Happy Bungalow

Elephants on Parade

I have a talented friend that has recently started up an Etsy shop called Happy Bungalow.  He makes an assortment of wood crafts that are for sale at his shop and many are kid friendly and durable for little kids.  He will be adding new merchandise on a regular basis, so don't forget to check it out often.  I think hand crafted items are the perfect gift for Christmas because individual attention and love has gone into making them!

Dollhouse Bookends

On Safari

He has a few different locations where you can browse his goods or keep updated on the latest Happy Bungalow news:

etsy shop:  www.etsy.com/shop/happybungalow

website:  www.happybungalow.com

facebook:  www.facebook.com/HappyBungalow

twitter:  twitter.com/#!/@AHappyBungalow

flickr:  www.flickr.com/photos/happybungalow/

Easy Cork Board Initials

I saw an easy DIY guide on Design Sponge for making a map cork board.  I thought about makign a map board of Indiana for all of 5 seconds and then decided that there wasn't anything interesting about a rectangular cork board, so I opted to create my initials out of cork board that I happened to have from a while ago.

I did change up how I made these (versus Design Sponge's directions):

1. Use Microsoft Word to create a large scaled outline of your initials and print on regular paper.
2. Use double stick tape to temporarily adhere template to cork board.
3. Cut along your template line with a precision blade like X-Acto to get a clean cut.
4. Pull off the template and hang the cork board.( I used leftover double stick foam tape from old command strip hooks.)

This project took me all of about 10 minutes to complete.

via Design Sponge

You can see that my board isn't as creative as Design Sponge's, but I'm pleased with the result!

Crib Sheets Galore!

I must be in serious nesting mode, because over the course of the last few days I have managed to knock out another Pinterest DIY project by making, not one, but two crib sheets for the nursery.

After browsing on the internet for months to find crib sheets that would complement the teal wall color in the nursery (you can see the sneak peek above).  I, finally, gave up and discovered this easy to follow tutorial on Pinterest.  Click on the image below to learn how to make your own crib sheets.

via Pinterest/dana-made-it.com

 I purchased 2 different fabrics and elastic at Walmart for a total of $16.  That means my cost per sheet was only $8 which easily beats all but the most basic crib sheets out there.  I decided to choose colors that would compliment the teal walls and a pattern that would be a bit more fun and less cutesy than teddy bears and puppy dogs.  I did measure my mattress before cutting any fabric and discovered that I needed to add about an inch to the length of my sheets after looking at the tutorial.The first sheet took me 1 1/2 hours to create because I had a bit of a sewing machine issue (easily fixed once I knew what the heck was going on).  The second sheet took me only an hour to complete with the longest portion of the process being the threading of the elastic through the perimeter of the sheet. 

The aqua sheet is completed and ready for washing next to my sewing machine.  You can see my, not so neat, work space above that is located in our large storage room over the garage.  It is in definite need of a makeover.  The walls have never even been painted!

Jump on the Trend

Forward facing book shelves have been popping up everywhere as a great addition to kids rooms.  I like them because they make it easy to grab an eye-catching book and give you a break from tilting your head sideways to read the countless thin spines of kids' books.

I thought I would join the trend and add a few to the new nursery. I used the following as inspiration.

via ESD

via ohdeedoh

 I like the idea of multiple rows, but I wanted to make sure anyone could reach them, so I'm limiting the shelves to 3 and keeping them down to kid height.  I found the perfect 4'-0" long white shelves here and they are sitting at my house itching to be installed. (One thing at a time, Robin!)  We opted to not make our own as I wanted something durable and I have enough projects to complete as it is.  Ennospace had the adjacent shelves in white and black and can be found here.

Our crib was put together last night in the nursery, with my son's help, so things are really starting to happen!

Pinterest- Chalkboard Globe Completed!

On my previous post I talked about completing a project from Pinterest to meet the Young House Love Pinterest Challenge.  I met the challenge head on and completed the project on time (in spite of our house guests this weekend)!  I have to say that setting deadlines and making a public challenge is a great way to get things accomplished.

You can see my inspiration in the previous post here.  I quite happy with how it turned out.  It was easy enough to do:

1.  Removed globe and used spray paint cap to elevate it in a spray box.
2.  Used chalkboard spray paint to apply thin coats of paint.
3.  Used a silver spray paint to update the globe pedestal a bit.
4.  Put it back together again.

