Second Chance: Dumpster Vanity to Glam Masterpiece with DIY Chalk Paint

Posted on February 17, 2015 by hildagotrocks

This might be my favorite project to date. I found this vanity out on the curb on trash night in my own neighborhood. I really have no shame.

As you can see, it was too cool to pass up: unique shape, abundant and tasteful details, spindled legs, and I had been searching for a new desk (ours is a Target POS). The person throwing it out helped me load it into my car… the entire time they made sure I knew all of it’s flaws: broken and missing veneer, one wheel didn’t roll, “musky” smell and so on. I saw these things too. But I also saw potential. I saw solid wood construction, drawers with dovetail joints, insane detail and lots of function. And for $0 I really had nothing to lose. If I redid this and it was a bust then I would be out a few bucks for hardware or something. But then it sat in my garage for a while because other projects took priority and I still had to convince Hubby of the potential this piece had in our home. His rule is that something (furniture or really anything I collect) has to leave before anything new can come in. And he doesn’t hate the junky desk we have as much as I do. Or maybe he hated the dumpster dive vanity more than the junky desk?

I don’t blame him… the before photos are a little scary.

As you can see, the drawers were in particularly rough shape. After I removed all of the hardware and wiped the entire vanity down with my homemade all purpose cleaner. Twice. Trust me, it was needed. Then I took the broken or cracked veneer off of the drawer fronts. Only 2 of the drawers needed the veneer removed. The other drawers had what I call “stable” pieces of veneer… meaning they weren’t damaged beyond repair and didn’t even begin to peel up when I tugged on them. I removed the veneer by prying a little with a screw driver and a spatula. Everything pretty much popped right off. Wear eye protection when doing this… lots of dust but also the possibilities of small chips of veneer flying into your face. I speak from experience.

I really didn’t have a plan for this desk besides painting it an off-white or soft gray color. I had been itching to try to make my own chalk paint and this seemed to be the perfect opportunity. Like I said, I had nothing to lose. From everything I read, chalk paint is easy to work with, requires little to no prep work and easily lends itself to distressing. I found quite a few different variations of the chalk paint “recipes” online. But they all included the same ingredients at varying ratios. I chose the middle-of-the-road recipe.

Simple Homemade Chalk Paint Recipe:

Mix 1/3 cup Plaster of Paris with 1/3 cup cool water. Add 1 cup of any interior or exterior paint. Blend until smooth.

I used the remainder of a Sherwin Williams sample mixed with a splash of white trim paint until I had my desired creamy sort of color. Yay for custom paint mixing! At first it doesn’t look like enough paint, but I promise it covers well. I did 2 coats with this batch and still had paint leftover.

I feel like after a couple coats of paint this looks like a way more expensive, classy piece of furniture. I think it even stood a little taller. But I wasn’t finished. Now began the labor intensive aging and distressing stage. First I “glazed” the carved details, spindles and so on. I just brushed on a dark watered down paint mix and wiped it off until I achieved the look I was going for. Then I was left with the picture below.

I headed to Home Depot to see what to do for new hardware. Originally I envisioned glass knobs and nickel handles. But Hubby convinced me to keep the existing hardware and spray paint it with “Oil Rubbed Bronze”. He rarely has an opinion on my projects. Well, unless he disapproves. And then he’s very vocal about it. But I went with the ORB spray paint instead of new hardware and Hubby has earned major points for his taste!

I still wanted to distress it. The piece looked old but not used-for-generations old. I used a sanding block to distress some corners and edges. I used a sanding block to distress some corners and edges. I went over existing imperfections with the sanding block as well. This brought out some of those chips and scratches and really began to add character. And I was falling in love.

Once I was happy with the distressing and overall look, I put 2 coats of semigloss poly-crylic seal on it to protect it and give it a little shine.

I had been so excited about this project and posted on Hilda’s Facebook about the process of fixing up this vanity. The pictures were popular and brought on many comments and even offers to buy it! I was surprised, since I had pulled it from the trash that suddenly it was a hit item. I was devastated when I placed our computer on it only to discover that it didn’t fit. And the scale of the vanity/desk was way off in our already snug family room. SADNESS!!!! I racked my brain with other uses but I truly have no other practical use for it. After some thought, I decided selling it was the best option. I had at least 12 hours into this project and a lot of love. I had only purchased the Plaster of Paris, ORB spray paint and poly-crylic ($30 tops).

I mean, she’s just gorgeous. Like a furniture version of Pretty Woman. Or Cinderella. Luckily, the buyer is a friend of a friend and I know she will love and care for this vanity just as I would. I even painted the sides of the drawers in a soft pink for her which was a fun little touch.

Preschool Valentines

Posted on February 16, 2015 by hildagotrocks

O doesn’t have a class full of kids to give valentines to yet but I knew she’d get a kick out of making some. I employed good old Pinterest for inspiration and put my own little twist on a common Pinterest Valentine craft.

I asked Hubby to grab a pack of blank (unlined) 4″x 6″ index cards at the grocery store for less than a dollar. I already had red and white craft paint and was recycling toilet paper roll so the grad total for this craft is just a buck!

I folded the toilet paper roll into a heart and swirled some red and white paint onto a recycled lid. The rest was up to O. And she went to town!

She stamped her little heart out (har har) and made nearly 30 valentines! The twist that I threw in was to make them into postcards to mail to our friends. I just drew a line down the center, wrote notes on the left and addresses on the right and then used postcard stamps that I had left over from our Christmas postcards. I’m pretty sure our friends and family loved receiving these. Who doesn’t like to get mail!?

Party Paper

Posted on January 30, 2015 by hildagotrocks

I know it’s been a month since NYE but I wanted to share a fun party trick I used for our little get together. Don’t worry- you don’t have to wait until next NYE, you can use it for any party! I bought a roll of Kraft paper a while back and I’ve been having fun using it for entertaining. So far I’ve used it for book club, casual post-thanksgiving gathering and game night. I love this idea for so many reasons… First you can buy rolls of Kraft paper at many grocery stores and even Walmart on the cheap. Second, it’s disposable. Third, it’s a festive way to add some unique decor and a functional and fun way to label dishes. There is so much you can do with it!

I simply rolled out my paper (cut to a 12″ runner size in this case) where I was going to have our “bar” area. I used a sharpie to outline the glasses, label wines, and even outlined the corkscrew. I tried to vary the size of the letters and different vibes for each word. I had fun and made a whimsical illustration of Champagne and used the marker to label cranberry juice that I had put in a small carafe.

As most of our guests are tired young parents like ourselves, I knew midnight was passed most of our bedtimes. I made sure the Keurig was ready (thanks, Santa!) and set out some coffee mugs with a K-cup in each one. Then I wrote simple direction for the Keurig. *** Side note: I just got a reusable K-cup so I can have any local coffee I want and be more “green” …BTW- have you seen this video?!?! Worth a quick watch.

I also used the paper on our kitchen’s peninsula for some of the food. I left the marker and open spaces for party guests who were bringing dishes to share. I added washi tape to keep everything in place and to keep the end from rolling up.

Whenever I use this I get tons of comments on how clever it is. It is literally a blank slate for your party. Cut the edges with scrap-booking scissors, use washi tape, different markers, use movie quotes or fun facts that pertain to your theme. Anything is possible! I doesn’t need to be perfect. Have fun with it!

I Love Lamp

Posted on December 26, 2014 by hildagotrocks

I don’t know how, but I completely spaced on posting an update on my funky $5 lamp that I brought home from a trip to Bluebird Market ages ago. You can see all about my trip and my haul in my post “A Little Birdie Told Me”.

I fell in love with this lamp’s unique shape and unusual size. The detail is a funny aged faux wood grain effect. Um, or that’s just the best way I can describe it.

For a couple of months it sat on an end table in my living room and remained what I dubbed “Scooby Doo” green. Yikes! I grabbed a can of gold pray paint at the hardware store for my ridiculous high heel shoe bookends when I realized that this lamp is just begging for some gold paint. I primed it and painted it right along side the bookends… one can was more than enough for both. Quick pointers for painting a lamp: Use painter’s tape and a plastic bag to cover/seal off the light socket portion and cover the power cord too.

I had originally planned to use the over-sized shade that it came with. I even when through the trouble of repairing the seam of the shade. In the end, practicality won out and I got a more petite (10″) cream drum shade from Target. The original shade was made of a thick woven fabric and didn’t let off as much light. The cream shade is more modern and is thinner and therefore brighter when lit. I feel like this lamp has a glam art-deco thing going for it now. A coat of paint can transform anything.

O wanted in on the fun. Note her cow girl pajamas. This kid is obsessed with horses, ponies, cowboy boots and even asked Santa for a pony.

