Vacation Projects

Last week Donna took a weeks vacation from work to get a few things done around the house. Originally it was going to be some boring things like put up more shelves in the closets so we could unload the last of the boxes in the garage & organize the garage but on a whim we decided to work on a couple of fun projects that we really wanted to get done. Those boxes aren't going anywhere & it's just the garage afterall... Donna would so beg to differ! lol It will get done, just not last week ;)

So, I had already started painting the boys play/art/school room. Really it's the room where all things messy can happen, painting, chalkboards, playdough... & we aren't going to freak out about the carpet. We had 3 cans of different leftover teal paint that I decided to use on the lower portion of the room, painting a slightly different shade on each of the walls. Above the teal I decided on a yellow paint we had tested out in another room & decided against. It contrasted perfectly with the teal. I did have to get another quart to finish the job & a couple sample jars of red for the trim but that was it as far as cost for paint. We hung a fire engine red trim around the room diving the teal & yellow & plan to put a picture/book ledge on it on one wall to display (keep out of reach) the majority of the boys' books. 

Garren helping paint

Once the walls were painted & the trim was up, Donna put up the chalkboards I made for each of the boys. Our walls are textured & wouldn't make good chalkboard walls which is what we originally wanted but this turned out great & I think much better for cleaning purposes. The boys know how to put down some chalk! We used 2'x4' sheets of hardboard & painted them with chalkboard paint, then Donna simply screwed them to the wall, with anchors of course. We had a picture ledge that worked perfect for a chalk tray, we just need a trip to ikea to get 2 more :)

I'm not a huge fan of decals but the boys have asked for them every time we have walked past them at Target, so they each got to pick a package & we put them up around their room. Olaf next to 2 of the chalkboards, Thomas & Freinds above each chalkboard & Lightning McQueen & friends above the moulding & window.

The boys LOVE their room & I'm sure they enjoy playing & creating without me nagging them to keep it on the table or to wipe up drips. They spend a lot of time in there already & sometimes go straight in there when they wake up. A little extra quiet time is always welcome!

Next project up was a wall feature in place of a headboard above our bed. I bought a piece of pallet art right before we moved into the house, when it arrived I thought it would be really fun to have a pallet wall. After telling Donna about my idea we came up with a couple plans about where to incorporate it. Then I set out collecting pallets each time I saw a spare sitting outside any of the new houses under construction in our neighborhood, which didn't turn out to be a lot because most of them get picked back up by the companies to be reused. Well it is no secret that Donna is not the most patient person in the world, when she has an idea she typically wants to execute it quickly. She didn't think we'd be able to collect enough pallets soon enough to get our projects done so we started looking not alternatives, unfinished woods, rough cut wood, barn wood, antique wood & so on...

We both really liked the look of cedar, it had a little variation for me but was uniform enough for Donna, so it was a good compromise & we went for it in our bedroom.

A project that we know could have been done in a few hours took us ALL DAY LONG with the 3 sets of extra helping hands we had, but the finished product was well worth it & the whole family loves it 😄

Kellan & Caden passed out watching a movie in our room

Kellan & Caden hanging out after their bath

I felt pretty good that we got a couple projects done, the play room still needs shelves & a lock on the closet doors & our room needs a little desk & to be painted but overall, good progress!