new kids' art wall and pinterest jibber jabber

so if you know me well at all

and have been in my home more than

once you are most likely aware at how

often i change things, move things, 

re-purpose stuff, add new items,

repaint walls, and the list goes on.

so, i kinda like change.

the first time i dedicated an official 

wall space to my kids' art was 

about 3 years ago... pre-pinterest.

this is what i came up with.

this was a picture i found from avery's 2nd bday... if you look you

can see the two walls that have framed kid art... that was it. =)

that idea lasted about two years or so.

now we fast forward to after

pinterest had been around for a bit.

this may surprise you, but i do

not spend much time on there at all.

i'd say i go on about twice a month.

i go on when i am ready to start a project.

when i have an idea... or two or three ideas

that i need a little more direction for.

so about a year ago 

i saw this on Pinterest.

i loved this exact look.

but, the problem was that i was

on there at this time looking for a new

way to display my kids' art. 

but this was for small photos 

not large pieces of kid art.

so this is what i came up with instead.

this was a picture i took of my table runner... but

you can see the art display on the right side wall right?  

it's the only picture i could find of it, sorry. =)

 i do have another picture of it...

but it's during christmas and this was when

the kids' art was replaced with christmas cards.

now present day... about two weeks ago

i began feeling the need to change

the kids' art wall, again!  i never

loved the way the last one looked to 

be honest.  the frame had zero character 

and i didn't like the sag in the twine.

i was missing the look of

the old frames that i had used

to display the kids' art... but didn't want 

to go back to that or deal with the hassle that

it was to change out the artwork in them.

so i went to pinterest for ideas and 

here are a few that i liked.

i really love this one... especially because i know i can

buy those at ikea for cheap!  i almost made this the new

wall display but am going to use this idea somewhere else.

liked that this one was going back to the frame idea i had

but it looks like they are using clips instead of

actually framing the artwork in the frame.

again i like this with the frames with clips

i actually went out and bought the supplies for this to be

the new art wall... but then changed my mind last minute

and returned all my items.  which was my second of 

three trips to michaels that day!

and after all that this is what

i came up with...

i collected frames i already had

bought two colors of spray paint.

two because i couldn't decide on just one.

 this "jade" color was a dream to work with.

i never prime... i know i'm such a rule breaker.

but this green covered in just two or three quick layered coats.  i only used like half the bottle.

the "meringue" on the other hand is why i 

had to go back to michaels a third trip... 

because it took almost two whole cans!

 my plan was to add fabric to the inside of the 

frame so i picked a few patterns from my stash 

that would go well with the frame colors and 

the rest of my house. if you don't already 

know... anything in the blue, green or 

yellow family are okay colors with me!

i cut, starched, and ironed the fabric

 i folded and taped down the excess but

i suppose i could have cut it too

 first one finished... well not totally.

i still needed to glue a clothespin to the frame.

the finished project

before adding the kids' art

art added

i like it and all i had to buy was

the paint.  everything else i had

here at home waiting to be utilized!

see the cute "J" on the cute vintage tool box?

the story on that is that i have loved them

as long as i've been an antique store browser.

i am always drawn to cute things to organize with.

then one day i saw this picture on pinterest.

great idea right?

last week while the kids were bribed

with cherry on top i had them shop with

me in one of the antique stores in our town.

i found a tool box that was the right size, condition,

and price that i have been waiting for.

so i bought it and my lovely son carried

it the few blocks to our car for me.

cute right? the boy and the tool box!

it found a home at the center of 

our dining table. i haven't quite finished 

filling it or figuring out all that i 

want it to be filled with... 

but it is still cute just sitting there half 

filled.  at our first trip to micheals i found 

this metal "J" in their dollar section. 

i pictured it being adorable to add to the side of 

the box.  so i bought it.  but when we

got home i didn't love the brown on brown.

 i like color.  i decided to spray it to match

the frames so that it would blend.

i love it.

it all came together nicely

now i just need to figure out where we

will hang this years christmas cards.

i think i already know... it will involve those

cool ikea cords from the pinterest picture.

now that grant is back in school

i have all sorts of projects i am ready

and looking forward to tackling!  

i hope you are enjoying

some of the perks to school 

being back in session too!

 focusing on the perks help keep my mind off 

the dreaded drop off and pick up line,

stressful mornings, and packing lunches.