Playroom Gallery Wall

Day 1 has come to an end and in true blogger fashion I was running around in a tizzy because I wanted to make sure I had good light for my after pics;)

The playroom wasn't horrible but it did have a big project in it that has been sitting on the floor in my master bedroom- hence having to accomplish it before my bedroom tomorrow.

I had a gallery wall in there but it was done super quick and not long after we moved in.  And it was hiding all sorts of holes on the wall that I didn't care to fill at the time.  Partly because it's annoying but mostly because we were never able to completely match the builders beige that was everywhere.

Today was the day though- I had already replaced the black Ikea storage for white- and had framed 9 8x10 pics in, what else, Ikea white frames, but hadn't hung them.

I started by patching all of the holes in the wall and then painting the whole wall in Benjamin Moore, Revere Pewter.  I had it left over from painting our family room and if I couldn't match the wall I may as well make it an accent.  It is just the best gray I have ever found!

After I finished painting, it was time for a pool break! In my haste I may have forgotten towels... I never claimed to be Super Mom.  So a few minutes on the swings had them dry and ready to go!

Paint was dry and now the fun part (read sarcasm).  Hanging Ikea frames is not anyone's idea of fun- but we suffer through it because they are cheap...

I would love to tell you I had an amazing method, but that would be lying! I measured between and eye balled the rest and then with the wire I could adjust it if it needed to be a bit higher or lower.

I love how much fresher and brighter this room feels now!

This room has to combine function with decor- two boys don't necessarily equal a bunch of breakables and pretties everywhere;)

Tomorrow I will be working on my master bedroom!

xoxo
B

Five Rooms/Five Days: Cleaning Up our Home!

Big week here at Windgate Lane!

I need this house to come back under my control... easier said than done.  But continuing to look at the 'hills' I need to climb to get it where I want is not going to get it done- but action will!

Want to join me?

Now I realize you may have more than five rooms in your house and technically so do I- but I am focusing on the big living spaces and bedrooms- So follow along or join along- just don't tell me about the cold drink and fun movie you are watching on TV? mmmkaaay? thanks!

Monday: Playroom (silent tear coming down my cheek) (click here for Day 1 Update!)

Tuesday: Master Bedroom (Day 2 Completed Project)

Wednesday: Big Boy #1 Room (Completed Project, click here)

Thusday:  Big Boy #2 Room (click for update here)

Friday:  Family Room (click for update here)

Now this isn't just a tidy up kinda thing- it is a finish any planned projects and purge and then clean kinda thing! Patch holes in walls- paint walls- make this ninja turtle stop staring at me! for real.

Don't worry- there won't be any live shots of me while working due to this being a shower optional kinda week... I kid, I kid... maybe every other day...

So- let's get to work and follow along with WindgateLane on Instagram for sneak peeks and also on Facebook.
I will be posting everyday this week on what I accomplished and then linking back to this post as I go so all rooms will be in one place:)

Playroom is today- check back later to see pics of my completed/clean room!

xoxo
B

Blogger Swap Meet

Welcome to the Blogger Swap Meet!

If you are popping over from Jen at The Chronicles of Home, welcome!

I was the lucky recipient of her thrifting find in this fun
blog swap!

A couple of my fabulous blogging friends came up with a fun idea to pass our thriftiness around and challenge each other!
So we were all given a medium (wood, metal, or glass) and we had to find something thrifted and under $15 to send to the next person in our order.

Jen sent me something that I loved so much I hated to do too much to it! This awesome metal tray arrived and my brain went in about 20 different directions on what to do with it! At first I was going to hang it on the wall and make magnets to clip up notes on it-  I thought about making it a clock too.

My inspiration finally struck though because of a summer party and the tray's original purpose:)  I wanted to make it versatile though- so I found some different fabrics I had and settled on the black and white I was given by the Online Fabric Store last year at the Haven conference (you can read about that here).


I love it and and want to incorporate more black and white in our home so it was perfect.

Tutorial:
I traced around the tray on the fabric and then cut out the circle.  I then covered the front with Mod Podge and after it dried, I did the same on the back.  I wanted it to hold its shape and then be able to spray it with a water proof sealant so that it would be fine if it got wet.  What I love is that I can change it out whenever I want to go with whatever party theme we are having! And it made my little unused plant table into a tray table/ bar cart.
I also taped off the legs and painted them a fun English Yellow by Annie Sloan and then taped off a square pattern for interest on the bottom shelf using a gorgeous mint green (Cosmopolitan) by Velvet Finishes.

Happy Summer!! Hop on over to Jess at Gourley Girl and Guy to see what fun surprises she got from me!

And here is the whole list of lovely ladies participating- so make sure you check them all out!

• Jessica at Gourley Girl and Guy
• Charlotte at Ciburbanity
• Christina at Homemade Ocean 
• Bee at Windgate Lane
• Dena at Hearts and Sharts
• Danielle at Two Little Superheroes
• Jen at Chronicles of Home
• Melody at My Passion For Décor 
• Lindsay at The White Buffalo Styling Co.
• Jessica at Decor Adventures

xoxo
B

Stripping....

I don't like stripping. period. the end. First off because my body just ain't what it used to be... ha! ok, ok... you know I had to.  But really, furniture stripping is not my cup of tea.  But there is only one way to get all of those Deep Burgundy stained pieces (you know what i'm talking about) back to a pretty natural wood.... so strip I must!

This is going to be another sneak peak at part of my office make-over from 2013-14-and probably 15... baby steps people.