Holiday Centerpieces [on a budget]

Posted on November 30, 2014 by hildagotrocks

I had the pleasure of hosting a casual family get together over Thanksgiving. Nothing too fancy- chili, macaroni and cheese and some spirits. No need for place settings but I wanted to have the house feel like the holidays without having to decorate for Christmas just yet. I’m like Nordstrom: you will not see Christmas here until Thanksgiving. Obviously due to the holiday I had time restrictions and I’m always looking to be budget friendly. So I scoured the grocery store earlier in the week for a little inspiration.

What I got:

4 bags of cranberries at $1.50 each

2 large naval oranges at 99 cents a pound

I started by finding some of my favorite vases with broad or straight sides. And of course my favorite mason jar. Then I thinly sliced the oranges (a mandolin is helpful here if you aren’t a great slicer) and discarded the smaller slices and the ones without the star burst pattern. I set them aside to make a little pot of stove top scent (Psst: Toss orange slices, 5 whole cloves, a splash of vanilla and a couple of cinnamon sticks in with 2 cups of water and simmer for a holiday scent that fills the house and lasts all day!).

I lined the sides of my vases with the orange slices and filled them with cranberries. Then I filled each vase with water until the cranberries were just slightly afloat.

I placed each vase around the house and had intended to run to get fresh white flowers (hydrangeas? roses?) to completely the centerpiece vibe. But I really liked how simple and cheery they were without flowers so I saved myself the trip and left them as they were. I grabbed a little beverage chalkboard I had and made a quick “Give Thanks” sign.

These were complimented all night! I especially like that they are appropriate for Thanksgiving as well as Christmas and New Years. Oh, and the fact that I made 5 centerpieces for less than $8 is pretty awesome too.

Easy, inexpensive and quite darling if I may say.

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Per family tradition, we spent some of the weekend decorating for Christmas, putting up the tree, making gingerbread houses, baking blue berry muffins and listening to the Michael Buble Holiday Pandora station. Here’s a peak:

We rearranged the family room to accommodate for a tree in the window. O had a ball hanging ornaments all over however she pleased. She would occasionally step back and say “It looks beautiful!”

We made a batch of my famous “Real Blueberry Muffins” from scratch. O has become quite enthusiastic about baking and insists on helping in almost every kitchen activity. Aprons are her new favorite “dress up”.

I got a Wilton Gingerbread house on sale at Michael’s the other day for $9. Total impulse purchase but O has been asking to make it every single day since we bought it. I finally caved… she was so excited (below is her actual “excited” face). Mom note: this was a great excuse to use extra Halloween candy or undesirable candies left over.

While I’m at it… I have to tell you a life changing secret that I only discovered a few years ago. Bold and italic there, friends. Truly a life saver. It saves tons of time and even more stress if you assemble the gingerbread house frame using hot glue rather than the icing provided in the kit.

I use mine on high but I think any setting will do. I just put hot glue on the seams that I want to attach and hold in place for a few seconds. Repeat for all the sides and do the roof pieces last. Hot glue… what can’t it do?

Then O and I developed a little rhythm. I’d make a “blob”, she’d choose a candy to place there. Almost all of the design choices here are hers. I did make the door, windows, wreath and bow. But she made the roof with me, sidewalk, sides of the house and all. I just kept piping icing and she kept sticking candy there. You know, between stuffing her face with m&m’s. I cheated and did the bow and Dum Dum trees with hot glue as well.

Budget Headboard

Posted on May 6, 2014 by hildagotrocks

I recently took our ho-hum headboard to a new level of awesome. Like super-duper awesome! And I did it for $20. Here’s the scoop-

For the last two years hubby and I have been changing things up all around the house. Like the half bath, adding a striped feature wall, getting the most out of our spare room and creating a haven for our little O. But to be honest, not much attention has been paid to our master bedroom. Except for painting it and refinishing some killer second hand furniture (read about them here and here), we really haven’t done much. In fact, the master is pretty drab looking. We just agreed on a bedspread for the first time in seven years and the only way I really sold him on the ruffle effect is that it was striped (sort of) and majorly on sale at Target. The white really pops in the soft blue room and it brings a little brightness in with our white curtains. The main problem is that it was leaning against our sad tan headboard. Whomp whomp… and the headboard was bringing the whole thing down. Originally the headboard was wooden with some metal vine detailing and matched a set that Hubby had once upon a time. I recovered it years ago in an effort to freshen it up but once again it is looking more drab than fab. Have a look-see.

