Floral Initial Tile

This idea came to me via a friend last Christmas who was looking for a gift that she could use for everyone on her list. 

Wouldn't this be an awesome wedding gift as well?  I'm offering the vinyl decals to make this item at my Etsy shop.  Unfortunately, the tile is not included - I'm too afraid to ship them.  Cracked tiles aren't much fun to get in the mail.  But, the decal is simple to apply, and is perfectly sized for a 12" tile that can be picked up at Lowe's or HomeDepot for less than $1.

Check out what your Initial would look like down here.

Head Board Tutorial

9 years ago, I was living in my first apartment as a married gal.  My new living space led to a new favorite show, TLC's Trading Spaces.  I must have watched every episode those first few seasons.  I learned all kinds if tricks, including how to create a headboard in about a hundred different ways.  Well, my taste in decorating has evolved, but the headboard phenominon, must have stuck with me cause I recently got the urge to transform a garage sale headboard.

Here's my garage sale find.  Not bad, but not quite what I was looking for either.

First, I filled in the back with some plywood.  I had to use a couple of pieces cut to size and then attached it with furniture nails.

Then I filled in some of the cracks and imperfections with wood filler and sanded it down a bit.

Following that, I sprayed it up with primer and a coat of navy satin paint. 

After that first coat of paint, it became clear to me that the plywood was still a little rough, so I did some more sanding.  I wanted it to look as smooth as the original wood slats.

A couple more coats were required to complete the coverage.  I had to go buy two more cans of the navy spray paint.  I guess no project's complete without a couple extra trips to the hardware store.

Here's the headboard in it's new room. 

Ribbon Hung

This post is a little continuation from the last.  I wanted to do a tutorial on the custom made artwork I did for our star wars room because it is such a super duper simple idea but turns out expertly cute.  It's extremely versatile as well and can be done using any shape or in any color scheme.  The concept simply is to frame a sillouetted shape.  And then hang with Ribbon. 

The ones shown were done with vinyl decals but I've done it before with iron-on fabric, wooden initials, and even silk Gerber daises. 

Here's how it works.

1. 
   
   Start with a frame, or two or three, or four.  Mine were made using moulding from the hardware store.  I'll have to post a frame making tutorial sometime soon.  But, if you haven't entered the world of frame creation yet, plenty of inexpensive options are available at thrift stores, garage sales, dollar stores, walmart, etc.
2. 
   
   Paint your frames if needed.  Spray paint works wonders and comes in a rainbow of colors.  But, a brushed on acrylic is also terrif.
3. 
   
   Glue a backing into your frame.  These particular ones used mats found at walmart and navy card stock.  I did brush some modgepodge on my card stock with the intention of keeping the paper from collecting as much dust.  In the past, I've used backers of fabric, scrapbook paper, and painted plywood.
4. 
   
   Then add your silhouettes to the middle.
5. 
   
   Finally, hang with ribbon (or in this case, ric rac).  There's something about hanging a picture with ribbon that increases it's cute factor exponentially.  Usually, I just staple the ribbon to the back of the picture using a staple gun.  But, sometimes I actually drill holes into the frame and thread the ribbon through as in this item.

Now, there's always the question of how to hide the nail your ribbon is hanging from.  I've come up with a few solutions to that problem.  I'm sure there are many more out there.

Hang using a small furniture nail in the top of a molding.  That's the course I took this time around.  The nail is still visible but it usually doesn't look tacky when done this way. 

My mother in law has a lovely mirror in her front room that she rotates wreaths seasonally on.  She has a small nail centered in the tip top of the mirror's molding and then hangs her wreaths with ribbon from it.  It looks amazing!

No molding available?  Try decorative wrought iron or a curtain rod to hang from.

Buy a hook or knob meant just for this purpose.  (cute, but I've found them difficult to find)

Or, create your own decorative knob to hang from.  This is super simple.  Just find a knob (hardware store, Hobby Lobby), and then find a screw or nail that can be inserted into the back of the knob, and glue it pointy side out. 

I've used hot glue in a hurry but recommend industrial strength glue for a tight hold.  It works, I promise, and no one will know you made it yourself (unless you brag about it on your blog of course).

The knob holding the wall art in this picture... that was hot-glued.  Awesome, huh!?

Boy's Star Wars Room

Just like my last post said, we've been transforming our boy's bedroom into a Star Wars meca.  Here's a few more pictures of our progress. 

You'll notice a heavy usage of vinyl decals.  I geuss I just can't help myself.

The walls were painted two shades of blue from Valspar's Signature collection (Lowes).  The darker shade is called Fly-by-night blue and the lighter is School Boy Blue.  I seperated the two with a simple molding and then applied white vinyl stars and ships.

I'll be posting a set of star decals for purchase on my Etsy shop soon in case anyone else needs a starry night bedroom.

Here's a detail of some of the ships.  Liam has been sitting in that top bunk having make-believe battles with his ships all week long.

One final picture.  Those hanging frames with R2D2- and Yoda sillouettes are my favorite.  And yes, I used vinyl decals. 

I'd still like to find/make some matching quilts for the beds and maybe do some modular storage.  There's an empty wall I didn't show you that is hinting to me that it needs a little something.  I geuss a home is never 100% completed. 

May the Force Be With you

With three little boys in the house, we currently have some serious Star Wars worship going on.  It cracks me up how much my kids get into characters from a movie that came out the year I was born. 

Since moving into our house last December, we've been starring at a lot of white walls.  I've been working to change that in one little corner of our house for a couple of weeks.  Here's a little taste of the boy's new Star Wars Room

This decal bids farewell to all who leave the room. 

Man, kids rooms are so much fun to work on.  A little creativity, and  unconventionality along with thrifty budgets can all coexist wonderfully when working on these projects.

Vinyl House numbers for your Door

This blog has been a bit neglected as of late.  But, I've still been busy creating.  Here's one of my latest creations that has been popular at my Etsy shop.

House and apartments numbers are commonly placed on the door over in Europe but for reasons beyond me, we traditionally land ours on the curb.  This is way more fun!  My vinyl version is easily applied and comes in your choice of color. (white, black, beige, chocolate brown, nutmeg brown, navy blue, red, apple green, pink, lavender, purple, orange, and sky blue. The one shown was done in beige. Once applied, it mimics the look of hand painted lettering and will last for years.  Definately better than the curb!