Camping Themed Boy's Room

I have been having the best time meeting most of my favorite bloggers at Blissdom. 

Dear sweet home & DIY bloggers, y'all really rock!

A few of those rockin' women bloggers:
Sandra (Sawdust & Paper Scraps), Rhoda (Southern Hospitality), Shaunna (Perfectly Imperfect), Ashley (Pure + Lovely), Erin (Two Story Cottage) and Layla (TheLetteredCottage)

So I met, Layla from The Lettered Cottage – I know seriously – Layla! She is a real sweetheart and very down-to-earth gal. Anyway, she sent out a request for ideas for kids rooms. She and her cute hubby (don't tell her I said that) are on the road to adoption and want to put together a room for their little one(s).

I'm sure I'm not telling you anything new when I say that Layla and Kevin don't need any help with design ideas. Their bungalow is "to die for!" But, when a blogger asks for ideas, one must comply.

And because, who doesn't love a good before and after. Here is my son's bedroom shortly after we moved into our home.

Pretty boring, huh? Poor guy didn't even have a bed frame. But, frankly, it let me sleep better at night knowing he wouldn't roll out of bed.  Hey, Layla, they roll out of bed until a little after 4 yrs. old. But, I know you won't be buying bunk beds anytime soon ;-).

Two plus years later and we moved beyond the rolling out of bed phase AND something divine happened. I met a "real" mural artist and it was like finding a clone of myself! I promptly hired my clone to help me paint a mural in my son's room.

A beautiful woodland and mountain theme!

Tom Barber (mural artist in Raleigh, NC) painted most of the background and I painted the animals (because that is my illustration specialty.)

I bought some corner rounded shelves at Home Depot and installed them in the corner where Tom painted a big tree.

A perfect spot to curl up with a good book.

The closet is my son's super secret hideaway.

When you open the door you are met by a tent.

Pretty Handsome Son can either close it up or secure the tent flaps on the sides with the velcro tie backs.

The tree is made from some crepe myrtle branches that we had to trim from our trees out front.

The lantern in the tree was an old oil lantern. I drilled a hole in the bottom and inserted a candelabra light kit. It is the perfect amount of light for him to read stories by.

I used a larger branch for the curtain rod. And tied the rod to the shelf with some rope knots.

And I had to add this adorable bird that my son made in preschool. No kids room is complete without his or her artwork.

He sleeps soundly under the light up moon on the wall.

The bookshelf was re-painted and I mod podged old US Geological Survey maps onto the back.

I wish I had a room like this when I was a child. Heck, when he outgrows it (which I hope he never does), I'll move in to his room!

Before:

After:

Bedding from Target Woolrich collection.

Ringing in the New Year - Hanging New Blinds

Happy New Year! I love January 1st. It is a new beginning, with new goals, resolutions and a chance to start fresh.

We had an open house style party on New Year's Day. I was talking with my friend Leslie about how little changes can really make a big difference in your home and attitude. It is better to make some small alterations to your home instead of waiting to make bigger changes. We all have many reasons for waiting:

• Lacking Money
• Lack the skills
• Lacking a vision
• Lacking time
• Lacking motivation
• Insert your own reason here!

When we first moved into our home I didn't want to do anything to our master bathroom because I knew we would need to gut it one day.

But, I can't tell you how awful I felt every morning as I stepped into that hideous bathroom.

Finally I stopped waiting and made a few changes. I didn't rip out the tile, I just added some paint, stain and new fixtures. And it really made me happy! Sure I still have to step into a harvest gold tile coffin to shower. And I will have to wait until we have the funds to renovate the room one day. But, at least that room makes me happy for now.

So, in the spirit of a fresh start, I decided to give our Master Bedroom a little face lift this week.

Our bedroom was the first room we painted when we moved in, and I stopped loving the room last year. Especially when these showed up!

Yuck, I'm not sure how our roman shades got stained. I think it might have been from the vaporizer I run in our bedroom because I can't find any other places where water could have penetrated the window.

I admit, I was in a holding pattern. I found myself stalling, thinking that I had to wait until we scraped our ceilings. Then we could re-do that room.

 

The truth is that I had all the supplies to give our room a mini-facelift. Back when Layla posted about her new window treatment in her master bedroom, I was all eyes!

Our bed is situated in the same location as her's (in front of two windows.) I had struggled with what to do with our bed and those window until I read her post. Luckily, I was able to find these natural grass shades at Bed, Bath & Beyond on clearance. $9.99 per blind! SCORE!

Thank you Layla@TheLetteredCottage for sharing your window treatments!

But, I waited another 2 months to do anything with those blinds! Sheesh, I can't believe it took me that long to pull on my big girl "go ahead and do it" panties?

I started by removing the old stained blinds. Sadly I sewed them myself only three years ago. Sniff, sniff.

Then, I held up the new blinds to the height I wanted them. I hung them higher than the window to give the illusion that the window was taller, and also to be sure not to block too much natural light from the room.

Made a mark on the wall with pencil.

Next, I used a level to mark a line across the whole window.

I measured the width of my blinds and held up the first bracket at one end. Lucky for me I had already located a stud near the one end of the blind. (Read about stud finding HERE.)

Here is the first trick you NEED TO KNOW about hanging any window treatments! Those screws that come with blinds will not hold up your window treatments over the long haul even if you are screwing them into a stud. Especially if you have small children that may try to play Tarzan on them one day.

The wimpy 1" screws are not long enough to go through the drywall and into your studs. And DO NOT expect them to hold if they are simply screwed into drywall either.

Be sure to purchase some extra drywall or wood screws that are 2" long.

Also have some of these wall anchors on hand at all times! They screw into the wall when a stud is not behind your bracket. I can't tell you how much better these are than those cheap wall anchors that you get for free.

