{DIY} Children's Artwork Gallery Wall

Little by little I am making progress on the family room update.  While I still have a 

few projects left, I was able to tackle one over the weekend 

and it was the one that I was the most excited about:

the children's artwork gallery wall!

I found this idea from Sarah over at A Little Of This, A Little of That several weeks ago.

I had been searching all over the internet for some inspiration and her 

solution was perfect.  I followed her tutorial almost exactly so be sure 

to check out her blog for more info.

And here is the result!

I realize that this may not be for everyone, but since

I have triplets there is simply not enough room on the refrigerator 

to display all of their masterpieces.  I really wanted

each child to have their own "row".  The wall was 

plenty big to hang three rows so I decided to just go for it!  

Plus, the hubby and I really enjoy looking at 

their sweet creations so we don't mind that it is so massive! 

Here is what you need for this project:

1 x 8's cut to size (I had mine cut to 5 feet each and the nice man

at Home Depot cut them for me for free)

Paint 

Sawtooth picture hangers (two for each board)

Clips (I found these magnet clips at Wal-Mart for $1.88 for a pack of 4)

Gorilla Glue

It's all pretty self explanatory!

We gave each board a light sanding on the ends and edges and then

painted them.  (I used some of the Martha Stewart Plumage that I still 

had leftover from the buffet).  Then, attach the sawtooth

hangers on the ends of each board.  Lastly, I glued the magnetic clips right 

onto the boards using Gorilla Glue (super glue).  

Overall, I am so pleased with how this turned out!  It adds lots of color to the room

and it just makes me smile.   I look forward to this evolving and changing 

with the seasons!  

This entire project cost about $18!

You can also see the pillows that my mom and I made!  I am really

thrilled with how they turned out!  

Still on the agenda for this room:

Hang Gallery Wall of Photos 

"Frame" Subway Art

Overall, we are making progress in the family room and I 

hope to have a final reveal soon!

Easter Mantle!

Last week I shared with you my DIY Spring Wreath.  

I decided to hang it on the mirror above the fireplace and

I tried to incorporate fun bright colors to coordinate with the wreath

and add in a little Easter fun!  

You can't go wrong with bright colored plastic eggs and jelly beans!

I've had this little tree with the tiny Easter ornaments for years.  The kids love it!

The glass bunnies were a gift from my mom.

The "Spring" wooden blocks were found in the Dollar Isle at Target!

I had some 5x5 fabric samples that I wasn't quite sure what to do with.  The colors

were perfect for the spring mantle, so I decided to make my own

colorful pennant!  I just cut them into triangles and attached 

them to the ribbon using an iron and Heat'n Bond.

Easy Peasy!

Bright, Cheerful, Colorful and Kid Approved! 

We're already enjoying 85 degree weather here in Nashville.  I think we

skipped right over Spring and headed straight into summer!  

(I'm not complaining though!  Bring on the heat!)

{DIY} Spring Wreath With Felt Flowers

I know that these types of wreaths are all over blogland and I'm a little

late to the party, but since I am such a 

beginner when it comes to anything crafty, I had to have a little fire 

under my tush to get me motivated and the Winter Pinterest Challenge that

Cassie over at Hi Sugarplum is hosting was the perfect solution!

Basically, the Challenge to actually make something that you have pinned on Pinterest.

"Stop Pinning and Start Doing" she says!  

I'm on board!   

I have to say, I'm quite smitten with my little wreath!  

I originally pinned this felt flower tutorial, because, frankly, I find 

felt flowers absolutely adorable and Danielle made it look so super

easy so I decided to give it a whirl!  

Here she is!  

Danielle used yarn to wrap her wreath but since I'm always strapped for

time and wrapping yarn around a wreath seemed like it would take for-evvva,

I decided to use fabric to cover my wreath instead.

Here is what I started with:

Fabric (found on Clearance at Joanne's)

Felt squares 

12 inch foam wreath (my pinspiration used a straw

wreath but I couldn't find one)

I cut the fabric into long strips and about 5 inches wide. I folded it in half so that I would not have 

any rough edges and just started wrapping.  It was about 10:30pm at 

night when I started this project and I realized that I was out of hot glue so I 

actually used straight pins to attach the fabric to the wreath.

Then, the fun part:  the flowers!

I followed Danielle's tutorial exactly (click on the link above
for her tutorial).  Here is what she did.

Cut a circle out of the felt...

Then, add a scalloped edge around the circle...

Start at any point on the circle and begin cutting into the circle in a spiral pattern...

until you end up with this...
(note:  leave that little circle in the very middle that you end up with as is.
Once you roll up the flower that will be the "base" that you use
to glue it all together)

You will end up with a looooong strip of felt.

(At this point, my mom who is my crafter-in-crime thought that I was crazy and 

had ruined a perfectly good piece of felt.  But, have faith my friends!)

Then, starting at the "tail" end, start rolling up your felt tightly adding glue in 

here and there along the way...

And here is what you end up with!  

My mom the skeptic was so impressed! 

I made a few more flowers using the same technique in assorted colors

and added in some green leaves.

And here is the finished project again!

Next week I will show you where this cutie is now living along with my

Spring/Easter mantle!  

I am also linking up this post over here:

Pop on over for some other DIY Pinterest Challenge ideas!!!  

Have a great weekend, loves!!!

Rock & Republic Jeans at Kohl's!

Did you all know that Kohl's is now exclusively selling Rock & Republic jeans???

I have always been a fan of their jeans although I have only ever ownd one pair and I was only

able to purchase that particular pair because they were maaaaaaajorly discounted due to a 

hole that I had to have repaired.  I think I only paid $25 for them which I thought was a steal 

since they retailed for about $160 and up.  

