Who ‘Art’ Thou?

3

October 19, 2012 by Decorum DIYer

Hello, all!  Happy Friday!  So excited.  Today I am being featured at One Project Closer’s (The Better Half) Link Party!  Check out my doll cradle revamp there and enjoy some other diy goodness that is being shared!

Well, enough about me and my exciting news.  Back to the post – “Who Art Thou?”.  I am a sucker for a monogram, especially in a child’s room.  I know it is trendy and somewhat overdone, but I still enjoy a nice monogram.  It has been my experience that children like seeing their names on things.  All three of my children have either their full name (first and middle) or their initials somewhere on their bedroom walls.

When I was trying to finish Claire’s room, I needed some artwork, but just didn’t want to spend a lot on something that wasn’t going to be permanent.  I know that one day Claire will tire of her little girl room, so I was looking for something inexpensive.  This meant it would probably need to be a do-it-yourself project.  I was at a dollar store one day and decided to pick up three little mirrors.  They were real mirrors, not plastic, but the frames were a silver-colored plastic.  I remembered seeing a gallery of mirrors in the Pottery Barn Kids (PBK) catalog and liked the look.  I thought these dollar store mirrors could work their magic in the same way.

PBK’s mirrored wall gallery, currently $19.99. (Click image to be linked to PBK for this item.)

I really didn’t have the wall space for a mirrored gallery wall, so I needed another plan.  Monogrammed wall art could be fun, so that is what I did.  I printed Claire’s initials (C, M, and D) and then traced the initials onto some leftover, white contact paper I had.  I simply cut out the letters, pulled off the backing of the contact paper, and adhered the initials to the mirrors.  I stole some baby blue ribbon from an unused gift bag and hung them above Claire’s closet.  It was quick, easy, and super inexpensive at only $4.00 [three mirrors @ $1.00 each and one roll of white contact paper @ $1.00]

$4.00 monogrammed, mirrored wall art! I hung the monogram placing our family’s last name’s initial in the center. They are the perfect scale for above the closet and reflect the sunlight from Claire’s only window beautifully.

You may remember that in Claire’s nursery, I used a purchased vinyl decal above her crib.  Although the manufacturer’s instructions state that it is a one-time use product, I hedged my bet that I could reuse it.  The only problem was that the decal was a dark gray, not a color I wanted to introduce into Claire’s lavender toddler room.

“Clairisse Madelynn” vinyl decal in a dark gray color.

You know me, my first thought was to paint the decal, but how?  Well, I pulled out my only roll of wax paper, adhered the decal to the wax paper, and then simply painted the decal with Behr’s ‘Cottage White’ (the trim, stencil, and main furniture color in Claire’s toddler room).  I patiently waited for the paint to dry.  Removing the decal from the wax paper was trying, as I had to score the edges, essentially cutting out or tracing every letter, to avoid also pulling up excess paint.  But it worked!  I had a new ‘Cottage White’ vinyl decal of Claire’s full name.  I placed the decal above Claire’s window.

Repainted vinyl decal above Claire’s window.

Hey, this diy wall art was working out okay.  Felling cocky I tried my hand, well, my children’s hands and feet, at some other Pinterest inspired diy artwork.  Here was our best attempt.  My children were a bit restless, so it isn’t perfect, but I sort of enjoy the imperfections, as they are an honest depiction of my children’s growing efforts.  Both Roman and Claire lent both hands and feet for these items.

The handprint and footprint artwork drying on the refrigerator. These aren’t the perfect beauties I was striving for, but as I look at these, I realize it is the imperfections that endear them to my heart.

Claire’s handprint ‘flower’. The stem and leaves are scraps of sage fabric.

Roman’s footprint ‘butterfly” before we added some embellishments.

Clairisse’s footprint ‘butterfly’ before embellishments. We tried for a multi-colored butterfly by dabbing both purple and pink paint on the soles of her feet. Unfortunately, Claire was a bit ticklish and would only let me blend the colors for so long before she was on the floor in a giggle fit. I think the memory of her laughing to tears is what I love most about this.

Our attempt at a handprint ‘tutu’ using paint and more scrap fabric. Claire refused to lend a hand, so Roman graciously volunteered. After this dried, we added a ribbon at the waist.

What I loved most about these projects is that they were for the most part free or very inexpensive.  Further, my kids and I had fun making them, even if they are not the holy grail of “Pinterest worthy” show-offs.  So, if you are looking for a personalized project to do with your kids, the handprint and footprint crafts are fun and easy.  The monogram art could probably be accomplished with an older child, but a younger child could still help and would enjoy seeing his/her initials and/or name on the wall.

I hope you have enjoyed the diy, personalized art work that I have shared.  I definitely had fun making them with my children.  Stay tuned for the final installment of Clairisse’s Toddler Room wherein I will show you how I put the above artwork and everything else together!

(Pssst…, want to see the completed room?  Click here!)

Until next time…, happy crafting and painting!

 

Thrifty 101