Next I drove the screws into the bracket using my cordless drill. (Finishing off at the end with a screwdriver.) I used two of the wimpy screws and two longer screws.

I repeated the process to hang the other bracket. Then followed the directions for hanging the blinds I bought.

I was able to hang the other side the same way and used my level line to make sure both blinds were hung at the same height.

Next I adjusted the cord stop and pulls to fit our windows. Because the blinds weren't custom made for our windows, they hung down below the window sill. I started by closing the blinds to the bottom of our windows. Then moved the small stop bead to the top of the cord.

 

Next I moved the pull knobs to a location in the middle of the blinds, added new knots to hold them there and then cut off the excess.

Next up on Pretty Handy Girl. How to hang curtains and a no-iron way to iron your curtains!

Plus, I have some more frugal changes that cost me – ummm – nothing! I added a big graphic element to the side wall (Tutorial HERE.) I know, sorry to tease you like that, but if you follow me on Twitter, I gave away the secret there.

Until then, I encourage you to embrace the New Year by making a small change to a room you really don't like.

• Try hanging a new picture.
• Try hanging new blinds or curtains.
• Cover up something you don't like with fabric.
• Buy some new throw pillows.
• Change around your accessories.
• Or switch out your bedding.

If you have a little more time and energy, It really is amazing what a new coat of paint can do for a room!

So, please don't wait. Make yourself happy! Change out something today! It doesn't mean you have to buy something new.

I am planning on swinging by our local Goodwill this week. You should have seen the lines of people donating their items before the new year (myself included!) I bet there are some treasures to be found this week.

Addendum: Monique sent me an email asking if she would be at risk of electrocuting herself when using the longer screws. Good question Monique. Here is my answer:

When I used the 2" screws I was screwing them into the studs. See THIS post to determine how to find a stud. It is about halfway down the post past the bench assembly. Electrical is not normally in a stud, occasionally it is run through a stud, but the 2" screw is actually only penetrating the stud about 1/2" to 3/4". Sometimes electrical wires are fed through a hole in the stud, however, it is normally centered in a 2" x 4" stud, so about 2" back. But, normally electrical is not run up near the ceiling through studs (where I was hanging the blinds). The electricity for your outlets is down near the outlets. The electrical for your ceiling light would run vertical from the switch and up through the ceiling. Most of those wires are either loose in the cavity between the studs or stapled to the middle of the stud (about 2" back).

If you are mounting your bracket into the drywall cavity (not a stud) I wouldn't use just the screw. That is where I would use the plastic toggler anchors that I showed above. The cavity in the drywall is 3 3/4" deep (the width of a stud.) Should an anchor touch the electrical (which that would be rare, it is sheathed in thick plastic and would normally flex away from the anchor. Plus, because it is plastic it wouldn't conduct electricity.)

In other words, long explanation short, you don't need to worry about shocking yourself if you are using anchors in the hollow areas and 2" screws into the studs.

Sharing this project at these FABULOUS link parties:

DIY Showoff  Project Parade

Skip to My Lou - Made by You Mondays

Between Naps on the Porch - Metamorphosis Mondays

Mad in Crafts - Mad Skills Party
Crazy Domestic Goddess - All Things Domestic
Tip Junkie - Handmade Projects Tues.

Coastal Charm - Nifty Thrifty Tues.

All Thingz Related- anything related Tuesdays

Creating a House of Grace- Twice owned Tuesdays

I'm Topsy Turvy - Topsy Turvy Tues.

Blue Cricket Design - Show and Tell Wednesday

Domestically Speaking - Power of Paint
The Tshirt Diaries - Upcycled Wednesday

Fine Craft Guild - Tutorial Link Party

Somewhat Simple.com - Strut Your Stuff

Shabby Chic Cottage - Transformation Thursdays

The Virginia House - We Can Do It Cheaper
Tools are for Women Too! - Modern Craftswoman

Fireflies and Jellybeans - Show Off Your Stuff

Decor Mamma - Frugalicious Friday

In the Fun Lane- Fresh Coat Fridays

Miss Mustard Seed - Furniture Feature Fridays

Tater Tots and Jello - Weekend Wrap Up Party

Funky Junk Interiors - Saturday Night Special 

A Little Knick Knack - Everything but the Kitchen Sink

  Shabby Nest - Frugal Friday

December - Dejá Vu a Month in Review

Wham! This year has flown by so fast, it feels like I've been shot out of a cannon. December was a quick flash of light. As a courtesy to those of us that rarely have enough time to read all the fabulous blogs on a regular basis, I have for you a review of all the posts at Pretty Handy Girl in December.

1. Using Shutters for Displaying Christmas Cards

2. Painting Brick Fireplaces  - Reader's Spotlights

3. Presto Chango - Christmas Wreath Tutorial

4. Winter Wonderland Photo Gallery

5. Mini Gift Pouches from Napkins Tutorial

6. Glass Jar Votive Holder Tutorial

7. Installing Anti-Tip Bracket on Your Oven

8. Why I Love My Cordless Drill

9. El Cheapo Laundry Room Makeover

10. Creative Gift Wrapping Day #1

11. Creative Gift Wrapping Day #2

12. Creative Gift Wrapping Day #3

13. Creative Gift Wrapping Day #4

14. Creative Gift Wrapping Day #5

15. Creative Gift Wrapping Day #6 

16. Repairing a Pop Up Sink Drain

17. Fixing Common Gift Wrap Problems - Pretty Handsome Guy Guest Posting

18. Creating Magical Silhouette Gifts from Santa

19. The Best of Pretty Handy Girl 2010

And that finishes up December of 2010! I hope you all have a wonderfully Happy New Year.
I look forward to sharing some more DIY empowerment with you in 2011!