Black & White Country Bedroom Update

Spent a little time fluffing up the Black and White (French) Country bedroom today...It is kinda losing it's "French" along the way oops...This room was (is) my eldest daughters, though now she has moved out of home, it is where our guests get to stay...You can see how the room looked before I fluffed it up today by clicking here

I finally got around to sanding the head board a little, giving it that lovely shabby chic finish...alas before I finished the foot of the bed, I ran out of sandpaper being I could only find half a sheet to begin with.

This is the view as you enter from the hallway...

Behind the mirror hides the flat screen TV...The lovely looking vintage chair in the right bottom corner is actually husband's computer chair covered with a vintage style lace table cloth and a cute golden pillow...I keep begging hubby to upgrade to a laptop but he declines, so plan B is getting him a computer Armoire to hide his ugly old computer, which has now also been moved into this room to free up the old "guest room" to become lil Sara's bedroom.

View from other side of the bed...

I got this little cherub a few weeks ago from Orlando. I have since given him a little glaze/drybrush treatment with burnt umber and then another over coat of vintage white to add some definition to the details and give him a little bit of a vintage look....

This is what he looked like when I brought him...stark white..

I still need to finish the lamp shade. It is currently just pinned together and I want to paint the base as well...As you can see I have begun to bring my porcelain dolls into this room also...

This would be the biggest change to the room...I finally found a round piece that fits the bed netting perfectly...The netting I have had since my eldest was a baby, it was over her crib and bed as she grew up...Over the years the plastic frame that held it up disintegrated...I am so happy to finally be able to put it back where it belongs...

And finally the white "doily" pillow case...This I have also had for years and it came from my mother...I paired it with a pink under pillow case to add an even more of a girlie touch to the bed...

I hope this is enough to Wow Us Wednesday over @ http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/

Don't forget Kim is also hosting a great give-away as well...

http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/2011/02/its-giveaway-time.html

And I am also posting to Pink Saturday with Beverly @ http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com

Blessings Kelsie

Completed Bedroom Tour - Black & White French County

To celebrate 7 months since moving into the new house I am sharing with you today, the long awaited tour of my eldest (almost 18yrs old) daughter's finished bedroom...I know many of you have seen parts of this room as it was slowly coming together, but others are viewing it for the first time, so for this reason I am going to be repeating some of the details for first time readers...Even though she is moving out come January, I want her to enjoy these last couple of months in the family home. The Black and White theme in the room will stay when she leaves but the accessories will be changed obviously when she takes her personal items with her.

Now with that being said let's get this tour started.
Don't be shy about clicking the images to view them bigger for a better look at the details.

The view as you enter from the hallway...

The 3 masks you see on the wall are,
The Cat from a long ago kiddie costume,
The Meowth mask from her Senior yr drama presentation for homecoming and then lastly we have the black and red masquerade mask that was part of a set of 4 created by us for her Honors English class production of The Red Death...The other students from the production asked to keep the masks they wore.

As you step into the room a little farther you see more school memorabilia in the form of her Grad Cap on her giant Pikachu...Her Senior Silhouette art work...and her knik-knak shelf.

The view from the other side of the bed...
I recovered the lamp to match the curtains that I made and the antique chair I painted and upholstered (See chair transformation here) ....These were all first time projects for me, but has given me so much confidence to do similar ones in other parts of the house. *grin*

This silhouette was part of a display they did for her graduating class in 2010...Each student had one on the "Grad Wall" with their name under it...I framed hers after school was over for above her bed but it was lost in such a large space, so I found a second larger frame, painted it black and used the fabric from her grad gown for the backing fabric, hung the smaller frame in the center of it...I love how it turned out and it complements the artwork I created for the opposite wall also.

These are obviously her own personal touches lol...The Dr Who figures came to her as gifts from her dear friend Danni in the UK...The Dragon is a cherished gift from Grandma and Grandpa, the wooden peg dolls she has had since she was just a baby and her White Rabbit by Tonner Dolls I gave her last Christmas, I hope to one day save enough to also buy her Alice to go with him...The Pokemon figures are part of her rather large collection of all things Pokemon from the last 14yrs.

View of her desk area...
and no that is not a naughty lil Sara standing in the corner, that is Mic's Shy Dolly.

We found this cat press mold this week at the Thrift store...It was terracotta so I gave it a quick white washing and added some ribbon for it to hang from...It fills the bare space that was next to her desk nicely...

These 3 pieces of artwork I created using some old frames I had been given a few years back...
See their transformation here


I am still loving how her notice board turned out....Kinda wanna steal it for my own work space hehe....Note the Dr Who Fob Watch, another gift from the lovely Danni...It is a great place for her to display Prom Pix , Grad Tassel and Alice Disney pins.

Now you might have noticed the last frame on the right looks different from earlier posted pix of the artwork, and though it still features the fabric from her grad gown we have added some Postcards from Paris...While recently unpacking more boxes ( I know 7 months and I am still unpacking arg) I came across a huge stack of postcards from my father's many travels back home to Europe over the years...Even though we wanted to avoid any cliche "Paris" stuff, I thought it a wonderful way to honor her European roots and remember her Opa.

