Lucky's Completed Canvas

I've already posted a few pictures of Lucky's room that showed that her once blank canvas:

is now a piece of art filled with a picture from this photo shoot:

I just love this canvas!  I've had this project planned in my mind for months and months, so it feels great to see it hanging finally.

 

 

 

 

To complete this project, I first painted the edges of the canvas a bright pink color.  You can see the edge color better in this picture:

Next, we edited and sized the picture we chose to fill the 30" x 40" canvas appropriately.  We sent the picture to our local Staples and requested a blueprint black and white print out sized to 30" x 40".  When I went to pick it up, they told me that they were now charging the 'color price' for large photo print outs since they were getting inundated with orders and their printers were breaking.  I told them that in the past I had paid about $5 for a black and white paper print out in a similar size (for a project I have yet to share:)) and wouldn't be paying the $60 price they wanted to charge.  They told me they would charge $5 one last time as a courtesy...phew.  Lesson being...call around and get a quote first:).  I have a feeling that places like Kinko's still offer low priced black and white print outs.  

When I got the picture home, I realized that the print out was a bit larger than the canvas, so I outlined the canvas onto the back of the picture with a pencil and cut off the excess paper.  When it came time to adhering the paper onto the canvas, we first tried using a spray adhesive that I had on hand, but it didn't adhere for more than a couple hours.  It was a big bummer.  Then I went to Michael's and picked up some of this:

Aleene's Crystal Clear Tacky Spray

$6.99 at Michael's (less with a coupon:))

It seems to have worked extremely well thus far, but I should note that we were planning on sealing the paper/canvas combo this past weekend, and when we took the canvas outside to spray, it started bubbling up like crazy.  I ran the canvas back in and put it in front of the fire to warm it up.  Thankfully the bubbles all flattened.  I'm assuming this happened because we didn't achieve 100% adhesion on the entire large canvas.  The edges seem great, but there are places in the middle that must not be held as tightly and the colder outside temperatures made it more apparent.  One tip that might help in the future is to place books on the back of the canvas (edges and middle) after spraying to make sure the paper is sticking to the canvas appropriately.  I had turned over the canvas and put books on top of the wood frame parts of the canvas, but not the middle of the canvas.  Or maybe just keep the frame flat on it's back, picture side up and let gravity take care of it?  I'm not sure, but our canvas is not sealed now, which is a little bit of a bummer.  I may attempt to seal it again in the spring when it is warmer out, but for now, I'd prefer an unsealed canvas to a sealed, but bubbled up canvas:).  If anyone has any tips on spray adhesive or sealers, please pass them along!!

Lucky's New Bench

Over six months ago, I picked up this bench that I posted about here.  It was a $2.99 Goodwill find:

I decided the stool would be great at the end of Lucky's bed, so I picked up some of this fabric from IKEA.

Lappljung Randig Fabric

$7.99/yd

I spray painted the stool base with Rustoleum's Heirloom White.  I replaced the cushion (which seemed to be a big pile of lint pressed together) with foam cushion that Bill picked up for me with a coupon for about $8.  (I so wish foam were cheaper!)

Here is the final product in Lucky's Room:

Cost Breakdown:

• Stool $2.99
• Fabric $4 for 1/2 yard
• Foam: $8

Total: $15 for a custom stool:)!!

Linking up to Primitive & Proper.

A Little Lucky Room Love

My sweet girl turned five last month, which is incredibly hard to believe.  We had a two week long birthday extravaganza for her with a dinner in Milwaukee on her birthday, a party with her school friends the following week, and another gathering up north the following weekend.  She loves being 5!!  Part of her present from Bill and I were a couple small room updates.  I don't think I've shared much in her room in the last year or so, though we've made a few changes in the space.  Her original room reveal post is here.

One area that was changed was her desk area.  When Charm got a desk area update, so did Lucky.  Her desk area went from this:

To this:

The back of the bookshelves above the desk were lined with dollar store foam core cut to size and covered with wrapping paper that I had on hand already.  I painted chalkboard paint on the back wall between her desk and upper cabinets and on the back wall under her desk.  Finally, I added a tension rod with little curtains to make a little play cave under the desk:).

When I wrote 'Lucky's Room' on her chalkboard, she insisted that I add 'Charm is allowed'.  So cute.  

I found this driftwood horse at Gordman's awhile back.  It was $28 with a coupon.  Lucky had a chance to ride a miniature horse at our local county fair this summer and she was really taken with the experience.  She likes horses:).

