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Happy Monday! I trust that y'all had a splendid weekend. We got pummeled with more snow than we should have for the whole month of December, never mind the fact that it is almost April. Mamma ain't happy. I've got some flip flops burning a hole in my closet. I need spring!

I want to thank all of you for your kind words about the girls' room and all of your great questions. You know how to make a girl blush! There were lots of questions about things on the gallery wall so I thought I would tackle those today.


Here are the specifics on what I included and why.


1. Keep it personal. This is a 'commissioned original'. I wanted something vertical so I asked my uber talented graphic designer bestie to take some lyrics and make them pretty. This is from a song, I Will, by a little band called The Beatles. I sing this each night to the girls (Eve sings along). They are the only ones allowed to hear me sing unless cocktails are involved.

2. Add something with dimension. A craft I did with the girls for Valentine's Day. It is their handy work and they are very proud of it.

3. Humor is important. Let me introduce you to Herb. 'Herbie' to his friends. The hubs got the ceramic dear head for Christmas and as soon as he opened it the girls were smitten. It was Amelia's idea to put Herbie in their room and the hubs was gracious enough to share him. Right now he wears some forsythia for this season I hear we are supposed to get someday called 'spring', but Amelia is on the hunt for the perfect antlers (aka branches) that we can make glittery. Because when you think of a mounted deer head, you think of glitter. At least I do.


4. Art is in the eye of the beholder. An unsolicited piece by Amelia herself. She came into the kitchen one day over the moon to show this off. My favorite is a toss up between the swing on the tree and the paver walk. The girl is a genius obviously.

5. Include something that includes all the colors of your scheme. One of my favorite watercolors from MaiAutumn.

6. More pretty watercolors my parent's gave Eve for her 1st birthday. And yes, the one on the right is in there sideways.


7. You need an 'awww' factor. I keep several pieces of clothes from the early baby days (no matter what my mom might tell you about my sentimentality) and this is one of the few items that both of them wore. This is the hat that both girls had on when they came home from the hospital. How I wish I had better handwriting.

And good gracious, have you ever tried to take a picture of something behind glass?! It isn't pretty, and neither are the pictures.


8. History. The girls' birth announcements. Memories.


9. Add a bit of life. Mean I know as they are no longer alive, but the girls love butterflies. And the yellow ties into the colors of the room. Any random group of things can become cohesive thru color.

10. Break the routine. A vintage oval gold frame from my stash. Something nice and round...or oval, helps to break up all the squares and straight lines.


11. Words to live by. Kate Spade has spoken. Amen Kate.


12. Lessons Learned. I believe I wrote this in sixth grade. There is also an accompanying illustration that severely dates me. Let's just say Benetton was one of the stores featured. They did have great rugbys. I'll keep that little drawing for myself.

13. B. Baumgartner. No expanding on that really.

And yes, I used my tried and true template hanging method and it worked like a charm. Take that plaster.

So that is how I go about picking what little nuggets make it up on the wall. How do you pick what goes on your wall?

We have arrived at week 6 of the One Room Challenge (see week 1 - 5 here) and I'm ready to put everything together. Mostly. I've only got a few things left to do and then there is that whole putting the room together thing. I'll be busy this weekend. That's for sure.

But enough about what I still have to do, let's see what I got done. I warn you it's not much, but maybe if I talk about it in a really up beat way, it will seem like a bigger deal. Smoke and mirrors people.


The dresser is finally finished and he's been moved in to the room. He was a lesson in patience and has earned his own post. Soon enough dresser. You will get your day.

I also finished the silhouettes to go above the girls' beds which was refreshingly easy. (that passive agressive comment is for you dresser) The hardest part was trying to get Eve to sit still long enough to take the picture. (bribery and a doughnut works wonders)

To get as high contrast in the pictures I set the girls in front of a window and snapped away. Take a look at those yummy cheeks.


I printed them off in black and white, which again helps with the contrast, and then cut my child's sweet little head. Thanks to the contrast, it is very easy to follow the lines.


Then I centered the black and white silhouette on top of the colored paper (pink for Eve and yellow for Amelia) and traced the black and white silhouette with my x-acto knife, leaving me with a simple and colorful silhouette. But when I pulled the finished silhouette away from the paper, I decided I liked the silhouette void even better than the silhouette itself. It acts like a mat and gives the silhouette a bit more presence. Voila. Happy silhouettes. (I'm going to call Guinness as soon as I'm done writing this post to see if I've broken the world record for number of times using 'silhouette' in a single paragraph. Fingers crossed)


And finally, I picked up the cherry on top of two very happy beds.


Now to put it all together. I've only got three items left on the list and #5 has me stumped. Should I go with grosgrain, pom poms or some awesome new trim I don't even know about? What say you?

1. Come up with functional floor plan
2. Paint walls/ceiling/trim
3. Paint dresser (new hardware too) 
4. Update vanity (maybe some fun color or hardware)
5. Find curtains and add trim
6. Add a rug and new bedding 
7. Hang art and create some personalized pieces PROGRESS
8. Find/Install new light fixture (buh bye ceiling fan)
9. Reupholster chair and possibly add comfy floor cushions 
10. Find/Make lampshade(s) 

Happy Monday everybody!

It's like spring here today and I'm loving it. The girls and I are going to go outside for a nice long w-a-l-k (shhh. we can't say walk out loud, it sends the dog into hysterics) to the park and finish some outdoor christmas prep. But before we head out I wanted to share a quick before and after with you.

Nothing too crazy, but something that has bugged me for years.

