Thursday, February 24, 2011

Big Girl Room #1 - Hand-Painted Flowers


Prior to buying our current home two years ago, we lived in a modest townhouse that I had purchased on my own (i.e. - pre-Heelamonster in my life). After the Heela moved in, we decorated a few rooms here and there, including both of our daughters nurseries once they came along. Since we didn't find out our first child's gender, we had to decorate it in a neutral theme so we  I chose Classic Winnie the Pooh. I did most all of the decorating work by myself since the Heela was traveling alot back then and, if I do say so myself, it came out pretty darn good! (I hope to post more details on that project later, but here is a pic).



Glimpse of SweetPea's Nursery in Old House

Painting that room had been ALOT of work (granted I was 7 months pregnant at the time) so when we moved into our new house, I just had no desire to re-do that nursery or all that painting despite the fact that SweetPea was still in her crib. Besides, I knew it wouldn't be too long before she moved into a "big girl bed" and the decor would need to be updated at that time anyway. So we left the room in its natural, move-in state and I simply used the Winnie the Pooh accessories to make it liveable for a little while. Here it is in all its sad, pathetic and very plain glory....


SweetPea's Nursery in New House

But when it came time to upgrade to a big girl room, I still had no desire (or energy) to paint the whole room. So I racked my brain to try and figure out how I could add some LIFE and COLOR to the room without having to deal with tape and primer and trim and all that [crapola].

Meanwhile, I came across this awesome comforter cover on clearance at Company Kids. I loved all the bright colors (hmmmm.... no wonder I like the colors of THESE costumes so much!) and knew I she just had to have it.


Comforter Cover bought on clearance from Company Kids


I also liked the fact that it wasn't all ~{Little Girly}~. I figured it would be great if I could find a style that wouldn't absolutely need to be changed in the next few years (i.e. - Dora, Princesses, Elmo, etc.) when SweetPea was 5 going on 15.

And then it dawned on me...


Those flowers look hand painted...


What if I could re-create those comforter flowers...

 ...on the wall?!?!

YES!!! That's it!!

A friend of mine had recently painted a Curious George mural on her son's wall using a basic image found on the internet, projecting that image onto the wall, tracing the image and then painting it in. Easy Peasy!

So, I immediately scanned each of the flowers onto my computer, (splicing multiple scans as necessary) to get .jpg images like this...






I then used a projector (borrowed from work) to project the images onto the wall. Once each image was where I wanted it, I traced the general form with a pencil. (I apologize for not having any pictures of the process - this was pre-blogdom. SO SORRY!). Then I started painting. [I had taken one of the pillowcases up to Lowes and bought the small sample jars of paint (Valspar) in each color of the flowers. I didn't officially "colormatch" them - just eyeballed using the paint swatches. And since I only needed one sample jar of each color, it really wasn't that expensive even though I had 6 different colors]. I had to work in layers to create the flowers, so it took pretty much all day to finish it all, but I couldn't have been more pleased with the results!! And...

{{TA DAAA!}}


Flowers painted on wall to match bedding


  

I think those flowers came out pretty darn good, if I do say so myself! :)





Close Up


   
Close Up


  
And here are a few more pics of the updated room.






The vinyl over the bed says "Always Kiss Me Goodnight" (found on clearance at Kohls for $4)


   
New girly curtains replaced the heavy, formal ones left by the previous owners.

Green Gingham Panels and Hot Pink Sheers all bought on Clearance (Lowes and BB&B)


This is actually a bath rug but it matched perfectly! (bought on sale at Kohls for $6)

A large green tub at the end of the bed holds (way too many!) stuffed animals.

And I had to add a photo of this awesome little table light from Ikea (not seen in original photos above). Originally I had borrowed a normal old lamp from our guest room and put that on SweetPea's nightstand. But after she burned her fingers on the lightbulb while trying to turn it off one night, I knew I needed something different. I eventually found this little thing at Ikea.

