Source Lowe's

Source: Designer Wall Coverings

Source: Design Sponge

I have had a love affair with paintable textured wallpaper for many years now.  For those of you who are not familiar with it, it’s a thick wallpaper that you hang like wallpaper, paint on a coat of primer and then paint it in your desired color.  Paintable wallpaper comes in a variety of unique thick textures and patterns and once primed, you can give it virtually any paint treatment under the sun.

Source: Designer Wall Coverings

Source: Unknown

Source: Graham and Brown

Source: Design Your Wall

Source: Design Your Wall

Paintable wallpaper is an excellent design solution for a small or narrow space and is a gorgeous technique to do on a ceilings.  I recently used paintable wallpaper in my small guest bathroom and I am thrilled with the end result:

{If you’re interested in any of the details/paint colors of my guest bath revamp, you can find the revamp post here.}

I used a flat chalky gray/blue paint on my paintable wallpaper, which gave the wall such a beautiful finish.  Now, the pattern in the paper really stands out, making this small space really pop when you walk in.  It turned out to be the perfect solution to have a unique and bold wall treatment to make this small space stand out, but still giving it an elegant and calming feel.

The paintable paper that I used is made by Architectural Inspirations and I purchased it online at American Blind and Wallpaper:

There are some absolutely gorgeous paintable papers on the market today.  Here are some of my favorites that I have found. Keep in mind that some of the papers are only displayed in white so you have to use your imagination in how they would look painted:

Source: American Wallpaper and Blinds

Source: American Blind and Wallpaper

Source: Design Your Wall

Source: Design Your Walls

Source: Designer Wallpaper and Fabrics

Source: Designer Wall Coverings

You can also find some unique textured papers that can give a look of wood:

Source: Designer Wall Coverings

or for a look of an smooth plastered wall with dandelion impression:

Source: Design Your Wall

If you want a rustic plaster look without spending a fortune on the wall treatment, you may be interested in this plaster embossed paintable paper:

Source: Design Your Wall

Lastly, there are so many beautiful paintable textured borders available as well.  Done in the right space with the right color, I think they are so beautiful and elegant:

Source: Designer Wall Coverings

Source: Designer Wall Coverings

Source: Designer Wall Coverings

There are so many unique ways to utilize these papers in a home. My favorite way is to see them used in small spaces such as a small powder room or on one accent wall:

Source: Design Sponge

If you have a narrow hallway somewhere in your home, textured paintable paper looks gorgeous used as wainscoting, covering the lower part of the hallway wall:

Source: Designer Wall Coverings

Source: Designer Wall Coverings

I also love to see these papers used on the ceiling, giving an old tin ceiling look:

Source: Frugal Farmhouse

So now that you have a taste of what kind of fabulous paintable papers are out there,  I wanted to talk about how easy these papers are to work with and how best to work with them.

If you decide to order a paintable wallpaper, be sure and follow the directions on the wallpaper website for measuring for wallpaper.  You can find great selections of these papers at American Blind and Wallpaper, Designer Wall Coverings, Graham and Brown and Design Your Wall. The prices can really vary. I have seen rolls as inexpensive as $10.00 per single roll all the way up to $50.00 per roll.

When I got ready to order the paper for my bathroom, I measured my bathroom twice. I was lucky that my paper only has a small square pattern repeated, so my repeat wasn’t too bad. Some of these textured patterns are large, so checking the repeat is really important. I ordered extra just to be sure.  Also, most of these paintable papers are already pre-pasted but there are a few that are not, so you’ll want to be sure and check for that as well.

I hung the wallpaper myself. It didn’t take me long at all. Because the paper is so much thicker than standard thin wallpaper, it was so much easier to work with it.  It was a breeze hanging it and pushing it around to line it up while it was on the wall. After the paper dried, I used an exacto knife to trim it.  The paper looks yellowish while it is still wet on the wall and as it dries, it will eventually turn back to white. It took about 12-18 hours to fully dry for me.

The directions on my paintable paper said that the paper may be primed.  Because I wanted a chalky flat look, I went ahead and primed it.  I did a small area where I did not prime, just to see what happens and it works fine but it gives the painted finish a little bit more of a sheen.  So if you’re going for a more glossy look, you may want to skip the prime. This was what my paper looked like after the paper dried and I primed it:

As far as paint finishes go, I personally think these papers look best when used with either a flat paint or a very soft egg shell finish.  Although, my paper instructions said that the texture will stand out more with a pearl or glossier paint application, I’m not sure I completely agree.

