Baby Nursery Reveal!

 

baby nursery reveal flag

Baby boy K will be here in the next couple of weeks.   My family and I are trying to be patient but now that his nursery is complete and I am simply ready to meet our baby boy.   I find his room incredibly peaceful and I am drawn to it’s simplicity.

Baby Nursery

The white crib, drapes and bedding are angelic and pure.  They are the Vivian Drape from Ikea.  Two 56 X94 drapes come in each $10.00 pack.  I used them on the windows but I also used them to create the crib skirt since it was cheaper than buying fabric and sewing my own crib skirt.  I simply tucked them under the mattress so I can re-purpose the drapes once he is grown.

The turquoise and grey flags were designed by Amy.  She had the guests at my baby shower write well wishes on the back of each flag.  I think they add a pop of much-needed color and provide a sentimental touch to his room.   The star mirror came from a second hand store and I love that it has both gold and silver.  The light is from Home Depot and was under $75.00.

Baby Crib

White iron crib

Map Baby Nursery

Don’t just love those vintage map letters?  That was a gift from my in-laws and really make the room extra special.  I added a ruffled table cloth to an existing round table.  The lamp was spray painted blue for an added pop of color.   The rocking chair has been with me since the beginning! I have rocked, fed, and read to my wonderful boys in that comfy chair so changing the fabric was just difficult for me to fathom.  I have loved that chair 8 years ago and continue to love it today.  I think the blues and greens in the map letters forgive the added shades of sage and cream.

Night stand Nursery

This dresser came from a local antique store.  I wasn’t sure if I was going to keep it original but I have to say that I love the wood and the brass handles.  I simply works for this room and adds that vintage feel.  The photo display was challenging for me.  I like how it turned out but I really stressed out over the layout.  Check out the gazelle head– it is my favorite piece on this wall.

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Reading nook

Photo wallDSC_0051***Don’t forget to enter our Shabby Apple giveaway, win a $50 giftcard to use towards some new spring clothes!***

XO,
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sharing at~ Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Chic Cottage, Grace at Home at Imparting Grace, Common Ground Be Inspired, Jennifer Rizzo, Weekend Bloggy Reading at Serenity Now, Tuesdays Treasures at My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia. Tutorials & Tips at Home Stories A to Z.

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Getting Ready for Baby- Nursery Sneak Peek

Terry Maternity

As most of you know, Baby Boy K is going to be here very soon. Over the past few months I decided to take a bit of a blogging break to prepare for his arrival. The time off has been bittersweet, but it was really good for my soul and my growing baby boy.  I have just over a month before this little guy arrives, and I have been working on a bunch of sewing projects as well as planning out his nursery.  Christy and Amy have been providing a ton of inspiration and lots of support over the past few months, and I am feeling very blessed and grateful for their friendship.

Here is a sneak peek of some of the items that I have been collecting over the past few months that will be displayed our baby boy’s nursery. I cannot wait to share the final nursery reveal and hear what you all think.

Vintage Map Suitcase filled with a beautiful plaid blanket (thank you Amy) , toy money (Thank You Grammy) and his sonogram photo.

Vintage Map Suitcase filled with a beautiful plaid blanket (thank you Amy) , toy money (Thank You Grammy) and his sonogram photo.

As you can see I have a vintage map theme in mind for the nursery.  I found this amazing wooden soda crate from an antique store here in Warrenton.  I fell in love and just had to have it.  It was reasonably priced and the perfect storage solution for toys and books.  Speaking of books, that Better Homes and Gardens book is a special gift from Christy.  It has vintage stories and offers an awesome pop of color for this neutral nursery.
The maps are just USGS topographical maps that you can purchase at any outdoor hiking store or even online.  I am lucky enough to be married to a cartographer (aka a “map maker”) so I didn’t have to go very far to get these.  I love the shades of green and blue that these maps bring into the nursery.  The darker “vintage” styled map is actually wrapping paper from Paper Source.  They have an amazing collection of wrapping paper which costs $3.95 per sheet.  I particular love this piece because of the vintage tea-stained finish.   I also found the ABC sheet of wrapping paper and thought it was really cute.  It is reminiscent of vintage school art and I plan to have that framed as well.  Check out all the cool and inexpensive wrapping paper products that the Paper Source has to offer.