For quite a while I have been badgering Hubby to come with me to the fabric store and choose something so I can recover the headboard. I was banned from independent fabric purchasing trips after I bought “Dr. Seuss” fabric as a potential option for the headboard way back when. I also knew that I couldn’t buy several options, bring them home to choose and then return anything he didn’t like. After begging for him to join me on a fabric store field trip for the last six months I finally decided I was on my own. After being discouraged by the prices of upholstery fabric I felt like there was no hope. This couldn’t be a $200 project. On my last few trips to Target I had been eyeing some great Ikat, geometric, medallion and lattice style curtains and shower curtains. I so badly wished we needed curtains somewhere in the house because the patterns were so gorgeous. Boom! It hit me. I bet I could use a curtain panel or shower curtain to recover the headboard. I enlisted Molly to help me choose one on the next Target run. She often brings me down to reality after I’ve spent an imaginary fortune on a risky design decision in my head. We chose thie blue Ikat lattice patterned shower curtain from the Threshold collection. The idea was that blue was masculine enough, the lattice as bold but still classic and the Ikat flare was cool. And it wasn’t floral (Hubby’s big deal breaker).We took a risk and hoped the royal blue wouldn’t totally kill the soft Glass Slipper (Benjamin Moore) blue walls. The shower curtain measurements were wide enough that we could use the pattern vertically (as if it were hanging as it was designed to) on my queen sized headboard. For a king I would recommend using a pattern you might like oriented horizontally so that the fabric can fit the width of the headboard.

We hauled the headboard out of the master and set up shop in the family room. I wrinkle released and fluffed the curtain so that all the fold marks from being packed were gone. No, I don’t iron. Don’t get me started.

In the photo below you can see the detail of the back of the original headboard design and the foam underneath that I had used to transform it the first time.We lined up the hem seam with the top edge of the board (below) so that the pattern would stay level and we wouldn’t risk having it slope in one direction after the staple-fest I was about the have. If it was a more random style print or a solid this wouldn’t really be a concern.

Then the fabric was cut to size which was pretty much in half in this case. I took into consideration that we would rather have more fabric to staple than not enough.

Stapling started across the top which was pretty easy and self-explanatory. I used a “gift wrap method” as shown below for the corners and trimmed out any excess fabric that gave the corner to much bulk because that would be too much to staple through and may look chunky from the other side.

Less than 15 minutes later I was ooh-ing and ahh-ing at this bad boy. I think this may be the best $20 I ever spent.

Ta-da! Hubby returned home from an all day soccer tournament to see this glorious masterpiece. At first he was a little taken by the boldness and was surprised (since I had promised not to visit a fabric store). A day later he was telling me how much he liked it and the it was growing on him. I think it looks crisp and definitely more expensive than it is. Victory!

Now for art above the bed… hmmm…

Painted Pillow Tutorial

Posted on April 19, 2014 by hildagotrocks

You may recall that I made some pillows for my sisters once upon a time. Well, my sister Susie requested another… she had changed her bedding and the magenta one I had made a couple of years ago was clashing with her new orange decor. I grabbed another pillow case on a recent trip to IKEA and put off making this pillow for months. Hey, I’m a busy girl! Lucky for me Susie would not let me forget that I had promised a new pillow.

One side of the finished product is above. I chose chevron for this side and the other side is a monogram shown later in this post. But here’s how I did it.

You will need:

Pillow case (I used Ikea’s GURLI)

Fabric paint (I used Tulip brand)

Painter’s tape

Paint brushes

Hair dryer

Optional: stamp, stencils, templates, sponges… really any paint technique that can be applied to fabric is a possibility for this project.

I started with an Ikea GURLI pillow case this time. The last one I used was thicker with a chunkier weave that made painting a little difficult. The GURLI is thinner with a tighter, less textured fabric that I thought may lent itself better to painting with a brush by hand. It was just as inexpensive ($4). I lined the inside of the pillow case with foil so that no paint would bleed through to the opposite side. I figured foil would do the job but hold it’s shape (and stay in place), stay smooth and be easier to work on than newspaper or plastic. I made sure the foil went all the way to each edge a corner, which meant overlapping two pieces. I knew I’d be painting edge to edge on at least one side so it was important to cover the entire interior with a barrier.

