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DIY Pirate Sign

June 26, 2014 by Danielle

*I received free product to use in this post. All ideas and opinions are 100% my own. See my Disclosure Policy for further information.

Ahoy, Matey! I’ve got another fun pirate-y project for you today! This DIY Pirate Sign is so simple to make, and your wallet will love you for it!

I don’t know about you, but I love when there’s a project I can make once, then reuse again and again! Call me lazy, or cheap…..but I’m all for saving time and money! This DIY Pirate Sign was the perfect decoration for our recent Pirate Party, and is now an excellent (and sturdy) fixture for the boys’ Pirate Bedroom!

When I began brainstorming for the bedroom makeover, I knew I wanted some sort of rustic, wooden sign. I did NOT want to deal with the cost, working with the wood itself (lots of sanding to make it smooth enough for the boys to play around) and wasn’t fond of how HEAVY it would end up being.

Then I met the fabulous team from FloraCraft at SNAP! Conference at the end of April. They had this AMAZING map board on the wall, which at first I thought was wood boards. Turns out, it was actually Styrofoam boards! Wonderfully lightweight (which meant easy to hang), versatile (we were able to stick pins and hang things onto it), and absolutely gorgeous! I knew it would be perfect for the boys’ bedroom decor, and they were kind enough to help me out!

Notes: The amount of boards, puddy and paint will depend on your desired dimensions of your sign.

Supplies

1″x12″x36″ Styrofoam boards
FloraCraft Smooth Finish puddy
Brown paint of choice & paint brush
StyroCutter Plus (or other cutter for the Styrofoam)
Plastic knife, or other puddy spreader
Vinyl Lettering/images, or stickers
Long nails, to attach Styrofoam
If desired, sealing spray to hold the vinyl/stickers on better

Directions

Cut your Styrofoam pieces. I cut one board in half hotdog-wise for the ‘post’, putting one piece up above the other. For the individual signs I did about 4 per board, varying the size of each (some larger, some smaller). I used the amazing StyroCutter Plus, which made it uber easy to cut the boards. Since it’s basically melting through it, the edges end up smooth and nice!
Use a plastic knife, puddy knife or other smooth spreader to spread the Smooth Finish puddy over the boards. If you want it smooth, this puddy can do that easily. I purposely made mine look more ‘rough’ and ‘old wood’ looking.
Once the boards are covered in the puddy to the texture that you’d like, and it has fully dried, paint your boards. I found that the paint does go on a little lighter over the puddy than expected, so just keep that in mind.
I used my trusty Silhouette Cameo to print out my vinyl lettering and images (mermaid, crocodile, skull rock, etc.), then put the vinyl on the boards. I wanted them to stick better (and longer) so I sprayed an adhesive over the top to seal them to the boards.
To attach the individual signs to the long ‘post’ boards, I pushed a long nail (long enough to go through the top sign and then the ‘post, so I used about 1 1/2 inch long), through the sign, then used another nail and hammer to stick it in a bit further for extra security. To attach the ‘posts’ and signs to the wall, I got 3 inch nails (since the thickest part would be 2″ with the ‘post’ and signs), and did the same thing. Push it through the boards, then just hammer it into the wall. I did this a few spots on the ‘posts’, and then one in each sign just to be safe. That probably was a bit much, but my plan is the sign to stay put for a very long time.

That’s it! Now you have a fun DIY Pirate Sign to use for your next pirate-y event or room makeover! So head on out and grab some fabulous FloraCraft products and get your DIY on!

DIY Pirate Ship Bed

June 20, 2014 by Danielle

I have to tell you, I was slightly nervous as to how well our DIY Pirate Ship Bed would hold up against our 3-year-old…but it’s been fantastic! Very sturdy, and no issues at all. Well, except for Hubby knocking over the spyglass once, but easily repaired!

This part of my boys’ Pirate Bedroom Makeover was super easy (most of it was, but this one especially). I was so relieved, being a little tired from the DIY Pirate Treehouse! They are so in love with their room and beds, though, that any work put into it was well worth it! Now YOU can learn how to turn a basic twin-sized bed into a fun DIY Pirate Ship Bed, too!

Note: Our bed had a basic wood board frame already, so you may have to get a couple more boards than we did. Also, your bed may vary in height and such, so be sure to measure lots so you get the correct pieces!

