I used to be artsy when I was younger, but over the years, other things have begun to occupy my time. I don't really think anything has changed, but for some reason, I have developed the urge to create things for our home. For anyone that has visited our house, you may have noticed that there are a lot of bare walls. I have been very wary of putting things on the walls without being 100% sure that I can live with them for the entirety of my life.
Let me give you a back story to that fear. I come from a long line of borderline hoarders, and I have sworn to myself that I would never succumb to the urge to "collect" too much of any one item. My Oma had shelves of tchotchkes collected from various places and displayed throughout her home along with family photos. My mother has taken it to another level, even moreso, since having grandchildren, and has collectables, momentos from their travels, candles, photos and more, filling shelves and on the mantle of my parents' fireplace. Rather than replace older photos with new ones, she just gets new frames and the "clutter" continues on. I'm not knocking anyone for doing this...it's just not my taste. While I love having photos of family and friends throughout my home, I have always loved the look of model homes with the more artful appeal. I'd like to think when my home is "complete" someday, it will be a good balance of both. I want people to know a family lives here, but I also like the classy and clean look! I am determined to prove that you can have both!
Maybe it's the pregnancy hormones surging throughout my body, or maybe it's just boredom - I have no idea the source. These bare walls are screaming for my attention! The first project I took on was an addition to Kaylee's room. She loves butterflies, and she's always looking through the potterybarn kids magazine longingly wishing for one of the cute little girl rooms they display. She brings the magazine to me from time to time expressing her wishes for something that would be good for her room. Awhile back, she showed me some butterflies they had for the wall, but for anyone who knows, nothing sold by potterybarn is cheap. A couple weeks ago, I stumbled upon a tutorial on Pinterest on how to make the butterflies shown in those magazines out of scrapbook paper. Who knew it was such a simple task? I decided to go for it! I grabbed some scrapbooking paper that I have used to do some other projects for Kaylee, printed out a butterfly pattern on them, cut them out, folded up the wings and put them up on her wall with command hook tape (for easy removal in the future). It was way too easy, and turned out so very cute! 
That project took all of 15 minutes, so I decided to attempt another item I had found on Pinterest. In Kaylee's bathroom, there is an entire drawer devoted to the storage of bows, ribbons, clips, hairbands, etc. The drawer is overflowing, and Kaylee is always getting new bows for her hair. When we moved into the house, Kaylee was not quite two, so we just decorated her bathroom in what we had lots of - rubber duckies! She is quickly growing too old for rubber duckies, and I have been wanting her to have a more mature bathroom, even if she'll be sharing it with a baby brother or sister. The project I found seems to be a good start and something to work around when looking for new decor for her bathroom. Plus, it's a bow holder! Talk about two birds with one stone! All I needed was an old picture frame, some cotton batting, some fabric, colorful ribbons, spray paint, and a handy husband helper! I "stole" a frame from my parents that had been hanging in their storage building for years, spray painted it with an ivory color that we had on hand, and gathered the other materials while it dried. I had Gene cut me a backerboard to fit the frame (since it didn't have one), and I wrapped it with the batting and fabric. I then spaced out the ribbons to my liking, and fastened it into the, now dry, frame. I had Gene staple on a thin piece of cardboard-like material to the back to finish it off, and voila, it was done! Rather than hang it on the wall, I am going to get an easel to display it on the previously vacant countertop in the bathroom. I like to think of it as functional artwork!
As stated in a previous post, we recently "remodeled" our office. I had made a trip to Kirkland Home (one of my favorite places), for some decorating inspiration, and I did manage to find a few items that I thought suited the room. It has still been left with two bare walls, though. I have been brainstorming on what I should do with those walls for some time now, and I finally decided that at least one of them needs that combo of an artful, yet personal, touch! I have made this my current project, and I have chosen an item that I found on Pinterest (of course). Though I have some work to do on it, I wanted to share with you what the end product will be similar to. Yes, that's a curtain rod fastened to the wall with screws displaying block lettering that has been modge podged with scrapbook paper and vinyl lettering. I plan to purchase some black picture frames to display photos of our family in a collage above the curtain rod. I am very excited about this, and I can't wait to see how it turns out!So, aside from dance, soccer, grocery shopping, errands, parties, housework, yardwork, playing incubator, doctor's appointments, teeth cleanings, cooking, baking, entertaining Kaylee and preparing for the upcoming holiday season, I have now found one more thing to occupy all of those hours left in the week - crafting! I am really enjoying it! I guess now we'll just have to wait and see what the 16th week of pregnancy has to offer next week! Until then...
Love and Blessings,
Jessie
UPDATE!!! HERE IS THE FINISHED OFFICE WALL PROJECT:
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