Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Abby Lu's New Bedroom

In converting Abby Lu's new bedroom from our guest room, I wanted it to be really soft. Her playroom is loud and fun and colorful, but I wanted this room to be a place of rest from the "noise" of the room next door. I didn't have a lot of money to spend on this one, so I focused all of my funds on the bedding and blackout drapes. All of them are from Pottery Bark Kids via eBay!

Her bedding is a collection of teapots on a pale pink background called Julianne. It came out years ago and I always loved it. I was happy to find the duvet cover and 2 shams for less than $100 on Ebay. I looked at bedding for days and surprised Abby with this. I didn't seek her opinion first, but kept her tastes in mind. Knowing how much she plays tea parties, I knew she would like this one. I have a white box pleat dust ruffle being hemmed and then should complete the bed.


Her nightstands don't match and that is okay with me! The white one on the left is from IKEA and she was using it in her room. The right mirrored one, used to be in her room until a game of catch turned into a chipped corner. It had been in the garage to donate, but I decided to just glue the piece back on and make it work for now. The chest at the foot of her bed is perfect for holding blankets and a great spot to sit at when putting on her shoes. You can see a tiny corner of the pink shag rug we used from her old room. 

The rod iron bed was originally red and with 3 cans of spray paint, it became a soft pink. 

Her white Hemnes dresser from IKEA and artwork from Small Words Art along with my favorite bow holder complete the "dressing" area in her room. I love walking right to her dresser without toys challenging my path!


On the short wall between the closet door and the entrance I used a painted chair from Goodwill. You can see it's transformation here. It helps bring in the vintage vibe I was hoping for. Next to it is a basket of her favorite bedtime stories. I had the basket forever and just spray painted it blue with paint I had in the garage.


The wall art is something I have loved for years and first blogged about in 2011. Using embroidery hoops of various sizes from Hobby Lobby, I added scraps of fabric and used coordinating washi tape and created a unique and inexpensive wall display.  


 On the other long wall, opposite the dresser, I used left over Anitbes Green chalk paint to personalize a white Hobby Lobby framed bulletin board. Abby loves to look at pictures of her and her friends and it is a great place to display little awards and medals she has received.


Her left nightstand has an old Pottery Barn kids lamp, a rustic tin flower purchased in Round Top, our favorite prayer, and her alarm clock. The green bucket on the bottom shelf houses all of her jewelry.


The right side of her bed has a fun rustic blue subway art purchase at Pier One imports years ago and along with the matching green lamp, a picture of her with me and my Mom and princess Kleenex. Her lampshades were originally solid white and I added a little hot pink paint to the trim. 


I just love her new little girl room! My favorite part- she looks like a little bitty thing in a queen size bed which is just what this Momma loves to see!

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Abby Lu's New Playroom

We reached a point where the toys were taking over the bedroom and I was tired of forcing Abby to clean up just so that I could get to her closet. You see when my child plays, she goes all out. She likes to throw parties and line up 20 animals with a snack and a drink. Then, they all need to rest with a blanket and a toy. It makes the biggest mess, but in her motherly little mind, she is playing house and forcing her to put all that away was so hard. She wanted all her babies to have what they need.

So, after debating how to handle it, my husband and I decided to convert her bedroom into a playroom. This would give her lots of space to play and I could shut the door on the room and not enter if I didn't want to. It was the perfect solution. We moved her clothes and dresser into our guest bedroom and moved her into the Queen sized bed in there. I'll share her bedroom with you soon and here is her new playroom!

This is the view when you enter the room...
 

Going from left to right inside the room, we put all her play food inside a green bucket and then all of her play dishes are in her Disney Princess tea cart. She plays with food and drinks all day long!


In the left corner where her bed was, we bought a new round IKEA table and two more pink chairs. This is the perfect place for art, playdoh, playing games, and feeding babies.