Supplies

Two 24″ x 24-28″ boards. These make the front of the boat
Two hinges. For the front of the boat pieces to hook together
Wood screws/screwdriver
Tall board for mast. I did 60″ x 5″
Two thin pieces of board for mast. I used 40″ x 2″
Black, Red and White cheap plastic tablecloths, for mast. Can use fabric, if preferred.
Tape, for attaching tablecloths
Cardboard pieces, to cover the hole at the front of bed where the spyglass will go.

Directions

Paint any/all pieces, if you want them to match.
Attach your tall board for the mast. I sat it directly above the head board and fastened it with wood screws all up it.
Use more wood screws to attach the two thin boards across the tall board for the mast. These give you something to attach your tablecloths/fabric to.
I used tape to attach the black, red and white tablecloths (cheap plastic…but it works great) to the backside of the two thing boards.
For the front of the Pirate Ship Bed, use wood screws to attach the two square-ish boards to the end of the bed posts. Use the hinges to connect the boards together at the tip. To cover the gaping hole between the foot of bed and tip, I just hot glued in some cardboard pieces.
I looped a random piece of cardboard up on the end and hot glued it to the other cardboard pieces, then hot glued a Spyglass on top of it (to make your own spyglass, check out the tutorial from our Pirate Party).
I then added decor such as this captain’s wheel (found on Amazon), and one of the banners leftover from the Pirate Party. For the palm tree, I just painted some triangle-tube boxes we had laying around (from an Amazon order, probably), attached them together and to the wall, then cut out green poster board into leaves.

So simple and VERY cost effective! The boys LOVE their Pirate Ship Bed! They’re STILL constantly in their room playing pirates…and yes, bedtime is still a bit of a struggle because they’d rather play in their room than sleep.

Ahoy, Matey!!!

Royal Design Stencils Giveaway

June 19, 2014 by Danielle

I received free stencils to facilitate this review/giveaway. All opinions are 100% my own.

Since I absolutely LOVE you guys, and it’s a total blast sharing my favorite things with you all, I’ve got another fabulous giveaway today: Royal Design Stencils!

I know we’re already having a lot of fun with our Disneyland Vacation Giveaway this week, but there’s no such thing as too much of a good thing, right?! I’m so excited that one of you wonderful readers will get to win one of my absolute favorite room-remodeling products: your choice from Royal Design Stencils!

I’ve shared two projects already where I’ve used Royal Design Stencils….remember Wonder Woman’s Frozen Inspired Bedroom? I love how their Starry Moroccan Night Stencil made her accent wall PERFECT for the theme, and is such a beautiful focal point of the room!

And just last week you got to see the boys’ Pirate Bedroom Makeover…

The Pro Bamboo Trellis Stencil fit in great with the Pirate theme, creating a whole forest/jungle feeling for the walls.

One of my favorite things about Royal Design Stencils is how EASY it is to apply. I was totally intimidated the first time I used one of their stencils, but that quickly went away. If you want to read my full review on this amazing company and their products, be sure to check it out here!

I’ve also got a couple projects coming up using more of their fun stencils (told you…I love this company!), so stay tuned!

Now On To Our Royal Design Stencils Giveaway!!!

One lucky winner will get to select any stencil or stencil product $50 or less from Royal Design Studio!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

What projects are YOU excited to try with these fabulous Royal Design Stencils?

DIY Pirate Treehouse

June 17, 2014 by Danielle

Okay, I think I’m recovered from our huge remodel of my boys’ room and ready to spill the beans on how we turned their standard bunk bed into a DIY Pirate Treehouse!

For those of you that saw my grand revel of their Pirate Bedroom Makeover, you saw some pics of our final DIY Pirate Treehouse. The kids love it! And although there was quite a bit of heavy lifting (try getting that huge board up there and holding it still while your hubby screws it to the posts – not easy), it actually didn’t take very long!

Supplies

One 79.5″ x 43″ board. This will be the large side on the top of the treehouse
One 25″ x 48″ board. This connects to the large board on top, on the side by the stairs.
Two 20″ x 32″ boards. These will be the two front sides on the bottom of the treehouse.
Four corner bracks (L-brackets), about 2 to 2 1/2 inches long. This hold the top boards to the wall and together.
Four thick board pieces, about 1-2 feet long and at least 1″ thick.
Paint or stain of choice, and painting supplies
Screws appropriate length for going securely through pieces, but not sticking through causing a pointy/sharp hazard
Sand paper for smoothing rough spots
Wood filler, if you want to cover the screw holes