My husband was dubious about covering up the vital geographic information, but I reasoned that the names change on countries so quickly anyways that it would probably be out of date in a few years time.  We already owned all of the spray paint, so the only cost for this project was the $1 globe.

Before Photo

After Photo

Pinterest Challenge- Chalkboard Globe

We have visitors this weekend and somehow my suggestion of turning the weekend into a nursery painting party didn't appeal to them.  Oh well.  In spite of that lack of enthusiasm I still plan on completing a project that I mentioned a couple of days ago...chalkboard painting a globe that I found at a garage sale for $1.  (Globe seen in this post.)

via Pinterest

The Young House Love blog (a long with a few other blogs) came up with the idea to complete a project that you have pinned on your Pinterest board instead of just dreaming about them.  They've come up with a challenge that I hope to meet head on.  My "Around the Craft Room" board is here and you can see that I have a number of projects that I would like to complete (or at least start).

You can see my other boards here.  I even started a board of my Modern Mantle projects.  You can follow any or all of my boards when you sign up for free with Pinterest.

Big Boy Bed!

I had been looking for a vintage wood headboard at garage sales all summer long and finally snagged a fantastic deal about a month ago.  I purchased a headboard and footboard for $1.  The only problem was that no support rails were included.  We stopped at a local Thrift Store a couple of days ago and found the needed rails for $10.  Hence, the late completion date even though my son's room has been painted for a month now.

My $1 bed find!

Steps to refinishing our vintage wood bed:

1. Find a bed (seemed like a long process for me, but paid off in cheapness!)
2. Sand bed to pull of smooth stain/varnish finish and make a decent surface to paint.
3. Prime bed.
4. Paint bed (this step will most likely need to occur more than once).
5. Put it all together!

Paint/Primer Application

Logan (sans shirt) likes to help!

Step 5 took us the longest amount of time after we realized that our existing bed rails would not work and that we needed to buy a different kind.  Then, we realized that our box spring was a little too wide.  Argh, but we decided to do without the box spring anyway so that the bed wouldn't be too high.  My husband made wood slat supports to act as the platform for the mattress and they fit perfectly in the rails.  Until...my husband testing it by sitting on the bed and the rails spread a bit, thereby dropping the newly created slats.  At that point he created additional support by using a threaded rod to pin the rails together at their midpoint.  We've got some highbrow engineering going on in this bed!

Everything now works perfectly and Logan spent an excited night barely sleeping on his big boy bed.

Wall Art-Number Theory

I stopped by Hobby Lobby over the weekend, with my son in tow.  We had fun running though the giant store and looking at the random items for sale.  It really is a crafters paradise.  My goal for this trip, however, was to find cheap wall frames for the nursery.  I have a few projects in mind to create some art for the space, but it makes sense to buy the frame first and create later.

I managed to pick up a number of 11x14 aluminum frames with glass, but had to order the pre-cut mats online here (it was actually their Ebay store).  Let me say that I hate how expensive mat board and pre-cut mats are.  I have the tools to cut my own, but it doesn't really save me any money.

Now that I had the vessel, I decided to start the art.  I had a few inspiration photos and I keep seeing fun alphabet and numbers posters everywhere, so I created my own.

I was really happy with how my attempt worked out.  I used a AutoCAD template that I created 3 years ago for my other son's nursery and incorporated it into the piece.  It brings me a bit of nostalgia and ties the rooms together.  I pulled the colors off of the rug that arrived two days ago and created the whole thing in Photoshop.  The hardest part was deciding which fonts to use for the numbers.

Final Ideas for the Nursery

My tweaking of the nursery is almost done.  Now I just need to actually implement the decoration!

Here's my revised color board with the rundown of all the elements...

Things have changed a bit, except for the wall color. 