Then I taped out my design. I wanted a bold solid colored block border. I used the width of my painter’s tape to make my border. This eliminated sketching/marking and measuring. I also extended the tape passed the end of the pillow so that the pillow was taped in place for safety (from my clumsy self). I eye-balled the inside edge tape but it would be a simple 1 inch measurement if you aren’t a great guestimater. I made sure I had straight corners, which require an extra piece of tape here and there. TIP: To ensure against bleeding it is helpful to smooth the tape down well with the edge of a book, credit card or just your finger.

I brushed thin, even coats of fabric paint for the border. Be sure not to saturate the fabric or the tape. That may cause the paint to bleed under the tape. If you don’t get good coverage with one coat then go for a second coat of paint. Its a safer bet to do two lighter coats rather than one heavy one. I especially wanted a clean and sharp edge so I took the time to touch up bare spots and do an extra coat where needed.

I free-handed a monogram onto the center of the pillow. I frequently do free-hand monograms so I felt confident. I really only measured a few reference points to determine where the center of the pillow was. If you aren’t comfortable with free hand lettering then consider lightly sketching with a pencil or maybe even try to trace through the fabric, use a projector or a ruler.

I waited for the paint to dry thoroughly before removing the tape. Afterward, I used my hairdryer to “set” the paint and to dry it even more. You can’t be too careful!

For the chevron side, I used my same tape method as I did for my border on the opposite side. I determined center and used the tape to make the chevron. Again, I made sure I had sharp corners and smoothed over the tape to prevent bleeding. I opted to used the white fabric as one of the chevron stripe colors and alternated gray and orange.

When the pillow was finished, I removed the foil (which was extremely effective) then washed and dried it according to my paint and pillow case directions (cold, tumble dry low). This eliminated the stinky fabric paint smell and the heat of the dryer further set the paint (according to the label on my paint at least).

Susie is happy with the pillow and so am I! For a no-sew project this makes a pretty awesome pillow. And the possibilities are endless!

PSSST: I bought a second pillow case for myself but I haven’t been brave enough to commit to a design for my own house!

Instead Of A Pony

Posted on February 7, 2014 by hildagotrocks

Last week I wrote about organizing the hall closet. It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it. It’s funny how that became an infectious runaway train of organizing. In a fit of ~~rage against all the toys~~ organizational inspiration I took on the play area. You may recall that the toys have been organized before but its been quite a while since I’ve had time to tame the madness. Honestly, O is pretty good about cleaning up but without proper toy storage we found ourselves with mountains of toys, many of them no longer age appropriate for our now toddler.

I packed up most of the baby toys but kept a few basics for when friends with smaller kids come over. I was able to fill a good sized plastic storage tub and stash it under the stairs. And in typing this I’ve just realized that we will eventually run out of stair storage space. Panic!

Enter the Closet Maid cubical shelf (Target and probably plenty of other similar places). With O’s birthday less than 2 weeks after Christmas we put in a request to grandparents for a “need” since all of O’s “wants” -and then some- were covered by gifts given at Christmas. We requested that O get some storage in the form of the cubical and the fabric baskets. I snagged everything on sale (yay for post holiday organization sales!) and was reimbursed rather than having them choose a shelf with bins and delivering it… so much easier. And yes, I realize I will never get to request a “need” for O’s birthday again. I’m sure next year she’ll just want a pony or something instead.

And I put it together while hubby watched football and leant an occasional hand to stabilize while I drilled (I don’t do those things with screwdrivers… it will take 5 years).

Ta-da! In less than 20 minutes we had an assembled cubby shelf.

I stashed all of the Mega Blocks, Little People and smaller things in the fabric bins and then displayed larger toys on top and in the empty cubbies. I chose fabric bin colors based on the bright rug and I figured they could easily be interchanged or replaced if we opted move the unit to another room. You may notice that this is the horizontal use of the same shelving unit that serves as a bookshelf in O’s room.

So there you have it. Less mess and a happier play room. And a way happier mom. Isn’t organization bliss?

P.S. I think it was a very happy accident that I can’t find a “before” image that I swear I took. Oh the horror!

“Little Man” Mustache Themed Baby Shower

Posted on September 5, 2013 by hildagotrocks

My sister’s best friend of 20 years is having a sweet baby boy. Like soon… she’s 4 weeks out. In honor of Kait and her sweet little man, we threw her one heck of a baby shower. Kait is trendy and cute in every way so we knew she would be all about a theme… and mustache theme was exactly what we were looking for. My sister and I started a mustache themed baby shower pinboard and got to work.

