Girls Room Makeover...Finally!

So after much longer than I would like to admit, I finally finished my daughters bedroom makeover. Normally I'm an instant gratification kinda gal. I'll go to great ends to find it, decorate it, and finish it. But not so with this one.... It had to be just right, and with the complete lack of time, it was near impossible. 

It's always so easy to make decisions in other peoples homes, but as it turns out, it's been super hard to get my house "just so". 

Now, when I started redecorating, I wanted a light, eclectic, nature inspired room. Though it all got clouded somehow, with my love of birds. If you don't know already, I have a strange healthy love for anything birds. My craft room, houses my collection, and I know my husband is happy the room has a door....but it has seemed to trickle into other areas of my house. 

I'm working on it :)

 So now,  I'm finally ready to show you her "big girl" room. 

So for the bed, we went with an Ikea, adjustable bed (Minnen). I've told you before how much I despise toddler beds, they are so hard to decorate around. I feel like I'm living in some sort of doll house on steroids...weird. So the adjustable part of this was my compromise. The bed grows into three lengths, and the mattress  comes in three pieces. So you push it out, and add the piece of mattress...until you get to a regular twin size bed. The bed is simple, yet still girly, and in white metal.

 For the bedding, I purchased the quilt at Stienmart. They have some really cute, girly quilts. They didn't have a twin of this one, so I just cut some off, and stitched the edges. I made sure to leave enough so when the bed is made into a twin it still fits. Ahhh, who am I kidding, I'll be redecorating her whole room by then....it's a sickness. 

The quilt is reversible, so using the extra piece I cut off, I made her two little throw pillows, from the reverse side, to go with her pink sham. 

Be sure to check out the super simple,  Grassy Nightstand Makeover, if you missed it. 

 One of my favorite things in the room, is this adorable cloud pillow! Could it be any cuter, look at those eyelashes!! She was on my Holiday Gift Guide, if you missed it.  

Check out her little cloud and star friends, and all of Viola Studio's other amazing creatures, on her Etsy Shop (she even has stuff for boys).

 Above her bed, I was hesitant to put any artwork, my daughter has a habit of messing with everything (what toddler doesn't). I knew I wanted to paint something, but this is what really took me the longest to decide on.  I went with a bird theme, so of course, the verse had to have something to do with birds...I know you are all rolling your eyes right now :) 

Psalms 91:4 says, "He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge". I thought that was so beautiful, how God draws us near and protects us. That is just what I want for my children. 

 The fun little kitchen we got her for Christmas, ended up in her room (so not part of the plan, but I'm rolling with the punches). I used the art I originally created for above her crib, over the kitchen. For this, I just used an un-primed canvas, painted a base color, and used an brighter version for the stenciled pattern. I then put it inside of an embroidery hoop (3 sizes), and hand painted the butterflies on afterwards. 

Not a painter? Add a three dimensional butterfly to the art piece instead. 

The kids favorite spot in the room, of course, is the giant bean bag chair. It was left over from a bit of a room makeover,of the oldest child. This thing is so big, me and both the little kids sit here to read books at night. It's the perfect corner filler. Above it, hang a water color bird I painted years ago, and a sweet feather print from Satchel and Sage on Etsy.

This garden trellis piece, I have had for years! Since before I was married....My husband never understood why I carted around this old, crusty metal piece, each time we moved. But it always finds a home! 

A colorful strand of wool-ball garland, is keeping it company now. 

On the dresser, a collection of old books, and vintage jewelry boxes, are on display.

This beautiful porcelain lamp is, of course, from Target. I originally bought it to act as a nightlight, and even with a 25 watt bulb, its' still to much bright. It's such a fun, unexpected design for a lamp, that I couldn't get rid of it. It puts off a neat glow at night, casting shapes all over the wall. 

 This little house, serves absolutely no purpose, except for being unbelievably cute (I think originally made to be a pincushion). From Pink Prairies on Etsy. 

The flower box was a find at Target, but originally in a dull grey color, it did nothing for the space. A quick brush of blue, gave it the pop it needed.

 The grouping of tissue paper pom-poms was easy to make. I used 5 colors, and mixed in some lace lanterns. Hanging them with fishing line from the ceiling. Check out a tutorial via Martha Stewart, cause no body does it better that Martha Stewart!

So there it is! 

I finally walk in the room, and it feels complete...not always clean, but complete.

It's a hodgepodge of my favorite things, and it's still girly. 

Hope you love it!

Check out the grassy nightstand tutorial, here.

Check out the before, of her semi-completed nursery, here.

Make sure and swing by some of my favorite Etsy shops, to get some goodies of your own!

Viola Studio

Pink Prairies 

Satchel and Sage 

Grassy Nightstand Makeover

These days, things around my house, seems to take 4 times longer, than they should really take me. I get 5 minutes here, 15 minutes there...but rarely ever a solid block of time to get a project, much less a room done. It used to really bother me, I felt like every room in my house, still needed work. In all actuality that IS still the case. But I think I feel a little more accomplished doing several little things each day or two, rather than one room in a couple of months. That may just be my exhaustion talking!