Ikea Table Lamp

It is completely plastic so it won't shatter if it is knocked over. And the lightbulb is totally enclosed (even on the underside of the shade!) so no burned fingers! It has one of those little switches on the cord which SweetPea loves being able to turn off and on herself. I will admit that it doesn't give off a whole lot of light, but it is still enough to read by without using the overhead light. Which is this monstrosity...


Impossible to get a good photo of this light.

I'm not really into these chandeliers but they were here when we moved in. If this had been in the master bedroom, I would have taken it down immediately - just not my style - but I figured it could work in a little girl's room. They each have one. We call them the "sparkle lights" since they make fun designs on the ceiling and the prisms make colorful rainbows on the walls. Not to mention that everyone knows monsters are afraid of "sparkle lights" when they are on the lowest dimmer setting. ;)


I want to paint the lovely {NOT!} brass skelton of that light, but haven't gotten around to it. Plus, I really don't know what color to paint it. Got any ideas? White? Silver? Would love to hear your feedback!


Lastly, on the dresser, is... A green basket I picked up for about $5 on sale at Michaels - it currently holds hair detangler, body lotion, etc.  The "A" was in the Dollar Spot at Michaels. The little bird is from a set my mom gave the girls last summer. The piggie bank is from Target - picked it up during a sale - SweetPea loves to put coins in it.











Needless to say, my daughter absolutely LOVED her new BIG GIRL ROOM!



SweetPea was so excited about her new room!

 
As always, here is the Before and After



BEFORE

AFTER


Linked up to the CSI Project's Kids Places Challenge!
Visit thecsiproject.com 


Also linked up here:

 
Thrifty Decor Chick
Roomspiration




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46 comments:

  1. The rooms looks fantastic! The flowers you painted on the wall are awesome! I want to update my daughter's room as well although since it looks like we won't be in our current home too much longer I hate to spend too much time and money on painting and such...but maybe a little something fun on the wall could work. Will have to put my thinking cap on. Your little Sweet Pea is absolutely precious, BTW.

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  2. Looks great! I wish I had my own place so I could go decor {paint} crazy!!

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  3. Kudos to you! The flowers on the wall look wickedly awesome. Your adorable "big girl" looks so happy with her "new" room.

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  4. Those look AMAZING!!! It looks like big huge vinyls...they look exactly like the real thing. Very impressive, great job!

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  5. WOW, the room is amazing!!! Great transformation. Love the walls, you did a great job. You daughter must be very happy with her new room.

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  6. oh my gosh, what a FUN space! you did a fantastic job with the flowers-you see how much she loves it! great!

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  7. your daughter is so cute and adorable! and my, does that take guts to paint so boldly on the walls :)

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  8. What a great room. So fun and bright! And she looks very happy!

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  9. Now that's a FUN room! The wall flowers are FANTASTIC!

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  10. Those are awesome! Nothing like a fun room makeover to generate smiles. You did a great job.

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  11. What a great room transformation. I'm your newest follower. It would be great if you could stop by my blog Monday and add your project to The More The Merrier Link Party.

    http://diyhshp.blogspot.com

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  12. I LOVE the flowers! No surprise there though, right?!? That room is amazing. I love the bright colors and all the little coordinating details. This is beautiful, awesome job!

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  13. So lovely! Congratulations! I love so much to see flowers in the house!

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  14. Wow, awesome job! You nailed those flowers, they almost look like vinyl, nice job!

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  15. Kyra - this looks AWESOME - great job - the flowers look exactly like the bedding - I love it!

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  16. WoW!!!! What a transformation! It looks like such a happy room!! Great job!

    xoxo laurie

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  17. That is amazing! Good job, lucky little girl. I am hooking up with you from the Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch. You are the link right after mine.
    Drop by. I am your newest follower.

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  18. That is just rediculously cool! I want MY room to look like that! Awesome!!!

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  19. I love it!!! You did such a great job!