There was a time in the 1990′s where people used these papers a lot, painted them and then swiped over the top of the textured pattern with antiquing glaze or a pearl glaze. Maybe that’s what the wallpaper instruction people were trying to say.  Yes, that technique will definitely make the texture stand out more, but I personally think it’s a dated look to layer these papers with dark or metallic glazes, unless it’s more of a subtle layer. I could see maybe ever so lightly swiping the tops of the texture with almost dry brush of one, or two shades up of the base color.  However, if you have a contemporary home or space, using a higher gloss (without layers of glazes) on a contemporary textured pattern could be fabulous as well:

Source: Graham and Brown

You don’t have to seal or finish the paint with anything.  I did have to do two heavy coats to cover and really get into every intricacy of my pattern.  I do have to say though that the chalky flat paint is really incredible. I know it’s not practical though.  My bathroom is a high traffic area and I bought a quart size of my paint and if something gets on the wall and I can’t get it off, I’ll just give a quick swipe to the area with paint.

Well friends, I didn’t mean to write a dissertation but I guess I did.  I hope that the information, sources and pictures will help you if you’re interested in trying out a fun new paintable wallpaper.  Yep, it takes some work, but it was worth it in the end for my little bathroom project.

If you are interested in seeing more pictures of some great paintable wallpaper, you can check out my Pinterest Board called “Wallpaper Love” here.  I will be adding more of these fun papers to the board as I hope to do a few more walls in my home in the next few months. By the way, if the wallpaper people are reading this, please, please, please figure out a way to make a thick embossed paintable wallpaper with the look of some of the decorative geographic wall molding treatments that are super hot right now like these looks:

Source: Timbarbelt tld.

Source: Wheeler Three Blog

You can look at my Pinterest “Molding” Board for more inspiration here if you too are obsessed with decorative molding like I am.

I have several projects that I have finished and will be posting later this week.  I hope you guys have a FABULOUS week as we close out February.  Spring is almost here!

Cheers!

Cyndy

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It’s been a crazy last couple of weeks for me. I didn’t plan on taking a short break from blogging but I guess it turned out that way.  I am back, refreshed and excited to share my guest bath revamp project with you.

I haven’t done anything with my guest bath in more than 10 years.  It has driven me crazy all these years that I have not found the time to finally roll up my sleeves and revamp it.  I have pretty much known for more than two years what I wanted to do in this space but again, finding the time to do it myself has been impossible until now.

Let me show the before pictures of my guest bath:

This space is so hard to photograph with all of the artificial light but the old wall paper was a gold-ish faux crackle pattern.  I had a border in the shower area of leopard animals {cringe}.  I put this paper up 11 years ago during my animal print obsession {hubby rolls eyes}…

I wanted to do something in this space that really popped because its so fun to have a unique bath space just for guests.  This is our only guest bath in our home and my 7 year-old daughter uses this bathroom as well, which makes things a little tricky.  I had to really come up with something unique but still special and sweet for my girl.  If I had a powder room just for guests, I would be all over a contemporary metallic bold paper. If I had a bath just for my girl, it would be an elegant but sweet French shabby look.  So, this guest bath revamp was a compromise of the two concepts.

I have had this paintable textured wallpaper for two years now that I bought for the “eventual” guest bath revamp project:

The vinyl paintable paper is made by Architectural Inspirations and I purchased it online at American Blind and Wallpaper.

I knew that I wanted a unique wall treatment and I have been wanting to do a paintable wall paper treatment for a long time now.   I wanted to paint this gorgeous textured paper a super chalky flat gray/blue color, giving the wall an old French sort of feel in the finish.  I also knew that some of the modern textures would also pop out to keep it from being too sweet.

I was thrilled by how beautiful it turned out after I got the paper hung, primed and then painted:

There are all kinds of fabulous paintable textured wallpapers on the market and they are ideal because you choose your exact color and finish.  Next week, I will be doing a tutorial on suggestions for using these papers and I will be showing you some awesome examples of the textured papers on the market right now.

You don’t know how hard it was for me not to lightly swipe a cloth with just a touch of white across the top textures after I painted it!  Next project I will be lightly rubbing those textures with a lighter color to really make them pop!

After weeks of trying to narrow down the paint color, I settled on Sherwin Williams color “Krypton” which is a gorgeous shade of gray-ish/ blue:

Because I really wanted a super flat, old chalky look, I talked to the awesome guys at Sherwin Williams and they gave me some very valuable information.  They said that the cheaper you go in a flat paint, the chalkier it will be.  The more expensive the flat paint, the less chalky look it will have even though its a flat paint. The more expensive flats have something in it that still gives it somewhat of a sheen and cheaper paints scrimp on this giving us more chalk.  They were right. I bought the cheapest stuff and it is very chalky.

I didn’t change the paint of my cabinets but the color is Sherwin Williams “Dover White”.  I have used that color throughout my home on all of my trim for years and I still love it.  Not too white but not a cream, or an off white. I do however need a fresh coat on these cabinets though.  Hope you can’t tell!

The fun square mirror panels on the walls I purchased at Hobby Lobby in the clearance section for $19.99 each.  They were an ugly dark brown and were scratched up pretty bad.  I simply gave them one quick coat of Testors Enamel Model Master in the color “Gunship”, and they turned out the most gorgeous color of slate/indigo that really blends well with the wall color:

By the way, if you ever see anything in the home decor clearance aisle that you want to quickly paint, this little bottle of enamel paint is the best way to go.  It’s found in the model paint section at your craft store for $3.29!  They have a great selection of colors and you do not need to prime and it is always a perfect coat and finish.  Since it’s enamel, it will pretty much cover and stay on any finish (make sure you get the enamel and not the acrylic):

The rest of my accessories came from Hobby Lobby as well:

The best deal in this whole bath revamp was the geometric patterned runner that I found at Ross for $11.00 in the exact slate color as my mirror panels:

I actually ordered a runner from Ballard Design that was $199.00 but when it arrived, it was too wide for the narrow entry into the shower area.  I always forget to check Ross regularly.  Every time I go I always find a great and inexpensive gem!

Well, I think that about covers it for now.  I still have to come up with wall decor in the shower area and will posts the pictures of what I do on The Creativity Exchange Facebook page here.

I have a lot of projects that I’ve been working on that are almost finished and I hope to get back into my blogging routine this next week.

Have a fantastic weekend friends!

Cheers!

Cyndy

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There are several milestones this week at The Creativity Exchange. Two years ago this week, I launched The Exchange and started blogging. It really is hard for me to believe that it’s already been two years. It’s so true what they say, time flies when you’re having fun and doing what you love! I have truly loved every minute of blogging and the best part has been getting to know all of you {group hug}!

My blog has been my little cocoon of joy these last two years. I cannot thank you all enough for your kind words, support, encouragement and just stopping by to take a moment every now and then to visit. It has been such a joy! It really warms my heart when someone sends me an email out of the clear blue, or stops me in town and tells me that they have made something from the blog. It’s so cool to me and I feel like we are basically crafting and decorating together in this unique way!

Ironically, this post is my 100th blog post to publish. How strange is it that these two milestones so perfectly collided?

For two years now, the words “Live the Life you Love” have been my daily mantra. It’s really pretty simplified words of wisdom. These words just really resonate with me because whenever I’m not sure what to do, what direction to go or how to handle something, I simply remind myself, just “live the life you love”. Funny, how things become crystal clear when you ask yourself if you really love something.

Coinciding with these words, I have made some big changes in my life and I have slowly worked to edit out and de-clutter all the things in my life that I do not love, making room for the things I am passionate about. I no longer say yes to things because I feel pressured or take on more than I can handle. I have a lot more work to do and will probably have this goal for the rest of my life but long story short, I sure am happier because I choose wisely now of my time and my family is happier too.

So, I wanted to give you a gift today. I have been slowly learning about creating my own printables and I couldn’t think of anything better to give you than these words (click below picture for the page to print the printable):

Live the Life Printable

I designed the words for a 5 x 7 frame so when you print it out, it will look a little off center (you will need to cut it out to fit the frame). If you want, you can make it for yourself or make one for someone else put in a pretty frame and give to someone for Valentine’s Day. I used thick white card stock to print it on for a more finished look:

You can also cut to fit the top of a blank folding note card and attach with double sided tape. This would be a beautiful Valentine or a note for someone you may want to encourage:

I hope you like the little printable.

Well friends, I have slowed down on the organizing and I’m getting back to some fun decor projects. I am about to start a big revamp for our guest bathroom and hope to have the project posted maybe by next week. I am doing a really a really unique wall treatment that I have my fingers crossed will work out. I will share the tutorial when it’s ready.

Thank you once again for your sweet emails, comments notes and for stopping by my little cocoon!

Cheers!