Directions

Paint all of your boards and pieces your color/stain of choice. I did both sides, but you can choose.
Attach the two bottom bunk font sides first. I recommend measuring very well (always), cutting your windows, and then attaching them securely to the side posts and the top post (between the bottom of the top bunk and the top of the bottom bunk). Be sure your screws don’t poke through, causing a scratching hazard!
Measure the top piece VERY carefully (you don’t want to have to re-do this), and cut out your windows. We attached screws to the two end-side posts (several screws all up the posts), and then screws to a post that was in the middle, also. Note: We accidentally secured our large board completely BEFORE cutting our windows. This made it much more challenging…so learn from our mistake!
Carefully align the top bunk end piece, that goes next to the stairs. Screw it into posts on both sides.
Use your board pieces now. Use 2 to attach the corner/L-brackets to, fastening the large board on one side to the wall. Then use the other 2 so the corner/L-brackets can secure the large board and end board together. Like this….
Once we completed adding our extra pieces, I realized that the color difference between the bunk bed and boards was going to drive me BONKERS! So I painted the bunk bed areas that were visible. Notice the contrast in the photos two up? Now look after I painted the areas that showed: I purposely only did one coat, because I liked the streaked look. Made it seem more of a ‘handmade tree house’ that way.
Now all you have left is basic clean up (sand rough edges, paint touch ups, vacuum any mess, etc.), puddy/paint over the screws (if you want), put the mattresses/bedding (may have to lift the top mattress OVER the top big board like we did….carefully measure BEFORE putting the board up so you know you have room!), and decorate as you’d like!

They LOVE having the windows…and it makes it much easier to check on the boy on the top bunk at night.

Green Lantern was very happy about his new bed…but not how I had his blankets, so he had to fix that asap!

Traffic jam on the stairs!

I’m THRILLED with how this turned out, and think this adds so well to the boys Pirate Bedroom Makeover!

Please remember, your measurements may be very different than ours. I’m just explaining how we made ours work, but because there are so many factors that can differ, please plan your DIY Pirate Treehouse very carefully. We assume no responsibility to any injuries or other harm that may come from following this tutorial, as it simply is explaining what WE did. Build yours at your own risk.

Pirate Bedroom Makeover

June 13, 2014 by Danielle

You know those moments when you’re so relieved, it’s like you can hear angels singing? Ya, that’s what I heard when I FINALLY finished my Pirate Bedroom Makeover for my three boys!

Even though it just took a chunk of our ‘free time’ (who really has free time, anyway, right?) for the past 2 months, it was some HEAVY work at times. When I did my girl’s Frozen Inspired Bedroom, it took awhile and some decent work, but a big chunk of this was MANUAL LABOR. So although it was a lot of fun, I’m totally feeling relieved right now!

Since there were SO MANY ideas I wanted to put into this room, be prepared for a LOT of pictures! They’re awesome, though, so just enjoy right along with me!

First up is the Treehouse Bunk Bed….yup, this was a major part of the HEAVY work I was talking about! We took a generic bunk bed and made it super fun for the boys. Like their own pirate-y clubhouse!

If you have young boys close in age, like my twins and youngest, and they share a fun bedroom…you’ll understand that there WILL be fights over which bed each one gets. And it’ll change all the time as to which they want! So we plan on having them all switch every couple weeks, and will hopefully avoid all that drama.

Here’s the 3rd bed: plain wood bed turned into awesome Pirate ship, complete with a mast & sail!

The boys especially love having the spyglass on the end of the ship…have to watch out for Captain Hook, after all!

Our puppy was so curious as to the going-ons in here, she managed to photo bomb a couple times! Curious little puppy!

The ship wheel on the wall was just about $14 on Amazon, and it’s just simple plastic and hangs easily for a bit of decoration.

Remember the Pirate Growth Chart I did quite awhile back…….

It’s finally in a permanent location, and looks rather nice against the Pirate Direction Sign! Also appearing in our decor tour today is this AMAZING Pirate Direction Sign….and guess what, it’s not wood! Yes, another tutorial on this coming soon!

A Pirate Bedroom wouldn’t be complete without some dueling swords, of course!

Although my youngest would LOVE to play with this map all day, just like Cubby on Jake & the Neverland Pirates, I think it’s safest decorating above their dresser (plus, he has about a dozen more!).

