boys’ room | Beneath My Heart

Bookcase turned Yard Stick Coffee Table {DIY Wayfair Challenge!}

December 3, 2012 AT 6:00 am 29 Comments

December 3, 2012 By traci 29 Comments

I am so excited to share a fun little project I just complete for my boys!

I got an email a while back from Wayfair about participating in their first DIY Challenge. Of course, I said yes!

We had to pick one of three products to do a makeover on. I chose this bookcase.

When I first saw it, I planned on still using it as a bookcase, but then I got the idea to turn it into a coffee table for the boys’ soon-to-be playroom.

{When the boys’ move upstairs to their new rooms, we are going to turn one of their rooms downstairs into a playroom.}

So this is what I came up with!

I just LOVE it!

I took the bookcase and created a rolling, yard stick coffee table with it.

I used the pieces of bookcase that came in the box to create the base of the coffee table. I sprayed the whole piece with Kilz spray primer first, and then spray painted the whole thing with white spray paint.

Since the original backing of the bookcase was a little too flimsy, we used a piece of leftover beadboard that we already had for the bottom of the coffee table.

We applied PL Adhesive to the wood and then nailed the board to the bottom of the bookcase.

Then we cut a piece of plywood about two inches longer on each side than the bookcase.

We attached the larger piece of plywood to the top of the bookcase with door hinges.

Now the boys will be able to lift up the table top and use it for storing toys or blankets.

For the top of the coffee table, I bought a bunch of yard sticks for .69 cents a piece and stained or painted them with my favorite colors.

I spray painted some red and used Annie Sloan dark wax on them to make them look aged. I used Ebony stain on some, Walnut stain on others. I also used a gray stain, white spray paint, and green paint on some others. You can use whatever colors you want!

Then I attached the yardsticks to the top of the coffee table using more PL Adhesive and the nail gun.

I staggered my yard sticks because I didn’t want them to look all matchy-matchy.

Then we used an electric hand saw to cut the edges of the yard sticks straight.

Next, we added wheels to the bottom of the coffee table.

To cover the raw edges of the top of the table, I stained some yardsticks a little darker with the ebony stain and attached them to the sides with PL Adhesive and a nail gun.

I also added a silver handle to the front so the boys can lift the top of the coffee table easily.

I am so happy with how it turned out!

It’s such a colorful and happy table! Perfect for the boys’ soon-to-be playroom!

And I like that they will be able to easily roll it out of the way if they need more space to play games, like their Wii.

Here is another look at the before and after…

A special thanks to Wayfair for letting me participate in this challenge!! Be sure to follow Wayfair on Pinterest and/or Facebook for news and products.

Disclaimer—Wayfair provided the bookcase and Giftcards.com provided a giftcard to go toward the supplies for this project. All opinions are 100% my own.

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Filed Under boys' room, DIY projects, furniture makeover, Uncategorized 29 Comments

Burlap Lamp Shades {Pottery Barn Copied Me!}

March 11, 2012 AT 9:21 pm 27 Comments

March 11, 2012 By traci 27 Comments

Okay, ladies.

Last night, I was looking through the latest Pottery Barn Kids magazine for some decorating inspiration, when I saw something that caught my eye.

It was something that looked very familiar to me. A boy’s burlap lampshade.

pottery barn kids

I recognized it because it looks eerily similar to the lamp shades I made for my boys’ room 3 years ago!

Yep! It was my idea first!

(Okay, maybe not. But I’m am TOTALLY claiming it as my original idea!)

I had never seen anything like them before. I just had some lamp shades for my boys’ room that needed some updating. So I decided on burlap, (since it is my favorite material in the world.) But they were still a little too plain, so I decided to paint some red numbers on them to match the colors in their room.

So ya see? My idea. Smile

These lamp shades were featured a lot in blogland, so I think the folks at Pottery Barn saw them and was inspired by ME. (A girl can dream, right?!)

