Nursery Gallery Wall Take Two

Hey, Friends! I'm so excited to share our updated nursery gallery wall with you! 

You may remember, this is what Little Girlie's gallery wall looked like while we were waiting for her grand arrival. After she was born, we added a picture of the kids to the polka dot frame and her footprints from the hospital to the green plaque. I loved it and it stayed like that for the last two years. 

Recently, though, we have had to switch a few things out. The footprints were fading from the window light, so I took those down. Then, after my Grandma passed away, I brought home a painting I had done for her a couple years ago and decided to add that to Little Girlie's gallery wall. Here's how it's looking now!

See where my popsicle stick mosaic mirror landed? I just love it! Who knew I could love popsicle sticks so much?! See the full tutorial here. 

I'm still head over heels for this print from Katie Daisy and the letter C that I ordered from a friend for Little Girlie's room, so those two things stayed put. 

I fell hard for Bre from Average but Inspired's peg doll family, so just had to make one for our family! You have to check out Bre's and her tutorial over on her blog! My little peg family fit perfectly on the green plaque and brings a giant smile to my face whenever I see it! 

Here's where the painting I did for my Grandma's 93rd birthday landed. I painted this for her a few months after she broke her hip and moved into a nursing home. I wanted something bright and cheery for her room. I was inspired by a gorgeous painting at World Market. It's such a happy/sad feeling to see it in here. It can be a painful reminder that Grandma is gone, but it also makes me smile that Little Girlie has this link to Grandma in her room. 

I'm loving the changes! Amazing how just a couple changes brought a whole new life to the wall!

Wall Color: Panache Pink by Sherwin Williams

See Board and Batten Makeover here!

Catch up on all of the nursery posts here!

Linking up with Savvy Southern Style, Remodelaholic, Thrifty Decor Chick, and many other awesome blogs!

Popsicle Stick Mosaic Mirror

*Affiliate links provided for your convenience. For more info, see my full disclosure here.

It's finally starting to look like Spring around here! Flowers are blooming, trees are getting leaves, and pollen is descending upon us in clouds. Ha! With all of the color outside, I was itching to bring in some vibrant colors inside! 

I've been needing something round to complete Little Girlie's gallery wall, so I decided to make her a super colorful mirror! I wanted the mirror to incorporate the colors in her room and have a bit of texture. After a bit of brainstorming, I came up with a design that used the most unlikely of materials... popsicle sticks! 

Here's what you need to get started! 

-Popsicle Sticks* (I used the wide, thinner ones so they would be easier to cut)

-Acrylic craft paints

-Beveled edge wreath form similar to this one*

-Hot glue

-Paint brush (This one* is my favorite for knocking out a job like this quickly!)

I started out by prepping my popsicle sticks for painting. I only needed the rounded tips, so cut the sticks in half so I could paint both tips at the same time. I knew I needed to get the tops and the sides/tips painted and would have a million to paint, so came up with a quick way to paint them... tape them hanging off the edge of the counter! That way, I could paint them all at once and could easily get to the sides without them sticking the a surface. 

Quick tip: I taped them on in groups of 10 for easy counting. 

Of course, I underestimated just how much counterspace I'd need to tape 240 popsicle sticks onto! 

After I finished taping, I stepped back and surveyed the kitchen. It looked like a crazy town. It was then that I realized I had crossed over to the crafting dark side and needed to be admitted into a support group. People probably fear coming to my house for fear that I'll paint doodles on them or hot glue embellishments to their clothing. 

Anyway, back to the crazy town kitchen with 240 popsicles hanging on for dear life... I gave them all two coats of paint and am happy to report that my wacky taping method worked wonderfully. I was done super fast! 

Side note, if you wanted a more neutral color scheme, you could stain the sticks different shades instead of painting them! Ohhh, so sophisticated! :) If you do that, tag me in a picture. I want to see! 

To assemble, I cut the popsicle sticks down and glued them on to the wreath form in overlapping rows. I worked in vertical rows until I had gone around the entire wreath. It's helpful to cut the sticks as you go because the inner ones need to be a bit shorter (about 3/4") and the outer ones need to be a bit longer (about 1- 1/2"). I could only get in 5 full rows across of sticks, so ended up cutting my popsicle sticks lengthwise to create a sixth row and cover the remaining exposed outer edge. 

Quick Tip: When you start, only glue the first row near the straight end, leaving the curved tip unglued. This will allow you to slide your last row under your first row and avoid a start/stop seam.