This is my favorite find for the baby's room.  It was not as cheap as I would have hoped but I know I will cherish this piece for years to come.  It is solid wood and the antlers (you have to wait) are amazing.

This is my favorite find for the baby’s room. It was not as cheap as I would have hoped but I know I will cherish this piece for years to come. It is solid wood and the antlers (you have to wait) are amazing.

Baby Boy K's Sonogram

Baby Boy K’s Sonogram

I hope to have a photo wall mixing white, silver and gold frames.  I have not purchased all the frames yet but I did find this frame at a sweet baby store.  I love the “coming soon” window.  Sonograms are just so special.  Hard to imagine that back when my mom had me they didn’t do them.  It is such a treasure have to this photo.

This mirror was a steal and I love the star shape as well as the silver and gold.  It is perfectly set above the crib.

 

 

I had to include his closet that is filled with baby clothes generously donated by my dear friends.  This baby is so lucky to have a closet filled with gently used clothes.

I had to include his closet that is filled with baby clothes generously donated by my dear friends. This baby is so lucky to have a closet filled with gently used clothes.

 

I do hope to spruce up the baby’s closet, but I had to share this photo of sweet newborn sized clothing.  I am so thankful for all my friends and family that have passed down clothes and supplies.  This baby is so very lucky, as am I!

A mom of three boys deserves a bit of pink!  Courtesy of Christy!!

A mom of three boys deserves a bit of pink! Courtesy of Christy!!

I just love this PINK baby sleeping sign that Christy sent me.   Even a mom of three boys deserves a bit of pink!  What a great gift for any mom!

Thanks for checking out Baby Boy K’s nursery sneak peek!

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Quick and Easy Kids’ Artwork Wall Display

I spent my weekend removing moldy caulk from my shower and recaulking, and replacing the ripped screen in our porch door, but you don’t want to see any of that, now do you?  I know–boring!  So, instead, I’m going to show you what I did on Friday to display some of my daughter’s artwork.  The disclaimer is that I did not come up with this idea on my own; I’ve seen it all over Pinterest and the internet.  However, after looking at five or six web sites, I can’t seem to figure out who really came up with the idea.  So, forgive me for not crediting anyone specifically for thinking this up!  Also, Amy did something pretty similar HERE (I get all of my best ideas from her!).  As is true with most of my “tutorials,” it’s really too simple to be called a tutorial!  Here’s what I did:

Kids wall artwork display

I started with 1″ x 8″ fingerjoint board, that I had left over from building my PANTRY shelves.  Because I had two pieces that were about 34″ long, that’s what I used.  I cut them to make sure they were the exact same length, sanded the edges lightly, and primed and painted them.  Here’s the paint and primer I almost always use (it’s available at Home Depot):

Prime and paint 1" x 8" fingerjoint board

Harley is safely in the background.  He likes to join me out back when I’m spray painting, but he does NOT like the hissing sound the paint makes.  Maybe it reminds him of an annoyed cat?!

This is my high-tech spray painting station.  Jealous?

Prime and paint fingerjoint board

When the two boards were dry, I simply glue-gunned bulldog clips onto them.  I spaced my bulldog clips about 16″ apart, and I used three per piece of wood.  Obviously you could use a different number of clips based on the length of your board.  I’m telling you that they’re bulldog clips so you don’t have to look like an idiot at Hobby Lobby or an office supply store (like I did), asking for “those clipboard clip thingies without the clipboard.”  I got my bulldog clips at Hobby Lobby; they looked like this:

Bulldog clips from Hobby Lobby

I then took my smallest drill bit (7/64″) and drilled a hole at each end of the board.  Then, using 2″ wire brad nails and a level, I hung the board on the wall.  The reason I chose this method to hang it was that I wanted to do minimal damage to the wall.  Two small nail holes will be easily patched and painted when we remove the display.  Here’s a close-up:

Drill a hole and use a wire brad nail to mount the board on the wall.

I later took a white paint pen and dotted paint on the nail head to make it less obvious.  Also, when there’s artwork hanging on the end clips, it covers the nail as well.

I wound up hanging one board in the kids’ bathroom, and one on the half wall just outside of their bathroom, right at the top of our stairs.  I considered putting them both in the bathroom, one on top of the other, and would have done that except that since we have board and batten in the bathroom (read about that HERE), I think the display boards would have been too high.  Here are some “after” shots:

Kids artwork gallery

 

Did I ever show you the mirror after I framed it out?  See above, if not.  I think it’s a great way to dress up a contractor-grade “wall of mirrors.”