Our Chore Rewards Treasure Chest has a perfect spot in this room! Now to get it filled with more gold doubloons…

Many of the banners, and even some of the decor, I was able to reuse from Green Lantern’s 3rd birthday party last month. Not to sound repetitive, but posts for his Pirate Party coming to the blog soon! HAHAHA…ya, we’re a pirate-y bunch lately!

Maybe instead of ‘take a break’ when my kids misbehave too much, I should make them ‘Walk the Plank’! But then they’ll probably misbehave even more so they CAN do that.

For some fun, we moved the boys into another room while we did this entire Pirate Bedroom Makeover. Meaning they didn’t see ANY OF IT the entire time, until we did a grand reveal for them. This was their reactions….

Sorry for the blurry photo there…but he was all excited and bouncing up and down!

Yes, the dog even climbed the stairs to the top bunk of the Treehouse to join all the excitement! The boys were STOKED for their new room, and have begged to play in there ever since.

Don’t forget to keep checking back for tutorials for the Treehouse Bunk Bed, Pirate Ship Bed, and Pirate Direction Sign!

Pirate Bedroom: Royal Design Stencils Review

June 12, 2014 by Danielle

*I received a free product for review. However, all opinions, thoughts and comments are entirely my own. I will never share anything I don’t personally use and love.
Wow, guys, I’m totally stoked! For the past two months, Hubby and I have been spending our ‘free’ hours working on a Pirate Bedroom makeover for our three boys. It’s been quite the project, and I can’t wait to show you the grand reveal tomorrow (so be sure to check back)! Today I get to share an AMAZING part of the makeover….Royal Design Stencils!

When I started planning out this bedroom project, I knew I wanted to use a stencil on the walls. I also knew that I absolutely LOVE Royal Design Stencils, so of course was going to browse their selections first! If you remember my girl’s Frozen Bedroom Makeover, I used Royal Design’s Starry Moroccan Night Stencil for her accent wall. It was so easy, and turned out so beautifully! So to their website, I went!

I was worried, though….WHAT exactly was I looking for, that could be a good fit for a pirate bedroom? They have a LOT of amazing stencils to choose from, but I was looking for something JUST RIGHT. Then it happened…I found it! The absolute PERFECT stencil for the boys’ bedroom! There was no question, Royal Design’s Pro Bamboo Trellis Stencil was THE ONE!

One of the many things I love about Royal Design Studios is their customer service. I’ve spoken with some of their staff at my recent SNAP! Conference, recently when I tried the company’s new Wallternatives (remember the adorable Owl Bedroom for my cousin?), and then when discussing a stencil for this bedroom. They’re SUPER friendly, and sincerely care about their customers! They also ship your orders really fast, so I didn’t have to wait too long before starting on this major bedroom makeover!

The stencils are very sturdy (I did all but one wall in this bedroom, and it’s still top shape!). I really appreciate the guidelines on all of their stencils, so it’s no issue lining it up as you move along the wall. You can get the perfect alignment every time! Just tape the stencil to the wall, paint over the stenciled lines, wait a bit for it to dry more, then move on to the next section. If you need to clean some paint off the stencil, just wipe it off nice and smooth. Told you….these stencils make it easy for you! Can you tell where the stencil connects on the walls in this pic….?

I can’t, either! And if you do make a little mistake, just get a little brush and touch it up. No worries!

Seriously, this pirate bedroom wouldn’t be NEARLY as cool if it weren’t for the fun stenciled walls. I just LOVE it! I cannot say enough good about these stencils (and yes, I’ve used stencils from another company before, and they didn’t work very well!), or about Royal Design Studios. They’re my #1 go-to place for stencils, and I’m already planning more fun projects using them!

GUESS WHAT ELSE?! They’re going to be giving away one of their FABULOUS stencils to one of you lucky readers next week! So be sure to come back next Thursday the 19th for your chance to win your choice of a Royal Design Studio Stencil to do your own fun project!

Wallternatives Wall Decals Review

May 30, 2014 by Danielle

I received these Wallternatives free of charge to facilitate this review. All opinions are 100% my own.

Okay, so I’ve been dying counting down the days until I got to share this with you guys! It’s a brand new product line launching TODAY! Seriously, look at how dang stinkin’ cute these Wallternatives Wall Decals are!!!

Just LOOK at that adorable fabric decor! Yes, I just said FABRIC decor. LOVE IT! So first, backstory time: I was first introduced to Royal Design Studios Stencils when I used their Starry Night Moroccan Stencil for my girl’s FROZEN bedroom. I fell in love with their stencils, and was stoked that they were at SNAP! Conference that I attended at the end of April.