Her beloved dollhouse is on her blue IKEA table. This was by far the best purchase we have ever made. She loves to set up her dollhouse over and over again. She earns a small allowance and loves to use it to buy furniture. When she travels overnight to see her grandparents, we allow one bag of toys and she fills it with furniture to set up in her bedroom at their house. My sister just bought her a new dollhouse at a garage sale and it is taller than this one when on the floor! Thank goodness we have the space now! 


Her bookcase and closet organizers haven't changed much since they were functioning in her bedroom. I would love another bookcase like this to flank the other side of the window. One day!


On the largest wall in the room where her dresser once was is her art display I made. It was inexpensive, personalizes the space and makes her proud to display her works of art! Her princess castle and collection of stuffed animals along with baby accessories line the wall's floor space. 


This has turned out to be the best solution for our family! I love that I spent less than $100 on this room and it now works beautifully for our little girl.

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Colorful Kid's Art Display for Under $20

My daughter is 4.5 and she loves to do art. She makes pictures at home, at school, at church, anywhere. She always finds them all to be treasures and wants them on display. I used to display her art in my kitchen on an old shutter, but we recently converted her room into her playroom and moved her into the guest bedroom for sleeping. It allowed me to make her play room all about her and that meant having a big art display.

My thoughts going into the project- I need to be able to change her art easily, I want to display at least 10 pictures at a time, it can't cost me much money, and I wanted it be be fun and colorful.


To make this all happen, I knew I wanted clothespins and decided to use inexpensive hooks and ribbon for my display. Washi tape on the clothespins brought in more color and pattern. I simply taped the front of each clothespin and cut off the excess.

I did three rows or hooks and ribbon and each one was 14" higher than the next. The bottom row was 36" off the ground. To be honest, I didn't measure the distance between the hooks horizontally, I just centered it on the wall. My guess is that they are about 5 feet apart.


What do you think? Super easy and pretty cute! We have had fun filling her wall and I don't have anxiety about where to put the next piece of art she brings home! Plus, the hooks on the end have come in handy for the items intended to be on a doorknob. They are great for holding art, too!


Monday, August 19, 2013

Super Simple Kid-Friendly Lunch

I had lunch with my friend Morgan last week and she made us little personal pizzas for lunch. Abby loved them and we have since made them twice. It is the easiest little lunch and great for kids.

Personal Pepperoni Pizzas

1 Rhodes roll per pizza (Abby eats 1, an adult would eat 2-4)
1 jar pizza sauce
mozzarella cheese
pepperonis
olive oil

Thaw your Rhodes rolls on a sprayed (Pam) pan for 3-5 hours. They should be covered in sprayed Saran Wrap to stay moist.

Preheat oven to 400.

Once your dough is thawed, press it flat and make into pizza crusts. Spray or drizzle with a little olive oil. It will make the crust crispy so you don't feel like you are eating a roll.

Top crust with sauce, cheese and pepperonis and bake at 400 for 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

Friday, August 16, 2013

Friday's Foot Fetish: Current Comfy Obsessions

I am always on the hunt for cute and comfy shoes. The kind you can wear to the grocery store and the mall and don't feel frumpy or have sore feet at the end of the day. I am loving these three right now for Fall!

Go Walk by Skechers via Zappos were recommended by Mix and Match Mama after a European vacation. They look and feel like slippers, but have the support of tennis shoes. Plus, they come in lots of great bold colors! 
 A friend of mine's Mother had these on last weekend and I loved them. They are a great low profile tennis shoes and the colors are awesome. I find them on sale on Zappos!
 Finally, I just love all of my TOMS and ordered the camo ones as my Fall pair. I am hoping I will be brave and treat them like a neutral and wear them with lots of different things. I can be known to stick to a white t-shirt and jeans with a printed shoe. 

Happy Shoe Shopping!

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Best Packing Tip Ever

Thank you Pinterest- this is genius!

Open your liquid bathroom products and place a little Saran wrap over the hole and close them back up. It takes up no extra room in your make up bag and solves the "find what spilled game" I have played one too many times!