And of course the crowning jewel is the glittery mini chandelier...I am so glad I got brave and ordered this from walmart.com...It was the jumping off point for the entire room.

I snuck in and snapped this picture today...Lil Sara loves when she is allowed in to "big sissy's" room to hang out...and also proof positive that it is in fact a doll not Sara in timeout lol.

Thank you for stopping by and visiting our space...
I am sharing it this week on for

Making use of those collectible souvenir pins.

Ever wondered what to do with those souvenir pins you (or your children if you visit Disney) collect while on vacation?

They are a lovely little keepsake of your travels or in the case of the Disney pins, a fun collectible...But once you are home, lets face it, you are not going to wear them, so they will end up tossed in a draw or jewelry box forgot.

Well I am currently on a de-cluttering of our lives kick and have a use it or lose it philosophy...Now my eldest daughter has been collecting these pins for 10yrs now and has both Disney and regular souvenir pins.

Today I am sharing her "Alice" pins, which have been a challenge to find due to the newest movie being released as I have mentioned in a previous post.

These came as a set of two...I was silly enough to put back the Tweedles during one visit and sadly could not find them on our return...oops...Maybe next time.

This one is super cute because the cup rocks back and forth...No wonder poor Alice has that look on her face....This pin is rather large so has a double post in back.

I know I have not answered my own question yet...What to do with these things once you are home? If you turn them over and look at the back they are exactly what the name implies..A PIN...They do come with little stopper things on the back so they can be pinned to fabric or clothing...But this is what they look like once you remove the back thingie....hmmmmm

What lovely and fun push-pins (thumb tacs) they make for a message board...Daughter only wants to use her Alice pins for her board but you could use any kind you like...I am thinking next visit to Downtown Disney I am going to be looking for some pins to go on my kitchen message board...Tink maybe *wink*

Happy Monday
Kelsie

Despite the rain I finally got the chair finished.

It took a few more days than I had hoped but FINALLY I got the chair for the French Bedroom painted and the cushion covered to match the curtains.

This was taken thru the french doors of the little summer rain shower we had yesterday afternoon...Literally minutes after I finished applying the final coat of paint to the chair on the front porch.

This is the chair before...It is one of those pieces of furniture that has been knocking around the house since before we got married...Meaning I have no idea where it came from to begin with, but I have always loved the shape and style of it and knew one day I would have use for it.

Another pic of the finished product...
Now I just have the throw pillows to go and the room is complete.

Today we are heading into Walmart for a Dora the Explorer Birthday party so I doubt I will get much done in the way of projects today....But one can hope.

Have a great Saturday.

Graduation Silhouette

Just a quick morning post before I head out the door to Walmart and maybe a side trip to a local antique store if I am lucky (Hubby and baby co-operating)...I will be picking up the fabric to re-cover the desk chair and trims for the throw pillows, while we are at Walmart also...yay...fabric shopping.


After I had posted Mic's room on HGTV Rate this room site, I got lots of helpful comments, including the silhouette artwork over the bed was kinda small and lost. So while working on the frames yesterday, I felt inspired and dug out yet another frame (I think I am almost out of frames now) and painted it black, covered the backing with more of the graduation gown, then hung the smaller frame in the center...This beefed up the artwork nicely over the bed, and helped to bring our blue accent color over to that wall.

Now all that is left, is to finish the chair and the pillows. Unless I find the perfect desk within the budget, then I will be happy home decorator *grin*

Other pressing question of the week...Will I ever get that baking done...Let's hope so.

The Story of Three Frames.

These frames came to me from my Mother-In-law, she got them for a steal at a thrift store I believe, though I do not remember the exact price. She told me she knew I would know just what to do with them...Thank you MIL.

The largest of the three was paired with an old cork board, some ribbon, co-ordinating fabric, and buttons...Since the cork board was slightly larger I had to cut it down to size, after that it was all paint and hot glue gun....I think you all know where I am going with this.

Now we have a Black & White vintage looking memory board.

Perfect for over Mic's desk...
Matches her, ummmmm Dr Who Figures??
Ok so The Dr and the Cybermen seem to be invading rural France this week...Or maybe they are having a Pokemon battle???

The other two frames, also got a coat of paint.
More of a milky wash actually, to allow the gold paint to show a little.


Using foam cord, I created backings for both frames.
Then used the fabric from daughters graduation gown to create the "artwork" within the frames.

Black & White French Country Inspired Bedroom

I wanted to do something special for Mic's room when we moved in to the new house, knowing it will not be long until she leaves the nest. She wanted black & white, I wanted to do something french country and a little girlie....This is what we have got so far....

I still have to make the throw pillows for the bed and finish sewing the trim onto the lamp. The artwork above the bed, not only matches the theme, but is from her graduating seniors wall, making it extra special.

Can you believe it, I MADE CURTAINS....after yrs of making doll clothes, that was A LOT of fabric to deal with...I think they look really cute, and helped to pull the room together..

Though we still have to work on the frames/artwork for the "unseen" wall to the right, it is look much more like a finished room already....But I am thinking I could have gotten away with a larger chandelier...We will see after I add the bed crown...Maybe then the chandelier will not look so lonely on the ceiling.