When I was done, I simply glued a mirror and picture hanger onto the back!

It was a bit of a process, but really so easy! I just love how it turned out! 

It's the perfect finishing touch to Little Girlie's gallery wall! I'll show you the rest of the updated gallery on soon, so be sure to check back! (Update: check out the updated gallery wall here to see where this cute mirror landed!)

I love the bright, vibrant colors!

What's the craziest thing you're ever done in the name of crafting? I want to hear your stories!! :)

Linking up with Savvy Southern Style, Remodelaholic, Thrifty Decor Chick, and many other awesome blogs!

Anthropologie Inspired Ikea Play Kitchen Hack

Hey, Friends! I've been so excited to show you this little Ikea hack for months now! Little Girlie had been raiding my kitchen pans and utensils for items to play with, so we decided to buy her the Ikea play kitchen for Christmas. I was super excited to give it to her since I loved my play kitchen as a kid! Of course, you know I just had to jazz it up a bit for her!

Little Girlie is into pink and purple, bows, jewelry, and accessories right now, so I wanted to give it a feminine touch without being too in your face pink, if you know what I mean. ;) I have LOVED this Anthropologie wallpaper for years and wanted to use it for the backsplash on the kitchen, but it was way out of the budget. Instead, I grabbed some craft paints and got to painting! 

We cut a 1/4" sheet of plywood to fit the opening in the back of the kitchen, leaving a lip so we could nail it in. After giving it a good sand, I rolled the entire thing in a pretty blue-green. 

For the flowers, I used two shades of pink for the petals and just randomly alternated the colors as I went around. If you look closely, you will see the petals are just blobs with a bit of blank space in between. Super easy! For the leaves, I painted them in one shade of green, then streaked on another shade of green. The trick here is to not have very much paint on your brush so the bottom color peeks through. Again, super easy, I promise! The centers are just yellow paint that I dotted on, followed by a few dots of darker yellow. 

I left off some of the details from the original wallpaper, because, elementary painting skills, that's why. ;) That's why I called it "Anthropologie Inspired" instead of "Anthroplogie Dead Ringer". Haha! 

After the backsplash was dry, we just attached it to the kitchen from the back! That's it! I really wanted to paint the wood parts of kitchen white, but decided against it for durability sake. I knew it would be played with hard and didn't want to worry about the paint chipping on the more trafficked areas of the kitchen. 

I love how the colors tie into the playroom decor and add a feminine touch! 

Now it's the perfect place to sip some pretend tea made by the sweetest little girl I know. 

I added a couple kid-safe finishing touches to the top cubbies since Little Girlie is too short to reach those spaces anyway. The tin vase is from the Dollar Spot and the frame was one my Grandma had that she picked up at the Dollar  Tree. See where I get my dollar item obsession from? I like that the frame is sentimental and that it doesn't have glass in case it falls. 

Little Girlie was SO excited about her kitchen on Christmas day! She opened it up then ran over and gave me a big hug before playing with it. Love!

Linking up with Savvy Southern Style, Remodelaholic, Thrifty Decor Chick, and many other awesome blogs!

Beautifully Simple Easter Tablescapes

If you've been reading my blog for long, you know that I'm a less is more kind of girl. Simple decor and I are BFF. I like my home to feel calm and soothing and simple decor is one way that I accomplish that effect!

When it comes to tablescapes, I predictably stay on the simple side. If the table is too crowded, I feel claustrophobic while I'm trying to eat, which is not the relaxing and enjoyable dinner experience I'm after. I rounded up some of my favorite simple Easter tablescape from around the web, just for you! I love that they are all beautiful without feeling cluttered or overdone! I seriously love all of these and am having trouble picking which one to do for our Easter table! Enjoy!

Please pin from the original source! 

via BHG

via Birds Party

via Boxwood Clippings

via The Casual Craftlete

via Uncommon Designs

via Love of Family and Home

via Williams-Sonoma

source unknown-- possibly Tulipina? 

via On Sutton Place

via Liz Marie Blog

Which one is your favorite?

Linking up with Savvy Southern Style, Remodelaholic, and many other awesome blogs!

Easter Egg Topiary

Hey, Friends! Hope you are having a great week! Popping in really quick to show you another piece of our Easter decor!

I saw Kim from Sand & Sisal's egg topiaries and got all heart eyed over them! I happened to have a bunch of Easter eggs from last year's Easter display, so decided to make my own topiary for the entry way.