These wallflowers are by Umbra.  I picked them up on super clearance at Bed Bath and Beyond.

 

 

I paid just over $5 for the box (with a coupon) and spray painted some of them gold. 

Lucky keeps a bucket of chalk and a mini LED lantern in her girl cave.  

She also painted this canvas.  Each flower represents a family member, our fish included.

I spray painted this owl gold as well.

Lucky is spending more time drawing at her desk as of late, which is really fun to see.  She most certainly is growing up quickly!  I'll be back next week to share a few more updates in her room.

Have a fantastic weekend!

Election Day!

We made a family trip to our local polling place this morning to cast our ballots.  

Bill and I let Lucky and Charm wear our 'I Voted' stickers:):

This election is a big one!   Make sure to take a moment today to make your vote count!

Happy Halloween!

We took a little extended fall break the last week or so travelling all over Wisconsin, so I haven't had much time to post lately.  I wanted to be sure to wish you all Happy Halloween today though!

Our kids each made one of these Halloween Skeletons with Q-tips this weekend!  Thanks for the fun craft, Adrienne!

I've been wearing my new apron this month.  I love it:)!  (Photographer: Lucky Girl.  Apron: Hatley)

Pumpkin Time!

Thanks for the monster pumpkins, Opa!

Speaking of pumpkins, have you tried this ice cream from Trader Joe's?:  

I crumble a cinnamon graham cracker on top and it is heavenly!

And speaking of Trader Joe's, we also picked up a cinnamon witches broom for $3.99: 

It smells so good!!  I want to carry it everywhere with me:)!

In costume news, we had a little costume issue this weekend when we forgot our 'castle themed' costumes at home....so we stopped at a local Walmart and chose from the best of what was left:

Buzz Lightyear!

Minnie Mouse!

And speaking of Halloween costumes, we are so ready for you trick or treaters:)!!!:

Have a safe and happy Halloween!

Charm's Restoration Hardware Knock Off Bed

Several months ago, I found this bed online:

Industrial Cart Platform Bed

Restoration Hardware Baby & Child

I love the simplicity and thought it would be perfect in Charm's room!  It could definitely help solve the 'mattress on the floor' dilemma we were experiencing, but at $549 it was really pricey for four casters and 4 pieces of wood.  I knew we could build one ourselves for much less, but Bill wasn't sold on the whole 'bed on wheels' concept.  He had safety concerns given the weight of the bed, and the idea of Charm pushing the bed around his room.  We thought about putting 'locks' on the wheels or bolting the bed with 'one million screws' into the wall behind his bed, but ultimately, I realized the simplest solution would be to squirt a little epoxy in the wheels to permanently lock them.  I could get the look I wanted without putting Charm's safety at risk.

Once that issue was settled, Bill and I came up with a plan that included deeper sides to allow us to hide the box spring that we were kindly given by my parents when they made some mattress changes at their lake house.  It also would allow the overall height of the bed to be closer to a standard size.  The Restoration Hardware version is only about 11 inches tall (plus the height of the mattress) which would be awesome now, but we are hoping Charm enjoys this bed for many years.  

I stained and sealed the wood, and then Bill put the bed together.  He used metal corner pieces for...you guessed it...the corners.  We sprayed the casters (6" fixed casters from Northern Tool) a dark charcoal color, although I think I may go back and spray them more of a stainless steel color in the spring.  We also found metal trim much like that seen on the Restoration Hardware bed for $1.50 per 8 foot length at Home Depot.  We couldn't decide if we wanted to add that detail or not, so we held off for now, and may add it in the spring when we finalize the wheel color decision.  Our total cost for the bed including the casters ($56), spray paint ($7), wood ($35) and 4 metal corner pieces ($12) came to $110.  (We had the stain and polyacrylic on hand already).  

Here's how Charm's room is looking now:

We made a stand for Charm's Ship Wheel using a crate from Joann's ($6 with a coupon) that Bill stained to match the bed and ship wheel.

The white duvet cover is from IKEA.

Of course, the room is not totally finished and probably never will be because I'll keep finding things to change:).  As of now, I plan to upgrade this plastic IKEA stool:

Charm can actually get on his bed without using the stool, but it's a bit of a struggle for him.  I'm keeping my eyes peeled for the 'perfect stool'.  Hopefully, I'll find one before he outgrows the need for a stool:)!