Cyndy

Organizing a closet is never easy, especially if you have more stuff than available closet space.  I’ve had no choice but to force myself to get creative in organizing my closets because the closets in our home are small.  To make matters more challenging, we have very limited attic space and basically no additional storage areas.  I dream of huge closets with gorgeous custom built-ins that require very little effort in staying organized.  The reality is that I have to get “closet creative”.

I recently tackled my 7-year-old daughter’s closet.  It’s been a source of frustration for everyone in our home.  If you have a little girl around this age, you know how easily the harmony of a home can be turned upside down if a certain Hello Kitty clutch bag cannot be located.  It was time to go from our “baby girl” closet, to our ” we think we’re a big girl” closet.

I have a little “method to the madness” that I go through when I start to organize a closet.  I wanted to share my thought process hoping that it may help someone else who isn’t quite sure how, or where to start.  I even created a Closet Organization Worksheet for you to print out if you’re looking for a little extra help on thinking through the process.   It’s not perfect but I hope it will help with the process (click on the highlighted Closet Organization Worksheet-Printable to go to the page to print):

Closet Organization Worksheet-Printable 

So let’s jump right in to the steps that I take when conquering the dreaded closets:

1)      Getting Started

The hardest part of reorganizing a closet is getting started.  Most organization websites will tell you the first thing you need to do is to remove everything from the closet.  Yikes!! I completely disagree.  I personally think it’s actually the worst thing you can do right off the bat because reorganizing a closet effectively takes time. Like days! I promise you, It will work a lot easier if you take your time and work section by section so you can walk away and go back to it, without worrying about having to put everything back in the closet because something comes up or you get side-tracked.

Your main purpose to reorganizing a closet is to set it up in a way that it will stay organized.  The best way to do this is by taking your time and thinking through “trouble spots” and locating the right storage pieces.  If you remove everything from the closet, you will have a room somewhere turned upside down and it’s too tempting to just put everything back in and give up.

2)      Draw a Sketch of your Closet

 I have a large designated area on the printable worksheet above for plenty of room to sketch your closet.  Here is what my sketch looked like:

Having a “rough drawing” with you as you go through this process and look for new storage pieces online or in the stores will really help. Plus, you can sketch in new pieces and move things around on your sketch in pencil to determine what will work and what won’t.

3)      Assess your Trouble Spots

Look at your closet on a day that it is in its worst shape.  What seems to be on the floor?  Shoes, dirty clothes, bags, toys, sweaters, etc…  What’s causing the disarray? Chances are, whatever is hanging out on the floor or draped over shelves is probably your biggest trouble spot and you will probably need to come up with additional storage solutions for these particular items.

I have a spot on the worksheet for you to assess the trouble spots in order to help determine what type of additional storage pieces or solutions you’ll need to come up with as you reorganize.  For my daughter’s closet, we needed more drawer or folded space because now that she is 7, she is wearing more t-shirts, sweaters and sweats that work better folded.  We also saw that she had more little handbags than clothes {sigh} and we needed to figure out a way to organize her little handbags so she could find them easily {hooray!}:

4)      Locate Areas of Wasted Space

Locate areas in the closet of wasted or poorly utilized space where you could add storage pieces or better maximize the space.  Highlight these areas on your sketch.   Consider moving existing storage pieces if need be, and be sure and look at where clothes are hanging as well and consider moving them to a better spot that maximizes space.

In my daughter’s closet, I realized that by simply moving her skirts up to the top hanging rod, I would create tons of new storage space for shoes:

In my closet, I realized that I was wasting so much space at the top of my closet that I could add more shoe shelving.  Shoes and handbags are my biggest trouble spots in my closet {like Mother, like daughter}:

5)  Take Good Measurements

Look at your “potential” new storage areas that you located in the closet and the areas that you highlighted on your sketch.  Take good measurements of this potential space that you have to work with.  Write the dimensions on your sketch in these areas.

6)      Decide on Color Combinations

Matching the color of any new storage pieces with your existing shelving, storage and trim colors can give more of a well organized, built-in look. This is one of those small touches that can make a big difference in the end.

For standard, inexpensive storage pieces, you’re pretty much limited to white, dark espresso brown and black.  Anything outside of these colors will be more challenging to locate. I painted the shelving in my own closet from white to dark brown so I could incorporate the dark espresso storage pieces from Target.  For my daughter’s closet, it was easy because everything is white.

7)  Finding the Right Storage Pieces

Now that you know what needs more storage in your closet and how much space that you have to work with, you’re ready to start trying to find the perfect storage pieces.  I like to first start by looking online at Target, Amazon and Lowe’s because all three of these websites have excellent online details on product dimensions and details. I can sit at the comfort of my desk and look through the hundreds of random storage pieces and run to the closet for a quick measurement if need be.

