Car - Bus - Truck Themed Bedroom

Just before Sammy turned two, I was busy painting and decorating a new "big boy bedroom" for him.  He got a space-slash-robot bedroom, which left the bug room vacant for baby #2 to move in. Well, it's hard to believe my baby boy is now two already!  And, now that we know just how much he loves cars, trucks, buses, and anything with wheels, we decided to give him his own themed room.

I found an image of an old VW bus online and projected it on the wall to draw the outline, then painted it with acrylics:

I went over the whole thing with some clear poly to protect it.  To an adult the perspective is a little funny since it's not full scale, but from Toby's height it's perfect!

Of course I couldn't stop at just the bus...

I added a street sign on the opposite wall with his name which was really fun.  I also got him a really cool flashing street light that I mounted on the wall.

Here are a couple fun thrift store finds that I added to the room...

Memo board, $2.99 at Goodwill!

Target clock, brand new in the package at Goodwill for $5

We had a really nice wool rug in his room but it was all bug theme.  So, we swapped it out for these cool foam tiles.  Some time when he's older we'll probably get another carpet, but this was a really great and economical floor covering for the time being.  We used two sets to make a large area....

 

The first couple days Toby had a blast disassembling all the circles that Mommy had so diligently coordinated.  But, luckily that didn't last long.  I'm just glad he didn't start biting chunks out of them!  We'll see how long they last!

DIY Kids' Art Gallery Wall

Over the past couple weeks I decided to make a little art gallery wall in our home for the kids' art.  I remembered seeing some ideas for organizing and displaying jewelry via framed pieces of cork board, and thought that could work well for the boys' artwork too.

I picked up a few frames from thrift stores, and specifically looked for ones with unique shapes and/or ornate textures.  I probably spent around $15 total on all of these frames.

I took out the glass and spray painted each frame with some cheap, matte black spray paint from the hardware store.  Then I cut pieces of cork to fit each frame (I had a stash of cork squares and old cork boards that I had also purchased from thrift stores in the past), and put a couple coats of white paint on the cork.  I just used some left-over white wall paint from a previous house painting project.  (A little tip, use the glass or the cardboard backer from each frame as your stencil to draw the shape you need to cut out of the cork.)

Once all the paint had dried on both the frames and cork, I re-assembled them (minus the glass) and arranged them on the wall.  It turned out pretty cute, and now I can easily rotate the kids' work on display, and give it a little bit more noble display area than the fridge!

Thrift Store Re-Use Idea: Plant Clipping Containers

If you're a plant person who takes small clippings from your thriving plants to turn into new plants, here's a little idea for you. 

I used to put my clippings in old jars and cups by a window, and they never really looked great.  But, lately I've been picking up pretty glass candle holders from the thrift store and using those instead, which makes the clippings look even prettier than potted plants while I wait for their roots to grow.

One of my favorite spots in our new house is this little window box right above the kitchen sink.  It's a perfect spot for plants and delicate things to keep them out of the kids' reach.  Plus, being in Minnesota in January, it's really nice to be able to look up while doing dishes and see green plants and colorful glass, rather than the usual brown and white.

A couple hanging candle holders from the thrift store, hung  with little screw-in hooks in the window box "ceiling"

I love this little blue one that hangs on it's own stand

Colorful glass bottles work great too, especially for this straight bamboo!

There are so many cool options for your clippings if you think outside of the box!  How about some pretty vases, or even wine glasses?  So next time you're in the thrift store or at a garage sale, if you're a plant person, be sure to peruse the glass and candle holder aisles...the possibilities are endless!

Keys to my Past

What was your favorite Christmas gift this year? (Okay, technically LAST year)  One of my favorites was this old snuff jar:

"What?!  A snuff jar?!" you say?  Yeah...well, my favorite part was what it was filled with...dozens of really awesome old keys.  The jar belonged to my great Grandma Brandt, and it was where she kept her keys.

Years ago I snapped this photo at the Minnesota State Fair of a wall that was covered with old keys:

I just love the texture and patterns in all of the keys, and wondering where they all came from.  I love the various colors they've taken on and bled onto the wood as they endure harsh Minnesota winters.  I printed the close-up photo and had it hanging in my cubicle for years.

