Tag Archives: Craft

Playroom Alphabet Wall {DIY Playroom Decor}

Decorate - House Style, Make Something - DIY Projects, Mommyhood & Kiddos Leave a comment

Alphabet Wall

The Alphabet Wall is pretty popular right now for kids rooms & playroom. Though I normally try to avoid the trendy or the popular since it can go out of style so quickly, I just don’t see how a wall of letters to use to teach the kids can go out of style. So I jumped on the bandwagon. Since I didn’t do anything ingenious that others haven’t done, I wanted to focus on a few of my favorite letters and my technique for decorating them.Plain Letters

In preparing for the wall project, gather all of the wooden or cardboard letters from your local craft stores. I got all of mine from JoAnns & Michaels. & don’t forget – their coupons ROCK! The letters aren’t cheap so use the coupons, people! But, I digress. Mix and match the letters to give the wall character. Use big & small, fancy & fun, wood & cardboard. Break it up. While you’re there, gather your decorating supplies; paint, spray paint, craft paper, fabric, buttons, stickers, glitter, etc. Get creative!!!! You could also do faux flowers, feathers, beads, etc. Use your imagination! Oh, and don’t forget Mod Podge, glue, paint brushes, hot glue sticks, and all of that good stuff.Spray Painted Letters For some of the letters I kept it simple and just spray painted them a solid color. Super easy. Just use a drop cloth, newspaper, or cardboard – though I recommend cardboard or a drop cloth because the letters won’t stick to them like they do newspaper.  I did two coats with a light sanding in between the two.

Now, bring on the glitter!! I wanted the letter for the kids names to stand out amongst all of the other letters so I decided to glitter them both. I spray painted one coat on the letter then let it dry completely. Once it was dry I used Mod Podge & a foam brush to brush a thin layer of the glue onto the letter and quickly poured the glitter onto it. After it sat there for a bit I tapped the excess off so that I could save the excess. And they just sparkled away!

885 886 887 888 889Green Glitter Letter

While I had my Mod Podge out I decided to use some of my scrapbook paper on a few letters. Since it’s the same technique for every letter, I opted to just show you the Z for (green) Zebra because it’s my favorite. It matches one of the pillows I made for the reading area which I LOVE. (Stay tuned for a post on that area of the playroom) So, to cover the letter in paper this is what you do… trace the letter onto the paper & cut it out. Sand the top of the letter slightly. I find this step really useful especially if the letter has a varnish previously on it. Apply a thin coat of Mod Podge and very carefully adhere the cut out paper shape onto it. Let it dry onto the letter. Trim the paper part as needed. Apply a coat – or two – of Mod Podge on top of the paper that is glued onto the wooden letter. Let it dry.

909

F is for Flowers! So, I wasn’t very literal on all of the letters, but the ones that I could make work, I tried to make their decoration coincide with the letter. (Like the Z above!) So for the F I decided I would use all of my leftover flower stickers and die cuts from the scrap-booking that I just never got around to committing to. Some of the flowers required a little dollop of glue while others were already sticky. I just kept sticking them on trying to cover the letter completely. It turned out pretty cute. And I love that it provides texture to the letter, too. Oh, and I painted the letter first a very soft minty green.

892

895

896

Now, my favorite letter! Well, the letter isn’t really my favorite… I don’t have any particular attachment to it. But, the decoration for the letter is my favorite. And, Poppy’s favorite, too! We love our buttons. Poppy can sit and play with my jar of buttons forever. To cover the O in buttons I just hot glued the buttons on. I used all shapes, sizes, and colors & covered the letter. This was tedious. Even more tedious than gluing on all of the little flowers for the F.

Button Covered Letter

Button Covered Letter 2

Look how cute the buttons are!

Finished Alphabet Letters

I am really happy with how my letters turned out. Some might need a little paint touch up & others could use some decorations instead of being solid. But, when you spend so much time staring at something you’ll always find things to ‘fix’. But all in all, I am so happy with how it turned out. I cannot wait until Poppy is able to sing the alphabet with me!

Enjoy!!

xo

ER

LOVE Wreath {DIY Valentines Day Decor}

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I’m not normally one to decorate for Holidays, mostly because I cannot stand clutter & having ‘stuff’ out just collecting dust for a month. I know, I sound like a bah-humbug. But, I’m not. I just am not a tchotchke kind of girl. However, I am finding that as the babes are getting older and are more aware of Holidays it is probably time to start with some light decorating to help get everyone in the spirit of the Holiday.