Also, think outside of the box when you look at potential new storage pieces, especially if you are having trouble finding the right pieces.  For instance, I used Closet Made shoe shelving in my daughter’s closet for folded items and the little stuff.  I also used it up top to store large totes {I have four large totes and a backpack stored on just one shelf!}:

If I need to see the color or the storage piece in person piece after I have narrowed down my choices, I will run to the store with my sketch and measurements.

8)  Purge the Closet

Before you add your new storage pieces, it will help if you go ahead and purge the closet of any unwanted items.  This is pretty easy for kid’s because they grow through clothes so quickly, but it’s harder for us adults.  A good rule of thumb is if you haven’t worn it or used it in a year, get rid of it {I know… Holding you now}

9)    Work Section by Section

As you begin adding your new storage pieces and really start reorganizing, it works best to work section by section at a time instead of emptying out the whole closet.  You can step away for a day or two if you need to and you can better reorganize if you can see everything in the closet, how things hang or where things go.

As you begin working each section, pay attention to the little things that may need extra storage solutions like baskets, bins or hooks.  Make a list of those little things that could help keep your closet organized.

I also used a plastic bin to store my daughter’s flip-flops:

I used these baskets from the dollar section at Target for some of my daughter’s belts, accessories and jewelry:

10)    Finishing Touches

As you finish up with the closet reorganization, this is a good time to make any changes.  You now have all of the new storage pieces in your closet, your closet is purged and neatly organized and you can now see, touch and move things around just to see if a small move would make a big change in keeping you organized.

The last thing I do is change the lighting if I need more light in the closet and add any necessary finishing touches such as a step ladder if you now have things stored up higher or a cool rug just as a finishing touch:

I decoupaged these steps for my daughter’s closet, which she will need now that things in her closet are a little higher:

It feels so good to get a closet organized.  My daughter is thrilled with her big girl closet and   no more handbag meltdowns…  I’m sure we will have new closet issues down the line as we always do but I have my little system that will get us through!

I know you all have some fantastic and creative closet solutions.  I would love for you to share them with us in the comment section below.

Have a wonderful weekend friends!

Cheers!

Cyndy

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Wow us Wednesdays!!

My sweet husband researched and bought me a new amazing lens for my camera. What do you think of the photos above that I took with my new lens? I am beyond thrilled with the results and it really is amazing how a great lens can totally change and improve a photo. I have been frustrated with my photography lately and my sweet guy took the time to figure out how to help me and he even bought me some books too! Awww.. Here have a brownie honey. Made just for you!

So I wanted to thank my husband by making him some super rich brownie bite truffles laced with raspberry and dark chocolate. You will NOT believe how yummy and easy these are. I used ready made everything and the richness came from the divine Dove Raspberry and Dark Chocolate Swirls:

These little yummies of decadence are incredible! I was wondering how they would taste if they were baked right into the center of a brownie bite, my two favorite things rolled into one. Opps, I mean my hubby’s favorite things (wink). Yep, I just plunked a Dove swirl halfway into the brownie batter and then topped with more batter and simply baked them:

The dark chocolate and raspberry flavor of the Dove chocolate perfectly melted right into the brownie batter and it baked up beautifully. I also chopped up the extra Dove chocolates extra fine and created a buttercream raspberry chocolate frosting to top them! Let’s see another picture:

Again friends, everything in this recipe is ready made and takes very little time. There are several ways that you can change up this recipe depending how decadent and rich you want your bites. I wanted super rich bites that tasted like a really rich truffle so I baked a whole Dove Swirl into the batter. A variation is to finely chop up the Dove chocolates and mix in the batter, which would help decrease the richness if your not fond of super rich. Also, these bites are incredible even without the icing and I have to say, I used too much icing on these and a small dolup of icing for the additional raspberry taste would be perfect!