Now that I freelance from home, and don't have to worry about my valuables being swiped from my desk (like my wedding ring was...but that's a whole other sad story), I thought I'd make my own real wall of keys.  That was a year or two ago, and I've been searching for cool old keys at garage sales ever since.  So far I have found a whopping two keys, for $1 each.  At this rate it would take me FOR-E-VER.

Well, when my mom caught word that I was keeping my eye out for keys, she remembered that they had a whole jar of them stored away somewhere from my Dad's Grandma, and they gave them to me alongside other fun Christmas gifts!

...And here they are (most of them) on display in my studio, along with my shiny letter "G" and my collection of fortune cookie fortunes that are tucked under the plastic corner guard. 

Keys are important.  You'll know that all too well if you've experienced the panic that sets in when you realize you've locked yourself out of your car or your house.  They protect the things that are of value to you.  They are a symbol of adulthood.  I so clearly remember being in high school when it was glaringly obvious who just got their driver's license because of the huge, clanking ring of keys they had swinging from their pocket for the world to see. They are symbols of independence.  Your first car.  Your first apartment.  Yours and only yours because you have the key.  They are a symbol of trust in whomever you may share them with.

I see bins and bins of old keys at the Junk Bonanza with my mom each year, yet I've never purchased any there.  Sure, I could have bought this whole wall from one antique seller, just for the look.  But now I have my own collection that has a lot more meaning behind it.  (Thanks Mom & Dad!)

There are big keys and teeny tiny little keys.  Black keys and silver keys and brass keys.  Every one has a different design and unlocks some unknown object or door from my  past. I look at the keys that are slightly twisted and distorted and wonder what that one got stuck in.  I left the little strings tied on some of the keys because that's the way Great Grandma had them.  I wonder what doors they unlocked, what clocks they wound up, what secrets they kept, and what treasures they may have secured...yet I find it delightfully ironic that in the end, the objects they unlocked are probably long gone, and the keys themselves are the treasures!



On a related note, here's a fun idea I came across on Pinterest via "Young House Love"...

A little shadow box displaying the keys to the places you've lived.  Makes me wish I had kept copies of my old keys!  After all, modern keys may look totally boring to me now, but who knows...my great grand kids may unlock everything with fingerprint recognition and may find my keys to be fascinating relics!

Designer Desks to Support Orphans' Education in Nepal

Check out these great desks, designed and built by 11 New York wood workers, artists and architects to support the education of orphans in Nepal.  The desks will be auctioned off on May 12th at the Kids of Kathmandu’s fund raising event! (via DesignWire)

The designers:
Mark Righter of Cambium Studio, cambiumstudio.com
Daniel Moyer of Daniel Moyer Design, danielmoyerdesign.com
Brian DeRosia, brianderosia.com
Stephanie Beamer and Lauren Maccuaig of MADE, made-nyc.com
Eric Manigian, manigian.com
Andrew Rumpler of Nine Stories Furniture Co., ninestoriesdesign.com
Andrew Raible of Standard41, standard41.com
Ben Strear of Strear Built, strear-built.com
Bill Hilgendorf of Uhuru, uhurudesign.com
Alejandro Cabrera and James Cohen of Wadaly, wadaly.com
James Harmon of Workshop, workshopdesignbuildllc.com

DIY Spring Decoration

Since we've moved to a house that has a mantel above the fireplace, I've been having fun figuring out how to decorate it for holidays.  The Valentine's decor was taken down a while ago and I've just finished decorating it for spring!  Well, maybe.  I keep tweaking it.  But here's what I have so far.

I wanted to do something new for Easter, mainly because I didn't have a mantel before and didn't have anything that seemed to fit it well.  I also didn't want to spend a lot of money, if any at all.  So, I dug into what I had, repurposed a few things, made a couple small purchases, and ended up with this little hybrid of my "egg collection" and some real, live grass!

