May You Be Inspired Days: Ear Ring Display Frame

I love earrings. I love dangly earrings. But I don’t love storing them. I hate the things that sit on your counter and take up valuable space while collecting dust in mesh that can’t easily be cleaned. I hate the boxes and holders that hide my jewelry away until my silver tarnishes (even though they CLAIM to prevent tarnish…whatever.) But I LOVE this earring collector! It hangs right next to my mirror (you can see the frame of my dressing table mirror on the left edge of the shot). This allows me to immediately select the earrings I want WHILE I’m getting dressed! And it’s right by my bathroom door, so I can hang my earrings up easily on my way to wash up each night, so no more hunting for AN earring!

I can’t take credit for this fabulous idea, though I wish I could. It’s just so darn brilliant! I mean, who would have thought a can of spray paint, one rusted mirror frame, some extra batting, the remnant of a bridal piece, and a dollar spool of ribbon could solve so many problems! Just when you are making yours, make sure your little ones AREN’T helping. Then you might get your rows of ribbon straight (oops…). I’ve got to make more of these, for certain! So off to who I got the BRILLIANT idea from:

The Idea Room pretty much covers many of the options of how to display jewelry. The Recessionista definitely knows her ways to store her gems!

Remodelaholic has a wonderful version that features a frame I LOVE from IKEA (but they were sold out of it in Atlanta the last time I got to go shopping… le sigh). It would look pretty darn fabulous in my bedroom, too.  And she also had a totally different guest, Alissa, who did a cork board version. Also, brilliant!

And this one is fresh and new, but a great way to use an IKEA bit to do the same thing (in case fancy isn’t your go to style).

I’m sure there are more out there I am overlooking, but feel free to link them in the comments!

And don't forget! I'm gonna give away one of the items from this month's inspirations (okay, obviously not today’s, as I’m really attached to it) on June 1st! All you have to do is:
1. Become a Follower of StressTheSeams
2. Comment on one of the posts this month telling me what you would love to win!
International readers will have to pay their own shipping, but American followers will get it for free!
I'll close entries at 1am eastern standard time on June 1st and use the fabulous random number generator to select one wonderful winner. The prize will be a surprise for the reader, but I might just be looking at what they say....hint, hint! :)
So go become a follower and comment! And there will be other ways to get extra entries as the month goes on, so don't miss a day!

Pirate Growth Chart Tutorial: Finishing Touches

I love when you get to that point in a project where you can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Even better when you can tell it isn't a train! :) So here's the details on the details. Pardon the LOADS of pictures. It's hard to get good photos of a 6 foot board! :)

Begin by using your speed square to find the nice straight line of the bottom. Then use your ruler to start measuring up each inch from there. This is where you use a pencil. But write LIGHTLY, in case you do need to erase.Slowly work your way up the board, just marking the inches. I chose to put mine in the middle of the board so that the measurements of my boys could be on either edge. That was totally personal preference. Do what works for you.

Then you need to go back and count out your foot lines. See behind the X that marks the spot how there is a dark line? That's my foot marker. Also notice how it is NOT at the edge of the board. I know that I want to hang my board above my baseboards. This means I need to start my chart at something greater than 4 inches. I chose 6 because it made more sense to me. So I counted up 6 inches to my FIRST foot mark and made that 1. Make sense?

In places where the foot marks fell on an image, I ran the line like it was actually behind it, though it wasn't. I guess you could have done your measurements FIRST and then your decorations so that they would actually be ON TOP, but that's a personal preference too. You'll also notice from this picture how I added the numbers (freehand, though you could print out a font to copy) OVER the lines in red paint.Then I added the boat we made earlier in the week. Hot glue, baby, hot glue.And I transfered the measurements (along with dates) for the boys so far. I got these from the pediatrian's report cards. I LOVE our pediatrian! :)

Then I decided it needed more bling. So I used some glitter glue to make my bouty chest more "treasure" and less "paint". It also gave it an extra tactile thing for the boys to enjoy now while they are small and close to the floor.

At this point, we were all pretty done, so it was bed time. No hanging of the chart, as the boys prefer no drilling in their walls while they are sleeping. Party poopers. :) So tomorrow, we HANG IT, baby!

Pirate Growth Chart Tutorial: Paint by Number

Now that you have a plan, let's fill it in. If you've missed a step, please review the last three entrees about how to make a pirate ship, doing a good base coat, and planning BEFORE you paint. So next is making your chalk into a paint-by-number. I used acrylic paints, which are easy to deal with and cheap. And I used a cheap paint brush and a toothpick to do ALL of my painting (and my fingers...cheapest tools ever).

Start with :Add the base colors (in this case, a light brown for our treasure chest and green for our palm frond).Since I was using acrylics , it is easier to do all of one color while you are working so that the paint won't dry on you. So I worked all the way up the board, taking care of all the light brown and greens.Fill in the main sections of each of your pictures with the main background color (unless it is BLACK....avoid black and white as your bases because they are HARD to undo and often too sharp a contrast). See how I moved on to the next color but am still doing MAIN sections? This will help you establish depth for your work.

Best part of using chalk to plan your work and then using acrylics can be seen right here on my X that marks the spot. I realized that it wasn't actually that straight as I was painting it, so I just painted it where I want it. The beautiful thing is that you can paint right over your chalk and since acrylics are water based, the chalk just disappears and doesn't discolor your paint! No worries about staying inside the lines! LOVE THAT! And, they clean up with water. Also a happy thing when your 16 month old grabs your paint pallet (aka, paper plate) and runs with it. Thank heavens for laminate floors.

Okies. So the detail pictures have run off with the husband, so you'll have to wait to see my excellent shading tomorrow. And I'll show you a super excellent method for getting the measuring marks in the right place the FIRST time. But not now because it is BEDTIME for BOYS! :) -Night!