Kids artwork wall

 

Artwork display board with bulldog clips

Kids' artwork displayMy daughter is the only one who brings me artwork anymore; my son is 12 and just not that into art anymore. :(  Wouldn’t it be a good idea to have one board for each kid, though?  You could swap their art out seasonally.  Stick them in the hall, the bathroom, the kitchen, even their bedroom.

We’ve discussed “paper management” before, but do you have any great ideas for containing the paper trail that comes with having children?  Let us know!

Thanks for stopping by.

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My Daughter’s Room–Updated {Yes, Again!} in Aqua Blue, Brown, and Pink

Chair as nightstand at 11 Magnolia Lane

This post feels a bit like Groundhog Day, because this isn’t the first time I’ve written a post on my daughter’s room redo!  My daughter’s style is constantly changing, and her room has changed along with it. In our historic house in North Carolina, her room was pinks and greens with tons of vintage touches, perfect for the first and second grader she was at the time (click HERE to read the post):

Pink and green little girls room at 11 Magnolia Lane

When we moved to Tennessee, she told me she wanted to get rid of ALL the pink in her room.  Gasp!  That was pretty much her entire room.  We tried aqua blue, green, and white for awhile, but the pinks kept creeping back in.  Finally, we decided to embrace it and added pops of hot watermelon pink to her color scheme.  Here’s what we wound up with, read about it HERE:

Aqua, hot pink, and green girls' bedroom at 11 Magnolia Lane

I lived with it for about six months, but then my daughter and I both realized that it was a little, well, much.  So we turned to Pinterest (of course!) and found two rooms that we adored:

Edie at Life in Grace did this gorgeous room for her girls (swoon!), and I loved how she used brown to make the bedding pop:

Life in Grace Girls’ Bedroom

Then, Chris at Just a Girl did this gorgeous room for her daughter:

Little Girls’ Room at Just a Girl

I love the way that they both use brown (chevrons and zebra) to set off the bedding.  And, of course, it’s the same bedding–Serena & Lily’s Annabel duvet cover.  My daughter is named Annabelle, so obviously it was meant to be!  We ordered it, and the game was ON!

Here’s how it turned out:

Tween girl's room in aqua, brown, and pink at 11 Magnolia Lane

I spray-painted the iron headboard–again–covering up the hot pink with white.  I was tired of the brass accents that were there from the 70′s (it was my headboard as a girl), so that worked out well (I was tempted to do the antique brass that Edie has in her girls’ room, but chickened out).  Then I spray-painted her flea market nightstand from robin’s egg blue to metallic silver.  Here’s the before:

Bright blue nightstand at 11 Magnolia Lane

And the after:

Metallic silver nightstand by 11 Magnolia Lane

The lamp was a Target purchase and the drum shade was white.  I covered it with brown zebra shelf paper from TJ Maxx (we’ve given several rolls of this away on the blog and it’s in stores now).  The quatrefoil monogram is a free printable from the ladies at For Chic Sake (thanks, girls).  I used a different color combination in my closet.  The brown bedskirt is from Goodwill ($2–score!), and I already had the sheets and the pillows.

Closeup of nightstand

Amy gave me these square polka dotted plates when she changed her color scheme in her kitchen a few years ago–I think they were a TJ Maxx purchase.  We pass things back and forth more often than we’d care to admit, and it’s probably a good thing we don’t live near each other, because our houses usually sport pretty much the same decor.  I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut letters out of that same roll of vinyl shelf paper and stuck them on the plate–instant wall art!

Monogrammed plate wall art at 11 Magnolia Lane

The little table got a coat of brown spray paint, but it’s lived several past lives.  I wrote a post about it HERE and you can see all the different ways we’ve had it painted.  It was a $3 yard sale find.  There’s a big wooden “A” on the wall above it, and I spray painted it metallic silver (it was hot pink and then celery green prior to that!).  By the way, I also spray-painted the lamp shade brown–why not?Brown and white side table at 11 Magnolia Lane

At the foot of the bed is my daughter’s armoire–it’s been in my kids’ rooms since my son was born, and the door panels have had different paints, fabrics, stencils, you name it.  For this project, I gave it a shot of brown zebra!