Anyway, since I completed this project “pre-Pinterest” days, I thought I would share the post with my readers again. (Especially since I have about 4,000 new readers since I first published this!)

Updating Lamp Shades for the Boys’ Room

I am loving the new update for the lamp shades in my boys’ room!

It’s exactly what I had envisioned in my head. I bought some lamp shades from Target for the boys’ room a couple of years ago. They weren’t exactly what I was looking for, but they were the right size and shape, (and price).

They were covered with a tan paper that began to bubble. I tried to ignore it, but it was driving me crazy.

I began to think about how I could recover them…maybe with new material? blue? red? khaki? And then it hit me….BURLAP, BABY!

If you don’t know about my obsession with burlap, just click on “burlap projects” in my archives, and you’ll get a good idea. Smile

I already had some leftover burlap, so I quickly got to work. First I pulled the navy blue trim off of the lamp shade. That was super easy.

IMG_5220_thumb[6]

Then I took my burlap and wrapped it around the shade.

I covered each side of the shade with fabric glue and a sponge brush and pressed the burlap to the shade.

Then I let it dry. I tucked the edge of the material under and secured it with my glue gun.

IMG_5231_thumb[5]

Press the seam down and it will lay nice and flat. Just be careful because the glue can seep through the holes of the burlap! Trust me…I know!

Once I had the whole shade covered in burlap, it was time to put the trim back on.

First, I trimmed the burlap around all of the edges with my scissors. Next, I got out my trusty glue gun and glued the ribbon back on.

They were already looking sooooo good to me!

But it needed something else. They were just a little too plain for me.

Sooooo. I bought some stencils at Michael’s (with a coupon) for 4 bucks. Then I got out my sponge brush and the same paint that I used to paint the boys’ collector’s shelves. (Colonial Red)

I let the boys picked out a number that they wanted stenciled on their lamp shade, and I got to work.

I taped the stencil in place and applied the paint with my sponge brush.

Then I used a smaller paint brush to go over the edges of the numbers to make them more even.

They are perfect! To me, at least.

It was nighttime when I took the pictures of the lamp shades in the boys’ room, so I used my flash for some of them. ( I usually try not to do that, but in this case I thought some of the pictures turned out better with the flash.)

The boys are thrilled! They love having those lamps beside their beds to read at night.

If you want to learn how to make a collector’s shelf similar to the ones in the boys’ room, click HERE.

I bought the swing arm lamps at Goodwill for $2.50 a piece. They were an ugly brass, so I spray painted them with a metal spray paint from Lowe’s. It was called “hammered metal” or something like that. It was two years ago…

Well, that’s it! It took me about 30 minutes to complete this project. It was well worth the time and $4.00 I spent on it. Don’t you agree?

*********************************

So there you have it!

What do you think? Do you agree they copied off me? (I’m not looking for honesty here, y’all!)

Maybe I should change their picture a little (hee,hee)…

Pin that, Baby!

(P.S. If you were to find out that Pottery Barn had these lamps shades for sale before I made mine, please do not leave a comment telling me so. It will burst the little happy bubble I am living in right now.) Smile

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Filed Under boys' room, burlap projects 27 Comments

DIY Magnet Board {with upholstery tacks}

November 3, 2011 AT 8:35 am 10 Comments

November 3, 2011 By traci 10 Comments

Hey friends! Thank you for all the sweet comments about my new (unfinished) pantry! Cy loved seeing all the comments about what a great husband I have. :)

I was looking through some old posts last night, and I found one that I wrote as a guest post at Tatertots and Jello this past summer.

From what I could tell, I never published that post on my blog. So I thought I would share it with you.

Here it is:

To help your kids (or you) stay organized this school year, I thought I would share with you a very easy DIY magnet board that I made for my boys :)

This magnet board is the perfect place to store notes, reminders, or special keepsakes.

Here is how I made it (in less than an hour!)

I purchased a 24×24 inch sheet of metal from Lowe’s for about $10.00. They have all different kinds of sizes, so you could make your magnet board smaller or larger if you wanted.