One more little tip, hide the Saran Wrap to prevent housekeeping from throwing it away before your return trip home! :)

Saturday, August 10, 2013

Simple Washi Tape Bookmarks

 I ordered some washi tape off etsy and have found it to be so fun and easy! I will share a few more ideas for using it this month, but let's first start with using washi tape for bookmarks.

I am reading a one a day Bible this year and needed a bookmark to keep my place. With all of the e-readers out there, they don't exist much anymore. So, I crafted my own!


It is a folded piece of card stock, covered in cute washi tape and stays shut with two small magnets.



You can make one in just a few minutes and these are great for kids to make as back to school approaches!

I cut my piece of cardstock 3" long. I then added two pieces of washi tape and cut off the excess. If you know your washi tape is 1/2", then you can just cut your paper 1" wide. Essentially, you want it two pieces of washi tape wide and 3" long.


When you cover it in washi tape, just leave a little on the edges and fold it over and tape it down. This is what the inside looks like. I then covered the inside in 2 pieces of washi tape and cut the excess tape off at the end. It makes for a clean and fully covered piece of cardstock.


I then added a contrasting piece on the outside and centered it. It makes it more fun and covers the seam of the two pink pieces.


You will then want to add magnets to the inside. These are the ones I bought- they are the thinnest ones at Hobby Lobby.


Fold your bookmark in half (this is the inside you can see). Trim two magnets the same size. These magnets are sticky, so I removed the white sticker and attached the first magnet. Instead of trying to line up the top magnet just right, I removed the sticker on it, and connected the two magnets, then I shut the bookmark. 


When I opened it back up, I had two magnets stuck to the bookmark and perfectly aligned.


Here it is- my own cute little bookmark!


Happy Crafting and Happy Reading!


Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Provence Blue Bulletin Board Project

I recently decided to paint the giant bulletin board in my office a lighter color. I have so much black in there that it needed a little more fun, so I bought Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Provence Blue. It is a little brighter than Duck Egg Blue and was a great match for my chevron lamp shade.

Here is the black chalkboard. I bought it at Ballard Designs many years ago. It has been in 2 houses and is always full of pictures, little crafts from Abby, quotes, and awards. I love having a bulletin board in my office.


I taped off the bulletin board and used copy paper to cover it all up. 


Provence is a beautiful color- the perfect bright light blue.


After three coats on the bulletin board frame, I needed to bring out some of the chunky wood frame details. So, instead of sanding and using dark wax, I used Baroque Art paste. I purchased this at the store with my Annie Sloan paint. 


I am not sure why this is called German Silver, but after opening up all of the little tubs, this one was the best match of old gold for me. It was super simple to use. I rubbed it on after the paint was dry and the clear wax had sealed my paint in. 


I lightly sanded a few spots here and there and then rubbed the gold wax on top. I tried to be random which is so hard for me!


The finished product is exactly what I was hoping for!


After having fun with this bulletin board, I decided to do another one in our house in Antibes green! Stay tuned for that!

Sunday, August 4, 2013

Chocolate Spice Bundt Cake

Have you discovered Mix and Match Mama yet? It is a fun foodie blog that I discovered recently. She has taken a basic bundt cake recipe and made 100 different cakes with slight variations of it. I love bundt cakes- they present well, icing can be less than perfect, and they travel well. 

I made her Cinnamon Roll Bundt cake this Spring and last week I tried her Chocolate Spice version, her personal #5 favorite of 100. Both were easy and tasted great. In fact, when I was washing the bundt cake tupperware after this one was all gone, my husband said, "please don't do that to me again". It was hard to resist on the counter!


If you like chocolate, make this cake. It you like cinnamon, make this cake. If you like Chocolate Cinnamon Bread from Starbucks, make this cake TODAY.

Click here for the full recipe and enjoy!

Thursday, August 1, 2013

August Desktop

Have a great month!

Using Go Wild Kit from Sweet Shoppe Designs