Armoire panels covered with sticky shelf paper at 11 Magnolia Lane

 

To the left of the armoire is my daughter’s ballet barre.  You can read the tutorial on that HERE.  It only takes up about 3′ of wall space, and was under $20 to build–one of my favorite ideas ever!

DIY ballet barre for little girls' bedroom at 11 Magnolia Lane

To the right of the armoire is her “bulletin” board–a thrift store picture frame I filled with chicken wire (the tutorial is HERE).  A little girl needs somewhere to put all her paper bits, right?  The kitty cat collection is OLD, because it was mine when I was her age!

Chicken wire frame as bulletin board at 11 Magnolia Lane

In the corner to the left of the window is her reading area.  Right now there’s a patterned papasan chair from PB Teen there, but I’m hoping to have an old slipper chair from my bedroom recovered in white and put in its place.

Little girls' bedroom at 11 Magnolia Lane

 

Reading nook at 11 Magnolia LaneHer desk was a find at the Cameron Antiques Fair in North Carolina.  It’s a junior size and just right for her.  Last time I checked, there were twelve tons of junk in the drawers!

Antique desk at 11 Magnolia Lane

I’m planning to change the window treatments–the panels were on clearance for $10 at Ikea, so I’ll just pop them on Craigslist and buy another pair in a softer pink–or maybe brown.  Thoughts?

I only shot the top of the bookshelf, because we have TONS of books in our house, and it’s hard to make them look cute when they’re jammed in there every which way!  The little white shelf was from Goodwill, as were the vintage Bobbsey Twins books.

Bobbsey Twins books at 11 Magnolia Lane

 

And last, but not least, here’s a repeat of the first shot.  The chair was given to us by a friend.  I painted it white with brown accents and covered it with a brown and white striped fabric that I had in my stash.  This little chair has seen a lot of different styles over the years, too.  Right now, instead of a stack of books, it holds my daughter’s Kindle, because that’s as good as a couple of thousand books, right?!  You can also see the close up of the duvet fabric–so beautiful.

Chair as nightstand at 11 Magnolia Lane

 

We are not changing this room again until she goes to college.  Or, at least for a couple of years!  And for those of you who are wondering, my son keeps saying that he doesn’t want his room updated–he likes it just the way it is.  HERE’s a post of how it looked in our North Carolina house, and it’s pretty much the same here.  One of these days!

Do you have any rooms in your house that you obsessively redecorate, or is it just me? :)

Thanks for stopping by.

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{Amy’s} Updated House Tour

One of the nicest parts of blogging is that I have a permanent record of all the houses I have {recently} lived in. Of course the reason I haven’t shown every room in our current house is because every room hasn’t been whipped into ‘perfect’ blog-worthy shape.

However, I have done some updates and the time has come to pull some photos together in one place. We’ve been in this house over a year now, and while I still have a long list of things I hope to do, we’ve come a long way from our move-in day.

So the first thing you notice about our home is the large front porch and the pretty lake we live on. Here it is decorated for spring–I can’t wait for warmer weather to arrive here so we can enjoy this space again.

In the front door…

To our front hall with the forever in-progress Gallery Wall.

 On one side of the stairs is our Dining Room with its blue ceiling. {Read more HERE}

Through the hallway to the left is our Butler’s Pantry {Read more HERE}.

Behind the Butler’s Pantry is our little Guest Bathroom and guest room.

sink

Across the hall is my Office. {Read more HERE}

Down the hall into the Family Room, here is a picture since I haven’t posted about the entire room yet.

The family room is across from our kitchen {Read all about our kitchen HERE}.

And our adjoining breakfast room with the $30 hutch I remade, you can also read about how we did our open shelving HERE.

Heading upstairs you will find our daughter’s room {Read more HERE}.

And our laundry room {Read more HERE}.

Here is one of our upstairs bathrooms, this was such a fun project {Read more HERE}.

Here is a shot of our boys’ room. They used to share it, but we recently separated them so their rooms are also still ‘in progress’.

Here is a picture of our Master Bedroom {Read the ‘in progress’ post HERE}

So, thanks for hanging in for all that! Since you did, I am going to share a little secret. A few weeks ago, after much consideration my husband and I have listed this home for sale.

Without boring you with details, we have loved living in it, putting our spin on it, and living both on a lake and near the beach, but this area isn’t our home. And the time is right for us to return to what is home in our hearts, where we have family to lean on and dear friends to enjoy.