As I had told you before, I was making over my youngest's, bedroom. I know, I know, we haven't even lived here two years...it's the constant re-decorator in me. 

In the fall, we purchased her a toddler bed, so the room had to change along with it. It sort-of looks complete, but needs a couple finishing touches. Should be able to show the big reveal next week sometime. For now, I wanted to show you the grassy nightstand makeover. 

I searched for months to find a table that was just the right size. Toddler beds sit really low to the ground, so the table also had to be low, but not to wide for the proportion of the space. 

I ended up making a simple table, with a top, and screw on legs from Lowe's.

I started with a coat of blue spray paint, then gave it a coat of white paint. Once dry, I sanded down the edges a bit, so the blue would show through. The blue itself would have been much to bright.

Against the white bed, It now seemed a little to simple in her room. Yet, I didn't want a  color that would take away from her bedding, and art on the wall. I kinda went with a nature theme for her room, and by nature, I mean...I imposed my freaky bird love on her :) I did add flowers and such, to detract, but mostly so my husband wouldn't commit me. So I thought the night stand would be the perfect spot to bring the nature back in. 

I always love to add greenery, and texture into my decor, it really warms up the space, and this did both. 

This would work for any kind of outdoor, camping, woodland, or floral themed room.

Here's what I did...

I started with the round nightstand.....but this would also be cute on a coffee table in a playroom, on a low window seal, or even on the back of a toilet tank, with some flowers sprouting up, or bugs walking along it. 

The plastic grass is from Hobby Lobby. They come in these 12" squares, and are about $5 a piece. This is part of the Easter decor..but during most of the spring, they have these in stock. I used three pieces, for this project, and still had left overs.

 I didn't want this to be glued directly to the table, so I needed to attach the grass to something else. 

I happened to have a plastic desk pad from Ikea,  from my older daughters room. It's clear, so you can still see the table underneath, and hefty enough, not to slide around. Projs Desk pad, they run about  $6. 

I cut it into the shape of the table top. You could use chip board,  poster board, with double stick tape, or even cardboard painted with the tables color. 

Next I cut the grass pieces. Laying them on the table to see where my cuts were. Since the tufts of grass were in intersections, you may need to use some weird cuts to fill the space. 

Using a hot glue gun, I attached them to the plastic pad. 

Once the main areas are done, you may end up with some sparse areas around the edges.

I just cut small sections, and filled any bare looking areas.

And VOILA..... A Grassy Nightstand

Here's a sneak peak on how it was finished off. 

 The lamp was from Target, about 12 years ago :) The awesome little bird is from West Elm. 

This plastic grass, is good for all sorts of projects, check out these other fun ideas....

This was at my old house, in my sons nursery. I used two sheets of grass, to stick the diaper basket and wipes on. Made the changing table a bit more fun and quirky. See the whole woodland  nursery here.

Who doesn't need an ottoman made of grass??? 

Just don't make this if you have pets....they may get the wrong idea. By GH Designs.

Grass Charging Station, by Kikkerland...Simple enough to make I'd think. 

Wearing it....Earrings??

Ummm, maybe not.... By Ashley Jewelry

No water required....now that's my kind of grass!!

Holiday Home Tour

During this time of year, everyone seems to be posting their holiday home tours, so I figured I'd share mine with you. I normally do minimal decorating, as we usually leave town for Christmas. 

This year we have my family coming to us, to celebrate the holiday, and a "Christmas Craft Party" with my gals this weekend...so I had to do it right this year. 

This of course meant shopping, which I'm a big fan of. Believe it or not, I pre-planned for this! Yay me! I bought before Thanksgiving even...If you don't know me yet, that's a big deal. I don't like to mix my holidays. I even have my Christmas cards sent out already. Writing a blog helps keep me on track I think too, despite my complete lack of time. 

I love decorating for Christmas, I love pops of red, and greenery is the best decorating accessory. My house feels so warm and lived in this time of year, it's tempting to keep it up longer than I should. 

Although it doesn't get super cold here in south Texas, we do light up our fire a coupe times a week, for ambiance, and lately, warmth. 

So here it is, my home for the holidays. 

Every year, I'm tempted to buy pillows to change out during the season, and this year I finally did it. I found these super cute ones at Target, and the go perfectly with my color scheme. 

My small white bottle brush collection, works great with cute little Santa. The kids tell him what they want every couple of days, just in case he can hear them. All sit cozy, in my red tray from Target.

Our fireplace mantel is usually dolled up with stockings, and glittery trees. This year I opted for simple. I love all the greenery, and wanted that to be the main focus.

 I left our mirror, but added a couple of sprays of pine branches. Adding the chevron burlap ribbon, brings  in the more relaxed version, of the holidays I was going for this year. 

The red candle holders were a find at Ikea. I loved the lace pattern, they had several styles of these in whites and reds. 

We have a gas firplace, and have no need for wood, so i figured, we mind as well make the wood look good. I found a couple sets of these birch logs at Micheal's. I think it's something that can stay out most of the year.  

The crock was something I had been searching out. On a trip last spring, to Round Top with my parents, my mom spotted this beauty. 