At the conference, they were showing us the preview for their AMAZING Wallternatives line! After looking through their many fantastic designs, I was just like Oh. My. Gosh! THEY HAVE OWLS! Anyone that knows my aunt (who lives down the street), she loves owls. Borderline obsessed. So guess what her sweet little girl’s room is done in? Yup, OWLS! I saw that Wallternatives has these adorable Colorful Owls WallPrints™ Fabric Decals and KNEW I had to decorate my cousin’s room with them.

I said it before, and I’ll say it again: SO STINKIN’ CUTE!!! I’m in love with these….not only because they’re absolutely adorable and fun, but they’re also easily applied. You know how sometimes regular vinyl will fold onto itself and then you’re just like ‘well, that sucks’ and have to throw it out, or rip it? NOT THESE! Seriously, they could stick together, and you just smoothly and easily pull them apart and continue with your decorating.

You can also layer the pieces together, like I did with the owl sitting on this branch and the leaves on the branch. They’re actually SEPARATE pieces, but I placed them together. Of course, I didn’t get it perfectly the way I wanted it the first try, so just pulled them apart and tried again until I found the layout I was hoping for.

Another feature I’m stoked for is that they’re able to be REAPPLIED again and again, as long as the adhesive is clean. They don’t get stronger over time, so after 10 years you can go ahead and switch them around without having to scrape them off your walls. Yup, flexibility and not having to fully commit to a layout is fabulous with me!

Worried about the safety factor (what mom isn’t)? No worries here! This material is US patented, green and non-toxic. There’s no PVC, Phthlates, Clycol-ether or Formaldehyde. It’s environmentally friendly and bio-degradable over time.

Know what ELSE they have along with their Wallternatives line? ChalkTalk Chalkboard Art! I can’t wait to get my hands on some of that and have fun with it in my craft room, the kids’ play room….everywhere!

So head on over to Wallternatives and check out their fabulous products for yourself….see which one (or which MANY) you fall in love with!

Elsa Frozen Chandelier

May 14, 2014 by Danielle

Want to give your kids’ light fixture a little ‘FROZEN’ touch? Why not give them an Elsa Frozen Chandelier?! It’s super easy, budget-friendly and really adds to the whole feel of their room.

For those of you that remember, Wonder Woman recently got her Frozen Inspired Bedroom Makeover. She loves it! One thing that a few of you have asked me, though, is HOW to make the Elsa Frozen Chandelier that’s hanging from her light fixture. Seriously, it is So. Dang. Easy!

Supplies Needed

1″ Wide, flat Ribbon (I used silver)
Paper for snowflake/star shapes (blues, whites, silvers)
Tape
Sparkly ‘ice’ decor for dangles, if desired
Hanging ribbon (just simple, thin ribbon works)
Twist-tie (like used on bread)

Directions

First, take that wide, flat ribbon and cut it into 3 long pieces. About as long as you’ll want the main part of your Chandelier. Tape one end off, then braid the rest.

Secure the other end with tape, as well, to secure the braid. This will basically be the ‘skeleton’ of the chandelier.

Cut out lots of half-star and half-snowflake shapes. Lots of pointy triangles works! Just imagine those ice crystals on Elsa’s Chandelier in the movie in her ice castle. I used my trusty Silhouette Cameo to do my shapes, which made it really nice!

Now, if you see it in the movie, the chandelier is smaller on top, works it’s way thicker in the middle/almost bottom, then points thin at the very bottom. So I started in the middle. Just take a shape and tape it to the ‘skeleton’. I put the tape on the bottom, so it would almost ‘hold’ the shape upright so it sticks out nicely.

Add more shapes. I tried to keep it symmetrical, but in the end it was mostly random but still looked just fabulous!

Keep adding shapes! In the thicker parts, I taped shapes onto the outside ends of the ribbon-taped shapes. This helped add pointy-ness to it, made it thicker, and really gave it the ‘full of snowflakes and ice crystals’ look.

For the dangly ‘ice’ at the bottom of my chandelier, I got this bulky decor piece. Then I just cut off a small chunk from the end to use on the bottom of my light decor.

Here’s the piece I cut off:

I just attached it right to the bottom of the ribbon-braid skeleton. This way, it hung lower and the taped-end didn’t stick out. It hid nicely under the ‘ice’ crystals!