    :)rachel from SunScholars.blogspot.com

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  20. What a lucky little girl and look at the adorable smile! :D

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  21. wow - very dramatic and bright and cheerful. Big big impact! I'm sure your little one absolutely loves it. I know I would have when I was a youngster. :) Thanks for sharing.

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  22. I love it!! You did a great job! Found you on MM at BNOTP. I just started my blog focused on kids room designs and I'd love to include this in my gallery. Email or comment me! Have a great day!

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  23. This is an adorable room redo!!! Love it!!! We featured it today from the Fancy This Fridays link up! :) Hope you'll pop over and grab a button for your blog! http://trulylovelywiththelaneysisters.blogspot.com/2011/02/fancy-this-features-13.html

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  24. @Nan - thanks for asking if you could include this idea in your blog gallery. Your profile is showing up as inactive and your email is one of those no-reply addresses. Please email me if you'd like to add this idea to your blog.

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  25. This is FANTASTIC!!! I love this room!! You did a great job on the flowers -- seriously!! And I cannot believe there are chandeliers in all of your bedrooms!! :)

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  26. I think that it is adorable!
    Thanks for sharing!

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  27. AMAZING! It looks like a professional drew those flowers. I'm amazed!

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  28. Darling room. Love the flowers!!

    Regarding the chandelier, how about going bold with one of the colors in the flowers - pink...orange...gold...green? Happy!

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  29. Oh, my- those flowers make the room! They go with the comforter perfectly and looks so professional. Such a cute, cheerful space! Thanks so much for linking up!

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  30. This is such a great idea! I would have never thought of doing something like that. It looks so cute! I found you on House of Hepworths and am now following.
    Jess
    littlecountrycorner.blogspot.com

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  31. The room came out fabulous and your daughter is adorable!! I'd love for you to link up your project(s) to Saturday Spotlight ~ check it out @ www.sasinteriors.net

    ~ Jenna, SAS Interiors

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  32. You did such a wonderful job! I featured this today on My Crafty Weekend. Thanks for sharing!

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  33. This looks so amazing! If you are interested I would love to have you do a special guest post of this over at Remodelaholic.. let me know!

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  34. Room looks awesome, you did a great job conceptualizing the flowers on the wall! So groovy and fun. Sweat Pea is adorable and she needs a hot pink sparkly chandy. Monsters hate pink more than any other color too.

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  35. so super cute!! the flowers turned out amazing :)
    What a fun room for your little one. Thanks for sharing this at Transformations and Treasures!

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  36. Hey girl - We featured this on Saturday Spotlight this week! :)

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  37. I love this room, it's bright and cheery without being overdone. Great job on the flowers they look exactly like the comforter!

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  38. This looks so cheery & professional. Great job!

    Warmly, Michelle

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  39. I'm loving it!! Great job!!

    I have been projecting and painting for years...it's the cheapest easiest way to go..oh and FUN too!! I have a world map painted in my entry and a wall of trees in my bedroom....

    Haven't started on my boy's room yet....still planing it in my mind:-) But believe it or not..I'm gonna paint him some flowers....His Dr's office has flowers painted on the wall and every time we are there he stops and smells the flowers...LOL

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  40. wow! I'm super impressed with your painting skills! Nice job!!

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  41. What a super fun and adorable room...I mean, how could you not be happy with all that color and flowers??? My favorite part is the happy smile on your little princess' face (c: Thanks for linking up to Roomspiration!

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  42. I love her room--and you did great with the wall art! Hmmm, since 2009--Elmer's may have used you for "inspiration!" http://www.elmers.com/crafters/project/wall-flowers

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  43. Wow, I absolutely love the wall art. Very clever. The room looks fab.

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  44. Look how you inspired me!
    https://www.facebook.com/melissamaryjenkins?ref=hl#!/photo.php?fbid=488029597925173&set=a.444906295570837.102372.429739203754213&type=3&theater

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  45. I wrote a blog post about how you have inspired me!
    http://www.countrychiq.blogspot.ca/2013/02/funky-flowers.html#

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