I also bought two 1x2s from Lowe’s. Get the cheapest 1x2s you can find. These were $1.97 a piece.

For the embellishments, I bought three different types of “tacks.”

Bronze furniture nails, Nickel furniture nails, and large head galvanized roofing nails.

I decided to go with the bronze furniture nails (upholstery tacks) for this project.

I started by using a hack saw to cut a piece of wood 24 inches long…

Then I used a straight edge to mark where I wanted my tacks to go. (You can space them however far apart you would like. You could also use different color tacks or large head wood screws.)

The upholstery tacks where not strong enough to go through the metal without breaking, so I created a starter hole with a nail.

Again, you can space the tacks apart at any distance you prefer.

The picture below just shows you how the wood was placed on each side. I would flip it over and nail the tacks into one side at a time.

After you finish nailing all the tacks in, you are done! How easy is that?!

Now my magnet board was plain when I hung it in my boys’ room, but I was wondering what it would look like with some lettering on it.

So I uploaded my pictures into Picnik and added my boys’ names on the board to see what it would look like.

I loved it!!

magnet board

So I am planning on creating vinyl cutouts of my boys’ names using my Silhouette machine. If I didn’t have a Silhouette, I would probably purchase some stencils and just paint their names on.

magnet board

In the next picture, I added my son’s name in blue to see how that would look…

CUTE!!!!

Now you are probably thinking that this type of board would only look good in a boy’s room.

Oh no, my friends!

Look how cute the board looks in my office!!!….

I am needing a memo board for my office space, so I am thinking about purchasing a larger sheet of metal to go across my whole desk area. Wouldn’t that be great?! Maybe I will use the silver upholstery tacks to give it a little more “bling”. :)

memo board

For fun, I added my monogram to the board through Picnik to see what it would look like…

memo board

Again…I love it! Who would think a piece of metal could look so feminine?

Here is the memo board with my favorite saying on it (added through the magic of Picnik, of course.)…

memo board

So there you have it! A great little magnet board for your child (or you) to start the school year off right!

For less than 20 dollars….“holla!”

And if metal on your walls is just not your thing, check out the tutorial on my blog to make “Ballard Designs Inspired Magnet Board.”

You can learn how to make these through a written tutorial, or a video tutorial, whichever you choose. :)

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Filed Under boys' room, crafty project 10 Comments

My Niece’s Adorable Nursery!

August 18, 2011 AT 10:12 am 17 Comments

August 18, 2011 By traci 17 Comments

Within the next couple of weeks, I will become a GREAT Aunt to my niece’s baby boy, Colt.

And I cannot wait!

Courtney has worked so hard in preparing a nursery for sweet Colt, and I wanted to share pictures of it with you.

I was so proud of the DIY skills she used to create Colt’s name above his bed, paint a chandelier white, and make custom shades for it. Great job, Courtney!

She had the bedding custom made by a very talented family friend, Jenny.

Jenny is an amazing seamstress! You should see the girls’ clothes she makes. You can check them out on her blog, Savvy Stitches.

Jenny made the bedding, drapes, pillows, and the name sign hanging on the changing table. Love it!

My favorite piece of furniture in Colt’s nursery is the children’s wardrobe dresser. Because it’s mine! :)

This precious dresser was the first piece of furniture my husband and I ever bought over 12 years ago. We got it at a second hand store and painted it white for my first son, Jonathan’s nursery.

We used it in all four of our boys’ nurseries, and to see it now in Colt’s room just makes me smile!

Courtney hung the word art sign that I made her over the dresser, and I think it looks perfect there!

boy nursery

It’s just such a sweet room, and it is already so full of love!

Courtney is going to be a great mom, and Chris will be an amazing dad.

Now come on, Colt! We are ready for you!!!

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Red Letter Words Giveaway! (and a boy’s room design)

November 23, 2010 AT 12:00 pm

November 23, 2010 By traci

I had the honor of meeting Dee from Red Letter Words at Relevant in October.