I like fun wreaths to hang on the front door & it’s the perfect decoration for me because I don’t have to see it constantly, except when I am checking for packages on the door step… which does seem like a daily occurrence ;-) I previously made Poppy’s Birthday Wreath and a sweet Easter Wreath (which reminds me, it’s time to  bring that back out!) and what I love about both wreaths is that they’re not the typical wreath. If you follow this blog you probably have realized that I don’t like the typical and I strive for uniqueness. It’s a bad habit.

For Valentines Day, the hubs was out-of-town for business for the week so the extent of decorating and celebrating with the kids was the wreath on the door & Chinese food with my parents. Thankfully my wreath was the perfect amount of decoration for me. Here’s how it turned out & how I made it…

Love Wreath Finished

 

This wreath was pretty quick to make. The only issue I had was that my hot glue gun just wasn’t doing the job and wouldn’t keep the letters together. So, I got creative (& frustrated) and whipped out the staple gun. Stapling the letters together was definitely a quicker method so that was OK with me. I should note that obviously the wreath can be made in any color & with any letters, etc. This just happens to be a Valentines Day themed wreath.

You’ll need:

Letters of your choice
Spray Paint
Staple Gun
Sand Paper
Ribbon
A surface to spray paint on

 

Lightly sand all letters, lay them out so that they aren’t touching. Spray one even coat on all letters. Let set until tacky. Spray a second coat on all of the letters.


Painted Letters I wanted to do something fun for the ribbon so I used 3 pieces of 36″ (1 yard) long wired red and white heart print ribbon and braided them all together.I stapled the ribbon on two sides at my desired length.

Braided RibbonRibbon Stapled

I tied a sweet big bow with an additional 24″ piece of the same ribbon on the top. I did this for two reasons; 1) it would finish it off and 2) It would be the base for me to add an additional piece in order for it to hang. In order to hang it, I used a very thin piece of red ribbon and tied it horizontally onto the back of the knot from the bow. I tied it tight with a double knot. This is what will hang on the hook on the door. *see the 2nd picture below*

 

 

photo (3)photo (2)

And voila! A cute & simple super easy DIY Valentines day “wreath”.

*TIP* Make sure that you make it so that your peep-hole is still functional and not blocked by a letter or ribbon. Safety first, ladies!

Enjoy!

xo

ER

Fancying Up the Bedroom {DIY Home}

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My house is currently under construction & in the very near future the construction will be expanding into additional parts of my house. I love what we’re doing and what we will be doing but oh holy moley, it is SO difficult to 1) push through the dirt & dust, 2) continue life with a toddler, 2 dogs, and pregnant with a house full of noise & chaos and 3) wait. And WAIT some more. And try to wait patiently. Ack! I just want it to all be done so that I can get everyone’s space decorated and ready. In the meantime I am focusing on the rooms that I can and planning planning planning for the other rooms.

The goal for our master-bedroom is romance. Sexy. Chic. Sophisticated. And a bit edgy. I love edgy. I love black. And I really love the idea of having a space for the hubs & I that is for us only, because lets face it, with a toddler and a baby on the way – our privacy is slowly dwindling more and more! I painted our entire bedroom a warm matte antique ivory and to add some drama (and all of the above adjectives) I painted all of the baseboard, window trim, and door trims a shiny black. Yes. Black. It is perfect. I will soon be painting the interior doors of the room (closet, bathroom and back of bedroom door) black, also. And, we will be installing crown molding and yes, that will be black, too. To add some fancy details to the chic black trim I took a trip to Home Depot to see what inexpensive details I could add. They had these great wooden scroll architectural pieces that were just $10.00 each. I bought 2 of them. I also grabbed a can of black spray paint.

 

I painted the scrolls outside on a drop-cloth and did 2 coats per scroll. They came out beautifully.

Once the paint was dry I was ready to hang them. I didn’t want to use a nail gun or anything permanent to hang them so I used my trusty earthquake-wax. I smeared a strip down the center and a dollop on each side of the back of the scrolls. I climbed up the latter and with some strength pushed them firmly right above the doors in the center.