Our sweet invitation done so nicely by Katie at Custom Creations by Kate. If you read the bottom section, we used a Pinterested rhyme to ask guests to bring books instead of cards. And they did! Katie also made a really cute matching game print out. Unfortunately I have no clue where an image of that is. Noteable: Katie is also The Almost Vegan. And you don’t have to be vegan to devour her amazing recipes.

I made my signature paint chip pennant banner in navy, gray and blue. They were hung over doorways and windows and of course, the mantle. Tutorial here.

I made cupcakes and iced them by piping whipped icing onto the tops like I’ve done before. Then I pressed on paper mustaches that I had cut from Martha Stewart (they are the largest I can find at Home Depot) paint chips.

I used the same paint chip mustaches to decorate party favors. I hot glued them to the sticks of tootsie pops so that when you put the sucker in your mouth it gave you a “mustache”.

We placed those in a basket with a framed paint chip that said “Thanks for COMBING!” … haha. Get it?

This was one of the gift bags for game winners. Sneak peak into those here.

I found stick-on fuzzy mustaches at Ted’s Toy Store, a local toy store. If you’re in the Cincinnati area be sure to check out Ted’s in Madeira. Its my go to for every gift- he carries unique games, trendy toys and classics from your own childhood. Anyway I bought them on the spot, although I wasn’t sure how I’d use them. The day of the party I decided they’d be funny on the bathroom mirror so that guests could see a mustache on themselves. I stuck 3 of them on the mirror vertically. I figured that peoples’ heights vary and things look better in threes. Everyone commented on them.

I also stuck them over the spouts of our refreshment dispensers. Also I huge hit with guests!

Guests also drank from plastic glasses we had Sharpied mustaches onto. Ps- serving mimosas at a baby shower is the best idea we’ve ever had. I highly recommend it!

Kait’s sister made this adorable fruit salad… er, um sculpture? How cute! She too gave credit to Pinterest. I think we all drink the Pinterest kool-aid these days.

Best photo of the day: Kait and our friend Joanna posing for an OH MY GAWD shot. I think they had fun!

Monogram Canvas Tutorial

Posted on July 9, 2013 by hildagotrocks

As promised, I have created a little tutorial post about the monogrammed canvas I recently hung in O’s room. Its no secret that I love almost anything monogrammed but this is my first go on making my own.

I like the look of a square canvas so I started with a 24″x24″ square gallery wrapped canvas and painted it with a sample container of beige I had from a friend who had given me samples after deciding on an exterior paint color- jackpot. I have at least 5 Sherwin Williams test quarts of greys, tans and whites.

I waited a few hours for it to dry well before doing the next steps. Next I traced a large bowl for the circle shape in the middle. Its hard to see in this picture but I just eyeballed the middle and traced. This is where the monogram will go. Then I taped off stripes for the background. I had considered chevron but went with stripes after realizing chevron would be more precise, time consuming and a little more visually busy than I’d like.I didn’t measure the stripes- just too impatient today I guess. Then I gave the stripes 2 coats of a paper bag brown acrylic craft paint… painting around my faint circle mark.

After the brown dried I peeled the painter’s tape back. Inevitably the paint had bled in a few spots under the tape. Canvas is an uneven surface so I had kind of expected that to happen. I touched up the spots and got to work mixing the pink for the monogram. I used the creamy beige paint from the base coat and a liquid red acrylic craft paint to make the pink so it wouldn’t be bright pink and would instead be a softer almost mauve color. I freehand painted the circle according to my tracing lines and where I had stopped painting the stripes.

Then I started on the lettering. I highly recommend doodling around with your monogram a ton before deciding the style you want and putting brush to canvas. I had originally really liked the script look but after a bunch of failed attempts on paper plates I knew I just didn’t have it in me. I also realized that we tend to like cleaner lines and more modern designs around here so straight typeface was more our style anyway. Now don’t hate me but I didn’t trace this… I just went for it freehand with the brush. Sometimes I work best under pressure. I started in the middle with O’s last initial and went from there. I had a few smudges as I went but I just touched up afterward with the beige again.

After an afternoon of painting I had this cute monogram!

We hung it centered above her bed. We were sure to hang it high enough that she can’t reach it. We also used 3M Command Strips instead of a nail. That way it can’t swing or bump off of the nail. The strips say that 2 should do for a piece this size and weight. I used four- one on each corner. It’s not going anywhere. I have massive faith in the 3M Command Strips. We hung everything in our plaster walled apartment with them. Nothing ever fell off the wall and they were easy to rearrange and came off clean when it was time to move out (5 years later).

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