The Perfectly Imperfect Gallery Wall

My next goal in Baby A's room was to decorate above the crib.  After a few pinterest searches I decided to go with a gallery wall.  Surprise, surprise.  This really isn't new for me, I certainly LOVE a gallery wall, but for this one I really wanted it to be more eclectic than anything else I have ever done.  Perfectly imperfect, if you will.  This was a huge challenge for me, since I usually have to have symmetry in my house or I can't live with it for very long :).  So I took this inspiration image with me and started collecting frames over a couple months.

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 And here is the finished product.  Perfectly Imperfect!

 

First I laid out all of the frames and accessories that I had gathered on top of some kraft paper to get the layout just right.  Once it looked good, I traced the outside and made a mark where the nail would need to go for each frame.

I then taped my kraft paper on the wall above the crib and checked to make sure it was level.  When I was sure that it looked good I just nailed right through the marks that I had made, and ripped off the paper to reveal the empty nails waiting to be filled. I hung the all the frames and then over time filled them in with pictures, prints and various crafts.

Here is the breakdown of where the frames are from and what I used to fill them.

1. Frame-Hobby Lobby, picture of my sweet little girl

2. Frame-IKEA (I painted it with some dark teal paint), "Idaho" printable from here

3. Frame-TJ Mazz (painted), "A is for Alexis" printable from here

4. Frame-Michaels's (painted), painted wood heart also from Michael's

5. Felt flower project (details to follow)

6. Project Board from Michael's (painted)

7. Frame-IKEA, "Be Happy" printable from here

8. An old frame from my stash (painted), picture to come

9. Frame-Target, "You make me happy" printable (I can't find the source right now)

10. Letter A from Hobby Lobby

11. Frame-TJ Maxx, picture of my 3 kiddos

12. Frame-IKEA, "Love" printable from here

13. Frame-Target, picture to come

14. Love from Michael's

15. Frame-TJ Maxx, framed piece of inspiration fabric

16. 8x10 canvas from Canvas People of my beautiful baby A

17. Wood shape from Michael's (painted)

18. Frame-IKEA (painted), "ABC" printable from here

19.  Frame-Hobby Lobby (painted), picture from the web (I can't find the source right now)

 

So there it is, a lot of work to get the perfect, imperfect mix of frames.  I am so happy with how it turned out, it is the perfect focal point above the crib and it really draws your attention when you walk into down the hall and into the room.

 

Next is the window wall :).

This Blogging Thing Is Not Easy & An Update On The Boy's Room

When I started this blog a couple months ago I naively thought that it would be easy.  I figured I would sit down a few nights a week and write a quick post about the projects I've been working on.  Ha!  While I have somehow found time to do projects, I have not been able to devote precious spare minutes to writing something up.  I promise to do better :).

So the last time I posted *cough, 5 months ago, cough*, I was getting ready to redo my son's room from a car theme to a superhero room.  Well... shortly thereafter we decided that the room would be put to much better use as a nursery for the baby of the family.  Previously she had been in a room with her big sister, but since she had never been a great sleeper and was still waking up a couple times a night, we thought it best if the older kids bunked together so that they can get more sleep.  That little move caused a chain reaction of redecorating in our house (oh darn, I have to redo a room, haha).  The boy's room is now a girl's room and the girl's room, full of pink and a giant tree painted on the wall, will eventually be a gender neutral shared space, but that will have to come later!  The first priority has been the baby's room and I'm proud to say that it is ALMOST done.

So here is where it started.

After everything was cleared out I started by picking out some inspiration fabric from a great little quilting store nearby. 

Finally after years of doing this I have learned that it is much easier to pick my fabric first than try to find the perfect fabric that I have pictured to go with the color scheme I have picked out (and probably already painted!).  I decided to go with a light peachy pink for the wall color, Fresco by Olympic.  And the lady at Lowe's suggested this wonderful primer since I was painting over black stripes. It. Was. Amazing.

 I went from black stripes & a superhero city skyline to this.

And then this...

The perfect blank slate for the Baby A's new room!  There's also a sneak peak at the valance I made which I'll get to next time along with an eclectic gallery wall.

Mission: Big Boy Room

Here is my little boy, Chase's room.

 

These were taken awhile ago and of course I forgot to take pictures before I started my projects, so just picture more car signs in the gallery wall, car stickers on the road around the room and a couple cheapo target side tables under the window.

I first designed his room about 3 years ago and looking back it was a little too young for him even then.  But, to my defense I bought all the bedding and decided on a theme about a year before I actually did anything and at the time he was REALLY into cars (and still kind of a baby).  But for the last couple of years he has been not so subtly telling me that he wants to change his room.  So I am going to set out to tweak his room into a more big boy friendly superhero room, while spending as little as possible.

My goal is to move the bed onto the main wall (where the gallery wall is above) and paint a skyline mural using leftover black paint with yellow electrical tape for the windows (it's the same thing I used to make the road lines in the pictures above).  I'll change up the bedding by hopefully sewing a duvet cover for his comforter, pillowcase, bed skirt and matching valance.  I am planning on painting over the gray with a light blue custom made from a bunch of leftover paint from other rooms to lighten it up (his room is by far the darkest room in the house!).  To hopefully help with the lighting situation I am going to change the light fixture to an  Ikea one that I'll paint with high gloss red.  I'm planning on using the same paint on a couple of gutters to use as bookshelves on the wall next to the door.  I'll start a superhero gallery wall and maybe add a couple shelves to display his medals and other trinkets.  His closet also needs tweaked, but that may have to come later.

I better get to work!  Hopefully I'll have all the painting done by tomorrow.

Here I go...

Alright, I am finally taking the plunge and starting a blog.  My goal here is just to have an outlet for my creative energy and a way to document all the projects that I tackle.  There may not be anyone who ever reads this, but that's okay!