{So, if you know anyone looking for a house in Virginia Beach please send ‘em my way! 11magnolialane@gmail.com}

In the meantime, the focus of my home projects has shifted a bit and we’re actively searching for our next {and hopefully forever} house. I am excited at the thought of having a new home to decorate, and expect that will mean I will have plenty to share!

Thank you, as always, for stopping by.

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DIY Ballet Barre for My Tiny Dancer–Tutorial

**Our giveaway for a custom-made red and white damask steering wheel cover ends tomorrow.  Click {here} to enter!**

My nine-year-old loves to dance, and she’s been asking for a ballet barre in her room ever since we visited her cousin in South Carolina.  Katie has an entire wall of mirrors and a barre  Of course, she is a serious dancer (8+ hours a day and a special high school for the performing arts!), but the idea is so fun.

We moved some furniture around in her room and wound up with just enough space to put in a barre.  I was amazed at how easy it was, and inexpensive.  Here’s what we wound up with:

We took a quick trip to Home Depot and bought a 2″ wood dowel.  It was about $8, and was 48″ long.  They can cut it to your specifications there if you want it shorter.  I cut mine at home with my miter saw to 36″.  The dowels come unstained/unpainted but are very smooth.  I ran some sandpaper over it just in case (who wants splinters?) and spray painted it white.

I also bought hardware that is designed to attach a stair banister to the wall.  It happened to be in the same aisle in our store.  Each piece was about $4 and came with the screws to attach it to the wall.  I bought the brushed nickel finish.

First, I screwed the hardware into each end of the dowel.  I predrilled guide holes to make it easier.

When both brackets were in place, we centered the barre on the wall at a height that works for her.  I used my stud finder to place the right bracket into a stud with the mounting screws, but on the left I needed to use drywall anchors to give the screws extra stability.  Annabelle is old enough to know not to hang on her barre, but for a younger dancer I would try to mount both brackets in studs, just in case!

The laser level made it easy to keep the barre straight as I hung it.  My helper lived up to her name, too!

There are only four screws keeping this on the wall, although they’re certainly holding it on there sturdily.  But it will easy to remove, patch, and paint when we move in the summer.

I contemplated putting a big mirror on the wall behind it–I have one because we pulled down a huge plate glass mirror in a bathroom–but that is a bigger project and it just didn’t seem worth it for 8 months of use.  Maybe in our next house!  She can open her closet door and use the full-length mirror on the door to check her form, though.

Also, the hardware that I used only projects the barre from the wall a couple of inches.  If you wanted yours to come out further (for a lot of leg work, for example), you might try closet hardware that’s used to mount hanging clothes rods.

I “decorated” the barre because I can’t help it, with some toe shoes autographed by the principal dancer at the Nashville Ballet.  I’m also planning to hang this framed poster for the Nashville Nutcracker.  My tiny dancer won the part of a frontier soldier (they fight the mice in Act I) and she will perform with the company in six performances this December.  Phew–we are spending A LOT of time going to and from rehearsals these days–but what a great memory she is making for herself!  I’ll stop bragging now–just having a “proud mommy” moment! :)

Here’s my four-year-old ballerina.  Note the pink and blue socks on her feet.  They had to wear those to tell their right from their left because they were such sweet little babies! {weeping!}

And here she is a few years ago.  That was one of my favorite costumes ever–great colors!

If you have a tiny dancer who is obsessed with all things ballet, why not give one of these barres a try?  For under $15 you can have it on your wall in just a few minutes.

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Hot Pink, Aqua Blue, & Light Green (Oh, My!) –My Daughter’s Room Reveal

 

I’ve done three previous posts on my nine-year-old daughter’s bedroom, as we updated her decor to reflect her ever-changing style (I’ll link them below).  Today–finally–is the room reveal.  We didn’t change that much, but it took weeks to get her room clean enough to photograph!  I know lots of you can relate!

This was a small update.  When we moved into our new house last summer, I painted the walls Ionic Sky by Behr at my daughter’s request, and accented the aqua blue with white and pale celery green.  While soothing, it lacked the punch that her vibrant personality requires, so we decided to add pops of watermelon pink to kick the color combination up a notch.  Here’s what we wound up with:

First, I spray painted the old iron headboard (it was mine as a kid) with watermelon pink Krylon spray paint.  You can read about that HERE.  The bedding is from Target, Stein Mart, and the Paris pillow is from Hobby Lobby.  My daughter is learning French and has big plans to move to the French Rivera when she grows up (she’s going to work there as a marine biologist).  I don’t think my life was as well-thought-out when I was nine!

I recovered her thrift shop chair with Amy Butler’s Love Bliss fabric, and spray painted a breakfast in bed tray pink (read about that HERE).  Her armoire door panels got covered with the Amy Butler fabric, too (LOVE that print!).

The tied fabric lampshade is from the Nashville flea market; I bought it although I think it would be a super-easy project to do with an old wire lampshade (you could even use ribbon instead of fabric).  I bought the nightstand at the flea market on the same day–it was black but it wound up with a coat of blue paint!  I blogged about those two flea market finds HERE.

We added a hot pink throw to her papasan chair (the papasan is from PB Teen); it’s a great corner to snuggle up and read in.  I scored the throw a few years ago at a yard sale.  The pink polka dot window treatments were at Ikea when I stopped a few weeks ago in Charlotte–they were on clearance for $9.99 for the pair.  Score!

I hung this cute lamp from Ikea over her papasan chair so she has plenty of light to read by.  I sewed the cord cover from a green and white polka dot sheet I bought at the thrift store for $1.  I love buying sheets there–it’s a great way to get yards of fabric for a steal!

Her desk has seen a few different paint treatments in the three years since I found it at an antique fair.  Currently, it’s white with watermelon pink hardware and it serves as a desk/dressing table.  My daughter is contemplating taking the bulletin board down and putting a mirror in its place to facilitate its function as a grooming station, but where would we put photos and paper ephemera then?!

To incorporate a little bit of the Paris theme into her room, I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut three pieces of vinyl art.  I mounted them on hot pink card stock and put them in three 8×10 frames that I pulled out of the attic.  They were natural wood so I spray painted them black.  The Eiffel tower was meant to be a black one, although they were all sold out of those at Hobby Lobby when we went to buy it, so hot pink it is.  It clashes a bit with the other pink, but DD doesn’t care, so I’ve decided I don’t, either!

The carnival-striped table that I blogged about HERE is the first thing you see as you walk into her room, and I think it’s a great piece that ties all of the colors together.

It’s fun, it’s cheerful, and it’s full of personality, just like my Bitty Bear!

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Turquoise, Pink, and Purple Bulletin Board

Big Girl Bedroom with New Custom Made Cork Board

My son’s very best girl friend recently turned 7.  Hannah the Banana is a sweet girl near and dear to all of our hearts, especially my oldest son’s.  They grew up together, born a couple months apart, and have been connected ever since.  It is such a sweet relationship, one that I hope never changes.

Her amazing mama turned her little girl room into a stylish big girl room as one of her birthday gifts.  I, of course, wanted to be a part of this transformation and thought that a bulletin board would be the perfect accent piece and a special gift for a growing girl.  With new bedding ordered and a color palette of turquoise, purple and pink I quickly got to work.

I have done a few bulletin boards around my house and love to see how a bit of fabric and glue can really change up a cheap cork board.  Since this was a gift, I wanted to create something a bit more special.  HomeGoods sells amazing framed bulletin boards, so that was my first stop.  They didn’t have the color I wanted so I simply spray painted the board bright turquoise.

Bright Turquoise Frame!

Next was finding the perfect fabric to cover the cork.  Her new big girl bedding had lots of bright colors and patterns with a bit of a Moroccan feel to it.  I felt that I needed a neutral fabric to match her new bedding but I didn’t want a solid white.  I found this amazing fabric with a circular patterned print that worked perfectly with her bedding.

Spray Glue works wonders on cork boards... I really love that stuff.

I tacked the corners of the fabric to hold it in place while the glue dried.

I wanted to add a border and found this hot pink pom pom trim that I fell instantly in love with.  It still has that Moroccan feel but it is also playful and girly.  I didn’t want to choose something too grown-up for the border as she is only 7.   My girlfriend and I embrace that our kids are growing up, but we also want to enjoy each phase.  I definitely wanted something that reflected her maturing style but I also wanted to keep it age appropriate.  I am in no rush to for anyone to grow up fast :) !  I think the pom poms are a sweet touch of fun and color.

Hot pink pom pom trim makes the perfect statement!!

I finished off the pom pom trim with some silver accent tacks.