Now, the current light fixture is UGLY! Seriously…totally ‘standard’ light. Since I don’t have it in the budget to replace that at the moment, I just hung my chandelier straight from it. I took some simple, thin ribbon and tied it securely around. I made sure it doesn’t come close at all to the light bulbs, to be safe.

Then I took a twist-tie (like you use to tie off the ends of bread loaf bags?) and fastened it to the top end of the chandelier. This then was attached to the ribbon under the light fixture, and VIOLA! It hung quite well!

This is one of my (many) favorite parts of the Frozen Inspired Bedroom and it was so dang easy! PLUS I was able to get the ribbon AND sparkly attachments at the after-holiday clearance at Walmart. SCORE!

This Elsa Frozen Chandelier is MUCH cuter to look up at from her bed than just the boring light fixture. LOVE IT!

Want more FROZEN fun? Check out these other posts!!!

Disney’s FROZEN Elsa Dress Tutorial

FROZEN’S Olaf Toilet Paper Holder Tutorial

Frozen Inspired Wreath

FROZEN Bedroom Art Wall

May 3, 2014 by Danielle

Have I mentioned that Wonder Woman is a total art-lover? Really, she could spend hours and hours just drawing, coloring, painting…whatever! So her bedroom wouldn’t be complete without her very own FROZEN Bedroom Art Wall!

You probably caught glimpses of this fun Frozen Bedroom Art Wall when I did her FROZEN Inspired Bedroom reveal last week. I wanted to keep it going with the flow to her bedroom, so stuck with blues and purples. And, of course, SPARKLES!

Supplies I Used

Old, rusted baking sheet
Clothes pins
Spray paint (blue and purple)
Long nails
Sparkly silver rope-cord (holiday clearance for $2)
2 Sparkly leaf pieces (holiday clearance for $1 each)
Ribbon: purple and blue sparkly
Magnets, as desired

Directions

First, take the rusted baking sheet and clothes pins somewhere safe to spray paint. For me (since our garage is overtaken by random stuff at the moment), this was the front porch on top of boxes. Spray paint all sides, allowing to dry between coats, if more coats are needed. I did my baking sheet purple, then did some clothes pins purple and some blue.
Using nails, I hammered the sparkly rope-cord to the wall in a criss-cross pattern. The clothes pins then attached to the rope-cord, so she could hang her pictures she wanted to display. Yes, that’s Olaf, Anna, and Elsa 😀 Told ya, FROZEN all the way!
I hung the painted baking sheet using nails (holes on each side of the pan made this easy). Nails also hung the ribbon pieces to ‘frame’ the baking sheet/magnet tray, and then a nail in each of the sparkly leaf pieces made a nice accent to the corners.
I grabbed some magnets we already had so she can use those on her baking-tray-turned-magnet-board. I placed her little table (it’s currently Tinker Bell, but stay tuned for a remodel of that as well!), to hold her markers and other supplies, as well as give her a work-space in the little corner.

And that’s it! Such an easy, budget-friendly way to create her FROZEN Bedroom Art Wall. She loves it, and that’s where she spends a lot of her time when she’s not off with friends. Such a little artist!

FROZEN Inspired Bedroom

April 23, 2014 by Danielle

Phew….it’s been quite the overhaul the past couple months remodeling TWO rooms at the same time! It’s been crazy, but I absolutely LOVE how this FROZEN Inspired Bedroom for my little lady turned out….so perfect, and she’s totally thrilled with it!

So I shared the other room that’s been undergoing a huge transformation on Sunday with my Craft Room Grand Reveal. I love that room, since it’s specially mine, but I have to say that the way this Frozen Inspired Bedroom turned out is my FAVORITE! It was so fun to put together, and the look (and squeals) by Black Widow when she saw it (I did a grand reveal for her, too) was SO worth all the hard work!

It actually was PERFECT timing, since my mom was throwing a FROZEN party for my baby sister (she just turned 11….we’re over 17 years apart!), and gave a lot of the leftover supplies to us to use for this room. SCORE!!! Thanks so much, Mom! One of the items was this super-neat painted branch:

Seriously, just a branch (thick and sturdy) spray painted white (with a touch of glitter spray). We nailed it to the wall above the IKEA Expedit shelf that we use as her dresser, and hung sparkly snowflakes and rock-crystal (sugar candy) sticks from it. It’s such a fun accent piece!

