A Restful Break, I'm Happy to Be Back, and a Little Plywood Modern Art

I enjoyed my little vacation from blogging, and let me tell you, I've enjoyed January!

Christmas... it's glorious... but I am loving this normalcy.

During my time away (which is funny to say because I've really only been right here in my own house), I've completed a few projects, written a couple of dozen lists of projects I want to complete, and embarked on a more natural, healthful way of eating. I'm hoping to share some recipes with you soon.

I was a design major in college and have always loved art. I wish we were in a place right now to be able to support artists and buy beautiful, original works. In the meantime, I decided to create my own art.

I used what I had on hand-- plywood, latex paint (as a base for the other colors) and various acrylics.

If you want to create your own (sorry that this isn't really a proper tutorial), start with a clean piece of plywood. Using a tack cloth to clean off any little bits works very well.

My first coat of paint was a beige wall paint that I had left over from another room. I wanted my final piece to look a little rough so I applied paint sparingly and didn't coat the entire piece. Holes of true wood grain peeping through paint was what I had in mind.

Then I blended colors roughly on a pallet before coating my brush. In other words, I wanted a very blended look for my second layer. 

To add dimension and movement, I used bolder colors (especially toward the bottom) and applied thickly. I used straight unblended color sparingly and continued my focus on blending-- even with bold strokes.

It was a satisfying project. I loved that my oldest son was outside with me the whole time and I could share a little of my past with him while he tinkered around the driveway.

Guest Bathroom Makeover

I made a Facebook pinky-swear to post about the bathroom re-do today and I never break a pinky swear.

Our newest adventure is the guest bathroom. Here are the before pictures so you, too, can marvel at how its 1984 glory days had been living on for decades.

strange chainy light fixtures (I won't tell you exactly where I held them when a few girlfriends were over, but it involved pretend anatomy and got me a good laugh--just like 7th grade),

 faux mint green marbled countertops, 

peeling wallpaper (complete with a sad, sad trim) and bad laminate flooring,

awkward (and cheap) cabinet and an awfully small potty with a soft, cushy seat that spoke to whomever sat on it, "pffshhhhhhh," as it flattened underneath the weight. 

Aside from cosmetic issues that I so lovingly addressed above, the space had quite a few functional issues. 

1. The size and shape. It is a square bathroom with enough floor space but not a lot of surface, storage or wall space.

2. No windows = no natural light. The bathroom was very dark with only a vanity fixture for lighting. This also made choosing a paint color tricky.

3. Awkward, small toilet that felt like it was in the middle of the room, very exposed.

4. No vent

5. Small bathtub/shower

6. Narrow mirrors that left the room feeling like even more of a cave

7. Shallow sink with low faucet

Our Solutions:

1. Floors. The old vinyl was ripped up and replaced with a grayish 18" ceramic tile and gray grout, then new baseboards were added. I want to point out that this was really old laminate flooring and solid glue held it in place. We pulled up as much as we could, but the bits and parts that wouldn't budge were tiled right over. It saved a lot of time--and elbow grease-- and was recommended by the professionals we spoke with.

2. Lighting. My images aren't stellar, but the fixture is here if you're interested. I'll also note that I got it for a half-price deal for only $26.10 and free shipping. Win! It adds so much more light, but the room really did need a centered overhead light too. Because we also wanted to install a vent, we went with a combo light/vent and it's functional--not the coolest (just a standard flushmount). 

3. Countertop.  Though we did install granite in the kitchen, that was not in the budget for the bathrooms and I really deliberated on this decision. Should we install a different, more attractive, laminate? What about tiling it? Or, should we do nothing and save up for a solid surface? In the end, we saved our cash and painted it with a paint made specifically for laminate countertops, made by Rustoleum. It took two coats-- was VERY strong smelling-- but worked great! The paint was only about $20 and made one of the grandest impacts in the room. I recommend it.

4. Cabinets. The vanity cabinet stayed and got a coat of glossy white. The too-narrow corner cabinet (with warping doors and a mildew smell) was pulled out and replaced by a Craigslist find that I sanded and painted with Valspar Firecracker. More on that later.

5. Walls. Oh, the wretched wallpaper. I know it's very chic right now, but I will NEVER install wallpaper in a house. Jeremy proved his undying love a million times over by removing most of it and then retexturing the walls where drywall was ripped. And he never even said a bad word. The man is the Ghandi of home renovating. 

The paint color I chose is called Bistro White (also Valspar). I wanted to go very neutral to balance the bright curtain and bold cabinet. Also, the room is windowless and needed to maintain a bright, airy element.

6. Potty. Replaced. Good solid seat. The end.

7. Details. We went with two pewter mirrors, a prettier faucet, a new toilet paper holder and a curtain rod that bows out to give a bigger feel to the smallish tub. I also splurged on the Pottery Barn curtain that adds color and punch, but still blends in with the softer blues and overall palette of our home.

