Mom!)

And guess what?

I’m really excited with everything and so is she.

So here’s the basic plan which I put together after I had completed about half of the projects.

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While Caroline and I made all of the art work in her room, here are the links to the pieces on the design board:

HGTV Mod All Over Fruit Punch (main fabric in room)

Robert Kauffman’s Urban Circus fabric

You are Loved print

Though she be but little print– Sugarhouse House Ink

Felt hearts – Flickr

Unicorn print – Block Party Prints

Alright, I’ve got to go work on some projects if I’m going to meet my goal of finishing her room by the end of the month.

Happy Designing!

Chicken Wire Frame in the Ol’Bedroomo

Isn’t the title funny?

No? Well as I’m watching this football game I’m finding that I need something to entertain myself.

Actually, truth be told, I’m not even watching the game.

Gotta grab those quiet moments in front of the computer when I can.

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A few months ago I spray painted an old frame that I picked up at a garage sale for $1.

I first spray painted it white and then did little spirts of silver.

Before the silver dried I dragged a cloth over them to move the silver around a bit.

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My husband, the world’s best, then added chicken wire to the frame.

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I love seeing these picture of us up every time I walk by in my bedroom.

Makes me ridiculously happy.

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My 4 year old thought having a picture of Princess Elsa would make me happy as well.

And while that does make me smile, she has got to go.

Princess Elsa that is, not my daughter.

(The best thing to hold onto in life is each other print found here.)

Kids Work Spaces

I’ve been looking at tons of desks for kids on pinterest and have found some beautiful work spaces.

My helpful crafting hint for the day is that you simply do a google search for “pinterest + kids desks” and you will find tons of examples. Or type in, “pinterest + printables,” and you will get loads of boards with printables.

Here are several kid desks that caught my eye.

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How fun would that wallpaper/doodle art be in a room?

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Ummm…YES PLEASE! Love the bright colors!

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Love the art wall and the organized art desk

The wall reminds me of the art wall in our house

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The empty frames here just invite creativity but I would have to move this wallpaper to an area where the kids wouldn’t have to climb on the desk to use it.

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This desk is brilliant for a small space – it folds up!

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Nice use of an odd space

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IKEA to the rescue again!

Looking at these inspiring work spaces makes me think I might be painting some walls white in the boys room.

Shhhh!

Don’t tell my husband because he would freak out if he knew.

Actually

It’s always both startling and exciting when your little one uses new grown up words.

Yesterday as I was trying to get everyone into their respective rooms for quiet time my 3 year old and I had this conversation.

‘Caroline, it’s time to go to your room for some quiet time.’

‘Well, actually, I’m playing now.’

‘Yes, I can see you’re playing but right now it’s time to go to your room.’

‘Well, actually, I have five more minutes to play.’

‘No, it’s time to go to your room. Where’s your underwear?’

‘I took them off.’

‘We need to find them and put them on.’

‘Well, actually, I don’t need them.’

‘Yes, you do need them to cover up your little bum.’

‘Well, actually I have a big bum.’

‘You have a big bum?’

‘Yes. I have a big bum just like you.’

I pondered her statement for a moment and decided,

Well, actually, I’ll take that comparison as a compliment. You get 5 more minutes of playtime.

Master Bedroom Headboard

Last time I wrote about our master bedroom headboard I left you with this picture…

Well, here’s the final product!

I haven’t bought the proper pillows for the white cases yet, but besides that I’m pretty happy with how it turned out.

I went to the Habitat store and found this headboard for $45 but used a Habitat coupon and got it for $37.50. I kind of feel like scum using a coupon at the Habitat store?

The headboard didn’t have the lighter colored board in it so there was actually a large hole in the middle of it.

To say my husband was skeptical is an understatement. Though he pushed forward and inserted the board to fill in the empty space.

I only remembered to take a picture half way through painting it.

I used a black flat paint because I wanted to minimize the flowers and thought if I used a gloss they would stand out more.

When the board was all finished drying we brought it inside.

I knew there was going to be a height problem so my husband anchored the headboard to the wall using hooks.

So there you go, our master bedroom headboard.

Go here for the pillows post.

I love you because…

One of  my Januaray goals was to hang the “I love you because” signs which I bought from Kiki Creates when she was having an “oops sale.”

The defect in the prints turned out to be the white rim around them. Eventually I will add a little black border to cover that up, but hey, they went up in January and it’s still not done so don’t hold your breath.

I bought cheap IKEA frames to display them on the wall (I think the frames were $3 for a pair).

the view coming down our stairs – everyone sits on the stairs to put their shoes on so I thought this would be the perfect spot.

Current and previous entries…

“you love to dress up”

“you love to have stories read to you”

“you love your brothers”

“your laugh is contagious”

“you have a passion for animals”

“you have found a love of reading”

“Your smile makes me smile”

“You love to listen to NPR with me”

“You are a wonderful big brother”

The kids immediately notice when a new reason has been posted so it’s fun to listen and watch them discuss it. Which reminds me, I need to go write something new right now.

*Here’s Kiki’s original post which inspired me to put these prints up in our house*

Star Wars Art: The Final Chapter

So I have shared most of the room my boys shared but I left out one key ingredient – the large wall art.

The boys found images of their favorite Star Wars vehicles in a book and I copied them onto paper. I then used the tracer to trace the image onto the painted canvas. I then took navy blue paint and painted inside the image. Relatively easy – good thing since they wanted me to make eight of them.

Here’s my favorite – an AT-AT – that’s All Terrain Armored Transport for you Star Wars novices.

The other side of the room…

To visit previous Star Wars Bedroom posts…

Go here for the Jedi Name Art

Go here for our Minifigure Storage

Go here for our Red Frame Chicken Wire Display Boards

So that’s it.

The Star Was Bedroom for two little Star Wars fans.

Let’s hope this little obsession last for several more years.

Lamp Opinions Needed…

One of my February goals is to paint my lamps and get new lampshades for them.

This is currently how they look….

sorry for the poor pictures – still waiting to buy a good camera

The uneven lamps will be taken care of eventually with new side tables but that’s for another month.

I have 4 options for color schemes but am having trouble deciding on one.

Currently we do not have a headboard but there is one waiting to be painted in our garage. I think it will end up  black.

Here are the options:

Version 1 – green bases with white shades

(the green would be more subdued as it is in the large pillows )

Version 2 – black bases with white shades

Version 3 – white bases with burlap shades

Version 4 – black bases with burlap shades

So what do you think?

Leave me which option you think would look best in the comment section.

And PLEASE don’t tell me to get new bedding…I just made the pillows in January 🙂