I followed Kim's tutorial, except I used pre-painted eggs and instead of purchasing a styrofoam cone, I just make a cone out of poster board.

I tried a couple different dishes for the base, but nothing was quite right. I finally got creative and rested my topiary on a cappuccino mug! There were some really cute hobnail mugs at Target that would have been fancier, but my friends reminded me that I should pick the best one for drinking coffee. The big, fat cappuccino mug won, hands down. Ha! #priorities

I love how it looks in our entry! It's festive without being too in your face Easter pastels, you know?

Have a great weekend and be sure to soak in some of this sunshine!


Linking up with Savvy Southern Style, Remodelaholic, and many other awesome blogs!

Office Plans + Inspiration

Oh my goodness, I hope the weather where you are is as beautiful as it is here in NC! I even broke out my flip flops today! Yay!

A few weeks ago, I shared the current state of our office. It's a bit of a mess, isn't it?! I'm back today to share all of our plans and inspiration to whip this space into shape. My brain is waaaaay ahead of my wallet right now, though. Haha! As much as I'd love to wave a magic wand and do everything now, this room will have to evolve over time as the budget allows. #reallifebudget  But, I'll be sure to share our progress as we go! 

Here's what I'm planning... 

I'd love to add a couple ledge shelves like we did for our living room to the wall above the piano. It has an eyesore of a thermostat on it, so it'd be nice to be able to disguise that a bit. Plus, it would be a great spot to display our degrees. I'm thinking of decorating it with a black/white theme in a simplistic style like Katie from Bower Power did in her guest room. Me want simplistic style?! Shocker, I know. ;) #sarcasm

via Bower Power

I scored these curtains at Target this week for 50% off! I had to go to four different Targets to find a second panel on clearance, but I found one! They are still full price online. :( They look great in the office and add some much needed interest, plus they match the futon perfectly! 

via Target

I'd love to make some faux roman shades for above the kitchen windows. I love these from Pottery Barn! I want to make an extra for my front door, too! 

via Pottery Barn

This next one is the last on the priority list, but I think it would be so beautiful! Since we no longer rent out the office, we don't use or have a need for the washer/dryer. We'd love to sell the washer/dryer and add some bright white built in bookshelves to the laundry nook. It would be so cozy! I love how these go floor to ceiling and wrap around the window! 

via Apartment Therapy

I'd love to find some inexpensive pillows for the futon. Right now, Jeremy's using the pillows that came with our sectional and they are way too big for the futon. I'm loving these gray and white options!

via Etsy

via Etsy

via Target

The biggest project we need to complete is building Jeremy a desk. I love the style and aesthetic of this desk! Jeremy likes it, too, but wants to replace the legs with bookshelves to house the printer and his binders. We've both scoured the Internet looking for something similar to what we have in mind, but have come up empty, so you'll have to wait and see it when we finish! ;)

via Etsy

I'd love to make a mini mudroom at the top of the stairs going into the office. The office is above our detached garage, so he needs a place to store his jacket and shoes when he comes over. I was going to do a basic coat hoot, but Jeremy requested it have a shelf for him to empty his hands while he is hanging up his coat. I love this style!

via Shanty 2 Chic

Of course, I saw this picture and thought that the little bench area was awesome and would be so practical, too! It's more involved of a build, though, so we'll see...

source unknown

Finally, I'd love to build a cute boot tray like this one for him to place his shoes on. I was going to do it during my no-spend January, but didn't get a chance to yet. Hopefully, soon! 

via Magnolia Market

Here's the to-do list: 

-Sell bed

-Get rid of large bookshelves

-Get rid of old end table

-Move cube bookshelf to closet

-Purchase futon

-Purchase rug

-Sell washer/dryer

-Purchase chair pad

-Purchase curtains

-Make faux roman shades

-Replace vinyl roller shades with blinds

-Repaint walls 

-Build ledge shelves

-Build desk

-Take down two upper cabinets

-Purchase desk lamp

-Built coat hook shelf

-Built boot tray

-Modify futon legs

-Purchase/make throw pillows

-Hang artwork

-Build built-in

-Purchase new office chair

-Paint stairwell (see how I painted the one inside the house here)

Yikes, it's a hefty list! But, I think it'll look so nice and be so much more functional when we're finished!

What are you guys working on these days? Any local friends need a washer/dryer? ;)

Linking up with Savvy Southern Style, Remodelaholic, and many other awesome blogs!