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DIY Framed Stencil Wall Art

Two weeks or so ago I shared with you a project that I made as one of the Dare Bloggers from the DIY club. I am sent several items each month and am given a challenge to use them together and create a project with them. I was really excited what I finally decided upon making with my items and am able to share it now with you here on The Idea Room.

I am in the midst of remodeling my daughter’s bedroom and have been looking for the perfect decor for her bedroom walls. I have not been able to find anything that has been “exactly” what I was looking for…until now! Learn how to make this fun Framed Stencil Wall Art.

I found a good sized frame that measured 20 x 28 inches from the local thrift store for $3. It was perfect for what I was looking for.

I took the picture apart and saved the frame and the glass. Then after cleaning up the frame I spray painted it with my favorite brand of paint, Krylon Indoor/Outdoor Satin White Spray Paint. The paint covered this old frame very nicely and I ended up needing three coats.

Then while the frame was drying, I cleaned up the glass from the picture frame so that it was super clean. After prepping it, I laid it on the back patio on top of my painter’s drop cloth (aka old sheets). Then I took this beautiful and fun Cutting Edge Stencil (style Casablanca) and sprayed the back of it lightly with a water spray bottle. Then I carefully positioned the stencil into place and on top of the glass. Then I took a damp cloth and checked every inch of the glass to make sure I wiped up any excess water. The water helped to seal the stencil to the glass.

Then I took this Krylon Frosted Glass Finish in White, and sprayed over the glass and the stencil. At first it goes on and the glass just looks wet so you can see where you need more coverage and then as it dries it starts to get the frosted look. I let it dry for 30 minutes and then came back and removed the stencil. I was so happy with how it turned out!

But only half of the glass was covered, so I sprayed the back of the stencil again, but only where I needed it wet. (I did not want water to sit on the side I had just sprayed). Then carefully lined up the stencil and then sprayed the other side and let it dry as well.

See how pretty it turned out? Squeal!! I was so excited with the results! Don’t you just love that Cutting Edge Stencil?

My frame still had the metal picture holders in the back of it so I pulled them all out with some pliers.

Then I took this Rockler Sanding Bug and roughed up the frame a bit to give it a distressed look. I loved how easy this sander is to hold and it fits perfectly in the palm of my hand. So much easier to work with than the folded piece of sandpaper I usually use. Definitely putting this one in MY tool box so the hubs doesn’t claim it as his own :)!

Then I wiped off the dust from the sanding and sprayed the frame with this Deft Clear Wood Finishing Spray. It will seal it and protect it and gave it a nice finished look! Super easy and quick to use. Let it dry properly.

Then I took some clear colored Silicone and placed a small thin line of silicone all around the inside edge of the back of the frame where the glass sits. You want enough to hold it in well, but not too much or it will ooze out onto your glass, which is not pretty looking.

Then gently set your glass inside the frame onto the silicone. **I placed my glass so that the frosted side was going to be facing the wall. This way if I need to clean the picture front, I can use Windex on the front of the picture without messing up the frosted spray.

At this point, I had my son help me lift the picture while I checked the front to see if any silicone had oozed out to the front. If there is some take a damp cloth and simply wipe up any spots before it dries. Then on the back of the frame I place another layer of silicone on the edge of the glass to keep the glass from falling and to hold it in.

Then I took my finger and carefully cleaned up around the edges.

Let it dry completely…about 24 hours.

Then I took this beautiful crystal knob from Amerock (isn’t it pretty?), and screwed it onto the top middle of the frame.

Then I simply hung a wreath made out of felt circles similar to how I made this heart felt wreath.

I am so HAPPY with how it turned out! It looks so great in my daughters room! I want to make another one! This project was pretty easy that anyone could do it without their husbands help! It is just a bit time consuming, but only due to the fact that you must be patient with allowing everything proper time to dry…which sometimes I am not very good at! What do you think?

February 11, 2011 · Filed under: Girls, Home Decor, Home Remodeling, Tutorials Tagged with

DIY New Bathroom Shelf with Towel Hooks

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Want to make one of these DIY Bathroom Shelf with towel hooks for your home? Well, today you are in luck.

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Do you remember when I shared with you the recent remodel of our girls bathroom here? Well today I am going to share with you how we made the shelf that holds their towels. This is so simple that anyone can make one.

You will need:

3 foot length of 1 x 12 Pine (or composite wood) (back of shelf)

4 foot length of 1 x 6 Pine (or composite wood) (top of shelf)

5 feet of 3 and 5/8 inch Crown Molding

4 feet of 1 and 1/8 inch decorative molding

miter box saw

finishing nails

painter’s caulk

wood glue

putty

primer

paint

1. We purchased a 1 x 12 pine board for the back of the shelf (the part that is flush with the wall). We cut it so that it measured 36 inches (3 feet).

2. Then we took some crown molding that was 3 and 5/8 inches in width and cut it so that the base of the crown molding also measured 36 inches at the inside of the angle that sits flush on the other board. (We cut ours on a mitre box saw(or chop saw)on the crown molding angle setting. The top of the crown molding should measure roughly 40 and 1/4 inches at the outsideedge.

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3. Then you will need to cut 2 side pieces. Ours measured 1 inch at the bottom of the crown molding at the edge of the inside angle. The top measured 3 inches at the outside edge of the molding.