 

Once the scrolls were up I stood back and eyed them and adjusted their placement as needed. They are so gorgeous. I love them. They add a really fancy & pretty element to the room which I adore. Here are two of the doors (The 3rd needed an additional coat of paint so it went up later)

**Please note in the following pictures that as I mentioned, we are under construction! The bathroom in the first picture is almost complete (which I’ll post pictures of upon completion) and in the second picture you’ll see my paint-color-testing wall (the wall will eventually be knocked-out)

As a recap:

Supplies:
Wooden Scrolls from Home Depot $10.16 each
Can of Spray Paint $1.00
Earthquake Wax $5.00
Drop-cloth to paint them on
Latter to assist in hanging them

Altogether it was a cheap & quick project.

I love them! They’re so pretty! And they will really help to build the overall theme and feel of the room.

Enjoy!!

xo

ER

 

Refurbished Knife Block Project {DIY Kitchen Decor}

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I spend a lot of time in my kitchen… maybe too much. While in the kitchen there are some cooking tools that I see out on the counter far too frequently & they start to annoy me. I am a clutter-free cook… and a clutter-free person in general. I HATE having ‘stuff’ on my counters! I try to keep most everything I can in the small cupboard space I have, but some things just can’t be hidden – like my knife block. We got our knife set for our wedding and I love it. I love how it’s easily accessible, far out of reach for Poppy, and keeps everything neatly contained. However, I hate how obtrusive it is; just this giant big block of wood with the ever-so subtle logo on the front [insert deep sarcasm]. Being used so much the wooden block was starting to fade a bit and really, it was just starting to bother me with its’ ugliness. So I decided to refurbish it. I had everything I needed on hand which made this a FREE project. My favorite kind of DIY projects!! All you need is sandpaper, newspaper (or a drop cloth), spray painted, and latex gloves if you would prefer to keep your gorgeous mani perfect. (I highly recommend the gloves!)

I cleaned the block than sanded it, first. I would recommend sanding it a lot more than I did simply because that black lacquer is a major pain in the booty when it comes to the paint drying smoothly and evenly on top of it. I definitely should have sanded it down to the wood all over. Ooops. After you’re done sanding, brush all of the sanded paint off with a clean dry brush (or paper towel or rag). Now, set up your paint area and prepare to apply the first coat of spray paint. The first coat should be light. This will allow it to dry quicker and work as a primer. If you do the first coat full & thick it has a tendency to make all of the remainder coats bubble up or leave drip marks. I applied the first coat, than sanded it lightly. Applied another coat, sanded it lightly to smooth out and bubbles, lump, bumps, etc. Than I applied another 2 thicker coats without any sanding in-between and finished it off with a glossy clear final coat.

If you’re a monogram-fan, you can hand paint, use a sticker, or make a monogram out of vinyl with a Cricut to put on the front or even the sides. I am just not a huge “cover my house in monograms” type of girl so I opted to leave the block plain. You could also do a word or a symbol, too.

Quick, easy, and free – perfect project! And, it makes my kitchen a little prettier, too!

xo

ER

Colorful Easter Wreath {DIY Easter Egg Wreath}

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This will be your quickest & easiest wreath, ever! I am not sure what my sudden obsession is with wreaths… or Holiday decorations in general. I’ve never been one to really like Holiday clutter but making all of these wreaths is just so fun!

For this wreath I used a ton of plastic Easter eggs from the $1 section of Target, a $1 twisted vine wreath from the Dollar Store, 1/4 yard of ribbon I had on hand, and hot glue. What a cheap project; I am already in love!

I started by hot gluing the large eggs in one layer around the wreath. They were a little annoying and took forever to dry in place so I had to hold them still until they didn’t fall off. And sidenote; I used the pretty metallic ones =)

After the first layer was complete I used the small metallic eggs (not the mini) and just randomly glued them around the wreath so that they filled it in. Once I was happy with the amount of eggs & their placement, I used a wired ribbon to tie a bow onto the wreath. You can do multiple or none at all. In order to hang it from my awesome 3M hook I just looped a yard of grosgrain ribbon onto the back, tied a knot, and hung it. Altogether I think it took me about 25 minutes from start to finish!

It is small & colorful & totally adorable.

Oh, and P.S. I always make my wreaths long enough so that the peep-hole is still functional.

 

xo

ER