Projects

While Jeff was gone, I had a list of fun projects I wanted to accomplish. I've been meaning to get to them forever, and being alone every night for almost 2 weeks seemed like the perfect excuse. I figured it would give me something to do and look forward to, and would help the time pass more quickly. Even at that, it's amazing how long it still takes. By the time I had the kids in bed asleep every night and the rest of the household chores finished, I usually just wanted to go to bed myself, but between some late evenings and nap times I was finally able to finish.

Project 1

We have a huge entry way with ceilings about 20 feet tall, and I needed something that would help fill up the space. I've seen variations of this idea and thought it would work perfectly. I actually found a really nice board at Home Depot in the 'odds & ends' section for .63 cents and had it cut into 10x10 pieces. The one board did 14 pieces, plus about six more different sized pieces. Pretty good deal to me! The project took a little time between painting, mod podging, finishing, and hanging, but I was happy with how it turned out and it cost me a grand total of about $5. Now I just need to take down the coat rack (there when we moved in) and finish with an entry table and more decorative items.

This one gives a better idea of the size when you can compare it against Matthew. (And I love how he's playing with my glue gun...don't worry, it's off)

Project 2

I love my kids' artwork, but I don't love it taking over my fridge (can anyone relate? :) Plus our toy room had a big wall of empty space, so I figured this project would help solve a couple problems at once. The kids love coming home with their artwork, and putting it up on display in the toy room. I think it adds a fun touch to the room, and the kids can rotate the pictures. When one piece has had its time, it is either scanned or saved if it's particularly special, or it goes in the trash. The hardest think about this project was pulling apart and putting together the clothes pins, but the whole thing only cost me $2. (Sidenote: I did not choose the paint colors in the house. All the rooms were painted when we moved in, and I haven't decided whether it's worth the time to repaint 6 rooms when we won't be here too long anyway....)

Project 3

I was really excited about this one. I saw a similar fabric flower on a craft blog (Make It and Love It) and knew it would be the perfect thing for Emily's room-well, her side of the room, she shares with Matthew. I used boards from my previous project, and found some fabric on sale that matched her crib bedding perfectly (even though the flowers look a bit bright in the pictures, they really are a perfect match). It was so fun to put them up on the wall, they look a little smaller in the pictures than they are in person, but they really brighten up the room and make it look so cute. This project cost the most, but still ended up only costing about $6 total.

When we moved in, I debated about which rooms to put the kids in. I wanted Matthew and Emily together, and it ended up being either a pink or a blue room. Well, you can't really stick a boy in a pink room, so although I never thought I would put my only daughter in a blue room, that's where she ended up. Surprisingly enough, I really like the baby blue and think it looks great with Emily's pink, white, and green, and it works great with Matthew's bedding too.