I’ll never forget my son’s first masterpiece. As a recent member of the preschool “Mommy & Me” circuit, I was thrilled when my son made his first art collage. I jumped for joy at the mostly mommy manufactured piece of art. Heck! I even had it framed to cherish this memory. But what I really won’t forget is the teacher saying  “Oh dear, this is just the beginning. You just wait!” Oh, and she wasn’t kidding!

So now what to do with all the art!?! We’ll, I’ve dedicated a wall near the kitchen table to display my child’s artistic talent (scribble to some). Each piece is hung on a taught wire and clipped with steel binder clips. Unfortunately, my kitchen is going under construction so no pics yet however, Tracy had the same idea a few months back and was featured on The Nesting Blog in this terrific “Kid Art Display” article full of ideas!

Looking for something a little more manicured? The kidsArtStor offers a neat little invention that frames art, allowing you to rotate it within seconds to accommodate original works as they walk through the door. They also offer a handful of bright frame colors to choose from.

The coolest and most ambitious gallery idea I dream of implementing comes from an article in the San Francisco Chronicle written a few years back by established writer, blogger and mom, Charlene Prince. Charlene features the work of SF designer M.F. Chapman. Don’t you just LOVE this wall? Be sure to visit this excellent article for it’s designer display tips.

Whether your little Picasso’s pieces go on display in the their room, hallway, playroom or like me: over cereal, make certain to have fun with the display for all to appreciate!

Tags: DIY, Framing, Wall Art

Just when I thought I would buy the super fun Step 2 kitchen with all the bells and whistle that I know my toddler will love, I continue to find even more fabulous looking kitchens that will beautifully compliment my own kitchen. After all, adding a play kitchen is big time playroom decor. I am not talking about the beloved $$$ PBK kitchen….We’ll, maybe I am. But there is so much more out there now that doesn’t cost $500 for a pretend sink!

Great blog and soon to be online store, Shawn and Frank, did a super post the other week on bright, unique, contemporary, play kitchens. I just dig all their trendy baby finds, i.e. This one below retails for only $79 - What a find! For more of their play kitchen picks, click here!

If you are the more adventurous type however, check out IKEA hacker for play kitchen inspiration or the work of this clever mom recently featured on Ohdeedoh…

And finally, since we are talking kitchens…Pam and I were recently swapping stories about how our boys (both under age two) can push a heavy chair across a room and muscle their way on to our kitchen islands. While impressed by their agility we are also freaked by their ability to get into such precarious situations (We swear we are good moms!). Here’s a fantastic solution for your little kitchen helper that will keep them safe and off the kitchen table!

Now this does look good in my kitchen!

Tags: DIY, Kitchen, Play Rooms, Pretend

Hey Gossip Girl…Get your friends talking with this awesome DIY project!

I know, I oodle over those cute, girly custom tufted headboards but sometimes they are just a little spendy for a kid-room-makeover-budget. Plus doing this yourself will allow you to splurge for that must have bedding you have been eyeing for you little chicky or dude! Here is a DIY tip to create a lot of panache for just pennies.

The Faux Tufted Headboard

Supplies: Paint, Basic Wood Trim (I prefer the pre-primed trim; its easier to paint) Miter Saw, Tape Measure

A full-sized bed and measures 54″ wide. Make certain the width is at lease as wide as the mattress if you are using a different size. The height is totally up to you based on the look you are going for. Factor in the height of the back pillows to make sure it still can be seen once the bed is put together. Also make sure the finished height does not line up with anything else on the wall. Here the headboard is slightly higher than the mirror over the dresser.

I chose a harlequin (diamond) pattern for this room. With this particular design, the wall color and a pearly white were alternated. Then circles were painted on where the diamonds meet to mimic buttons. You can use real buttons or any embellishments you like to add more dimension and texture. Little freehand lines were added around the buttons to create “tufts”. The design was framed with a painted wood molding to finish the look . Get as creative as you like or if you get stuck for an idea, e-mail me at rebecca@projectnursery.com for help. Ciao!

Tags: DIY, Hand-painted, Headboards, Toddler Rooms

Happy Halloween PN readers! I have to admit I didn’t do the best job of planning all my decorations, treats and costumes this year. It’s especially difficult when my daughter changes her mind on her costume every other minute. We have started a whale costume, a spider costume and a chef costume all to fall back on old faithful, Princess Belle. The mind of a three and a half year old. The good news on getting festive for those feisty trick or treaters is, its not too late! Check out these creative ways to spruce up those pumpkins you haven’t carved yet. Glitter, lollipops and a power drill, Ms. Stewart never fails us….

Have Fun and Be Safe….

Tags: DIY, Holidays

Finding the right wall decor for a nursery is never easy. Wall art that is personal and coordinated with the entire the room make a nursery feel special. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Stampin’ Up! has many fabulous do-it-yourself (DIY) frame ideas that can allow any mom to create customized, professional looking artwork for children’s rooms.

I immediately fell in love with this adorable sailboat. This frame would be the perfect addition to any nursery.

Materials list includes: Very Vanilla textured card stock, Baja Breeze Patterns Designer Series paper, Small Chocolate Nursery Necessities Décor Elements, Kiwi Kiss 5/8” striped grosgrain ribbon, Linen thread, Button Bouquet, and Frame.

The Step-by-Step:
1. Adhere Baja Breeze Patterns Designer Series paper to Very Vanilla textured card stock, and insert into frame.
2. Apply Décor Elements vinyl to front of glass.
3. Tie linen thread through Kiwi Kiss button, and adhere to glass.
4. Tie Kiwi Kiss ribbon to frame, and hang from ribbon.

Some other fun DIY options with the materials available from Stampin’ Up! include creating personalized monograms using papers and colors to match bedding, wall color, and other accents:

The possibilities for themes are really endless: whimsical, modern, masculine, animals, trains, cars, alphabets, numbers, etc. With the numerous material selections available at Stampin’ Up!, any nursery can be enhanced with the addition of these beautiful, professional-looking DIY stamps and decor element wall decals!

Note: Not all product used in the Butterfly Baby room is available for purchase at this time.

Tags: DIY, Frames, Stampin', Wall Art, Wall Decals, Wall Letters

Stampin’ Up! is celebrating their 20th anniversary and we thought we would celebrate too by sharing how a little “Stampin’ ” can spruce up not just your scrapbook but your even room decor. Excited? So are we.

You see, we knew nothing about scrapbooking until recently. We may be late to the game (20 years) but oh, how we admire the craft and those dedicated. So join us as we explore Stampin’ for fun, crafty, creative ideas and inspiration for your child’s room. Here’s a sample of a Stampin’ Up! playroom and a hint of what’s in store for this week!

Some of you may be asking, What is Stampin’ Up!? While their core product offering is rubber stamps for scrapbooking and paper crafting, Stampin’ Up! has recently expanded their home décor line to include larger rubber stamps for stamping on walls and larger surfaces as well as Décor Elements, a vinyl wall décor product offering. The “Crew Classic” kids room shown here playfully highlights how to incorporate paper crafting and stamping tastefully and functionally into a kid’s play area.

Stay with us this week for a little Stampin’ Up! DIY, cool new products and interviews as we dedicate this week to all about Stampin’. And if you happen to be a talented Stamper, send us photos and details of your kid inspired Stampin’ ideas!

Tags: DIY, Play Rooms, Stampin', Wall Decals

We were delighted to introduce you to Nicole Worth and family a few months back. You made it known that you were just as delighted to view their son’s incredible modern nursery. And like us, you thought, “Hmmm? Do I dare copy this look? Is it really difficult?” So without further adieu, Nicole shares with us her mural making secrets and you don’t have to be a graphic designer after all…

Melisa at Project Nursery asked me to write a how-to on creating our alphabet mural for a nursery, and I am happy to oblige!  Being that my husband and I went to art school during the days when hand-lettering was a class, we decided to create a mural that not only reflected our son’s crib bedding but also let us take a step back-in-time and put our hand-lettering skills to the test.  Although we built our mural using alphabet letters, any design can be created to get the same effect.

Here’s how we did it:

We started the process by figuring out which colors worked best for our design.  Knowing we wanted to use a color that went with the Dwell Studio Bedding we chose, we decided on blue.  Using BEHR paint from Home Depot, we chose three shades of blue:  the base color- which covered all the walls- is Cumberland Fog and the other two colors-Little Dipper and Silver Strand-are a lighter hue and a darker hue of this same blue shade.

After painting our wall with the base color we started creating the design for our mural.  Being graphic designers, we decided to use Adobe Illustrator to layout our design. Knowing we were going to use two different color values, we designed the mural to have an overlapping effect for interest and depth.

Once completed, we then printed out the design and used this printout as the stencil for the wall.  Using a projector in the room, we projected the printout on the wall and proceeded to outline the design very lightly with a colored pencil.  Luckily enough my husband has an amazingly steady hand so he was able to handle all the large straight lines without a straight-edge.

Once the design was transferred to the wall, the real fun begins.  Using varying size paintbrushes, the design was then outlined in paint. Since we used two different shades, the light color was put down first so that the dark could overlap it.  After the light shade was all outlined, we used a small paint roller to fill in the color.  Waiting till the light color was dry, we then proceeded to outline and fill in the remaining letters with our darker color.

All in all it’s a simple procedure used in creating the mural.  A steady hand with a paint brush was the hardest trick, but the design can truly be translated into anything you want!

Nicole is kind enough to answer any questions and can be contact directly at nicole{at}formcode{dot}com. Stay tuned for more information on the official launch of FormBaby toward the end of this year.  FormBaby will offer one-of-a-kind wall art and designs especially for baby which answers our second most popular question, “Where can I get that monkey wall art?”

Thank you to Nicole and her beautiful family. We look forward to seeing more of your great designs!

Tags: Alphabet, Blue, DIY, Murals, Paint

Did anyone catch The Martha Stewart Show featuring some very accomplished bloggers the other day? Thank you Martha for dedicating an entire episode to the blogging phenomenon! If any of our readers have their own blog, make certain you link to The Martha Blog and comment for the chance to be recognized by the Domestic Diva herself! We here at Project Nursery are crossing our fingers!

Speaking of Martha, I often log on to explore her recipes and Dinner Tonight with Everyday Food. This time I found myself wishing I were a bride again. Oh how I long for the days where I had the time to spend hours analyzing her wedding photos and their glorious details.  Yet with only minutes remaining of my son’s nap, I had to quickly re-focus and remember my purpose: kids. I enjoyed my time there too as I re-visited old school Martha Stewart Kids (such a shame the publication ceased back in ‘06). 

In celebration of Fall, I uncovered delightful Pumpkin Pillows for the playroom. Check out Martha’s simple DIY tutorial. I am planning to attempt these myself. Although, I am also hoping that my pumpkin turns into a carriage and whisks me away for the day in a wedding dress!

Tags: Blogs, DIY, Fall, Pillows, Play Rooms

Well, one of these days! I just enjoyed the Aaron Brothers frame sale for my new, renovated hallway. So now I have a gallery of fab frames, with pictures of strangers hanging. Since the digital revolution, it’s going to take me a bit longer to upload and go through pics to order online and fill these frames. However, I have really good intentions to make this little DIY project a reality and plan to submit my finished product to Little Window Shoppe (within the next year)!

How cool is it that family photos are incorporated! For the how to and more information, visit our sweet friends at the oh, so sweet Little Window Shoppe for the DIY details!

Tags: Art, DIY, Photos, Wall Art

Mandy Ford’s “This Girl’s Life” just got a bit more complicated for the better on May 30th, 2008, with the arrival of twin boys Ben and Landon. 

Kudos to Mandy’s on her choice of dark paint for the nursery: ”Tree Branch” by Sherwin Williams. Mandy says she was going for ”a subtle nature theme with owl accessories…the main colors being, sage green and chocolate brown, with aqua blue accents”.

We have to admit that the crib bedding found at Walmart has impressed us lately. We knew they are affordable, but had no idea that they offered such a modern, good-looking selection.

It’s all in the details, otherwise known as great accessories! The owl theme makes a sweet statement with an owl lamp from Urban Outfitters, owl bank from Target and cool owl rub ons for their wooden letters. Splashes of color brightens the room with a green clock from Restoration Hardware and aqua suitcases from Hobby Lobby.

Cherished family details include a little green rocker that was Mandy’s Dad’s when he was a boy, an antique corner cabinet passed down from Mandy’s parents and curtains made by Mandy’s mother-in-law which are to include brown ric-rac on the bottom, eventually. You know, when Mandy has a free moment!

All the best to the Ford Family! Enjoy your boys and their new room. - PN

Tags: Baby Nurseries, Brown, DIY, Inspiration, Twins