Red Letter Words

I have admired her work every since I have been in blogland, and it was a thrill to finally meet Dee in person!

What did I learn about Dee? She is real, genuine, and extremely cool!

It is so exciting to meet one of your sponsors in person! I am so grateful to Dee for sponsoring my blog and allowing me to host giveaways of her beautiful prints!

A couple of months ago, Dee had asked me to design a room around one of her gorgeous prints using Polyvore.

I was so honored, so of course I said “Yes!”…then I said, what’s Polyvore?

Kelly, Dee’s sister, introduced me to the site, and I quickly learned how to use it by just playing around.

On Polyvore, you can create room designs by using products from all over the internet. It is super cool and addictive.

Yeah, I know…like I need one more thing to occupy my time and my addictive nature!

At the time Dee asked me to design a room, I had been knee-deep in Pottery Barn Kids magazines looking for inspiration to re-do my son, Adam’s, room. I was hoping to move little Eli into Adam’s room, and it needed some changes.

So when I saw Dee at Relevant, I asked her if she had a print that would work well in a boy’s room.

She said she would work on one, and she wanted me to use it for my Polyvore design.

Here is the print she created in a denim blue, and I love it!

This is one of my favorite scriptures, and it is perfect for a little boy’s room.

What a great reminder to my little guys to be STRONG and COURAGEOUS for the Lord, which is exactly what they need to be in today’s society. But they do not need to FEAR, because the Lord is with them wherever they may go!

AMEN!

So if you want to see the little boy’s room I created in Polyvore with Dee’s “Be Strong and Courageous” print, click HERE to visit her blog and check it out. I think you’ll like it! :)

And while you are there, sign up get Dee’s Red Letter Words Newsletter. I love getting mine in my inbox! You can also subscribe to Dee’s blog and follower her on twitter!

When you are finished looking at my Polyvore design over at Dee’s, come back and register to win a 12 x 12 Cafe Mount Art Print!

Dee is giving away her “We Saw His Star in the East” print and a matching candle!!!

Click for more information

Here’s how you can enter this fabulous giveaway!

1. Leave a comment telling me how much you LOVED the polyvore set I designed around Dee’s print! (hee, hee)

2. Tweet about this giveaway. You can copy and paste this if you want: ”Come enter a Red Letter Words giveaway @beneathmyheart @redletterart http://bit.ly/eqZf7Y” Tell me about it in a separate comment.

3. Share this giveaway on your facebook page and come back and tell me about it in a separate comment.

4. Share this giveaway in your sidebar or in a post on your blog and link it back to this post. Tell me about it in a separate comment and you will be entered again!

That’s four chances to win!

This giveaway will end on Sunday, November 26th at midnight EST. I will announce the winner on Monday!

Goodluck!

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Burlap Lamp Shades for the Boys’ Room

January 17, 2010 AT 11:07 pm 52 Comments

January 17, 2010 By traci 52 Comments

I am so very excited about how this project turned out!

It’s exactly what I had envisioned in my head.

I bought some lamp shades from Target for the boys’ room a couple of years ago. They weren’t exactly what I was looking for, but they were the right size and shape, (and price).

They were covered with a tan paper that began to bubble. I tried to ignore it, but it was driving me crazy.

I began to think about how I could recover them…maybe with new material? blue? red? khaki?

And then it hit me….BURLAP, BABY!

If you don’t know about my obsession with burlap, just click on “burlap projects” in my side bar, and you’ll get a good idea.

I already had some leftover burlap, so I quickly got to work.

First I pulled the navy blue trim off of the lamp shade. That was super easy.

Then I took my burlap and wrapped it around the shade.

I covered each side of the shade with fabric glue and a sponge brush and pressed the burlap to the shade.

Then I let it dry.

I tucked the edge of the material under and secured it with my glue gun.

Press the seam down and it will lay nice and flat. Just be careful because the glue can seep through the holes of the burlap! Trust me…I know!

Then I trimmed the burlap around all of the edges with my scissors.

