Decorating Cents

I've been wanting to do a piece of subway art for a while now.  I had passed many canvases in Michael's and Hobby Lobby but never actually picked one up.  I happened to be in Ikea on a random trip one day.  I always check the 'As Is' section on the way out.  They had just marked down a butt load of cabinet doors.  I grabbed one, not knowing exactly what would happen with it, checked out, and headed home. When I got home, I held it up against walls in the house trying to figure out where I was going to put it.  BINGO!  I can finally make a subway print.  I searched online for some words to use.  I had plenty of paint in the stash so I got to work. This is what I started with.  It's a ADEL cabinet door front. After a couple coats of paint, I laid out where my words would go.  I used blue tape to keep my letters level. I found a stencil in my daughter's art supplies and started tracing my letters.  I must ...

This little guy has been sitting in my daughter's room since her room makeover.  I loved the simplicity of it but it needed to be dressed up a little. I had a new stash of craft paints so I decided to put them to use and bring this stool up a notch.  I made a monogram stencil on the computer and printed it out.  I just used a box cuter to remove the letters. Using paints that coordinated with her room, I filled in the stencil and added some polka dots. That's better.  A simple splash of color and I love the monogram.  Have you personalized something for your kid lately?   Sharing with Making the World Cuter * Under the Table and Dreaming * DIY Showoff * Positively Splendid * I Heart Naptime * It's So Very Cheri * Tatertots and Jello * Homemaker in Heels * Classy Clutter * Homemaker on a Dime * Be Colorful * Between Naps on the Porch * Brassy Apple * CRAFT * DIY Home Sweet Home * It's Overflowing * Keepi...

We're having guests over for Thanksgiving so I thought this would be the perfect time to start putting the formal dining room together.  People will actually be eating in there so it has to look somewhat presentable.  I love the look of stencils so I thought I would give it a try.  I ordered the Moroccan Dream from Cutting Edge Stencils .  The process was fairly easy, but took a few hours to complete.  The stencil is made of sturdy 12 mil clear plastic.  It is very large and was easy to work with.  I taped the stenciled to the wall and used the clip on level to make sure it was straight.  Very important to use the level.  If the first stencil is un-level, the rest of the wall will be crooked.  I worked in rows from the wall out to the edge.  I started by painting the room in Behr Brown Teepee like the rest of the downstairs.  After it dried overnight, I stenciled the left wall using Behr Decorator White in Satin....

It looks like stencils are the new wallpaper.  The great thing about stencils is you can simply paint over it when you grow tired of it.  There are so many great designs out there. I love these accent walls. How about all over the wall? Wow, check out this ceiling! Stencils have even become popular in nurseries and kids rooms. You can add a stencil to just about anything. Hmmm.  I may just have to get me a few stencils.

Ok, so I know many of you have that nice little window pane on the side of your front door. I love that it lets the light in on nice days, but I don't like that people standing on your doorstep can see right in.  I wanted a solution to this problem.  I saw some nice window decals at Home Depot but I wasn't really liking any of the styles they had. Searching through some blogs, I found that Thrifty Decor Chick used contact paper to frost her pantry door.  Interesting, I thought.  I went to search for frosted contact paper but came to find out it's actually clear when you're looking in the store.  Brought it home and applied it to the window.  I did like that it covered the window, but did not like that I couldn't see who was now standing outside my door.  All I could see was a shadow.  It was either this or go back to Home Depot to get the window decal application.  I didn't want to spend the money for something I wasn't in lo...