Kids Bathroom Art

If you've visited the "Our Home" page, you may remember the kids bright and colorful bathroom.

I couldn't resist sharing this picture of Ava and her friend, Madeline playing dress-up!

The bathroom doesn't photo well, so please excuse the quality.  Before I show you the updated bathroom, here's a little background info leading up to my purchase.  When I was in the middle of decorating our home office, I decided I didn't want to use the grey trellis rug from Garden Ridge. 

Although very trendy and affordable, the quality just wasn't what I was looking for and I knew eventually it would be replaced.  So, off I went to Garden Ridge to exchange it for something else.

At the time of the return, I wasn't sure what I would get, so I've been holding on to a merchandise credit for the past two months.  I stopped by there today while both kids were in school... plenty of time to scour the whole store with no interruptions!  They have a fairly decent wall decor section, especially in the kid aisle.  

I found these adorable sea life prints for $14.99 each.  

Here's a close up...

Aren't they the cutest, most cheerful little creatures?  And just what this room needed, more color.  :)  

When Ava came home from school, she made a point of telling me she liked the new look... I'm glad she approves! 

Oh, and speaking of the office, I'm putting the finishing touches on my new organized space and can't wait to show you the reveal.  Hope you're having a good week!

I'm Linking Up To:

Hookin' Up With House of Hepworths

I'm Dreaming of a White Kitchen

After several years of dreaming about a white kitchen, it is finally becoming a reality this year.  I've never really shared pictures of our space because, honestly... it's my least favorite room in the house.  Honey oak/pine (we don't know!!!) tudor style cabinets with dark green formica countertops and white appliances.  Don't get me wrong, it's functional, just not pretty.  Here's a small glimpse of our kitchen, celebrating Ava's 6th Birthday Par-TEA.

We did spiffy it up a bit last summer... building a kitchen banquette in our eating area, so that has helped... some.  

Making cushions and pillows for the space will be budgeted into the kitchen redo.  

Here are several inspiration photos I have been collecting over the past year.

We'd love to frame out our windows by the banquette and add blinds similar to these.

Anne @ Hello Newman's just recently changed up her windows by adding shelving and blinds.

Jane @ Modern Jane shows us her sister's updated kitchen.  I'm in love with the subway tile with its creamy white with grey, pink and tan veining, as described by Olympia Tile.  

This is called Milky Way White Marble in the mosaic brick pattern.  Isn't it gorgeous?

 White cabinets, black countertops, farmhouse sink... what's not to love?

Outdoor fabric, known for its durability (especially when small children are spilling liquids several times a day) will definitely be used when making the banquette cushions.  

This Sunbrella fabric in Dune is a great neutral for our space.  

Our cabinets are similar to these pictured above.  I love the subway tile and the mix of hardware.

Love the open shelving, blinds and farmhouse sink.  Swoon!

(via bhg.com)

Love the pendant lighting...

If all works out the way we hope, the transformation should start in early June.  I will post "before" pictures of our "oh so lovely" kitchen before the demolition begins.  I'm excited to track our progress through this long awaited journey.  Hope you'll join me!

All images and their sources can be found on my pinterest board titled Kitchen Ideas.

I'm linking up to Sarah's Show Us Your House:  Kitchens

Laundry Room Makeover

Hey there!  My absence is due to the lovely weather we've been having!  Lots of time spent outdoors with the kids.  We're actually getting ready for Ava's first T-ball practice later tonight. 

 I wanted to share a simple DIY project that literally took me 20 minutes.  I feel like such a copy cat these days... I just love what I'm finding on Pinterest and saw this idea just yesterday.  Kate at The Small Things Blog (she is at Blissdom 2012 right now... so jealous!) showed this cute and easy way to create art from napkins.  I purchased these pretty mosaic napkins at World Market for $3.99 each.  The three frames were 40% off at Michaels', making them $4.99 a piece.  Project cost was under $30!  

The frames are 10x13 with a 8x10 mat.  

The napkins have great patterns, so I decided to feature my favorites in each frame.

I centered the design where I wanted, folded it inside the mat and secured the back.

My laundry room needed a pop of color.  This color palette was perfect!  Here is the result...

The other side of the laundry room has been updated too.  About two years ago, hubby custom built a shelving/hanging area for us.  We had cabinets in here when we moved in.  The house was a model and the realtors used this space for paper, supplies, etc.  One of these days I'll share what we did with those cabinets.  If you're a regular follower, you know me, I like to repurpose!  I'm always looking for ways to add more storage and those cabbies were definitely put to good use!  But for now, we'll focus on the laundry room.  Please excuse the photos, they are not the greatest, hopefully you get the idea.  

Believe it or not, I enjoy doing laundry in here.  It's come a long way from when we first moved in seven years ago.  Hope you have a good weekend!  I'll be busy painting the office and can't wait to show you details next week!  :)

I'm linking up to:

Spring Craft Link Party @ Centsational Girl

Feathered Nest Friday @ French Country Cottage

Inspiration Friday @ The Picket Fence

Primp Your Stuff Wednesdays

Hookin' Up With House of Hepworths

SYS Blog Link Party @ Somewhat Simple

A Crafty Soiree, Every Thursday @ Yesterday on Tuesday

Under $100 Linky Party @ Beyond The Picket Fence

Thrifty Thursdays @ Tales From Bloggeritaville

Feathered Nest Friday @ French Country Cottage

Days of Chalk and Chocolate

Sundae Scoop @ I Heart Naptime

Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps on the Porch

DIY Showoff Project Parade

I Won A Giveaway... On My Birthday!

Hi everyone! Hope you're having a great weekend! Just wanted to share my excitement of winning my first giveaway. Mimi at Blue Roof Cabin just celebrated her first blogiversary at the end of January.

She had a $25 gift card giveaway and www.random.org picked Sweet Ava Kate.  The giveaway just so happened to be on my 35th birthday, so imagine my surprise when I was picked!  She let me pick where to spend my winnings, so I chose Pottery Barn because I LOVE them and it's not a place I typically spend money due to their crazy high prices!  I hope to find something fun for my office!  

If you haven't visited Mimi's blog, you must!  Mimi has become a dear "bloggy" friend and is a wealth of inspiration!  She inspires me with her gift of woodworking and has given me encouragement with various projects.
Happy "One Year" Blogiversary, Mimi!  Can't wait to see what you're up to next!  :)

Old Window Turned Message Board

It's the weekend!  YAY!  Time to put the finishing touches on those projects I've started.  We finally finished the message board for our walk-in pantry.  It turned out just how I pictured, so excited to show you...

Here's the before of the two paned window we used...

As discussed in the last post, we simply cut two pieces of thin MDF (one slightly bigger than the other) to fit in each frame.  We covered the top with galvanized flashing and sprayed the other with chalkboard paint.    

It was difficult to get a good picture, so please excuse the weird angles.  

Here's the after:

  

  Cute little handle for my towel...

As you can see in this picture, we are adding trim to the shelves and applying the fabric wallpaper.

Still need to find some hooks for hanging my aprons, but couldn't wait to show you!  

Have a great weekend!

I'm linking up to these parties: