Wall Murals

Again I must apologize for being MIA for WAAAAYYYY to long from the blogging world. As a result, I'm extremely behind in my creative antic updates. Well, Husband, baby and I recently moved and settled into our new home by painting EVERY wall and decorating...I'll post more on that later...so time has drifted elsewhere but with the cold weather settling in (and the gift of a new Serger sewing machine!!!) I'm feeling the tug to settle down into comfy pants, sip an irish hot chocolate and get crafty!

A recent new venture is {wall murals}. Who needs a silly little canvas? Lets go BIG! While anyone can go out and purchase wall vinyl's, it gets way too expensive when you want an entire wall sticker or looking for "just the right thing".
Insert.the.designer.
"Hi, Let's chat".

I'm sure there's many approaches to producing the perfect wall, but I've found taking photos of the space and using photoshop allows me to digitally create a visual mockup and show the client EXACTLY what the wall will look like.
"Exactly"? you ask? "How"?
Well, yes, i could redraw everything on the wall by hand---taking more time/money -- or I can use a hand dandy projector. If you don't have access to one, check this DIY projector or this one which uses your iPhone (so easy!).
Then just match your paint chips to your computer image, grab your brushes and go!

A huge trend lately is tree's - and i love the birch tree's- and animals.

Top: Digital Mockup of wall mural.
Below: Physical, finalized version on the wall. A whimsical forest for a 2-3year old classroom with 3D tree's. 

Another great idea to make your own wall murals pop is to add 3D elements (see above). Using simple ply board (stiff but lightweight) and securing to the wall using 2x4's, you can push the mural further.

I can't wait to get started on my next classroom for 5-6 year old's. Here's the digital mock up:

Nursery Nesting

It's a boy! :)

Now to tackle designing the nursery- but what theme to go with!? how to select a color!? and why do the girls have all the cute stuff out there!?

{Mission}: Design a modern, cute, non-blue room for baby that a girly girl {muah} would love to retreat in.
GOAL: Stop looking at pink stuff! Blue is fun too! :) In fact, there's almost TOO MUCH design inspiration out there!

{Online Visual Inspiration}

Ok, being a visual person, I sketched some basic concepts for nursery {THEMES}. Furniture placement was pretty set but wall color and decoration had a million directions it could go...how to choose....

Here's some concept sketch ideas I came up with:

I went with the whimsical tree look. Painting and decorating was so much fun - like creative nesting. Make sure you use No VOS paint to keep you and bubby safe from the fumes. 

{COST SAVER}: 

• Paint is the cheapest way to change a look. Instead of spending $$$ on vinyl stickers, I found some designs I liked and free-hand sketched similar looking images. 

• Curtains- I found a great twin sheet set at Target for $20. Split the top sheet in half. I used the bottom sheet as a skirt to the crib to tie in the pattern.

• Furniture- Baby's bureau is actually a repurposed filing cabinet. Works great! Top drawers for diapers and small items, bottom for blanket/sheet storage.

{Busy at work!}

10 Months later and he's still happy to wake up here each morning :)

Freezer Paper Textiles

{New discovery}: Freezer paper!! 
Can't find the exact pattern or color in fabric you're looking for? Create your own stencil from freezer paper. It's so simple and turns out a great image or textile. Only drawback: each stencil is really a one time use BUT its the cheap route to designing your own pattern :).

Here's how:
Materials:
Freezer paper - from the grocery store, 50ft for a whoppin $1.99, yea baby! :)
Fabric paint- Michael's craft store, $1.99 ( pick one that doesnt require heat setting to save time!)
Printer
Iron
Exacto knife
Cardboar
Fabric


Find an image online or free-hand it. For my first dress I thought i'd try a bird. The possibilites are endless! Granted I should have painted this BEFORE sewing the dress together but oh well (do recommend it, to have fabric lay flat).

I had sewed a simple sun dress
...but it was missing something

Cut freezer paper to 8.5x11 piece of paper and insert it into the printer with the non-shiny side up ( or whatever direction so that the ink is on the non-shiny side). Print your design out.
Cut out the negative space.

Place cardboard beneath fabric and lay flat and smooth. Position freezer paper, sticky side down and iron with a warm dry iron. This will form your leak-proof stencil (or so the box said...i had a few small leaks).

Use a foam or stencil brush and paint evenly onto the fabric. 
Tip: paint from the outside in and in thin layers.

Let fabric dry - my bottle said 24 hours- then simply peel of the freezer paper to reveal your personalized fabric! :) Let the imagination {go wild}!

Another idea: Go online to find free animal silhouette vectors to use as stencil templates.