Next, I got out my trusty glue gun and glued the ribbon back on.

They were already looking sooooo good to me!

But it needed something else.

Sooooo.

I bought some stencils at Michael’s (with a coupon) for 4 bucks. Then I got out my sponge brush and the same paint that I used to paint the boys’ collector’s shelves. (Colonial Red)

The boys picked out a number that they wanted stenciled on their lamp shade, and I got to work.

I taped the stencil in place and applied the paint with my sponge brush.

Then I used a smaller paint brush to go over the edges of the numbers to make them more even.

They are perfect! To me, at least.

The boys are thrilled! They love having those lamps beside their beds to read at night.

If you want to learn how to make a collector’s shelf similar to the ones in the boys’ room, click HERE.

Well, that’s it! It took me about 30 minutes to complete this project. It was well worth the time and $4.00 I spent on it. Don’t you agree?

Be sure to stop by on Tuesday for another FABULOUS giveaway! I’m so excited to share it with you!

I am linking this project to all of my favorite parties….

Met Monday at Between Naps on the Porch

Make it for Monday at Cottage Instincts

Make your Monday at Twice Remembered

Get Your Craft On at Today’s Creative Blog

DIY Day at A Soft Place to Land

Show and Tell at Blue Cricket Designs

Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Chic Cottage

Saturday Nite Special at Funky Junk Interiors

Have a blessed day!

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Tagged burlap projects, makeover Filed Underboys' room, burlap projects, makeover, Uncategorized 52 Comments

DIY Wall Book Holder

November 4, 2009 AT 10:09 pm 62 Comments

November 4, 2009 By traci 62 Comments

On Tuesday, I showed you my boys’ room, and the great little collector’s shelves my father-in-law made for the boys.

He made them for me because I have always loved the ones in the Pottery Barn Kids magazines.

Oscar Bedroom

Well, I was wanting one for Eli’s room too, so that’s how I got the idea for my Gorilla Glue project.

Now girls, I am always thinking about you! (‘Cause I could just let my husband make it.) But I’m really hoping that this might be a project that you could do too!

So this is what I keep in mind when planning a project…

“How can I make this in a way that anybody could do it too?”

And “How can I make this inexpensively?”

Well, I think this project is both EASY and THRIFTY.

Here are the supplies you need:

* 2 – one inch by three feet pieces

*1 – one 4 inch by three feet piece

*2 – two wooden plaques

I got all of these supplies at Hobby Lobby.

They were originally $15.00 all together, but they are 50% off this week, so that’s only $7.50!

I bought a bottle of Gorilla Glue Epoxy and used my 40% off coupon, so it only cost about $3.50.

(I totally stole this picture of Gorilla Glue from The Shanty Sisters because I forgot to take a picture of mine! Hope that’s alright ladies!)

I bought some “d” rings at Lowes for about $2.00 to use to hang the shelf.

And I had white paint at home, so that was free. But you could spend a couple of dollars on a can of spray paint, and have about $15.00 in this whole project!!!

Not bad considering that the 3 foot long collector shelf from Pottery Barn costs $59.oo! (plus shipping!)

First of all, I took the 4 inch wide piece (which would be the base of my shelf) to draw a line where I wanted to cut the plaque.

Then I used that same piece to draw a line where I wanted to cut off the bottom of the plaque.

Then the plaque looked like this. To show you the part I wanted to keep to make my shelf, I scribbled on it.

I used a miter saw to cut on my lines, but you could use a regular blade saw for this part.

Then I laid the cut piece on top of the other piece to draw the line where I wanted to cut. I wanted to make sure they were exactly the same length.

Then I used my Gorilla Glue Epoxy to glue my 4 inch base piece to both sides of the cut plaques.

I measured one inch from the base and glued my first one inch piece.

As you can see, I had to use my nail gun to hold the pieces in place. The Gorilla Glue bottle said to hold the pieces together with a clamp and let it sit. But I couldn’t figure out how to clamp two pieces that formed
a 90 degree angle!