So here’s the recipe

Raspberry Brownie Truffle Bites {makes 24 Bites}

Ingredients:

1 10.25 ounce package of Pillsbury Classic Fudge Brownie Mix
1 Egg
1/4 Cup Oil
2 Tablespoons Water
1 Package of Dove Raspberry and Dark Chocolate Swirls (there is about 35 in a package)
optional frosting:
1/2 a container of Duncan Hines Creamy Buttermilk Frosting (ready made)
2-3 drops of red food coloring

Directions for the Brownie Bites:

1) Preheat oven to 350 Degrees
2) Spray Pam or grease mini muffin pans
3) Mix brownie mix, egg, water and oil in a large mixing bowl
4) Pour brownie batter into a small ziploc bag
5) Make a very small cut at the tip of the corner of the bag and begin filling the cups 1/4th of the way of the mini muffin pan.
6) Add a individual Dove Raspberry Chocolate Swirl to each muffin cup. (Variation… Finely chop 20 of the chocolates and mix in batter)
7) Top the chocolate and muffin pans with brownie batter until it is about 3/4ths of the way up.
Bake for 16 minutes.
9) After baking, remove and cool (after about 20 minutes, I used a really narrow sharp knife and went around the edges of the bites to be sure that they would pop out perfectly)

Directions for the Raspberry Buttercream Frosting:

1) Finely chop eight Dove Swirls with a large sharp knife. You’ll want to get it as fine as possible.
2) Mix the chopped chocolates, frosting and 2-3 drops of food coloring into a mixer bowl and beat on high speed for 4 minutes.
3) Lightly frost brownie bites after they have completely cooled.

You can also shave some of the extra chocolates to put on top of the frosting as well. Again, I would not use as much frosting as we did, a very small taste is all it needs because it is so rich.

Thank you so much to my neighbor awesome cake baker Glenda for helping me {again} on this food recipe. She is so awesome and helped me figure out the recipe and she frosted all of the bites! Thank you Glenda!!

Well friends, I hope you all have a fantastic weekend! We are still organizing around here and I plan on sharing another organization post next week, so please check back!

Cheers!

Cyndy

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Wow us Wednesdays!!

Making fun wall decor for a child’s room is one of my favorite things to do because it’s so easy and fun! Sometimes the simpliest thing used in a unique or “whimsical” way can make wonderful decor for a child’s wall or room.  If I had to start over and pick a new career, I’m pretty sure I would be designing children spaces because anything goes and there is no better place to spark a child’s creativity than the space that surrounds them everyday.

This project started out as a Valentine project that I wanted to do for my daughter.  Initially I just made one canvas and I loved how it turned out that I just went to town and made a whole collection for the perfect little spot in her room:

The first canvas that I made and my Valentine’s project this fun heart canvas.  I simply stuck sticky kid’s foam letters around a heart that I drew on the canvas and then I primed and spray painted over the letters:

This is how it looked before and after I spray painted it:

This is not the first time I have spray painted sticker letters on canvas and in fact, I shared a similar project last year here:

It’s such a quick and easy way to create word/quote art or a textural/dimensional fun piece. Let me show you the before and afters of each canvas in this fun collection and then I will give the instructions following the pictures:

This next piece was done with foam glitter heart stickers:

Next I did a heart necklace that I made out of beads and a heart sticker:

My little girl is learning how to play jacks and I thought I would glue the jacks and ball to the canvas and give it a try. I really loved how fun it turned out:

This next canvas I made was with a stack of round doily’s that I glued to the canvas:

Lastly, I really wanted to use this plastic cupcake that was sentimental to us as it has been served at almost every tea party when my girl was itty bitty {sigh}… We went ahead and used a sharp knife to cut the cupcake in half, glued it to the canvas and primed it with four coats of primer and then spray painted it:

Not only was this project super easy and inexpensive but we really had fun with coming up with the ideas {my girl was a big help} and spray painting! There are so many possibilities with this technique. Imagine doing a collection for a little boys room with little cars, train tracks and a little train. This project could be done with a larger canvas as well. We are thrilled with how the finished collection looked on her wall.

So let’s jump right into the instructions:

1) I started with (six) 8 x 8 canvases that I purchased at my craft store.

2) For the projects made with foam sticker letters, I strategically placed the sticky letter (adhesive side) to my canvas:

3) For the projects made with objects, I used a small amount of hot glue to glue objects to the canvas. You have to be careful to try and hide the glue under the object because any exposed area of hot glue will really show through the spray paint:

For the jacks, I just glued a very small amount to only the prongs of the jacks touching the canvas.

4) Next, I primed over my designs with a really good spray primer. This is the most important part. In order for this project to work, a really good spray primer must be used to thoroughly cover the objects and to help hold the objects. I only use Rustoleum Professional Spray Primer because one coat of this equals about three coats of the cheaper stuff:

It doesn’t matter if you get grey or white primer because you will be spray painting a color over the primer.

