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I still haven’t painted any murals in River’s new room (and the babies new room)…..but then I remembered I had a watercolor mural that I had used when I was a teacher. I did it in water colors and then laminated it..so it could be reused again and again. River had a lot of fun helping to put up the mural. And then, when Fall is over, maybe I’ll feel inspired (and awake enough) to start on a real mural!
Well….we are slowly trying to get ready for these new little babies….only 8 weeks to go! One of the first steps is to move my daughter, Tuesday, into River’s old room. River had the smallest room and Tuesday had the biggest room. River’s new room will now also be the babies’ room. And the first thing that had to be done was painting. Tuesday did not want a pink room and she didn’t want the Go Dog Go murals in her room!! I was very sad. I knew they would have to go some day…but I didn’t think it would be so soon!!
The primer went on first….over the murals!! While Tuesday video taped the sad event..I set up the camera and put River in charge of taking the photos….Please ignore my large belly and butt in all these photos…I was in my painting clothes…and they hardly fit!! It was very sad to see the murals go……
I was trying to take some good photos of River’s room for a contest…but typical me…I had the deadline of the contest wrong…so I missed the deadline and couldn’t enter the contest. But that’s okay..I learned a lot about my camera and got some pretty good shots of River’s room. I wanted to get some nice photos of the Go Dog Go murals…and just the overall feel of her room.
I also learned about taking photos for a design contest. You look at the room and think you have everything set up perfectly…then you examine the photos and keep finding things wrong with the photo…..clock should be taken out of shot, stuffed animal not positioned correctly, comforter is crooked and doesn’t look perfect….lighting isn’t bright enough…I took tons and tons of photos and I still wasn’t completely satisfied! I don’t think I could ever make the room as perfect looking as the magazines..I’d have to get rid of all the clutter!
I didn’t want the room to look too perfect..but I wanted it to look nice for the photos. Also, River wanted to be in all the photos..but for this particular shoot, I didn’t want her in the photos..so that was a challenge in itself.
The room has a huge window in it…so that made it difficult to get the lighting just right..I wanted it bright..but I didn’t want the sun’s rays all over everything.
I could probably take a lot more and probably get some better shots…and learn even more…but I decided I needed to be satisfied with what I had….I do love to take photos of my children’s rooms…because they always seem to be changing…and it is fun to look back on how they used to look….especially since we are going to be putting a “big kids bed” in River’s room soon!
River keeps telling me that she wants her room painted a brighter pink…but I tell her she has to wait awhile..until she’s bigger….and then she can pick a new color for her room….I’m not ready to paint over the murals that I painted in her room..but I know one day she’ll be bigger and she will have tired of them….and then I’ll have to be ready to paint them over….but until then….
Okay……there are only 3 days left to vote……and today my room/hallway made it onto the Apartment Therapy blog as an “amazing” entry…..so, if you could please head on over there and vote for my room/hallway..I would appreciate it..though it is a pain to vote because you have to register with the site….but I do love Apartment Therapy…they have so many cool ideas! And if you register with their site..you get their newsletter, which is always filled with super cool photos of super cool apartments…and houses!
Okay…so I made it into the Apartment Therapy’s Room for Color Contest…but winning all depends on how many votes I get! I need everyone to click on the link to the site and add my Starry Night room as their “favorite!” Voting is open until October 29th. Please vote for me!
Awhile ago, I posted photos of my latest mural being finished…but the area wasn’t completely finished…..I still had to make new seat cushions. I wasn’t sure which fabric I wanted to use…so it took me awhile to decide. I needed a fabric that could take a beating…..3 children, 2 dogs and 5 cats! I decided to go with a thick corduroy in green. I love the color and I think it goes well with all the other crazy colors in our living room!
Yesterday I finally got around to sewing up the covers! The kids instantly loved them and wanted to sit in the “nook” and read and rest! Now, I just need to make some pillow covers! Maybe next week……
I’ve gotten a few requests asking for more photos of the Go Dog Go mural I did in River’s room. Each mural is approximately 5 feet by 4 feet. I did them with acrylic paints.
It has been so hot around here..that I have had lots of time to paint..inside. So, I finally finished the latest mural I had been working on…..from the book Excuse Me…Are You a Witch? by Emily Horn. It was a fun and quick mural. I have to put some type of polyurethane coating over it to protect it a bit…it is below windows, so the cats are constantly jumping up and scratching it. I am not sure what type of protective layer to put on it…I will be figuring that out soon.
Now, I am in the process of redoing the cushions on the window seat. Our old cushions for the seat have long ago died. We had an old pillowtop mattress and it became completely uncomfortable….so I cut it off! And I am using that for the new cushions. I am in the process of picking out some new material…and then I need to make two slip covers! Something I haven’t done before!
My latest mural is coming along quickly. It is so much smaller than the other one…..I can do just a bit of work and it makes a difference (have I said that before?)! Did you ever want to paint a mural on one of your walls, but thought you couldn’t do it? Well, you should just go for it! I start out by thinking about which wall I would like to paint..maybe start off small..in a bathroom or somewhere like that. Then, I think about what I would like to paint. Usually, I find a picture in a children’s book or magazine….there are so many incredible images!
Then, I scan the image and load it onto my computer. I have a Panasonic LCD Projector that I use…but you don’t have to use one of those…you could use a simple projector..I have one of those too…a Design Master Projector, which works great. The only difference is that I can use the Panasonic LCD projector in the daytime..I don’t have to wait until it is dark outside, which I have to do with the Design Master projector.
Then, I set up the projector and my laptop and position the picture. And I draw out the design using a pencil…very lightly. This sets your mural up so that you are ready to paint.
Then you get started on the painting, which I think is the fun part…seeing the mural come to life! Sometimes your pencil lines disappear when you paint, but they are meant as guide lines only. When I am finished painting, I usually outline everything using black paint, or my new best friend….a Sharpie paint pen!! These things are my new best friend!
I’ll keep you posted with my progress on this mural!
Also, don’t forget to enter my latest giveaway!!!!!!!!!!!! I’m giving away a $25.00 gift certificate to my Etsy shop!!!
River had her old crib still in her room….I had changed it into a day bed….it was mostly a stuffed animal bed! I had been contemplating taking it down for awhile. …but couldn’t figure out if I wanted to or not….then I saw that ALL Simplicity cribs had been recalled, all makes and all models….and we had a Simplicity crib….it said that all cribs should be returned to the store where you purchased it…..so that made the decision easy for me! She loves dress up and we needed a place to put all her dress up stuff….so we dragged an old chest out of the basement…..
And of course it needed a coat of paint! And of course River had to help paint it!
Which of course, made things a bit more interesting…she wanted it painted then and there…and was very upset we didn’t have any pink paint…she had to settle for baby blue. I promised her that during the summer we would paint a beautiful pink design over the baby blue…..
By today, the chest was dry…so we took down the crib and moved in the chest….of course, we had to rearrange a few other things…and read some books in between and play with Barbies here and there…and get out all the stuffed animals….vacuum out the cobwebs……you know how it is…..
But finally things were all back together…and River seemed pretty happy with her room…..