And his 'night stand' needs work or replacement.  It's actually a $10 Target clearance find that I blogged about here since it's a knock off West Elm table:

I'd like to paint it or add color in some way.  Also, I'd like to make it taller....it needs some heels, I think:).

And finally, this lamp shade needs some attention:

We've had our eyes out for a lightweight lamp with a kid friendly on/off switch for a couple months now, and I ended up finding this one in our spare bedroom upstairs.  It's from IKEA and was purchased several years ago.  The lamp shade is a bit girly...although, I think it has red leaves on it, not flowers, so for now it works.  I plan to recover the shade, however. 

I'll probably let these projects come to me rather than seeking out 'fixes' immediately.  I'm moving on to other rooms and other projects for now...and you know one of those rooms is Lucky's.  We've made a few changes in her room too that I am very eager to share.  If I could get as motivated to work on our master bedroom as I am to work on Lucky and Charm's rooms, our second floor would be in fantastic shape:)!!

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

Linking up to Thrifty Decor Chick.
Linking up to Primitive and Proper.
Linking up to Miss Mustard Seed.

Our Lovely Laundry Room

Over the last couple months we've been trying to make our small second floor laundry room work better for our family.

We went from this:

To this:

When we first moved in to the house, we had a normal size door that would open into the small laundry space, and it was claustrophobia inducing...which is saying a lot because I don't usually get anxious about small spaces.  The dirty clothes would be behind the door, so you had to shut the door to maneuver in the space.  It was super annoying.  One day while Bill was at work, I took the door off the hinges.  I quickly learned that it was solid wood and was not able to move it far without Bill's help.  We lived with a gate in front of the door (to keep the kiddos out) for several months and then we had a bifold door installed that opens into the hallway.  (We looked into installing a pocket door, which would have been ideal, but it ended up not being an option due to the architecture and electrical/gas lines placement.)  The new door matches the rest of the doors in our house in terms of color and style, so it blends really well.  Since we coordinated the bifold door order with our basement finish two years ago, we were able to save money on the cost of a new door by reusing the old laundry room door in the basement!

This is a Kohl's closet filled with pictures of the family.  It used to be in Charm's nursery and works here now!

I made this bulletin board following this tutorial and an old bulletin board.  I used Robert Allen Kiki Pinata fabric available at Hancock Fabrics.  I liked the idea of doing a bright multi-colored floral print with the black and white rug from this post.  I also love having a calender in the laundry room.  I use it to mark 'sheet washing' day:).  I also have plans to some day be so organized that I have specific 'laundry days', although with young kids that might not happen for quite some time.  In my fantasy world, I'd mark laundry day on my calender and do all the laundry for that house on that day/s each week:).

Bill made this 'bra dryer' for me using knobs from Hobby Lobby and a piece of scrap wood from the garage.  We also use it to dry Lucky's tights.

We have a trouble with matching socks and often end up with lost socks.  We put unmatched socks in either the 'little socks' or 'big socks' bin depending on if the socks are little (Lucky and Charm sized) or big (adult sized).  Every once in awhile we take down the bins and make matches!

Bill picked up these laundry sorters at IKEA for 99 cents each during a promotion, although I think they normally are $4.99.  I had thought they would be good for awhile until I found something better, but I actually really like them!

I like having Post its handy because I never remember when I put things in the washer that shouldn't be put in the dryer.  If I make myself a note and stick it on the washer, I remember:)!

The counter basket stores clothing like sweaters that I wash in a 'hand wash' cycle once I have enough clothing in the basket to justify running a wash cycle.  

We have lots of cabinet storage in this room.  The cabinet above the sink is where cleaners and towels are stored.  The next two cabinets hold our swimming bag (everything we need for swimming lessons) and extra toilet paper and kleenex.

The cabinets above the washer and dryer contain our 'sorting bins' for clean clothes.  We don't often fold clothes when it comes out of the dryer because of time.  We do try to do a quick sort of the clean clothes so that folding is really easy at a later time.  We can just grab a bin a night.  Each bin has a chalkboard label on it with an initial coordinating to a family member: L, H, M, D and there is a bin for linens and one for towels.  

Now the change isn't that dramatic, but you must consider that the space we were working with is super small...like about 25 square feet.  Before the feeling was blah and now, I love opening the door and getting to work!

Linking up to Thrifty Decor Chick.