4. Now take the 1 x 6 board (FYI–technically it is called a 1 x 6 but in reality it measures 3/4 by 5.5 inches)and cut it to measure 45 and 1/4 inches (this allows it to have a 2.5 inch overhang around all edges of the shelf.

5. Attach it to the top of your shelf with a few finishing nails along the back edge making sure to center it properly. This will not be very sturdy, but strength will be added after attaching your crown molding.

6. Now place the long strip of crown molding on the flat board at an angle and make sure that the top of the crown molding 2.5 inches from the edge underneath the top shelf. (In the picture we have removed the top board to show how the crown molding should connect together…let’s just say we learned how NOT to attach the top board Smile )

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7. Check and see if your side pieces fit nicely with the position of your crown molding. Adjust your molding if necessary. It might be helpful to turn the shelf upside down so that you can attach it easier. Then attach the crown molding to the board with a nail gun or a few finishing nails.

8. Take your side pieces and attach them to the shelf with a finishing nail in the top section and anchoring it to the bottom of the top shelf (Be very careful not to drive the end of your nail through the top of the shelf!). You can also nail the bottom of the side pieces into the flat board.

9. For the bottom trim we took a piece of 1 and 1/8 inch of decorative molding and cut it so that it measured 36 inches at the inside edge and the end being cut at a 45 degree angle. The outside edge measurement will vary based on the thickness of the molding you use.

10. Cut 2 side pieces at 45 degree angles so that the inside edges measure 3/4 inches. You may have to eyeball this and see what works best with your particular shelf.

11. Then we simply attached the long piece with finishing nails and then glued the side pieces on with wood glue.

12. Take your painter’s caulk and fill in the cracks on the long edges and seams. We used painter’s putty on the corners of the crown molding so that we could sand it into a nice finish and hide any cutting or attachment errors.

13. After the putty dries, sand the edges so that they are nice and smooth. Wipe off excess dust with a damp cloth and then prime and then paint it your desired color.

14. Attach your hooks. Be sure and center them where you need them based on how many you need. We purchased our hooks at Lowe’s.

Whew! That was a lot more technical and difficult to explain than the actual process. Just be sure to check and double check before making any cuts. These measurements are approximates and are based on OUR particular shelf. The products you purchase may vary slightly so please make note of that.

I would be happy to answer any questions you might have about this shelf and as always, if you end up making one, I would love to see some pictures!

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November 2, 2010 · Filed under: Home Decor, Home Remodeling Tagged with

DIY Make A Lego Table & Paint a Camoflauge Wall

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Today I want to share with you a Lego Table my sister and her husband built for their 3 boys all of whom are HUGE Lego fans. They seriously spend hours playing with and building amazing lego creations. So…they have a lot of Legos.

My sister was tired of the Legos being scattered everywhere and underfoot. Ever step on a stray Lego? Yeah…me too! So you can understand her dilemna.

So my sister and brother-in-law purchased an activity table from Pottery Barn that had a lip (wood strip) around the top of the table.

But any table could really work for this. Even if it doesn’t have a lip around the top. What is the purpose of the lip you ask? Well, I will explain that here shortly.

After you have your table, you can add a top lip using quarter rail or flat moulding that you can find at your local Hardware store. Cut the strips to fit on all four sides of the table and cut the ends so that they are cut on a 45 degree angle and fit together snugly in the corners. Then glue with wood glue or use small finishing nails to attach the wood strips to the top of the table.
After the glue has dried you will want to putty (or use painter’s caulk if painting) the seams along the edges of the quarter rail. Then either stain or paint them to match your table.

Then they had a piece of plexiglass cut so that it fit perfectly on the table and in between the lip of the table. The lip will prevent the plexiglass from slipping around the table top. Very important so your child’s lego creations don’t get knocked to the ground. That usually causes some major trauma…not that I would know :)! Then they took some 12 x 12 lego base plates and glued them right onto the plexiglass. *But before you glue, be sure to place Legos onto the bases where they connect to one another. If you glue them with the plates right next to one another, the legos will not connect to the base around the edges of each separate place correctly. Does that make sense? And that’s it! Pretty amazing huh?!

My sister also has some storage organizers to help keep some of the important Lego pieces organized so the kids can find them. I can’t imagine how she keeps them so organized…but she inherited a bit of the same OCD that I have. And, if you noticed, they have a wooden bin under the table that holds all the other Lego bricks. And I am sure you couldn’t help but notice the awesome Camoflauge wall. Yep, she painted it that way with the help of her sister-in-law. She got the idea from a pair of her son’s camoflauge pajama pants that she really liked. She simply took the pants into the hardware store and they were able to match three of the colors and mix her up some paint. Then using the pants as their pattern guide, they drew the odd shaped patterns onto the wall using pencil. Then they labeled each paint with a numbers, 1,2 and 3. Each shape was given a number so they would know what paint color to fill it in with. Then using small brushes they outlined each shape in the proper color and then filled them in with larger paint brushes! All paint colors are Ralph Lauren brand. Main background color: English Tan Camo-spot colors: Kauai Jungle, Neutral Brown, Prince, and Artist Brown. Isn’t that so fun? Her boys love their room! Can’t say as I blame them!

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