Fall Mantel

How can it possibly be the end of summer? The big positive thing in my mind that comes with fall is college football....just kidding...I think.  I have been purging and donating left and right and did not want to bring any more stuff into our house.  Therefore I used what I already had to create this fall mantel. I brought back out the printers drawer that my mom gave me a few months back, and then added a sweet little "V" to it.

I added all of the pumpkins I collected last year.  My favorite is the chevron pumpkin I made with the Dollar Tree pumpkin, fabric and mod podge.

I pretty much left the bottom half of the fireplace alone and just added a gold star I have bad lying around my basement. I'm still in the mood to paint or whitewash this lovely red brick, but I cannot seem to get Rob to get on board. However, with the time running out before the boys arrival I do not think this project will take a front seat any time soon.

Enjoy your Labor Day weekend! Thanks so much for stopping by. We are always glad to have you.

Little Tikes Coupe Redo

Wynn has been asking for a Little Tikes coupe in the police officer version for months now. I figured I could find a car either on Craigslist or a yard sale. The police officer version is not as popular, so I figured after seeing a few examples on Pinterest I could change a classic version to one for her.

I happened to find this one at a kids consignment sale this weekend for $4. It needed a major cleaning, so Wynn gave it a good wash on Saturday afternoon. During nap time Rob gave it an additional cleaning and then used the Valspar Plastic Spray Paint to cover the car. It took one can of black and then a leftover can of tan we had from a previous project. It was nice that we already had the plastic spray paint on hand. 

I cut out some lettering and a police star on my Silhouette and added them to the car once it had around 24 hours or so to dry.

Wynn was very excited about her car. I was excited that I did not have to spend $60 on  a new one and assemble it. We both won on this project. Total cost for me on this project was $4 because I had already purchased the spray paint for previous projects.

Monday
twelveOeight

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Tuesday
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Wednesday
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Thursday
A Glimpse Inside

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Vinyl Letters for Painted Frames

After scouring the vinyl letters on Etsy I finally broke down and ordered two simple letters once we figured out the names for the boys. I purchased them from Open Heart CreationsHere is how they look in the nursery...

 Here is the view of Ty's crib. You can see that they have some cute clothes already hung up in their closet. Their drawers are also filled to the brim with clothes already. They are some lucky little guys.

 The view of the crib for Davis. Rob likes that the letters are simple and we can always swap them out for artwork when they get older if we would like to do that.

 The names of our little guys will be Ty Beckett and Davis Flynn. Thank you to Weiya from Enjoyer of Grace for making these sweet little frames with our little guys names in them. She is so extremely thoughtful. Stop by and check out her wonderful blog if you have a chance.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Enjoy your day.

Monday
twelveOeight

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Tuesday
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A Glimpse Inside

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Sweet Little Desk Chair

This is Wynn's desk chair that got a little makeover this weekend. I am so excited that I was able to shop my own house to come up with something for her desk that would fit properly.

This chair was my mother's chair when she was a toddler to elementary age. It was in need of a lot of work. I remember this chair sitting in my basement when I was a child, and I think at some point my parents wanted to fix it up.  Alas some thirty years later it was still sitting in the same sad condition. I took the chair home and used it for a few birthday parties for Wynn after I had dressed the chair up a bit.

I moved the blue desk I refinished last year into Wynn's room, but it obviously had no seat with it.  I was searching out Craigslist and the internet for weeks trying to find something.   I then  realized that I could have Rob cut down the chair in our basement to fit under her desk instead. I was so happy to think of this because it was getting difficult to find something to fit in the narrow opening the desk had.

Turns out after cutting off about four inches off the legs it fit perfectly! Rob painted it an off white color leftover from another project.

I stapled some foam and some scrap fabric with a coral pattern onto the chair and it was ready to go.

I placed it in Wynn's room as soon as she was done her rest time, and she sat done right away and started to color. She turned to me and let me know that it was just perfect and she loved it.

I have not forgotten what I would like to work on in her room. But, as I have said in previous posts things are all kind of getting done all at  one time right now. No specific room is the focus so I'm sharing the projects in a disorderly fashion that's for sure. Thanks so much for stopping by!

Monday
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Tuesday
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Wednesday
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Thursday
A Glimpse Inside

Friday

One Project Closer
504 Main

Tatertots and Jello
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PB Inspired Day Bed with Ana White Plan

The last major project of the boys nursery was to build a day bed for me to sleep and have a place to feed them. I figured out pretty early that a traditional glider or rocker probably would not be fitting for twins.  When I was looking at book ledge ideas on Pinterest I came across a project shared on Ana White's blog. It had book ledges and a day bed project shared together. This day bed looked like a great solution to the problem I was trying to solve in the nursery.