So, imagine my surprise when I heard that Kohl's was now carrying their jeans.  

Of course I had to go scope them out.

You know what?  They are adorable!  

I was pleasantly surprised.

I decided on this pair, the Berlin Skinny.

via

I'm a mom of three and in my 30's so I don't typically do a lot of skinny jeans, but these

really are perfect!  They are a little stretchy which is good because they are super

comfy and they also have a slimming effect.  As an added bonus they sit a little higher on the 

hip even though they are considered low-rise.  This is perfect for me because they

help to hold in my belly bulge (gross, I know, but it's true) and I won't show

my butt crack to other moms at the park.  They are skinny but not crazy 

skinny at the bottom, just skinny enough to look cool.  They are the 

perfect shade of blue with just enough distressing so that they can

 be dressed up or down (today I'm wearing them rolled up at the bottom with a tank and 

Chaco's for a picnic in the park, but they are equally cute with a 

dressy top and heels.  So versatile!)

And here's the very best part.  The price!!!  Right now they are retailing on sale

for $59.99!  The regular price says $80, but you know Kohl's, they always

have their items on sale.  Plus, you can always add in a coupon, 

that is always in their weekly circular, for an additional 

discount which is what I did.

Overall, I am SO happy with my purchase and I just wanted to share!

***This is just my opinion on these jeans.  I was not sponsored

by Kohl's for this post...but, hey, Kohl's, I'll take some more 

jeans if you want to send them my way!***

Family Room: A tiny sneak peek!

Happy Friday, y'all!

Well, I'm making progress on my family room!  

Yesterday my mom came over with her sewing machine in tow and we made SIX 

new bright and cheery pillows for the room!!!  She gets all of the credit for her mad sewing skills.

I was just her trusty assistant (however, after observing, I am very

curious about giving it a go myself!).  But, we did it!!!  I'm so proud of us!  Ha!

We had a few little snafus, but we just rolled with it and made the

best of it, and it all worked out in the end!  (Details on that later!)

I'm hoping to tackle a few more of the projects planned for this room

over the weekend, but for now I will give you

a sneak peek of one of the pillows that we made.

This one was made out of a kitchen towel that was on clearance for $2 at Target!

Ain't it cute!!!   

Y'all have an amazing weekend!!!!  

Keepin' It Real.

While I do believe I have made some major headway in my quest to 

organize my home with the closet, fridge and pantry re-do's, 

it seems that with every project I move one

step forward and eight steps back.  

I give you Exhibit A:

This is located in our master bedroom and it ain't
pretty to wake up to this site every morning.  

 It is supposed to be a sitting area

but we brought in the desk and it was going to be my

designated painting and craft area, my own little getaway.

I have yet to paint there and it's clear to see why!

This house lacks storage and closets.  So often, when I clean one room items 

get dispersed throughout the home to another room and eventually

we end up with piles like this.  

I have very limited time to work on these types of projects since the kiddos

are home with me on most days (they will be with

me every day next week due to spring break.  Lord help me.).

So, just keepin' it real for y'all today!  

Needless to say, I always have my work cut out

for me around here!  

(And please tell me I'm not the only one with areas like this!)

(And please don't submit this photo to the producers of Hoarders)

The Family Room Is Getting Some Love!

The main hub of our home is the bonus room/playroom.  Let's face it, it's mostly a playroom

as all of the kids toys are in there and it's where we spend the bulk of our time.  

But, it is also where the hubby and I end each day watching

TV and relaxing.  

Back in December I organized all of the toys with my massive shelving unit (you 

can read all about that process here) which has made a huge 

improvement by keeping all of the toys organized. 

But, the room just isn't flowing for me.  

Here is where the room doesn't make sense.  We have this 

very formal painting hanging above one of the couches.  I love this painting

but it doesn't really scream "playroom" does it?

What I would LOVE is a way to display the kid's artwork.

I have found the perfect solution at Ikea but sadly, the closest

store to me is in Atlanta which is a four hour drive.  I am thinking about DIYing my

own solution.  We'll see...

I found this subway art wall decal at Hobby Lobby (50% off).  I just love 

the "Family Rules" as I feel like I repeat everything 

that it says no less than 508 times a day...("play nice", "share your toys", "love one another").

I have a plan in my head to make the decal not look like a decal so 

I'll let you know how that turns out!

Here's the little trio watching cartoons.  To the right you can 

see the computer area.  It's still gated off...too much costly

equipment for them to destroy!  

There is not really anything wrong with these posters.  But, I can 

totally visualize a gallery wall full of family photos there.  

My goal is to make this the "family room", not just 

the bonus room or playroom.

We also need to rehang the curtains.  When the kids were much smaller they loved

to pull and tug on the curtains and eventually they pulled the 

hardware out from the wall.  They've been "dangling" there for months!

The room is working just fine, but I really want it to be fun, playful and colorful. 

Yesterday my mom and I went to Joann's and I found these really

fun and colorful fabrics.  Plus they are indoor/outdoor fabrics which would

be ideal and kid-proof.  

My mom has a sewing machine but she's fairly new at sewing.  In fact, I don't think 

she has EVER made a pillow.  But, we are going to 

wing it and attempt to recover my existing pillows with 

the new fun fabrics!  

Wish us luck!

So, here's the to-do list for this room:

Rehang curtains

Make new pillow covers with bright, fun fabric

DIY children artwork display?

Hang Gallery Wall of photos

"frame" subway art

What do you think?  Any suggestions for the room?

I'll keep you updated on the progress!