5) I like to spray at least 2 coats of primer over sticker letters and 3-4 coats over objects allowing at least 2-3 hours for the primer to dry in between layers. I put a fan on the wet canvas to help it dry faster. I like to really coat the canvas so it seals the edges around the objects and letters to help hold.

6) After the primer is dry, I spray a light even coat of spray paint and let it completely dry and then I spray one last coat. In this case I used a Valspar paint in a light pink and a hot pink (berry). I only wanted two colors for our collection. I’m not a huge fan of Valspar paint but it was all I could find in town for the right colors of pink. I prefer Rustoleum products by far. My soft pink was a matte finish and the berry was a gloss:

7) The spray paint takes longer to dry than the primer. I let the piece completely dry overnight and then I painted strategic areas ton the objects with an enamel paint and then I hung it on the wall.

Again, there are SO many possibilities with this technique and pretty much anything goes! If you can glue it to the canvas and have it stay, basically anything can be primed with this professional primer!

I just love the whole collection but I think my favorite is the heart with the letters and the jacks. Which one is your favorite?

Check back later on this week, I think it’s time again for us to have some chocolate! I have a recipe for some yummy rasberry brownie truffles that I will be posting hopefully on Friday! Just in time for the weekend!

Have a wonderful week friends!

Cheers!

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I know we are already well into the new year and I’m a little late in posting my favorite organizational tips and ideas for our 2012 “fresh start”, but as usual, I’m late for everything…

I really do try every year and use the fresh start of a new year to try and at least go through and reorganize drawers and clutter that seems to have no home.  Finding just the right storage pieces is never easy and I wanted to share some creative ways to organize with items that you may not realize can be perfect for organizing and storing.

Before I show you my tips, I have one bit of advice that has always helped me as I get started in organizing a new area. Be honest and think about how you really put stuff away.  If you’re a “tosser” like me and find yourself tossing things where they belong, you need to get organized with bins and larger containers that can hold stuff.  If you’re a dainty put it away kind of person (I’m jealous), then you will do better smaller storage pieces that you can separate and neatly organize and store.  Knowing and owning the way you put things away is the biggest step in choosing the right storage pieces and sticking with it.  Tossers can never be dainty put away-ers and put away-ers can never be tossers… Just sayin…

Ok, so here are some super easy and creative ways to organize your stuff..

My all time favorite creative storage piece was discovered during my laundry/craft room revamp that I posted last year:

The storage piece is a fabric covered tool caddy sold at Lowe’s:

This tool caddy is absolutely perfect for storing virtually anything. I now have several of them throughout my home and I use them to organize my painting supplies, craft supplies and tools. You will not believe how much stuff you can neatly store in it. Sears is carrying a smaller version of this tool caddy for $9.99 (in the tool section) that is also perfect for any type of storage.

By the way, if you missed my laundy/craft room revamp post last year, I shared several creative organizational solutions that you may be interested in including a makeshift gift wrap area and cool bins that you can find at Lowe’s. You can find that post here.

Another great item for store things are garden pots. This is especially great for you “tossers” like me!

Garden pots are inexpensive, hold a lot stuff and look gorgeous in any decor and you can store just about anything! Some storage uses for the garden pots are in the bathroom to store products, soaps and hair brushes.You can also roll up washcloths and store them by a sink or tub. Another great use is in the kitchen for oils, vinegar or even use one for your kitchen wooden spoons and accessories. I use one right by my sink for soaps and scrubbing pads:

Next up is the good ole plastic drawer organizer found at your favorite office supply store for about $3.00. I really get creative with these and use them for everything:

My favorite use for the cheap drawer organizer is for my makeup drawer:

The compartments in the drawer organizer are perfect for holding various sizes of lipstick, brushes, foundations and everything. The best part of it all is that a couple times a year I just remove everything and toss the plastic organizer in my dishwasher and it comes out like new!

I also use the drawer organizer for my other bathroom drawers for my skin care products and in our medicine cabinet. I use several for my smaller craft and sewing accessories, my daughter’s hair barrettes, holders and bling and this would be great for organizing jewelry as well.

Another fantastic storage piece is this fabric tool/paint organizer found at Lowe’s and Home Depot that is designed to fit over standard large buckets also sold at Lowe’s and Home Depot.  I have used this perfect storage piece for years now for my daughter’s craft supplies, markers and crayons:

I cannot think of a better way to organize all of the kids craft supplies than this bucket cover because they can just grab the bucket handle and move around the house and create. I’m heading to Lowe’s today for another one to organize all of our office supplies.