 Originally I wanted to get some fake grass, but dang, that stuff is expensive.  So, instead I looked around the house for some long, narrow containers to use as planters.  I landed on these two drawer organizer things I had gotten at a garage sale for $0.50 cents last summer.  I filled them with potting soil and grass seed from the garage, watered them, set them in the window sill, and a week later I had grass.  Once it sprouted, it really grew fast!

 I took some green construction paper from my studio and folded it to make these covers to hide the ugly manilla containers.

Then I rolled up some masking tape into loops and used it to stick some of this miniature white fence along the front. You can find this at craft stores or any store where they have little village decorations.  I had some on hand from my Department 56 stuff (and more from my mom, who freelances for Dept 56 painting buildings!).

 The only thing I purchased brand new was a box of these feather butterflies.  I had aspirations to make a garland of butterflies that didn't work out quite as well as planned...well, it's still in the works.  I got a package of them for 40% off with a Michael's coupon. I wrapped the wire around a wood skewer to get a "spring" shape, and shorten the wire without having to cut it, and stuck 'em in the grass.

 The letters I made out of foam core.  I found an image of grass using Google Images, masked out the letters in Photoshop, printed them on sticky-back label paper, slapped it on a piece of foam core, and cut them out with an X-acto knife.  Then I spray painted some bamboo skewers silver, stuck the pointy ends into the foam core, and trimmed them to the height I wanted.  Voila! Free but effective.  (Well, free because I already had this stuff around)

 I've never really found a great way to display my egg collection, until this year.  They looked so underwhelming, tiny and short, along the long, horizontal mantel. But, the wheels began spinning when my 3 year old broke apart one of my old Junk Mail Gems craft show display pieces. Good ideas can come from breaking stuff!  I noticed that the old brass candlesticks that I had painted silver, worked perfectly to hold an egg and give it height on a pedestal.  So, I went to work recycling my already recycled displays, giving the candlesticks a fresh coat of silver paint, and using them to hold my eggs.

I tend to get a little spray-happy with my silver paint.  I've used it to bring so many dated, brass decor items into this century.  I didn't stop at the candlesticks...I picked up 4 little ceramic rabbits at the thrift store for $0.39 cents each, and painted them as well.  I think my new bionic bunnies add a little extra Easter-y flare without being too cheesy and literal.

 Overall I'm pretty happy with it...not bad for about $7!  The candle sticks (and 1 bud vase) really helped the little eggs fill the space both vertically and horizontally, and I love having something "alive" as part of the decoration.  Spraying all of the pieces silver helped tie all of the different silhouettes together.

I'll probably re-position things a million times between now and Easter, but then that's half the fun.  I'm pretty sure my husband thinks I'm crazy when he sees me fiddling with my eggs AGAIN.  But, hey, that's the price you pay when you marry an artist and designer.  The wall sculpture above it I actually made 7 or 8 years ago for our living room (copying one that I saw for hundreds of dollars at a furniture store)...it's the color scheme of our carpet.  But, it matches well with the spring colors!

We still have over a month until Easter, but spring starts in just a few days!  It's not too late to get out an interesting container and plant your own green grass...see what you can come up with for a little "live" decor!

Fun Friday Finds

I know, it's been forever since I've posted any Fun Friday Finds!  But, now that we're settled into our new home (which we plan to purchase as soon as our other home sells), and I finally have my laptop all set up where the kids play, I can get back to blogging more regularly!!  So, here are a few fun things to end your week...

DIY Window Clings
"Smashed Peas & Carrots" is always FULL of fantastic ideas.  This looks like such a fund and simple idea to make window clings for Valentine's day.  I know Valentine's is over, but you could so easily do this for any holiday.  We may have to try this for Easter!

Flower Building Toy
"Made by Joel" is another major favorite of mine on my blog reading list.  This is just such an adorable idea I had to re-post it!

Bright Times Votives by Studio Tord Boontje 
I just came across these really cool looking votive holders in a Real Simple magazine.  They remind me of the intricate work of 3D paper artists that I love to admire, but are made from metal.  I can only imagine what cool patterns the shadows cast on the wall when there is a lit candle inside!