Filling lanterns with pine cones, berry's, or garland, is a great way to bring the holidays in, with out changing out all the decor. And of course, add birds whenever possible :)

We still have our tree from our last house. We didn't have a large space to put one in our living room area there, and decided on a tall and skinny tree. While that worked great for that house, it doesn't for this one. It looked so sad and lonely last year, and we had planned on getting a new one. But space still seems to be an issue here, we didn't want something sticking out so far you couldn't get around it, and I didn't want it in another room where you couldn't enjoy it. I  love the look of this fake tree too, some of the branches look a little fuzzy and and have little pine cones tucked around. "Next year", I keep telling myself...we'll see? 

Our tree skirt is very special, my mom hand sewed this for us a couple of years ago. It is full of felt designs, of Santa, reindeer, presents, snowmen, angels, and all things Christmas. In the next week or so, it will be covered by mounds of presents, as the family's packages start rolling in.  

Decorating the tree in my family holds alot of tradition. Every year we would all get together to hang ornaments, and watch "White Christmas". We've been doing this for as long as I can remember. I think I know every word by heart now, and used to dance around with my sister singing all the songs. It was one of my parents favorite movies. 

I love that my daughter loves this tradition too. I'm glad she appreciates the old movies, the way we did. 

And any excuse for her to sing, she loves!

We never do a themed tree. We have such a conglomerate of ornaments, dating back from the years we were born. I love them all, we talk about where they came from, or whose they were, and the kids always pick out their favorites to hang. I couldn't even put them all on this year, which helps my case for getting a bigger tree for next year. 

This year, all the kids were old enough to get in on hanging ornaments. It took alot of patience, and a good bit of sorting

If she holds the tongue just right.... 

I love this picture of Kiera, she  was so enamored by the tree. 

 Next to the tree was a large open wall, in need of a way to hang Christmas cards. I have 4 old shutters a friend had given me, and I knew they were perfect for the job.

I attached eyelet screws to the tops, and bottoms, of both shutters. Using dry wall anchors, and screws, I mounted them to the wall.

Since this photo, I have hung Christmas cards in the rungs of the shutter. 

Make sure you hang the shutters, so the cards will slide in the right way.

Years ago, my aunt Leslie (check out her blog  here), sent me a great advent calendar to do with my eldest daughter. She included a Playmobil nativity scene, and different projects, and verses, to do with the kids, to learn about the real meaning of Christmas. 

When it was just Ashlyn, I had little goodies, and a fun project, in each of 25 days. 

As the family has grown, and time has become a commodity, I have downsized to 12 days. 

In each bag, I put pieces of the nativity scene, a bible verse, or something to talk about at dinner, and a candy cane, that they can share. On the weekends days, there are projects we can do together, like building a gingerbread house, making snowflakes, cookies, and popcorn garland. They don't take alot of time, but get the kids to understand what the season is really about.

This year when I brought out the nativity pieces, my son was so excited, "to do the God thing", he said. He remembered what it was for, and what it was about. They are all looking forward to starting it this Saturday.

 I spiced up my wood tray collection with little Christmas goodies.

 The kitchen, already has the pops of red, with the island and decor (see it all here), so it only needed a couple things.

Two burlap wrapped pine trees, sit on either side of the window, along with a couple of may favorite, vintage glittered ornaments. 

The shade I made over the summer, needed some sprucing up. I love the burlap ribbon, and used that to draw up the shade. I plan on keeping this up after Christmas. 

I added a couple pine cones to the bottom of each side.

Kitchen table decor is hard to do at my house, the kids love to touch everything. 

So I had to keep it small this time, away from meddling hands.  I found this fabulous little guy, while visiting my sister, at Legacy Home Accents in Fredericksburg VA. 

 I put him on a cake plate with some branches, pine cones and berries. 

Since the dining room will be where we spend most of our meals at, this holiday, I kept it simple. 

The dining room had a book theme, with the walls being plastered with book pages ( the how-to, coming in January) , so I tried to keep the vintage books in the room. I used them to display my Creche. I mentioned before, how this was a pre-molded set, that my grandmother, and great-grandmother hand painted. I love all the detail put into these pieces. This was my part of Christmas to set up, when we were kids. 

My grandmother Tutu, passed away this past January, but having this in the center of the table, will keep her with us this holiday.

Christmas Poppers, another yearly tradition. They have silly toys, jokes and paper hats in them. We open them before Christmas dinner, and wear the hats all meal long. 

I kept all the decor from the room, and stacked it in the corner, adding some greenery to the lanterns. 

As children, me and my sister were given pieces to a holiday scene every  year. I have tons of houses, and lots of pieces to go with it. I don't have the room to display the whole thing, but I put out what I could,  on the entryway table. The kids love playing with the snow, and checking out the whole scene. 

Well that's all for my house, I don't have the patience to take the decorations up stairs, just one more thing I'll have to clean up.  

I hope you get to spend time with family, and loved ones this holiday season. 

We will be missing my sister, her husband, and their sweet new baby this year. My other grandmother, Nana, who has spent every Christmas with us since I was a young girl, will sadly not be joining us this year either. But I am thankful for those who will be here, and feel so blessed by those in my life! 

Thanks to C & C Paperie for making my cute card!