Kayla's Bedroom

Alright, I am proud to say that we have finally finished one of the most disgusting rooms in our house. (decor, that is) When we moved into this house, each room was a different color, there was wall paper galore. This room was no exception. There was a pale yellow, polka dot print wall paper on the top half of the room, and a light Tiffany Blue on the bottom. It was awful, to say the least. This room also happens to be my 16 year old step daughter's room. She was SO over the polka dots. I really really wish I had a picture of the before decor, because this is quite the transformation!

I decided that we would go with a darker color. Usually I steer clear from dark colors, for fear that the room will look too small. Well, since I am not in the room very often I figured we will give it a go...lol :) I chose a really fantastic color, it is called "Almost Charcoal" and it is a Valspar paint that I purchased at Lowe's. Our intentions are to have a gray and pink room. 

My kids and I cranked up the music, and got to painting. Well, I did the painting, they jumped on the bed the whole time. After the color was on the wall, 2 coats, it looked great. I loved it more than I expected. And it did not make the room look small at all. In fact, is seemed very cozy. 

Even though we loved the color, Kayla and I had the idea to do one wall with a chevron pattern. I love the way they look, but was NOT looking forward to all the mapping out of the pattern... UGH. 

 The easiest way I could think to do it was with a graph. I got out a yard stick, some white chalk, and the best painting tape EVER.... Frog Tape. 

BEST TAPE EVER

Bear with me while I explain this..... I decided I wanted each horizontal line to be 12 inches apart, and each vertical line 24 inches apart. That means that my chevron is longer than it is tall. It didn't fir perfectly on my wall as I was left with about 7" at the top and not a full 12". I figured I would just eyeball this section. I did a pretty damn good job too :) lol. I kept taping, then stepping back to see if the lines were all parallel. Anyhow, I first did my vertical lines...

Followed by my horizontal lines ( you can see my tics for these)....

And then before you knew it, my whole wall looked like this....

Now, all I had to do was go from corner to corner with my tape. Can you believe that I didn't take a picture of just the tape on the wall?? Neither can I. I actually swear that I did, but it is nowhere to be seen. wtf. Ok, so I just used a semi-gloss white paint from Home Depot. I had to do 3 friggin' coats before the gray was totally covered. I took the tape off real quick before The Walking Dead came on and VOILA.... I was in love..

I love it, I love it, I love it. And I am pretty sure that Kayla will love it too! So all in all, the most dreaded grid on the wall took a total of about 10 minutes. NOT bad at all. The chalk just wiped off after I was done. Thank God too, because Dylann saw me drawing on the wall and so naturally she joined in :)

I do realize there are no pillows on the bed. I am not sure which rooms those have been moved to, but I do have pillows for her :) Here are a few pics of the finished room and the other little pieces added  to it. 

The picture is crooked, not the frames... I swear :)
These are Goodwill bought, plain frames that I painted white and sprayed "Diamond Dust " on them. This picture does them NO justice

This dresser was Rickys' Grandmothers, I repainted it and gave it some delicate knobs. 

A few pieces inspired by Pinterest, and a glitter painted mirror. Perfect for a 16 year old 

I am sure you are wondering, where in the hell is the pink, in your pink and gray room. Well, I don't know either. I really want to make a headboard, so maybe I will do it in this room. A pink headboard will look great in here. 

Let me know what you think!!!

3 Drawer Dresser

Hello everyone. Here are a few pics of a really cute little 3 drawer chest that now sits in my dining area. It was of course, a $20 chest from the good will. Now, I absolutely adore it.
When I purchased it, it was a dark blue (painted by someone else). I Used my DIY chalk paint, gave it a couple coats, then really gave it some depth with some "light wood" stain. I applied the stain at first with a brush, then used a microfiber cloth to rub it around until I liked the look. I am super technical like that. I left the center area of the drawers lighter, with more stain around the edges.

I gently distressed the corners, (where I had painted black under my chalk paint) and topped it off with some  super cute drawer pulls form Hobby Lobby... LOVE Hobby Lobby, and their drawer pulls! 

Anyways, hope you love this one as much as I do. It was a spur of the moment kind of project.

"Fire Wood" Bucket

Good Afternoon! I am just going to do this super quick little post about my fire wood bucket, that sits next to the fireplace. I think it is precious. My boyfriend had this terrible habit of leaving the super UNattractive bag of firewood next to the fireplace....really???  It took about 3 times of this happening before I searched for a solution.

I did some brainstorming, and remembered a big tin ice bucket that I had purchased years ago at target for roughly $5. I think we have used it twice... maybe. So, I dug it out of the bottom of the pantry. I liked the size, and shape but the pattern and color were so wrong. I mixed me up a little DIY chalk paint (will post later) from an old paint sample I had from when we moved in and painted the bucket. I think the color was called "Cream in my Coffee". I pulled out my black chalkboard paint and sectioned off an area so that I could label the bucket... as if people wouldn't know that the wood sitting in it is for the fire. Lastly I found some left over burlap, lace and fabric to make a cute little bow to tie on one of the handles... just to make it a bit more girly. Ta Da!!! This is what I got. It serves it's purpose and is much cuter than the plastic bag.

I would have redone the words on the front, had I been able to find my chalk. Thanks to the toddler in the house, I am sure :)

Hand Made Customizable Burlap Wreath

So, my girlfriend makes the cutest wreaths ever! They are made of burlap and are super lush. Sometimes in the stores you see burlap wreaths, but they are.... sad. They are not full and lush. Well this one is definitely full, packed with burlap and totally customizable. You could easily add any color to it, a ribbon, lace, monogram attachment.... the possibilities are endless. You essentially have ONE wreath, and decorate it for EVERY holiday/season. Perfect, if you ask me :) She does have these available for purchase and I will be happy to direct you to her.... just email me for more info!!!  $45.00

Coming Soon..... Engineer prints

Once I get them Cut, trimmed, hung up and looking fab, I will write all about my DIY Engineer prints from staples and my interesting (or so I think) way to hang them.... stay tuned :) Happy Thursday!

"Thanks" Burlap Banner

With the arrival of November, I had to take down the Halloween decorations and prepare for Thanksgiving. I had no idea what to do to decorate and since I am on a budget (big surprise there!) I took to trusty Pinterest for ideas. I saw a really cute Burlap banner that simply read "Thanks" strung from corner to corner. I thought it was cute and believe it or not, I had everything needed in my house :) This made me super happy!! I usually have to run out for some stupid little detail like glue drops or something. So, I pulled out all my materials and got to work.  I just cut burlap squares (intentionally different sizes), and painted a creamy background on them. Once dried, I used my paint marker (LOVE these) to do my letters. It did take a couple coats of the paint marker to make sure my letters were dark enough. Let me know what you think?? I think it's not too "shabby", if I say so myself :)

This is the original pin from Pinterest... you can acutally purchase it here
http://www.etsy.com/listing/110837971/thanks-burlap-banner-bunting

And here is my DIY version

I actually really like how it is not perfect looking and it looks like it's done by hand. I think it adds character.

My son Roman, has said to me recently, "Mama, we are so lucky to have you to make our house look so nice and pretty. You are such a good artist.".... He is so sweet. He must get it from his Mom. :) I think that meant he liked it too. And for having such sweet children... I am Thankful!!!

Here is a look at my mantle all together. Please ignore the marble fireplace, as I HATE it and just haven't figured out how to change it.

Rustic distressed Mirror 20x24

This beautifully distressed, wooden framed mirror will accent any living room, family room or bedroom. The color is a very earthy beige color. The edges have been distressed, stained, and given a poly coat for durability.

$40 to purchase, contact me through email :)