Pirate Growth Chart Tutorial: Adding the Details

On to the details! Since we've painted our pirate ship and given our board a good base coat, it's time to add the pretty stuff. I grabbed my fabrics that I'm using in the room as well as some books on pirates and a pirate coloring book to inspire me. Oh, and the all important goldfish to distract the twins while I worked! :)

I started by chalking out my ideas, which meant finding a potential spot for my pirate ship and placing my letters near the top to show which measurements belong to which son. Then I started adding things like a palm leaf, a treasure chest, a sword, a compass rose, an island, and even a pelican.

But I didn't like the way the pelican was turning out, so I used a wet paper towel to get rid of him and add some barrels! :) Nothing like cargo! Then I added  that magic dotted map line. You know, because X marks the spot! I put the X at the top, near the letters.

I freehanded my drawings with regular chalk on the latex paint. This would work on most dark colored surfaces, but you could always use colored chalk on light surfaces. I don't suggest a pencil (though we will use one later) as it will make impressions in your wood, which will stick around even after you erase.

So you don't freehand or draw? You can still do this! Remember the coloring book I said I was looking at for inspiration? Well, instead of JUST being inspired, you could take and find coloring pages you like. Then copy them to the size you want (reduce or increase on a copier or scanner). Cut them out on the outside line, draw around them with your chalk. Then you can cut them to the next interior line, trace around that shape, and so forth, until you get all the pieces on there. Or even copy it onto transparencies and overlay and draw your shape. No excuses for non-artists!!! :)

So gather up your favorite coloring books now and get ready! Next is the painting... and it's not scary at all!

After snack, I'll try to zip in and share some of the wonderful painting (that is EASY) with you! :) So check back later for more!

Pirate Themed Growth Chart Tutorial

Today I'm sharing with you how to make the base for our totally awesome pirate growth chart. You will need a 1x6"x6' board, a router, a palm sander, paint, paint brush (I used foam), flathead screwdriver, and wooden letters from a craft store. I purchased my board from the Home Depot, which stocks lumber precut in 6 foot lengths. This is useful, as you can make a FABULOUS growth chart with this length. I liked the 6 inch width because I want to measure both of my kids on the same board. If you have more kids, you might want more boards, or something like a 1x12". I started by using a router to take the edges off of one side. I just wanted them rounded so that there would be less risk of injury! :) Then I used the palm sander to slick it all up nice and get it ready for paint. You could do this entire step with sand paper, a plane, or even skip it if you wanted to. It really is a personal choice, but with twin boys, I like rounded corners. :)

Then I wiped my board down to get the loose dust and dirt off of it from sanding. This is important and don't skip it, or else you'll get a bumpy, crumby paint job. And no one wants their board to look like it has the pox. Then I started giving my board a lovely coat of blue latex paint. I had this color from a previous project and thought it would be a great pirate background color.

Then I let it dry, which wasn't really hard here in HOT, DRY Atlanta. So I got to give it a second coat almost as soon as I finished the first. If it is cooler where you are or humid, make sure you wait until your paint is dry. Your paint can should tell you how long, but I usually allow overnight when it's humid or cold here just because I don't like surprises. Give it a good second (and maybe third) coat so that you have an even, smooth base coat.

Then grab your letters. In my case, I need an M and an N. I grabbed them at Michael's the other day on sale, but I know they usually have them for less than a dollar for this size (the 3" tall). They also have smaller ones, rounded ones, and even LARGE ones. Definately enough options to please most projects. If not, carve your own. Or sculpt them out of Fimo clay. There are options. I then took my letters and sprayed them with a lovely coat of brass spray paint. The brass really didn't photograph well, so I'm avoiding showing you them right now. I promise, you can see them when we move on to assembly!

So at this point, you should have a lovely painted pirate ship (from yesterday's tutorial, if you missed it), painted letters, and a painted 6' board. Excellent! Tomorrow, we'll add details, which is the TIME consuming part! :)

Want to see some other people's growth chart projects?

Kristen's "So Big!" Fabric Covered Growth Chart

How to sew your own from Make-Baby-Stuff.com

Making a banner style growth chart

How to make a pirate ship (An Upcycling Tutorial)

So I want to show you the first step in making a fabulous pirate themed boys room. We are going to start small. Really small. With a magnet. I know, that seems silly, but I promise it will get us to an entire room soon enough! So step one is get your boat magnet. Maybe you get lucky and a family member gives it to you. Free boats are the best.

Grab your handy paints (I prefer acrylics as they dry faster and cleanup is EASY!) and lets get started. My boat had a lovely wooden deck, which I wanted to keep. But I didn't like the hull color. It needed some pizzazz! So I started by giving my hull a sandpaper massage to rough up the already painted surface. Then I gave my entire hull a coating of base brown. This gave me a great starting point for my colors.

Then I decided to add some color. After a little research (okay, google pirate boat pics), I realized that all the popular pirates have red boats. I guess they go faster or something. :)

Then I decided to distress the sails, as they were too white. I also added a lovely black line (use a toothpick) and some portholes. I went for square because it made me think of canon bays instead of actual windows. And what pirate doesn't want lots of canon bays? I also named my ship the "Sea Cat".

Then it was time for the flag. Every pirate ship needs a flag, so I cut a small piece of black fabric, added a white circle and some crossed straight bits.

Once the white was dry, I added some TINY black dots for eyes, nose, and a line mouth. Then I glued it on my middle mast.

Ta Da!!! Pirate Ship Sea Cat! And it was FREE!

I plan to attach this lovely pirate ship (which is only 3 inches wide) to the growth chart for the twins' room. Come back tomorrow to see how to make the growth chart for only $6!