Wrapping Paper Wallpaper

Being an Military family means we have moved a lot since we've been married. We are in our 3rd house in less than 3 years. I am always trying to come up with new ways to decorate the way I would love to if we were in a house we owned.  I adore wallpaper. I think it adds such a punch to a room in a way that artwork and paint simple cannot. Although wallpaper is great, it can be a big job, and a huge commitment.  A simple temporary solution I've found is to use wrapping paper!  It's cheap, easy and removable!  It's a great solution for renters, or even a home owner that is scared of the commitment of wallpaper. 

I used wrapping paper in our first apartment to spruce up our drab kitchen. Read about it here!

I knew that I had wanted to do this in our current home but was waiting for just the right wrapping paper to jump out at me! TJMaxx is one of the best sources for fun and unique wrapping paper. That's were I found this great print for only $2.99 a roll! 

I knew right away where I wanted to use it. In my weird little alcove between the kitchen, dining room and living room.  The color was perfect and I liked that the wood texture wasn't too bold of a print since I've got a lot going on in my living room. 

I started at the top and made sure everything was lined up so that the paper would not wander from the corner. I used small staples from a regular old stapler to attach the paper to the walls. 

(I have used double stick tape and painters tape in the past, but my walls are textured so tape was not holding the paper to the walls) 

I used a roll and a half of wrapping paper to complete this space. 

I used an x-acto knife to trim edges and corners.

I carefully trimmed around the light switch with an x-acto knife as well. 

It was difficult to get a completed shot since it's a 3 sided wall, but I think it adds something special to an otherwise drab and boring spot. 

When we move it's as easy as ripping the paper down and removing the staples. 

Never be afraid to think outside the box!

West Elm Art Hack

In my blogging absence, I have done many little projects around my house. I'm sorry to say I have not documented them as well as I should have, but nevertheless I wanted to share one of my favorites on the blog!

West Elm Art Hack

-Cheap Paint Brush

-Any color acrylic paint

-poster board

-frame

The blog world has been featuring this art trend for months now, and I wanted some of my own!

This project is for the complete Art Dummy like myself. Just a few bush strokes of acrylic paint in any color you choose, in any random fashion and you've got instant art! 

Truth be told: I was in a weird late night crafting mood when I made this, and I didn't have any white poster board on hand. I ended up using the backside of blue crocodile print wrapping paper! I actually loved how it turned out because the texture of the wrapping paper came through the brush strokes and made a neat affect! 

Today I tried it with gold paint for my guest bath, and i loved the way it turned out! 

DIY Sea Urchin Decor

I have been drooling over these gorgeous Sea Urchin accessories since I first saw them at High Point last Spring. 

Check out these gorgeous Sea Urchin chandeliers I spotted while at High Point! 

{Sea Urchins}

{Sea Urchins}

Although I could have dropped about $100 to purchase one or two, I decided to make my own. I've seen a few tutorials out there involving a small styrofoam ball for the base, but I didn't like the thought of spray painting the styrofoam. 

Then I found a great tutorial from The Hunted Interior. She found her original tutorial here.

It involves using oven-bake clay for the base instead of styrofoam. 

I picked up my oven-bake clay from Walmart for around $5 and then purchased one pack of long Kabob sticks and one pack of shorter kabob sticks from my grocery store. They run about $2-$3 each. 

{Walmart}

I cut the longer rods in half so that I would have a medium sized Sea Urchin, and used the shorter rods for a smaller Sea Urchin. 

Following the same technique as shown on the Hunted Interior, I started by rolling a ball of clay and sticking the rods in a straight line in one direction. 

Then I started breaking up the circle into pie slices to make sure the rods where evenly distributed all over the ball. 

I kept breaking down the size of the pie pieces until I was satisfied with the coverage of the rods over the clay ball. 

Then I simply followed the baking instructions on the back of the clay package. I baked mine for a long time since the clay ball was so thick. Around 45 minutes, checking it periodically. I wasn't worried about the wooden rods in the oven since they are meant for Kabobs.  I knew they could handle the high temperature. 

After the baking, I let them cool and then gave them 2-3 coats of gold spray paint. Some of the rods  where very loose after baking. I used super glue to reattach the rods that where loose back into the clay. 

(One tip I would suggest if you decide to try out this DIY is to make sure that the your clay ball starting out is large enough. The first one I made, the ball was not big enough to handle all the rods it had in it and started to crack when it was baking.)

Project Breakdown

-Oven-Bake Clay:$5

-Kabob rods, 2 packs of different sizes:$5

-Gold Spray Paint: $4

Total: $14 + 2hrs of work

I still have enough supplies to make one or two more, so I would say this project was money and time well spent! 

November Prints!!

I was feeling extra festive last month and decided to add some fun October printables to my kitchen. I simply pulled some Pintrest Printables that I've had pinned for a while and printed them out. (Boy do I love alliteration!)  I recently purchased two clear display frames from Micheal's in hopes of using them for the ever so popular Lucite Trays, but wasn't feeling them as trays.  

(Sorry for the horrid iphone pics. Currently doing my research and saving up for a DSLR camera.) 

So here are a few Prints that I whipped up for November to fill my frames, and I wanted to share them with you! 

Normally, I hate anything deer or antler related due to an intense fear of the animal, but the trend is so hot in design right now I decided to give it a chance! 

Feel free to copy and paste them for personal use if you'd like!  

Chevron Pumpkin

So Easy! 

All you need is a pumpkin and duct tape!

For my project, I chose a white pumpkin and gold duck tape which I purchased at Hobby Lobby, but Walmart carries gold duct tape as well. 

{Gold Duct Tape}

Simply cut stripes of equal length and start at the top of your pumpkin by making the chevron pattern and work your way down. I chose to do 3 rows of chevron since my pumpkin was not very large. 

You could do this with any pattern duck tape, or any size or color pumpkin! I think this is a lot easier than painting chevron stripes. All you do is, cut peel and stick! 

DIY Rope Mirror

As we've been slowly settling into our new  home, I have been working on a couple of projects all at once, so I am in the process of getting them all on the blog! Here is a recent one that I just finished!

As my taste and design is evolving and changing, I'm realizing that textures are what gives a room dimension and personality.  I'm trying to add unique textures wherever I can.  I came across some really neat mirrors on Pintrest that a lot of other DIY'ers out that have tackled, so I figured I'd give it a shot! 

I first found a round mirror at Big Lots that was on sale from $50 to $30. I would have loved to found a thrifted mirror, but I have no clue where the good thrift shops are around here since we just moved! 

I picked up two roles of twisted Sisal Rope from WalMart. About $4 per roll. 

Hot glue is what I used to attach the rope to the mirror. I used A LOT of hot glue for this project! 

I started on the inside of the mirror and used dots of hot glue to attach the rope. 

Then I just started circling around the mirror with the rope and hot glue. 

I couldn't do it all in one sitting. It took me a few days to complete. 

Almost there! 

 Finally finished!  Just a swipe of Windex on the mirror and it was done! 

I decided to hang it in my entry way, which I just finished painting. I wanted to use a grey blue to go with my kitchen colors. The first color I chose was Ben Moore, Palladium Blue, which is a color I've used before and loved, but it turned out to be an awful sky blue in my room. I then chose Forevermore, an Olympic color but I used Valspar Paint. Love love love Valspar from Lowe's! It covers so nicely, even on my textured walls.

Much better! 

{Link}

Love the way the Rope mirror looks against the this blue color!