You Don't Need to be an Artist to Creat Amazing Wall Art!

I'm in the middle of an extreme bedroom makeover right now...on an extreme budget as well.  I'll share it when I'm done, hopefully soon!  Anyway, that got me interested in these nice, simple ways that anyone can create modern wall art for their home, even if you're not an artist.

Somehow I got myself on the DIY Ideas magazine's e-newsletter, and after finding so many cool ideas, I just bought a subscription.  But, here are just a few of their fun wall art ideas that I found today...

With some canvas, paint, and a little masking tape, you too can create this simple piece:

This one is done by laying some clothespins on your canvas or paper and just spraying over it with spray paint.  This would be such a great piece of art to hang in your laundry room!  There are a lot of fun things you could use in place of clothespins too, such as kitchen utensils, keys, etc...

This would be great in a bedroom.  I love the idea of turning these hangers into frames!

This is such a neat, modern twist on shadow boxes.

Here's a really pretty way to recycle those little cardboard jewelry boxes into a piece of nature-inspired artwork:

Okay, now my creative project mental to-do list is overflowing even MORE!!  So many projects, so little time... sigh.

DIY Princess Themed Bedroom by Heidi Panelli

If you have little girls, brace yourselves.  This is perhaps the most glaringly girlie, most pink, most dainty-princess-y little whimsical fairytale land of a bedroom you will ever see.  And get this...it did not even cost a fortune in mass-produced licensed Disney princess decor to pull off.

This is my niece's new bedroom, created by none other than my very creative sister, who recently transformed a room in her basement into this magical room fit for a princess.  (Yes, those creative genes do run rampant in our family.)

She was kind enough to allow me to share her incredible work with all of you mommies out there in the blogosphere.  Okay, so you may not have the artistic ability to paint a perfect silhouette of Cinderella's castle on a hill, but there are some elements of her project that you may want to attempt if you have a frilly little pink bundle of joy yourself!

I am going to paste her own comments and descriptions of how she created various elements:

The trunk was my old trunk from college. For safety we padlocked it so the girls couldn't go inside it. I painted placemats on top of it & spray varnished the paint job so they could have tea parties.

"The end table was from IKEA...it was bare wood that I painted & sprayed clear coat over before assembling...cost $10 new.

The wavy mirrors are $14 per two pack at IKEA (not bad!).

The canopy (you'll see a more finished photo where the sides are tied back...held to the wall w/ command 3M hooks)...the fabric is the shear curtains that come in a two panel pack at IKEA for $4.99, I strung them on extra cord I had cut from blinds (sturdy!) and tied on. Then pinned some cute ribbons to it. The top part is actually a wall shelf turned upside down (from Savers). My other idea I was looking for was a planter...any type of wire frame or plastic wall planter would also work for a cute top. [ID Mommy comment: You can find tons of this ornate, gold wall hanging stuff at thrift stores!! Painting them white sure made them perfect for this room!!]

She specifically requested roses for her room. The fake roses I cut shorter w/ a wire cutter & made the sharp wire ends safe by adding a dollop of hot glue to the ends. The kids love them! She likes them in the wooden vase by her bed & they use them to decorate their tea party table.

Light fixture was from Menards $30

The closet knobs were bare wood, a few bucks from Menards, painted to match the pink walls.

Wall hooks for the dresses was from IKEA,

The flower light was from IKEA (put on the wall with cord molding from Menards to hide the cord & make it safer).

The cabinet is covering the power panel/breakers, so I removed the handle and added a lock.

The princess pictures are free downloadable computer wallpaper from Disney that I printed out & glued jewels onto.

The curtain over the doorway is a dowel rod I cut to fit & got hardware for holding up a closet rod. The pink curtain was another find from Brand Name Deals.


More comments & Tips:
There is a ton of space under her bead. By going with a platform bed instead of a box spring bed, and using bed raisers (both bed and raisers from IKEA...bed was $49) that are mostly hidden w/ a bedskirt, there's plenty of space under there for 3 large rubbermaid tubs that hold toys.

I purposely painted most of the room bold colors that could easily convert to an older kids room if she gets tired of the princess theme. I'd just have to paint over the castle wall and maybe the white decorative lines, switch out some decorations, curtains & bedding and the room could change dramatically...adding lime green, or black for instance would make it a cool teen room.

And someday when we can afford it, we'll remove that blue carpet that came with our house!

...oh, and you're right about "super fancy"...that was more my goal than to find every Disney theme thing I could. The licensed character stuff is very expensive! But I looked for things that tie together with color (i.e. the curtains and bedding are totally different brands, but look like they belong together!), and looked for things that, when painted all the same, would tie it together (the candle holders, shelf, and picture frames were tacky and mis-matched, but I washed them in warm soapy water, sprayed them w/ rustoleum primer, then rustoleum canvas white gloss paint & suddenly they were a matching set!). I looked for things that were fancy, girlie, pink, "Victorian," whimsical, and even a little sophisticated.

I only used 3 shades of pink, plus a warm white (dutchboy, lambswool white, cabinet & trim paint) for the trim. The darkest pink makes the room feel luxurious and the white really pops against it!"

-Heidi

Okay, back to you, ID Mommy...

So there you have it...a do-it-yourself princess room that blows away anything that could be bought in a store, and is surely the only one like it on the planet.  Awesome.  And for those of you who are thinking, "wow, this lady has too much time on her hands..." stop right there.  That is my hugest pet peeve when people say that about me too.  Heidi is one of the busiest mommies I know, running several of her own businesses (including freelance design work, a restaurant with her chef husband, and BusyBodies among other online businesses and blogs!), while also somehow juggling motherhood of THREE girls.  Yup, she's busy, and she manages her time well.  That or she never sleeps.  Like myself, I think it's a bit of both, coupled with a brain full of unending project ideas and an overwhelming drive to complete them all.  Thanks, Heidi, for sharing this little corner of your basement with us!

Fun Friday Finds

Last night I got to enjoy the rare and elusive thing we call a "date night," celebrating my husband's birthday...our first in the over 4 months since our 2nd child was born.  I'm talkin' the real deal here: leaving the house with a small purse that held only MY belongings, driving in our little VW Beetle that won't even seat our whole family, a 2 and a half hour meal at Solera where we got to actually converse and eat all of our own food, followed by a walk around downtown Minneapolis, topped off with a FULL EIGHT HOURS of sleep!! HUGE thanks to my parents for giving our boys yet another time of their lives so that we could reconnect (especially since my hubby has been traveling for 17 out of the last 27 days), and another big thanks to Toby for picking last night to sleep longer than he ever has!  Wahoo!  Three cheers for Gramma and Grampa!  Hip-hip-hooray!!  Hip-hip-hooray!!  Hip-hip-hooray!!

So, enough bragging about my hot date...time to share some fun Friday finds!  Here are a few cool things spotted this week on the blogosphere, hand picked by IDMommy for your viewing pleasure...

Plum Organics have teamed up with Boon to create this cool package with their built-in spoon!  For $3.99 you can get the spoon, which screws on to the Plum baby food pouches.  You may remember me posting previously about the Boon spoon, which Toby did finally get in his Easter basket this year. I personally prefer to make my own baby food, so I am excited to try out the Squirt spoon.  But, this is a great alternative when you're out and about for even more convenience, if you don't want to worry about filling up the spoon. (via Daily Candy)

Here's a fun building toy idea that mixes art with architecture. (via Inhabitots)

I may not have a beautiful dress with poofy sleeves in my closet, but one of my favorite t-shirts has a plate of tater tots on the front, with the words "give me some of your tots" written in ketchup.  I got it at a garage sale for $0.50 cents...from a 10 year old boy. Yeah, I know, this 30-something year old Mom loves Napoleon Dynamite just as much as 10 year olds, but I can do whatever I wanna do.  GOSH!  That's why I just had to share this sweeeeet wall mural that Design Mom did for her son's bedroom.  Check out the great tutorial!  Makes me want to erect a tether ball in the back yard and make myself a dang case-a-dilla!