Back To School Decor

It's the most wonderful time of the year! No, not Christmas....BACK TO SCHOOL!  It's been an amazing summer packed full of trips, lots of family time making memories, escaping to cooler mountain weather, and late nights.  But now we have to get back into early mornings and this year my little one is starting kindergarten!  I can hardly believe it.

I created a mantle to get me back in the mindset of learning and so we can hopefully ALL get excited about our new "big boy school" that I've been talking up all summer long.

 This table came together easily with things I already had in the house, and of course the giant ceramic apple from Target's dollar spot...which I may be planning on turning into a teacher's gift.

Boy Bedroom: Bed Details

Back in February I shared my son's updated boy bedroom with the promise of details and tutorials to come. And finally here in May I'm getting started on them for you! 

His bed prompted it all, when we finally had to move his giant tall body into a twin bed.  We got the frame and headboard from craigslist (win!), and and painted it with chalk paint and roughed it up before finishing, in a way that would make even Joanna Gaines proud.

In these pictures, he has his winter sheets on, which I got at Target this year.  They happened to fit together seamlessly with his comforter.  The navy rugby stripe comforter is also from Target online & also is available in other colors! 

I'm still on the hunt for a bed skirt that's long enough & the perfect navy to match. And of course I had to string up some felt balls from the wonderful Hello Maypole and a marquee letter from Heidi Swapp at Michaels for his nightlight. 

The red stripe pillow is made by me and the easy tutorial is right here so you can make your own. 

And that's the breakdown of his bed!  I can't wait to share everything else with you like his gallery wall, decals & his fun curtain pulls.  Keep an eye out for plenty more details & tutorial posts.

Big Boy Bedroom

Months (months, months) ago, my son finally got a big boy bed complete with a craigslist headboard that got painted with chalk paint & chippy-uped a bit. So I of course had to get new bedding & decorations to match it, right?!  Here are a few shots of his bigger-boy bedroom.

Hot Pink Ampersand

This little piece of wall art is the perfect way to brighten up any room & it's easier than you think!

Start with your frame of choice, mine was a thrift store frame I painted white. 

Using freezer paper or vinyl, design and cut your stencil.

Carefully paint filling in your stencil, mine only took one coat. Then remove & let dry.

Without cutting (yet), hot glue a few inches at a time to the back of the frame. After completely attached, trim remaining burlap. Having the extra attached while glueing make it easier to stretch onto the frame.

And you're done! I hung mine up with some Scotch wall hanging velcro attached on the back.

Own Impression Giveaway!!

Alright everybody! So as some of you may know, I opened my own etsy shop (Own Impression) to sell some fun products I create.  And I recently shipped out an order of my favorite product:

 These signs are what originally sparked the idea to open the shop.  I love them because they are the perfect addition to any gallery wall, and you can choose between city, state or even country.  Choose places you lived, where you've visited, or even where all you siblings (or children) live!

So I'm giving a set away to one lucky person!  You can have your choice of up to 5 signs.  The giveaway starts today a winner will be chosen a week from today!

Plus use the coupon code "ribbon" for 10% off Own Impression products for a week!

5 City/State Signs by Own Impression

Modern Tic-Tac-Toe Game

Who wants to play tic-tac-toe?!  This wood-stained and gold-leafed set will have all adults wanting to play this fun game!

I picked up the plain piece of wood & letters at Hobby Lobby.  I "stained" and sanded the wood.

Measure & tape off the board before painting the lines.  While you're waiting for them to dry, gold leaf the letters with your choice of product.  I just used some Martha Stewart gold sheets & a tape roller! Easy Peasy!

 It's pretty & so stylish that you'll want to leave it to on your coffee table as decoration.