Lastly, if you have children, odds are that you have a lot of books and toys that you need to organize and store in their room or playroom. Storage solutions for kid’s rooms are so fun and easy because pretty much anything goes, especially if you play off of a color or theme. My daughter’s room has a lot of flowers and has a slight “gardening” type theme. She has more books than shelves and I wanted to find something that she could easily access but also added to the decor of her room. I searched for months for the right piece and it turns out it was hanging out in my backyard and all I had to do was clean it up and repaint it to match her colors:

Yep, it’s an old wire/metal gardening stand and it’s absolutely perfect in her room and will store up to 60 various size books if I completely filled it. Sometimes the best storage solutions are right under our noses and something we would never consider to use to get us organized.

Try and look around at unused items around your home, attic, closets (or backyard for that matter) in a new way. Just because it’s not designed to be a “storage piece”, doesn’t mean that you can’t organize with it! If you have closets or cabinets full of old home decor accessories such as urns, compotes or bowls, these are all great counter or cabinet type storage pieces and if you want, you can spray paint them if you don’t like the color. So many creative possibilities to get organized!

Do you use something creatively to organize your stuff? I would love for you to share it with us in the comment section below.

I have several more organization posts coming up in the next few weeks, so please check back. I have also started a “Organize” Board on Pinterest that you can follow here or if you’re interested, you can follow all of my Pinterest Boards here. I have a really fun project that I will be posting next that I think you will love!

As always, thank you for you comments, emails and sweet notes! I so appreciate your feedback and I can’t thank you enough!

Have a wonderful weekend friends!

Cheers!

I’m such a word hound.  I love words, text, quotes and beautifully written songs and books. For as far back as I can remember, words have been the medium or form of creativity that speaks to me more than anything else.  So why not frame them and look at them every day? I could fill every wall in my home with framed words that have special meaning for me and my family. This is also a fantastic gift to give to anyone! Who doesn’t love a encouraging quote or lyrics from a great song!

Creating our own art with words is easier than ever.  Our computers are just waiting for us to create our own text art with so many beautiful and fun fonts and rich colors to choose from. If you can type and print a letter on your computer, you can do this!

To get started, I recommend using 8.5 x 11 inch- white card stock paper found in the scrapbook section of your craft store. The card stock paper is a little thicker than standard printer paper and is designed to absorb the inks of the printer better than paper.  Card stock paper has a beautiful finish to it and you can really see the fibers and has a professional print look:

The next step is to decide on your words.  There are so many endless possibilities!  Think about using lyrics to a favorite song, an inspirational quote, a paragraph from a favorite book or for the kitchen, think about printing out a scanned picture of one of Grandma’s famous recipes in her own writing and enlarging it.

Once you decide on your words, you are ready to head to your computer and go into your word processor to get started.  I use Microsoft Word, which already comes with tons of beautiful fonts to choose from.  I open up a new document and start writing the words.   If I want to use lyrics from a song, I just search the internet for the lyrics and then copy and paste it back to my document. Otherwise I just type my words.  I then highlight all of the text and try different fonts until I find the perfect one:

For a different look you can also change the font of each word like I did for this print that I framed:

For my daughter’s room, I changed the color of each word in this framed print that I made to perfectly coordinate with the colors in her room:

For Valentine’s Day, I printed out the lyrics to my wedding song (We Go Together Like a Wink and A Smile) and I’m going to hang it next to my husband’s sink in our bathroom on Valentine’s morning:

If you really want to venture out more into the amazing ornate fonts that are now available online, think about checking out font websites like Dafont and and search for a font to download for free that is an art form in itself. If you don’t know how to download a font, I found this awesome video on on Youtube here that shows you exactly how to do it!

With really ornate and decorative fonts, you can just frame an initial or a three letter monogram. I used the font called Some Weatz Swashes that I downloaded for free from Dafont found here:

After you have printed out your words, you can pick up an inexpensive mat and frame from your craft store as well. Adding the mat really makes a difference and they come in almost every color so you can really coordinate with a specific room decor:

I found this beautiful gold oval mat at Hobby Lobby for our family initial (I’mm still on the hunt for the perfect frame):

So many endless possibilities here and when you’re finished, it looks so professional and the words are perfectly chosen by you! Such a fun and easy project.

I’ve been a little slow in posting regularly, I guess I am still playing catch up from the holidays. I have so many projects started and I’m getting ready to do some big room revamps, so I hope to get back into my posting routine immediately, so check back soon!

I hope you all have a wonderful rest of the week!

Cheers!

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Wow us Wednesdays!!