The stairway down to our finished basement/family room/playroom/doesn't-get-cleaned-often room. It is hard to tell from the picture (as it's an awkward place to photograph) but it is just a big huge vast space of...nothing. And nothing drives me bonkers more than a HUGE blank wall.

I know, 'Get off your arse and hang a picture then, big deal'. But a piece of art or a picture that would fill up that space would be mega bucks and a gallery wall is not an option as this requires a crane practically to hang one nail. The hubs would not go for that. And since he's the one that gets up on the ladder, good man that he is, I thought I'd be nice. Want to save up my 'will you please do this crazy project with me' points for bigger spaces.

After keeping my eye out for something big and cheap, I finally found a great solution at my favorite salvage place.

So the ladder came out,


some circ de soleil moves happened,


and problem solved.

An old map from a school that had closed in the area. Now we grab a bit of education on our way down to watch TV. And we hung it just high enough so that little hands can't rub, rip, pull or whatever else little hands tend to do.

Do you have any area of your house that drives you crazy? Have a precarious spot that you've had to hang something? Wanna come to the park with us?

Sometimes a change of scenery can do wonders for your imagination. That, and a friend with great ideas.

Before my vacation, I mentioned my problems figuring out how to get this little honey to play well with others in my living room.
I loved all of your ideas and comments, as I always do, but Meg's suggestion really made me think. (thanks Meg!!)


To be honest, the first image was my favorite as well. I was drawn to the 'tension' (to use a Million Dollar Decorators term) it created. A very old and classic piano paired with a mod piece of art that wasn't even ment to go inside a home, let alone above a piano. I'm all for going the 'not supposed to' route. And I thought it was a great way to honor my grandma and her hard work but also make it my own.

But I was having trouble figuring out what exactly that 'my own' thing would be. I scoured Etsy for something fun/funny that had to do with chickens, eggs etc. But everything was either too country or just didn't speak to me.

Fast forward to the beach. That sea air does wonders for my psyche. We did lots of great shopping and exploring (more on that later) and made our annual trip to my favorite architectural salvage place where I found two pieces I thought would work.

Work great actually, I was getting excited. But two wasn't going to be enough, and that is all they had. I bought them anyway and hoped I'd find the rest somewhere between Florida and Missouri. That place turned out to be Atlanta. (more on that later too)

Now I'm happy to report my piano is no longer lonely.

This hanging process was not without some minor drama though. My first thought was to use 3M strips to not create any holes in my newly patched, sanded and painted walls. We stuck them everywhere, hung them up and admired modern sticking technology.

But note to self - don't stick breakable things up on the wall, and then leave the house for at least 12 hours. Because when we got back from dinner, I found this on the floor.

Damn.

Two days of super gluing section by section and waiting for them to dry and she was good as vintage. You can still see a bit of the big crack, but that's character. At least that's what I'm telling anyone who asks.

I reverted back to my good ol' template method and made three small holes into my wall.

Now those babies are up for good and I'm happy.

I love that it means something to me. And for those that don't know the story, they can just think I'm a lobbyist for the egg board. It also adds great depth (literally) to an otherwise flat wall (OK, all walls are flat, but you know what I mean). And an unintended perk is the word works perfectly with the rule of threes. I'd thought about adding an S, but I'm thinking 3 letters look better than 4.


And a shout out to June for saving her pennys and selling eggs, rather than salmon or chicken livers or something that would be gross spelled out on my wall. June, you foresee-er you!

I love it when a head scratcher is solved in a way you never though of. That's just good fun people.

So another item is crossed off the living room to-do list. (minor victory) And this also kicks off vacation week. I'm going to share my finds and eye candy galore. You'll love it and I will cry as I'll wish I was still on vacation.

Have you tried anything lately that is out of your box? Broken anything? Had anyone throw up directly on your face? Just me? Having kids is so glamourous.

Were we supposed to have had a weekend? Because if we did, I missed it. I barely sit down and its Monday again. Oh joy. I've got errands and sanding to do today for I've made myself quite the ambitious schedule for the week. I find I'm my most nieve on Monday mornings, might as well set my sights high.

I do though want to share the highlight of my weekend. Look at the pretty package I received on Saturday.
It is the canvas I won on Kat's fab blog from the uber talented Liz at Birdaria. It is even bigger and better than I expected, and my expectations were high! I will be pinning more this week for sure as it is never too early to start my Christmas list. (are you listening Luke?)

So thank you again to Liz and to Kat for the wonderful gift. I've got big plans for it!

To a successful Monday!

When Amelia started pre-school I loved every stinkin piece of art she brought home. Every piece was incredible. "Obviously my child is an art prodigy", I would think.

Then, she brought home more. And more. At times she'd bring home 3 or 4 things a day. It slowly turned from "what an amazing picture you made" to "another picture...great".

While I love my child, and of course think she's the best at everything she does, it was getting a bit out of control. There were projects everywhere. I think they breed in the night. Like some sort of sick Toy Story movie.

To corral the crafty chaos I put a small out of the way corner to use. This little alcove is off of the kitchen and leads downstairs to the family room, out to the garage thru one door and to a side yard thru the other door. A perfect place to add some craft cheer.

Each month I hang what she brings home on the door(s). Then, at the end of each month I take her picture with that month's display and then we take it all down and throw them away, keeping 1 or maybe 2 to go in her memory box.
 And some months I forget to remove the dog bowl before taking the picture.

We've got two years worth of these pictures so far and it has been really fun to look back at them and see how she's changed and how her art has matured. The paper monster is tamed!

What do you do to keep school projects and information overflow from taking over?