I don't need a huge desk and it is a small room- so I decided that this larger sofa table would be perfect- and on Craigslist for $40- I was ready to give it a shot!  If I could find my wonderful before pic I would show you... sigh.... but you can see how dark it was here in this beginning shot...

Tutorial:

I got an old brush out and bought a can of CitriStrip and got to work.  Make sure you wear protective gloves! I just put one thin coat on to see how well it was going to work and ended up adding more in certain places that it just wasn't wiping off.  Make sure you use a plastic scraper so you don't gouge the wood when slowing scraping- and also make sure you go in the directions of the grain as well.  This piece had several decorative spots that I just used a cloth to wipe the CitriStrip on and then off as well because then you could get in all the nooks and crannies.

Once I had all of the old stain off- I took a rag and some mineral spirits to clean it all down and get any left over stripping off.

I'm going to interrupt this tutorial to tell you that when I went into the paint store and asked the young gentleman at the counter where the Mineral Spirits were, he replied... "Is that some kind of Energy Drink?" to which I replied... "Bless your heart... no sweetie and don't ever drink it if you see it!!"

I kind of felt I might have just saved a life...

After I let it sit for a bit, I then sprayed a water based poly acrylic all over it to have a seal on it- but I didn't want to do much because I wanted it to look very natural and not shiny or too done.  

I can't wait to show you how fun she will be in the office- but for now- behold her natural beauty!

I hope y'all are having a wonderful day today!!

xoxo

B

Scrap Wood American Flag

One of my closest friends was in love with the Pottery Barn American Flag art... with good reason, so pretty!
But as a lot of us can sympathize... not in love with the price!
She is one of the most giving people that I know- a truly selfless person- and has done so much for our family- so I wanted to give back to her.  This may be a random way- but it's something I could surprise her with because she rarely asks for anything in return!
So off to Lowes I (we) went. (The boys and I may or may not have been banned from the plumbing section... don't ask)  I searched the molding isle and even considered using fence planks- but she wanted it above her mantel and I wanted the look without the weight.  At that point, I remembered that I had some scrap wood at home that was fairly thin and could probably do the job.  I just bought some smaller pieces to attach it all together for support.
So... behold my version! Below you will find the tutorial:)

Tutorial:

1.  Gather wood scraps and play around with your placement

2.  Using wood glue or liquid nails (what I had on hand) connect two boards and clamp

 3.  Once those are dry- attach all sections together- once the glue is tacky (it might still come apart but just rest them together) lay the two cross boards across the back with liquid nails on them and place heavy books or soup cans on the top to apply pressure until dry.

4.  Once all of that is dry- I did short screws through the cross boards to reinforce the liquid nails.

5.  Flip over and at this point you can either paint or stain.  I wanted to stain mine first so that it would show through the paint treatment.

6.  I wanted mine to have an old weathered look- so I used two different stains- I did one very messy and uneven coat of grey stain and then immediately went over that with a dark walnut.  It came out super pretty!

7.  After the stain was dry, I taped off where I wanted the stars to be placed.  I then cut out the amount of stars I wanted and tested placement- then I poured some Pure White Annie Sloan Chalk paint onto my trusty Costco paper plate (these come in handy for me so often!) and then lightly placed the star into the white paint.  I know- sounds crazy but stay with me!  I then put the star with the paint down into position- repeat with all stars.

8.  Lightly press all of the stars down so they are sticking to the surface with the paint- 

9.  Then on another paper plate (see!) I mixed some Annie Sloan Napoleonic Blue with a bit of water, and did fast brushes over that whole section.  Once that was on- I immediately started pulling up the paper stars- which left a rugged star! yay!

10.  I then watered down both the Annie Sloan Pure White and the Emperors Silk Red and did very quick coverage over the stripes- because I wanted it to look weathered and be able to see the wood stain through.

11.  Attach hangers to the back and you are done!

Have you done any summer decorating? I am working on another staining project that will include a giveaway so stay tuned for that!
xoxo
B


Linking up to:
Twirl and Take a Bow

Ikea Rast Hack

You've seen it done before- I get it.  But after the dresser debacle (click here), we had to rearrange my boy's room and he ended up needing some nightstands- and being that this was not a planned room make over, I had to get creative due to funding issues;)
He is working on a hoarding career and doesn't like to get ride of any of his school work- so I decided at least if he had closed storage, it wouldn't drive me totally batty and the Ikea Rast was a good solution.  Enter two of these puppies as nightstands... The Ikea Rast:

Because I didn't want everything to try and be matchy in his room- I really just tried some things out on these and finally settled on a warm stain on the drawer fronts and Annie Sloan Pure White on the sides and base.  The top is where I had a little fun! I am going to shock you all and let you in on a little secret... I don't really like chevron... are you done gasping? I said it.  It's just not my fave pattern- but I wanted something simple and fun for the top of these and decided an arrow pattern might work.  Now this time I did actually do a little measuring- I stared my placing a line at the center and then taping back from there....

Once again, I painted over the tape lines with the white paint so that the blue would then not bleed through.  I still had some Annie Sloan Napolianic Blue left, so I used that.  After two coats, I pulled off the tape and then gave them all a good coat of Minwax Poly.

And if you are confused- yes- I did two of these for each side of his bed- but you will have to see the other one when I post the whole room reveal- coming soon to a blog near you;)
Some of you caught a sneak peak of me working on this on Instagram- if you want more sneak peaks of up coming projects- follow along here @beemottl 
Hope you are having a great day!!
xoxo
B


Linking to:
Twirl and Take a Bow
The Dedicated House