September Project

It has been busy in the Batcave for the remainder of the summer.  What have we been up to? That is a very good question.  To sum it up, we took a trip to the beach, did some mild spring cleaning, our little Reese got herself "fixed" so she won't have any Reese's Pieces, and Batman is getting ready for a new school year..this time with Kindergartners!

At the Beach with Batman

Reese with her Party Collar

Remember that feeling for the first day of school we had when we were growing up? I miss that feeling..some of them at least.  I also miss the feeling of waking up and seeing that it was a snow day!  I felt bad for Batman and then I got over it!  He was lucky enough to have the whole summer off while I woke up and drove my hour commute to work. I won't lie, at first I thought I would hate it but it was convenient being able to e-mail/text him with "Hey can you pick this up for me?" or "Can you vacuum the living room?"  Then I think about how lucky he is to have a summer off! Yes, teachers work very hard and the poor boy taught first grade without air conditioning in the humid Maryland weather, but months of vacation time must be nice!

The end of his summer was filled with lesson-planning and setting up his classroom.  I was put to work to set up some of his posters for around the room and I took my time making it perfect!

I think my new thing is to work on a project a month and my next project should be the office.  This might motivate me to get a little motivated to finish a room for once. So, my inspiration...

Source

We took a trip to our Ikea last night to get the Billy and Benno shelves and of course, they are out of stock on the Benno shelves.  They said they wouldn't be getting them anytime soon but the store an hour and a half away has them.  So what do I do? Wait it out and hope they get them? Make the trip to the other store and hope that 2 fit in my car? Order them online and pay the whopping $40 for shipping? I'm so torn!

Source - this one I found on Pinterest and I can't seem to access from the link.

When I lived with my parents my room was red and black with a pale yellow wall so I have lots of decor already.  This time I'm thinking about making the whole room monochromatic and having red accents.  My latest dilemma is how dark to go with the grey wall.  My furniture is black-brown so I don't want it to be too dark of a room but some of the darker grey's are just so intense, I love them.  What do you think?

Bathroom Stencil Grand Finale

My bathroom project is nearing the finish line, I just can't keep it from you any longer!  Being that this room is the first room I have ever painted, I am going to brag like a proud mommy...get ready for it!  I gave you the teaser here but I have definitely made some progress in adding the finishing touches.

I am still on the hunt for some more doo-dads but why wait?

Here she is!!

Of course its a she!

I'm still working on accessories but this is what I have for now.  I think this will be something I acquire with time.

My sister hates "people" pictures in the bathroom.  I think she is right when it comes to this little kissy picture of us but I just love the frame..and my shoes, so it stays for now.

I am love with my mirror.  It was originally black and I got it from HomeGoods for $30.  I think I need a new light fixture though because it throws off where the center is.

Still looking for the right soap dispenser so don't judge me in the meantime.

Conveniently, this Bathroom Companion goes with my color scheme.  There is no better place than right out in the open.  If you haven't seen one before, it has all kinds of random bathroom facts.

The candle holders were from a trip to Hobby Lobby and the watering pitcher was spray painted coral to match.

My chevron canvas art hangs above my toilet.  I used colors to match the bathroom and tie it all together.

I'm so in love with my bathroom now.  I think I'll be redoing all bathrooms before I move on to bedrooms.  They're just so much easier with how small they are.  What do you think?

Bathroom Stencil Part 1

When I gave you the grand tour of my house, I showed you my beautiful pink bathroom.  What a gem right?  That pink was so not my color and was the first to be painted.  Of course, I got my inspiration on Pinterest.  I found this blog which lead me to this blog.  They were both my inspiration in the end and Jones Design Company includes the template for the stencil, perfect.

Lets not forget this beautiful pink bathroom!  All floral decorations are compliments of the previous (male) owner.  Not that there is anything wrong with floral arrangements but these are a bit goofy and that "painting" is just as goofy.

I have been really into blue and coral and wanted blue walls with coral accents.  I had the hardest time deciding on paint colors and went with more of a turquoise in the end.  Instead of using a lighter color for the stencil, I went the opposite way.  I wanted it to really pop.

And the painting began....

(PS my paint had primer in it...2 birds with 1 stone!)

I had some pretty ghetto ways of lighting the room and it involved a lot of contorting in such a confined space.  I took our light fixture out so we wouldn't get paint all over the base of it.

Once my solid color was painted everywhere, I kicked Batman out of the room and began drawing the stencil.  Keep in mind, it is a lot of work but I am in love with the finished product.  I took my stencil and drew it entirely on one wall.  I didn't want too much pattern to be overwhelming in the room, especially since our bathroom is so small.  This was a good idea because it is a very tedious project and would have taken much longer for the rest of the room!

I apologize ahead of time for my low quality pictures of the process.  Luckily, it is explained step by step on the two previous sites.

You can sort of see the stencil.  To get the double line you just place the stencil to meet like a puzzle next to it.

Once I drew it over the entire wall, I began painting.  I started left to right so that my hand wouldn't smudge over it.  Getting behind the toilet was the hardest part.  I put some of my paint in a red solo cup and just carried it with me.  When I was finished for the night I would just wrap it in a plastic bag so that no air could get in and dry out my paint.  I also used old pillow cases (inside out) and trash bags to cover the floor behind the toilet and sink.  I had to improvise with what I had to protect my floors in those smaller areas.

And finally, I was almost finished!

Tonight, I am finishing up some of my coral accents to add to the room.  It has been surprisingly hard to find the right color coral, or any coral at all.  It always seems that when you are looking for something specific, you can never find it!  Stay tuned!