Curtains, Pillows, & the Letter Z

Every time I decorate a room, there comes a point where I’m not sure it’s turning out exactly how I had envisioned it.  That is how I had been feeling about my son’s room, until we hung the gallery wall & made a few other additions.  The game changer?



This marquee letter Z my husband made!  I love the way this corner now boasts green, blue, & orange.



Basically, it’s a 2x4 cut at crazy angles with holes drilled in it & filled with patio lights.  Still working on how to hide the cord…



I also made a faux roman shade, which was another near disaster!  (It was completely crooked!  Luckily re-attaching it at the top straightened it out.  I would not have been shocked if it had really been crooked, since I’m horrible at taking measurements!)



I made a couple of pillows for the bed.  The fabric reminds me of the game Space Invaders.  Anyone remember that game?  Not sure why it brings back that memory, but it made me think it would be great for my video game loving boy’s room.



We framed out some mirrored glass too, so now Zeke can make sure he is put together in the morning, or maybe just check out his guns!





Only three more things to do before this room is considered “finished”…

• Build a headboard
• Build a pull-down desk
• Build a bench

You can check out the plan for the room here.

Since his room looks mostly finished (with the exception of the pile of junk where his desk should be), I am going to be taking a little break from Zeke’s room to whip my daughter’s room into shape.  I will be participating in Linda’s (from Calling It Home) One Room Challenge Linking Party.  I guess I am just a sucker for a challenge!



I will be back Thursday with the plans!

Sharing at the Pretty Preppy Party.

Turning Kid Collections into Decor

I believe we have exactly two free weekends between the end of basketball & the beginning of spring soccer!  This past weekend was one of them, so we decided to make the most of it by knocking a few items off the list.

As I have mentioned previously, my son is a collector.  Until recently, some of his cool collections were just sitting in his closet.  In order to inject more of his interests into his bedroom décor, I decided to use those collections as artwork for his walls.

First, I hot glued his collection of shark teeth onto a piece of black cardstock & framed it in a shadow box.  (I surrounded it with a couple of free printables found here & here.)



Next, we used a couple of nails to mount his collection of state quarters.  (Just a few more to find…)



My husband built two display boxes for some of his most special rocks.  (This was a lesson in patience for both of us!  Who would have thought making these would have been so frustrating!  Black paint & wood filler are hiding a multitude of problems!)  He made the ceramic owl in school art class.





Lastly, I framed a rock, two shells, & a postcard of rocks we got at a “rock mining” tourist trap.



Who would have thought all those things stashed in his closet could look so cool up on his wall!

Pink Pony Party

 How can it be that my baby just turned three?  We celebrated a few weeks ago by having a horse themed birthday, per her request.  She actually asked for a horse & dog party, but since we did the dog theme last year I decided to just stick with horses. 

I’ll let most of the pictures do the talking…







I kept the decorations pretty simple, with some pom pom ribbon (left over from a past project) draped along the mantel.



I also made a pink barn & fence to corral the pony favors, which provided a cute backdrop for photos.





We brought my husband’s vintage hobby horse from the basement for “pony rides”.





Seeing as how I had done nothing to prepare for this party until the day before, I think it turned out pretty well!



I’m sure this girl would have been happy with just cupcakes (& presents, of course!).

Boy’s Bedroom Makeover- Part Three

In January, I began making over my 11 year-old son’s bedroom.  Progress has been pretty slow moving, but today, I thought I would give an update on what has been accomplished.  Let’s look at some pictures, shall we?

After planning the space & painting the room, we hung the vintage map that I have been hoarding in my closet for two years!  My son wanted to keep it on this map of the US, but he can also flip to a world map or a map of Alaska & Hawaii. 



Since I am only using my monthly spending allowance (plus money I earned through selling things on Craigslist) I had to save up before I could buy a couple of Rast dressers from Ikea.  I absolutely LOVE that these are so inexpensive, can be painted/stained to look great, & are a small size, with quite a bit of storage. 



Before assembling them, I stained the outside pieces (Early American by Minwax) & painted the drawer fronts white.  I used the knobs that came with them for a while so I could save up to buy some ring knobs. 

Then, one day I remembered this post from Sarah M. Dorsey Designs showing how she made her own ring knobs.  (I also found this post helpful.)  Around the same time I had this recollection, I also remembered that I had two bags of Ikea curtain rings.  After assembling a cotter pin around the ring & inserting the cotter pin into a beveled washer, I spray painted them gold & followed up with a couple coats of clear acrylic sealer.  Then, my husband pushed the cotter pin through the holes in the drawers & spread them apart with the help of pliers & a hammer (kind of like how you use brass fasteners for kid crafts).  (The cotter pins were pretty tough stuff, so my husband had to do all the assembling & putting them in the drawers.)  I would say I only spent about $8 for all twelve knobs!  (Ignore the wonky one on the middle drawer, I should have straightened it out before taking the picture!)



Next, I stained & polyurethaned two shelves, cut from an $8 board at Home Depot.  We used some “L” brackets for easy shelf installation, which cost another $6 (total).  Originally, I wanted three shelves, but it didn't end up working out, since we are planning on building a pull-down desk under the bottom shelf.



My son is a collector, so this gives him a nice place to display some of his rocks, shells, weathered glass, & buckeyes.  I’m not sure what I’ll do when these collections grow, since we’re already running out of space!



So far the biggest expense for this makeover has been the bedding.  Since we just upgraded Zeke to a full-sized bed, we needed new sheets, dust ruffle, comforter, & pillows. 



I wanted to upgrade Zeke’s director’s chair to a more comfortable chair he could read or hang out in.  I was able to get this one on Craigslist for $75.  It is in great condition & is very comfortable.

Here is a look at most of the things that we still have to do in the room. Oh, shoot… forgot to add headboard in there…  We have to do that too!



We also need to build a pull-out desk & bench below the bookshelves, but PicMonkey was giving me a hard time, so I’m not going to bother labeling another picture!



So, slowly, but surely we are getting things accomplished in this room.  I’m hoping that we can work on a few things this weekend.  I would love to have this room finished in the next couple of weeks so I can get started on my daughter’s.  (I'm picking up something for her space tomorrow, which has me excited about her room makeover!)