I felt that I needed to include some fun push pins to tie it all together.  Since I already had these silver pins on hand,  I figured that I could jazz them up for her girly board.   I had some extra pom pom trim and cut off  a few poms and  hot glued them to the top of the pin.  I also purchased a .99 cent flip flop bedazzle kit from JoAnn Fabrics a while back and loved the idea of adding some flowers and jewels to this piece.  I simply separated the jeweled flowers from the set and hot glued those to the top of the push pins, which added a bit of whimsy to the board.

Creating custom push pins to match this fun big girl bulletin board

I also had purchased a wooden “H” to personalize her board.  I wasn’t sure what to do with it but I wanted to have something hanging on the board when we presented her gift.  I had lots of purple glitter and some clear spray paint top coat.  It was as simple as that!! I stapled some ribbon to the back of the H and hung it center stage.

I simply covered the "H" with Mod Podge and then sprayed a clear top coat to ensure the glitter wouldn't come off.

Here is the final product hanging in her new and improved big girl bedroom.  Check out her new bedding and adorable her peace sign artwork.  She is growing up, as is her fashion forward style!

Big Girl Bulletin Board

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Posted in DIY, Kids Rooms, Organization, Real Spaces | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Iron Headboard Gets a Coat of {HOT} Pink Spray Paint

It took me awhile to work up the courage to do this project.  For some reason, I have absolutely no problem spray painting a piece of furniture that I buy on Craigslist, or at the thrift shop, or from a yard sale, but I freeze up when it’s time to redo a piece that’s been in my family for years.  I wonder why?  If it takes a coat of paint for me to love a piece more–and it’s not a valuable antique–then why not just go for it?  After all, paint is cheap, and I can always change it up again down the road!

This twin-sized iron headboard was mine when I was a girl, so it is NOT an antique–it’s just a little bit old (like me)!  It’s been in my daughter’s room since she moved out of her crib, and here’s what it looked like BEFORE:

The creamy white was perfectly fine when my daughter’s room was pink and green (sigh), but now that she’s embracing a different color scheme, the headboard didn’t work.  I figured that instead of tucking it away in the attic for my grandkids–this could be decades away, mind you–that I’d just paint it a jarring shade of watermelon pink.  Here’s the AFTER (put on your sunglasses!):

At first, I taped off the marble medallion and left it unpainted, but it just looked wrong.  I wound up painting it and the decorative brass balls.  Honestly, my daughter loves it and that’s the most important thing.

We played around with the pillows on her bed a bit.  Here’s another shot:

I never thought of aqua blue and hot watermelon pink as a color combination, but leave it to my daughter!  The whole room reveal should be coming up next week…we’re just putting the finishing touches on it.  You can read about her new table HERE

…And her new tray HERE.

While the color palette and design choices aren’t what I would have picked, it’s not my room, after all, and I like that she’s fearless about using bright and happy colors.  She may only be nine, but she sure knows what she likes!

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Posted in Before and After, DIY, Home Inspiration, Kids Rooms, Real Spaces | Tagged , , , , , , | 28 Comments

~Thrift Store Tray Gets a Bright Makeover~

A few months ago, I was making my usual weekly stop into Goodwill, when I came across the cutest breakfast in bed tray.  It was dark red and $5, which seemed expensive to me (for a thrift store, at least!) but I saw potential.  I debated painting it white or black, my usual colors, and using it in the kitchen or the screened porch, but then I thought it would also make a cute piece for my daughter’s room, which we’re currently updating with pops of watermelon pink (read my first post on her room HERE).  Enter my trusty can of spray paint…I used Krylon’s “Watermelon” gloss and gave it a couple of coats.  Here’s how it turned out:

When I first sprayed the top, it looked a little bare, so I used my Silhouette Cameo and some white vinyl to make a monogram to put on top.  The font is a free one called “Contribute” and it’s one of my favorites for monograms.  My daughter is a Francophile and wants to bring a little bit of Paris into her room, too, so I debated putting something French on the tray, but I want to avoid “Paris Overkill” if at all possible!

The more I get to know this little tray, the happier I am that I spent so much $$ on it. :)  The legs fold under and secure so it can be used as a regular tray, too, if we ever want to put it on top of her bookshelf or desk as a display piece.

I’ll continue to share pieces from her room as we go, and hopefully we’ll have the full reveal for you in a week or two!

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