As is always the case with me, I haven't decided on a few accessories for the walls. 

It's so much better now. Best of all, we really did pay very little for the dramatic difference between before and after.

Shared with: Miss Mustard Seed, Sugar Bee Crafts, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Tatertots and Jello

Candy Corn Wreath (an upcycle)

One thing I've learned since starting my blog is this...

Everything is a possible craft. I think twice before throwing even the ugliest of uglies away.

Exhibit A:

I see the potential in things, which makes me an optimist.

Jeremy, are you reading this? I know you see my growing mound of future projects in the garage and you fear that I may need to seek professional aid. 

But I don't, because look! The pile is dwindling down! 

Please don't submit my name to the producers of "Hoarders."

Shared with: Today's Creative Blog, Sugar Bee Crafts, Li'l Luna, Tatertots and Jello

Painted Foam Play Mat

Check out this amazing idea. Aesthetic Outburst transformed an ugly kids' foam puzzle mat into a chevron "rug."

Sarah.Wandering did the same in a lovely floral pattern.

I MUST try this in my kitchen!

Tutorial: Pencil Eraser-Stamped Elephant T-Shirts

My baby's first birthday is just around the corner. We're doing an elephant theme and decided to go with a bold color palette.

If you want to see the elephant and invitations I designed as a starting point, click here.

I recently stumbled upon this technique (done with stamping ink) on Pinterest, and wanted to put my spin on it, but with fabric paints.

For party favors, I  decided to use my elephant and create dotted, stenciled t-shirts.

Here's what I did:

1. cut your stencil from card stock and apply to your t-shirt with double-sided tape.

2. Use a different pencil eraser for each color and stamp away!

3. Make sure you dot around the stencil's edges to create a clear outline of your shape.

This was a FUN project! 

Oooh, I'm thinking about doing this with my boys' names in different shades of the same color.

And, if I am feeling like a fun mommy, I might just let my 4-year-old take a stab at it.

Stripped down to his undies. Outside. On Newspapers. 

PS: I have a lot more birthday stuff to share so keep checking back.

Shared with: Somewhat Simple, Tatertots and Jello, Be Different Act Normal

Front Entry Makeover with Stenciling

{Our Entryway}

Before:

When we bought our home in September, we knew we had a LOT of work ahead of us. 

And we're slowly making some progress, taking it one room at a time.

(More like: we'll do a little in here, then a little in there, and maybe one day we'll have this house done!)

Since I recently posted about our front door makeover (you can read about that here), I wanted to show you the other side of that door...

our very narrow and blah, blah, bland entryway.

The very first thing we did (and by "we" I mean Jeremy) was scrape the popcorn ceilings (you can read all about that messy mess here and see a bit of the dust pile in that top photo).

Then I got to work. 

I created my own stencil with my Silhouette machine and cardstock but you could easily find a pattern you like and cut it with an exacto knife. My stencil was definitely not a complicated design.

Okay. So there is PLENTY of DIY stenciling advice out there, but here's what worked for me and I'm pretty sure I tried just about everything else:

My main method:

1. I used a small paintbrush with lots of paint on it.

2. I held the stencil in place with one hand while I painted the outline of the stencil with the other hand.

3. Then I removed the stencil to paper towels and blotted it.

4. Next I filled in my lines I had outlined.

Another method I liked:

I used the same small paintbrush with very little paint on it and stippled the stencil on the wall. In other words, I didn't paint and fill in lines. This technique was a lot faster, but the lines weren't as clean. It worked very well for the small dots that needed to be filled.

So... I changed my design horse mid-stream and opted for frames with stenciling inside, instead of stenciling the entire wall.

I'm so glad I did! It was a lot faster and adds more visual interest.

Jer and I measured the squares that I had envisioned in my mind's eye and I did all the painting and stenciling (he did help with the top and corners).

Then Jeremy used molding to frame out the edges.

I created some simple, custom art using spray painted Wal-Mart frames that I scraped with steel wool.

I also added our family name in brown vinyl to make it a little more personal and finished the space off with a new lighting fixture and rug. 

Before

After

The paint I used was Valspar "Metropolis."

Linked to: Take a Look Tuesday, Today's Creative Blog, Tatertots and Jello, The Creative Crate, The CSI Project

Milk Monster Onesie

I hope you all had a super-duper Easter weekend with family and lots of kids running around the yard, looking for brightly painted, chocolate-stuffed eggs.

We did!

Are you ready to swear off candy forever?

We are!

Here's a little project to help you out of that sugar coma.

(I hope I'm not the only one who ate jelly beans all day yesterday!)

This is one of those takes-no-time-but-looks-so-cute kind of projects (my favorite kind).

Feel free to save the image to your computer and print it out to make your own.

If you want to make a t-shirt or onesie like my baby's, simply trace the image and words with fabric paint.

Place cardboard under the picture first so the paint won't bleed through to the other side. Then follow the paint's directions for drying time.