Last One Room Challenge from Calling it Home post this week! If you’d like to see how things progressed week by week, check out the first week, the third week, the fourth week and last week‘s posts. But really, who needs all that? This is the good part, when things are finished.
Remember what it looked like when I started?
And the plan I drew up?
Well, here’s what we’re looking at now: Continue reading
Another One Room Challenge from Calling it Home this week! To keep you up to speed, here’s the first week, the third week, and last week‘s posts.
This is the last update post before the big reveal this upcoming Wednesday, and I definitely was feeling the pressure of a nearing deadline. On Wednesday, I used wood stain to give the inexpensive baskets I bought a more cohesive look.
The above lighting isn’t the best, but you catch my drift.
Thursday looked like this all day:
And I eventually added all of the sewing and trim that I wanted to add to that shower curtain.
This is only my second sewing machine project, my first being Tobias’ Elvis halloween costume, and I was really proud of the results. Even though it was very simple, it makes a big difference to me!
The wallpaper finally arrived in the mail this week, which is really good because there were other things I was having to hold off on doing until I had installed it. It’s going to make a world of difference!
Here’s where we are now…
My One Room Challenge List:
See y’all on Wednesday!
Still working on the One Room Challenge from Calling it Home that I told you guys about few weeks ago and updated you on last week! I’m waiting on that wallpaper from WallsNeedLove, but that didn’t stop be from getting a lot done this week. However, as I got through some tasks, I realized more things I wanted to do!
The first thing I did was make the cornice board.
I know the poms + the stripes look a little circus-y. I’m trying to go along with the decorations that alpacas have in Peru, like the shower curtain that inspired the room.
I think once the wallpaper is installed, it’ll tone those colors down. We’ll see. Luckily I already had them on hand, I got them nearly free after the holidays in the gift wrap area.
And it matched with the hat decorations I bought in Peru that I’ve styled on my tissue holder.
You know that old frame?
I forcibly removed that old artwork, spray painted it with a lacquer white, and will hang it correctly once that wallpaper comes through.
Let’s take a moment to remember how glorious that wallpaper is!
A just can’t wait!
I bought the accessories, as planned.
But I just don’t like how the wood colors don’t match. I’m thinking I’ll stain them.
I also decided I wanted to build a bath caddy. Here’s my progress so far with that:
I also had different cabinet hardware picked out, but the knobs were so big that they touched. I decided to replace them.
Here’s where we are now…
My One Room Challenge List:
I always admired Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie window displays. They’re always so creative. So once, back in Houston, when I saw that some things they used for displays were on sale, I jumped at the opportunity. One was a painted plywood troll that’s taller than the ceilings of my current house, and the other was a raw piece of plywood shaped like a guitar.
Something like a million years later, I decided to turn it into a chalkboard for Tobias’ room. I assume you don’t have a piece of plywood shaped like a guitar hanging around the house, but you can always mimic the idea with a plain rectangle, or try your luck at advanced jigsawing.
1. Prep the wood surface by filling any holes and sanding. Then, paint. I liked this color so much that I bought it before I knew what project it’d be used for.
2. Trace outer edges. I just rubbed the crayon’s side along the sides of the wood.
3. Freehand draw inlay, cut out, trace onto craft plywood.
4. Apply liquid nails, smooth over with a spackling knife.
5. Use a vice or something heavy to keep it in place while the adhesive dries. During this time, I also planned out how the chalk would attatch to the board.
6. Drill small holes for the strings.
7. Use a pipe cleaner to help shove the twine through. 
8. I abandoned this project for several months, as I couldn’t figure out what to use so that the chalk would lay horizontal. During my craft clean up, I came across a business card holder that was left behind by our Houston real estate agent, Judy St. Julien. It was perfect! I used wood glue to adhere. 
9. When it came time to hang, I bought these guitar hooks and painted them black, to match my son’s room.
10. All hung!
Tobias uses the chalkboard to make a mark every time he spends 10 minutes practicing his guitar. Once he reaches a certain amount of marks, he gets a treat! Though he’s the one who wanted to begin to learn the guitar, learning something new is tough. And it’s really tough to start new habits, practice something that you’re not quite good at yet, and stick with it. I don’t usually use incentives as a parenting technique, but once he’s in a habit it’ll be much easier (and far less painful) for him to keep going.
It looks cool and it’s practical.
It all started with a hula hoop.
Remember the blog post about making woven art with a hula hoop? I had that piece hanging above my couch for all of these months, but there was one thing that was bugging me nonstop: the scale.
It wasn’t big enough for the space. I’ve been studying styling small spaces for quite some time, and during that time, I’ve learned that larger scale items in a room, assuming they aren’t crowding it, make it seem less cluttered and larger. So that child-sized hula hoop wasn’t going to cut it.
I eventually found an adult sized hoop, and even wrapped the outside in yarn before second guessing going forward. The nearly-begun project sat in my basement for a month or so, before I saw this guy:
Well, not with the artwork on it. This frame, originally gold, was found at a thrift store. On their once-a-season half price day, I snatched it up along with the most hideous beginner oil painting of a swan one has ever seen in it. Seriously–it was dreadful. Surely it lowered the cost of the high quality frame it was in, so THANKS :).
After painting it and stapling chicken wire to the back, I used it to display Tobias’ ever-revolving artwork at our first house. Lacking a hallway, and frankly, any unclaimed wall, it was in T’s room before I made that over, later finding its home in the basement, right next to the hula hoop.
So, one could almost say that this project found me.
And it was simple enough!
The first portion of this project was far more time consuming than this was. It didn’t take long at all, and I think it’s 1000 times better now that it’s finished!
I got this chair from a friend as she was clearing out her grandfather’s house. I kept thinking “I’m going to reupholster this one day.”
Spoiler alert: I wasn’t. Continue reading
This is one of my favorite things I’ve made.