The I used the FROZEN Inspired Wreath that I had made previously with after-Christmas clearance items as part of her ‘accent’ wall. Add some blue-with-sparkly-snowflake tulle and colorful ribbon, and it definitely is a great focal point! And don’t forget the fun puffy-pom-poms hanging in the upper corner!

Notice the AMAZING pattern on her accent wall? I received it free to assist with this post: It’s the Starry Moroccan Night Stencil from Royal Design Studio. They have so many AMAZING stuff you can add to walls, furniture, you name it! I’m so excited to meet them at SNAP! Conference this week! Another note – it may look like it took a lot of work with the stenciling, but it was actually SUPER EASY!

The bedspread was more work than I had originally thought, but I was happy with the results. Keep your eyes peeled for a tutorial coming soon!

We got another version of the IKEA Expedit shelves to use as a window seat, just adding some cushions on top. Now it’s the perfect place for her to sit and read! I added some blue storage totes for in the cubbies for a ‘pop’ of color, and to assist with storage.

I also wrapped a cushion around the edge of the handmade bench area, since that corner sticking up made me pretty nervous!

So in the movie FROZEN, in Elsa’s castle she makes that beautiful ice crystal chandelier, right? Well, I had to craft one really quick for this room to make it complete!

Since Wonder Woman is ultra-artsy, I made her an entire Art Wall for her to hang here masterpieces on!

I seriously LOVE LOVE LOVE this room! Of course, I added some FROZEN stickers I got from Amazon all over the walls, along with white and silver snowflakes. There’s LOTS of sparkles to this room….so fun!

What’s YOUR favorite part of this FROZEN Inspired Bedroom?

How to Make Curtains: Or Not!

April 18, 2014 by Danielle

Some of you may have caught on the hints I’ve been giving as to my current major project…my craft room! It’s been so fun, and in just a couple days I’ll be sharing the big reveal with you all, so stay tuned! For now, here’s my tutorial on How to Make Curtains: Or Not! You heard that right – how I goofed on a super simple project, then made it work out just great in the end.

In theory, my curtains should have taken me about an hour. In real life, though, it took about three. Want to know why? Because I completely guessed on the amount of fabric I needed. I ‘sort of’ measured the windows, then ‘sort of’ rounded the yard-age I’d need. Rule to the wise: always measure, twice!!! And err on the side of MORE fabric than you’ll need. I also didn’t take into account that the ruffles I wanted on my valence would require more fabric to reach the whole width….oops number two! To top it all off, I hadn’t realized that the fabric I chose was really thin, so I had to double it up on the valence. Strike three, I’m out!

So here’s the tutorial on How to Make Curtains (the CORRECT way)…..and stick around for the end and I’ll explain how I was able to make mine work out in the end!

Supplies

Main color fabric – measure for length and width for the valence AND the drapes. Keep in mind the more ruffles you do, the more fabric you’ll need because of the bunching. Also remember hems! DO NOT make my mistake and run short! You’ll need a little extra for strips to attach it to the curtain rod, unless you’d rather use ribbon.
Lining fabric – I used this for just the hanging drapes (and doubled my main fabric for the valence). Measure your needs!
Sewing supplies: machine, thread, pins, scissors

How to Make Curtains

Carefully (measure lots) cut out your pieces. I had two windows, and did my valence pieces, plus four drape pieces (two per window). I cut a lining for each drape, as well.
Hem everything! I did a simple 1/2″ hem. Make sure to pin it nicely, especially in the corners.
To attach the lining, I simply sewed it to the main fabric drape along the top. This way they flow nicely at the bottom without being attached…plus it saves time on more sewing!
Cut 4 strips of fabric per drape and 6-8 strips per valence, about 2″-3″ in width and about 5″-6″ long, or use thick ribbon. I then sewed them in a single line, spaced evenly out, along the top of the drapes.
Use the strips to attach the drapes to the rod!
For your valence, after you’ve hemmed all the way around, you do the ruffles. You can either use a gathering foot, or simply bunch it as you sew (that’s what I did). Watch your fingers…it can hurt bad, trust me!
Attach 6-8 (depending on how wide your valence is) strips along your sewed ruffle line on the back of your valence (so the high ruffles stick up ABOVE the rod). Attach it to the rod.