So the staples were my solution, and it worked for me.

I added one more rail by using the Gorilla Glue.

The rails seemed a little “flimsy” to me, so I need a little piece in the middle to support it.

I paid $1.52 for a one foot piece of 1 x 4 poplar at Home Depot. One of the workers at Home Depot even cut one piece 4 inches long (which is the width of the base of the shelf) to save me a step at home!

For the sake of time, I just used my nail gun to attach this piece, but I could have used the Gorilla Glue too.

Then I painted it white.

I attached the D rings that I got at Lowes.

And it was ready to hang in my sweet Eli’s room!

I put it right under the window by our rocking chair.

Perfect for reading some books at bedtime!

I love that the shelf is wide enough to stick stuffed animals in it too!

I absolutely LOVE it! It is exactly what I wanted.

And guess who else loves it?

How cute is that?

The perfect height for my little man!

Thank you Shanty 2 Chic for hosting the “I made it with Gorilla Glue party”!

I have been wanting to do this project for-eva!

And now I can check it off my “to do” list.

I am headed over there now to see what other amazing projects have been done with Gorilla Glue…

And then I’m headed over to The Shabby Chic Cottage for Transformation Thursday…

Come join me!

Blessings,

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Tagged crafty project Filed Underboys' room, crafty project 62 Comments

My Attempt at a Pottery Barn Boys’ Room…

November 2, 2009 AT 10:28 pm 69 Comments

November 2, 2009 By traci 69 Comments

I love the Pottery Barn Kids magazines because they are a great resource for inspirational ideas.

Carson Bedroom

I’ve always loved the swing arm lamps that they have by the bunk beds. (above)

Parker Table Lamp Shade, Navy

And of course, I love the sports themed rooms. Don’t ya love the baseball?

Kasey Sports Bedroom

I also love the collector’s shelves that are usually beside the beds.

4 Inch Deep Collector's Shelf, 2 Foot x 6.5 Inch h., Red

Aren’t they wonderful?!

Oscar Bedroom

We re-did my two oldest boys’ room two years ago. They wanted bunk beds, and I was glad.

I couldn’t afford the ones at Pottery Barn, but I found a great deal on some bunk beds online that I think look just as good.

Well, I tried to be thrifty and creative, and this was the result…

My husband added chair railing around the room, and we painted the top half tan, and the bottom half navy blue.

The bedding is from Meijer. I got it around Christmas two years ago, and it was majorly on sale.

The storage bins under the bed are from Walmart, and labeled with some of their favorite toys.

The swing arm lamps are from Goodwill. They were old brass lamps and were only $2.50 a piece! I used brushed nickel spray paint to cover them up, and found the lamp shades at Target.

(You could also paint them with oil rubbed bronze spray paint. Just be sure to use a can of spray KILZ primer first!)

I think I had about $25.00 total in the both of these! Much better than the $220.00 it would have cost me from Pottery Barn!

I was wanting some collector’s shelves, but they would have cost me $39-$59.00 a piece if I ordered them from Pottery Barn.

My in-laws had these really cool antique church pew hymnal holders (boy, that was a mouthful!).

I thought they would be perfect for the boys’ room. So I told my father-in-law, and within an hour, he had made a pattern of his and created three for my boys! I took them home and spray painted them a dark red to match their bedding.

The boys absolutely love their collector’s shelves! They read books every night before bedtime and love having their own light to read by.

My mother-in-law had made the boys pillows with their names stitched on them many years ago that ended up matching their bedding perfectly!

My mother and father-in-law used to re-do the interiors of Porsches (the cars). So my mother-in-law used some leather (that they used to re-cover the seats with) to make these wonderful pillows. The boys think that’s awesome! The best thing is that she traced their names in her own handwriting…what a treasured keepsake!

Thank you, Pop and Grammaw!

Here is the other side of the room. I got the dark walnut dressers from Walmart! They matched the bunk bed perfectly, and the drawers are extra roomy.