I had recently purchased Ana's book the Handbuilt Home, and was able to share the plans with Rob. The plan for theStratton Day Bed is on her blog too. A few days later Rob was at Lowe's buying all the supplies to put the bed together. If you'd like to check out the how to for this project I recommend checking out Ana White's blog or her book.

Here is one of the frames for the side of the day bed after it had been primed and painted.  

The best part about this day bed is that no matter which way you turn it there will be a finished side. Even though one long side will be facing the wall there is still completed storage if we decided to turn the bed on its side one day.

My brother-in-law came and saved the day and helped Rob move it all into the nursery. Rob began by attaching the side panels to the main sections.  You can see that he painted the inside of the boxes the same blue from our painted wall frames. Rob suggested doing this and I thought it would look a lot better than just plain white.  The shelving is around 24 inches long, 12 inches deep, and twelve inches high. Eventually I think I will get some baskets or bins to put there.

Here is another view of it in the room and Rob attaching the panel to the other side with his nail gun.

The last piece was attaching the slats that connected the two main sections, and it worked out to do this in the room instead of the garage. It was definitely a lot easier to transport.

A close-up of one of one of the storage areas underneath.

Here is a side view of the bed. It will be a perfect spot for reading to the whole family really once everything is in place. I think Wynn will really want to be involved in that, and it would be too crowded for all of us on a single chair.

A side panel close up.

The next step was ordering a mattress. Am I the only person that despises mattress stores?  I went to my favorite shop instead...Amazon! I found a great 8 inch mattress in a twin size for a reasonable price $159.00 and it arrive in two days within ordering. It is really very comfortable and nice.

Signature Mattress from Amazon

I noticed that there would be some sheets at Target that would work for this bed the other day. I headed back to Target where they had their Room Essentials brand sheets on sale. I got a set for a twin for about $14.00. 

The project cost around $360 for the bed materials and the mattress. A similar bed from Pottery Barn cost around $1200 with the a tufted cushion to go along with it. I of course would have loved to have the Pottery Barn version delivered to my door and avoid the sawdust in my garage, but I'm so proud of Rob! I am still clueless myself about how to build things, and I am okay with that for now. One day when I have a spare moment (here's hoping) maybe I can be the one trying out an Ana White plan.

Next up are the pillows for the bed and possibly a headboard if we can find the time soon. Thanks for stopping by!

Monday
twelveOeight

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Master Bedroom Progress

Do you feel like all of my posts are about the progress of a particular room? Well that is because we are working on about five spaces all at the same time right now. We are trying to cram as many projects into the time we have left until we become outnumbered around here.

Rob hung the frames above our bed that I purchased from Target's Threshold line.  I received my picture from Snapfish that I had made in a poster size to put in one frame. For now the other frame will remain empty until the new additions arrive.

I finally found some bedding that I thought would go perfectly with our dark wall from Overstock.  It was a great deal for what I was looking to spend. I then realized after I purchased it it was the same exact duvet I had my mom buy for her house a few months back. I guess I really did like it!  I am on the hunt for more accessories for the room, and a chair for another part of the room.

Here is the duvet on my own bed with my new Euro shams.

Then I was wondering what in the world I would put on the walls. I found these napkins at Target. They are from the Threshold line, and they were $10 for 4 napkins. 

I placed two of them in two frames I had used previously in the room. I placed on over a dresser we had redone before we entered the world of blogging.  I placed the other frame on the opposite side of the window near our bed.

Then I shopped around my house for accessories for my dresser. I grabbed a lamp that was not being used from the basement. I placed a sweet little frame from my Aunt on the opposite side.

I used the wrap that the napkins came with to cover a rattan bottle from my friend Sharon's tag sale at Elizabeth & Co. I did this last year with my napkins for fall, so I just changed it up a bit here for our room. Then I found this gold bowl in the basement from Target a few years ago and threw all my bracelets into it for now.

Here is everything together next to my new curtains from IKEA. We made the curtain rod go twenty inches past the window on either side to make it appear larger. We only have one window in our room, and having the curtains this way makes a huge difference.  

Since the room was primarily empty and ignored for a long time I hardly recognize it when I come in. It gives me a very calm feeling now...I guess this should be considered the calm before the twin storm.  Thank you for stopping by!