See, easy-peasy! If you follow the directions and MEASURE correctly (smack my own forehead here)! Want to know how I fixed my shortage-of-fabric? Well, my original valence was longer than the final product…..as show here:

But it only reached part of the way across the window! Since I’d planned it longer, I was able to cut the bottom half off, hem it all the way and add the ruffles. Then, of course, the shortened piece was SHORTER than the main valence….so I cut it in half width-wise. The result: two shorter valences on the SIDES of the window, with the longer main valence in the CENTER of the window…..and it actually turned out kind of neat how it almost flows down longer into the middle:

What do you think? Would this drive you bonkers? For me, I like it for the time being. I’ll most likely replace them down the road, but for now I’ll keep them how they are.

Paint and Vinyl: Make Stripes without the Stress

February 17, 2014 by Danielle

So we’re remodeling Wonder Woman’s room. By remodel, I mean MAJOR OVERHAUL! Our house is completely new, so it isn’t a matter of yuck, just a matter of making it our own. So we’re starting by making this room HER own. Starting with the paint!

Now, I love painting, I really do….but this room is having stripes. STRIPES!!! Run for the hills, hide in the blankets, pretend to be sick….stripes are a Pain. In. The. Butt! There’s so much measuring, precise-ness, touching up uneven lines, taping GALORE. Ya, not fun!

Painting & Vinyl: Making Stripes without Stress / Busy Mom's Helper

I found a cheat, though! Seriously, SOOOO much easier than any other method I’ve tried, and it looks FABULOUS! (say that with a Jim Carey – as the grinch – voice)

Now, I’m not going to explain how to paint….like which directions or brushes work best, etc. This is just how to get the lines like this:

Supplies Needed

Frog Tape

Paint

Rollers

Sheets or something to protect…..well, everything you don’t want painted

Paint tray

Vinyl

Pencil

Yard Stick

Directions

This is what I was starting with…..

Now, those walls came as ‘Polar Mist’. When I hear Polar Mist, I think white. NO! White is that closet door and the trim….these walls are like a TAN color, or ‘dirty polar bear fur’, as my Sis-in-law says. Even the ceilings are this dirty shade. I like tans, don’t get me wrong…but this one is just, off or something.

Note: I did paint the ceiling white, before I did the stripes. Just so ya know!

Step 1: Paint your lower portion.

So I did a greyish color on my bottom (largest) section of these walls. It’s Valspar brand, Autumn Fog. So I taped off edges, and just painted. Now, paint until ROUGHLY where your other color will be about. Get it close, but don’t stress about exact measurements, ESPECIALLY if your other color will paint over this nicely. My top color does cover the grey nice, so I erred on the side of higher. Allow to dry.

Step 2: Paint your upper portion.

This is the top color, leading up to the ceiling. I did a nice light blue, Valspar brand, Silver Dusk. Again, tape off edges, stir the paint well, etc. Paint from the ceiling down until ROUGHLY where you want the colors to meet. For mine, I did ABOUT 9 inches down from the ceiling, or about the width of my roller (which made it even easier….woohoo!). Allow to dry completely.

Step 3: Measure for the vinyl stripes.

So I just randomly went around the room and measured the LOWEST point that my blue color goes down, and the HIGHEST point my grey goes up. My points were between 8.5 inches from the ceiling, to 11 inches from the ceiling. This shows you your range that you need to cover.

Step 4: Add your pencil marks.

I took my yard stick and a pencil. I measured 8.5 inches down from the ceiling. I’d do a mark every foot or so, then connect the lines and use my yard stick to do a nice straight one. Do this all around the room, so you have your line to cover.

Step 5: Cut and add your vinyl lines.

Since my vinyl needed to cover between 8.5 inches down and 11 inches down (a 2.5 inch range),I cut my vinyl on my oh-so-lovely Silhouette Cameo (love it!) with a thickness of 3 inches. Call me lazy, but I’d rather have some margin for error while applying this.

I then took the vinyl, and laid the top just slightly above the pencil marks (you don’t want those to show up, of course)! This way, your vinyl covers your marks, and the tallest point of 8.5 inches down from the ceiling…then it extends long enough to cover the lowest point of 11 inches from the ceiling.

See below, it’s cover all the rough connecting points and making it a nice smooth transition of colors. Please ignore my double pencil line here….made a slight goof. That’s why I allow room for error…because I make plenty of them!

Then just keep going for the entire room. Careful to keep your vinyl smooth, especially in the corners. Just go from one end, then rub on over to the other end, keeping sure it stays even with the pencil line.

So again this room went from this……

To this!!!

I love it, especially since it was uber easy! Best yet…Wonder Woman thinks it’s the neatest room ever, and we’re not even done, yet! Stay tuned for many more changes in the bedroom!