Purchased:

• Rug- Dash and Albert
• Front Facing book shelves- Ennospace
• Manzanita Branch and origami paper for Paper Cranes
• Curtains w/ rod at ceiling
• Storage bins at diaper console
• Replacement fan with light (From Menards)
• Old Book Mobile (hardback book purchased used)
• Roller Coaster Photo and Frame
• 6 Aluminum picture frames and mats (from Hobby Lobby)

Things already owned:

• Crib-Walmart Parklane 3-in-1
• Ladder Bookcase
• Changing Table (actually a high entertainment center)
• Eames Rocking Chair
• Side Table (garage sale find)

Things yet to purchase:

• Sconce
• Fitted Sheet
• Wall Color- Will use a low VOC Glidden paint  color matched to Behr Harbor 520
• Ceiling Color- Glidden Stone White GLC30

Everything is ready to start.  I'm hoping we can prep. and paint within the next week or so.  Did I mention that the baby is not due until November, I like to plan ahead, way ahead.

Now I Know-It's a Boy!

Now that I know that we are having a boy, I can get serious about the nursery.  I have been anxious to get started, to say the least!  I have been busy revising my idea board for the nursery, but I just keep coming up with more ideas so I really need to get myself in line.  My main concern is making sure items/colors don't clash and that I am doing things in the most cost effective way as possible.  (I'm cheap.)

Here's an example:

I saw this great seller on Etsy, Sylvia Photography Shop, and I got inspired with her photography.  She has this great shot of a Ferris Wheel that I was lusting after, then I realized that my husband took a photo of a wooden roller coaster 6 years ago that could create the same photographic effect. My results are below.

You can see the inspiration here.  My husband clued me into the fact the background uses a bokeh effect.  I manipulated the background and tweaked the photo using Photoshop. I'm going to order a large 20X16 glossy print and frame it to be installed in the new nursery. (Maybe over the rocking chair?)

Homemade Birthday Card

This is months late in posting, but I didn't want to miss sharing my homemade Birthday card for my husband.  I tend to make my own cards for Nathan as I think it lends a personal touch to the celebration.  This year I decided to draw a retro robot; my husband is very mechanically inclined and I thought this would be very fitting for him.  My son really liked the card too and kept trying to hold it and color it before I even got a chance to give it to Nathan. 

My trick for making my own cards is to find a random envelope and cut cardstock  with a fold to fit inside said envelope.  I, then, decorate as desired.  Sometimes I look up photos for inspiration and sketch my design in pencil with a final draft in pen, marker, or colored pencil.  Besides being cheaper than a store-bought card, the recipient know that thought and feeling went into it.  Nathan actually framed one of my cards and hung it next to his work computer.

Mason Jar Storage

I really love this idea.  I think I would store craft items and things for my son.  I have a can of spray chalkboard paint, so I might try this right away.  What a great idea!

via Wit & Whistle

Pirate Ship

Here's a tiny sneak peek at what we've been doing to our son's room.

We purchase this ship painting (seen above) last fall for $5 from an estate auction.  My husband liked it and I hated it, but I bid on it for him because I love him.  No other people bid against me.  Ha!  Since our purchase the painting has wandered around the house and I've never found a permanent home for it.  Until now.

I decided that the bright orange colors would go perfectly in our son's room.  There was only one problem.  I still hated the frame, so I decided to change it.  Here's what I did:

1. Removed the frame.
2. Created a new frame using a wood 1/4"board large enough to allow for a 1" border around the original canvas.
3. Added 1/2" trim to the board so that it created a 1/2" reveal when the canvas was place in it.
4. Painted the new frame and edges of the canvas. (2 coats)
5. Attached the canvas to the new frame.
6. Attached hanging hardware to the frame.

We're really pleased with the final results.  It's such a great improvement not a bad $5 investment.  I hung the painting last night and my son was excited to see the "Pirate Ship" added to his room.

A Few Things

I have a few links and inspiration that I want to share from the last week.  They are all pretty random, but I really like the ideas:

via ohdeedoh

I love how quick and easy these homemade dominoes look.  I am itching to make a set and give it to someone.

via Babycheapskate

I read Babycheapskate all the time to check pricing on baby and older related items.  She clues me in to great deals all the time.  This last week the blog showcased a list of cheap or free summer activities that I plan on implementing with my son when he has daycare off.The list includes going to a storybook reading, catching a free summer kids movie at a local theater, etc.  You can find the complete list here.

via ohdeedoh

I really like these table legs, now I just need to get my hands on some reclaimed wood!