Big Sister Kit

You may have noticed that we have been preparing for the arrival of two boys to our family. One person that has definitely been aware of this upcoming change is our daughter. In order for her to feel more comfortable when that day arrives I created a Big Sister Kit for her to give her when she visits the hospital.

The kit includes a 

• "The New Baby" book by Mercer Mayer
• A disposable camera for her to take pictures of the first few days of being a sister
• A brag book for her to place her own photos inside and to share
• The Big Sibling Book by Amy Krouse Rosenthal - which is super cute and I can't wait to fill it in with her. The first few pages are to be completed before she actually becomes a big sister.
• A big sister shirt from Three Wild Girls Etsy shop

I packed it all up in a pink bag I picked up from Michaels for a $1. I added some ribbons and a flower to the outside with some adhesive to make it a little more fancy. 

I am sharing another photo of this adorable shirt. I cannot wait for her to wear it. I am nervous she may not want to since she is someone who loves to wear dresses, but we shall see if she will want to when the day comes.

Thank you for stopping by! Enjoy your day!

Monday
twelveOeight

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Tuesday
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yWe Like To Learn As We Go 

Thursday
A Glimpse Inside
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Friday

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DIY Baby Mobile

I am pretty much looking for anyway to make this nursery an inexpensive project overall.  I created a mobile to go between the two cribs.  I found some that I was thinking of purchasing, but I did not want to invest $50 in one of these.  I picked up the following supplies at Michaels to make one myself:

• 6 sheets of scrapbook paper ($3)
• Embroidery hoop ($4)
• Silver ribbon ($1)
• Jewelry string ($2)

I spent a a good amount of time punching out two sizes of circles for this project. Wynn wanted to help at first, but then she actually wanted it for her room. The next day we headed to Michaels to get some paper in the colors she selected. We will see if I can get up the nerve to spend an hour or two putting another one together. Maybe a smaller version should be constructed the next time around.

The mobile fits perfectly above the table I purchased last year at the Elizabeth & Co tag sale. I placed it right between where the two cribs will fit on this wall. 

Here is another view of the mobile next to our newly painted wall frames that we shared on Sunday.

Thanks so much for stopping by the blog today. I hope you have a great one!

Monday
twelveOeight

Monday Funday Party
Skip To My Lou
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Tuesday
Elizabeth & Co
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Wednesda
yWe Like To Learn As We Go 

Thursday
A Glimpse Inside
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Friday

One Project Closer
504 Main

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Weekend Wonders Party 
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Painted Wall Frames for the Nursery

Over two years ago I pinned an image from Pottery Barn Kids site of a painted frame on a wall. I knew that if I had the chance I would try it out in a kids room down the road. When we found out we were having twins I was searching through my pins and saw the pin I've shared at the bottom of this post. We came up with the following for the nursery for our boys:

We had a large wall to decorate where we wanted to place the two cribs. I knew that I did not have a budget for large scale artwork, was not in the mood to DIY a gallery wall and that Rob was not going to go for stenciling or wallpapering.  Then I showed him the pin from PBK and he liked it.

We first put together one of the cribs to determine how large of a rectangle we would like to do above each of them.  We then used painters tape, a tape measure and a level to create the rectangles.  I picked up two colors from Valspar at Lowe's in the sample size containers in a navy and a darker gray.

This is what the wall looked like after we spent about twenty minutes or so taping out the shape we were happy with on the left.  Then we applied two coats of the navy blue and one of the gray in the middle. 

 Then we pulled out all the tape and this is what we had left.  Once it dried it turned out great. I think it really adds something to the wall in a pretty inexpensive way. I am going back and forth with whether to put an over-sized vinyl initial or to do something framed that is name related. I guess I will be doing some more searching on Etsy.

Here is what I found through the Pottery Barn Kids catalog a few years ago and pinned on Pinterest. I do not have a link to the original source as it is off their website now.  

The total cost for this project was about $8. I already had the painters tape, but I factored in a portion of that to try and come up with a total. The samples ran a little over $6 at Lowe's.  

Monday
twelveOeight

Monday Funday Party
Skip To My Lou
Thrifty Decor Chick

Tuesday
Elizabeth & Co
The DIY Dreamer

Wednesda
yWe Like To Learn As We Go 

Thursday
A Glimpse Inside
Creative Link Party

Friday

One Project Closer
504 Main

Tatertots and Jello
Weekend Wonders Party 
Mellywood's Mansion