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Floral Hallway Mural Makeover

February 14, 2023 By Erica Deuel Leave a Comment

When your mind frees up and gets a little white space, you can see things in a new light. This is continually something I am amazed by as I go through the seasons of life. I showed you in my snow room remodel, how this idea looked after closing our art studio. As I come out of a heavy season of launching my online course, my mind is once again a little more free and I have been able to create a new floral hallway mural in our home.

The wall has had many different looks over the years.

We have used it to as our our own family’s Instagram reel as we add pictures to it over a year to highlight some of of our favorite memories made. Reagan has also painted an under water mural on it, and then we tried to add the pictures back on top, once we were tired of it. The pictures didn’t like sticking to her acrylic paint, so they kept falling off and we just never really did anything to change it.

I knew I needed a fun, creative project after I wrapped up my course launch and it hit me one day, as I was sitting on our living room couch staring down the hallway. That little spot needed fixing. I had to decide if I wanted to paint it solid to go back to holding pictures again or to create a new mural. You can see I choose to paint a new mural. I talk about the process and show more in these three YouTube videos. Check them out, if you want to see the action happen and how many times my dogs and kids walk past me as I painted :).

Video 1: The Start of a New Mural

Video 2: Mural Progress Update

Video 3: Mural Reveal

I’ll go into a few more details below, to walk you through my process, but in summary you can see the wall transformation quickly in this picture combo.

Step 1: Clean and prepare the wall

The first step was to take down all the pictures. It was fun to relive those moments, as I pulled each picture off the wall. I then sanded the wall quickly to erase any lumps of paint from Reagan’s mural.

Next, I wiped down the wall and gave it a coat of Kilz primer to neutralize an even surface once again.


Step 2: Begin to design

After I did all the prep work, it started to get fun.

I knew I wanted to paint some kind of floral design, but I didn’t want it as symmetrical and perfect as I did on this previous bedroom mural. One of my goals was to create a bigger scale and for the layout to not be even. I began by sketching the design out in pencil on the wall. Next time, I will sketch it on paper first, so there are not as many pencil marks. Those turned out to be tedious to cover in the yellow and lime paint.

Once the image was roughly on the wall, I was ready to cut it in with the base color. Since my base color was so dark, I didn’t want to paint the whole wall with it. I just kind of painted around my design, so I created a coloring page for me to fill in.

Step 3: Add the color and final details

This is where it begins to get really fun! I started doing one color at a time to get everything filled in. Once I did that in spacing out the colors, I started going over the colors with a second layer and then I wrapped it up with a few details on top of some of the design.

This incorporated new colors or mixing my current colors with other colors to make different shades.


When I was trying to decide about a color or if a shape was the right size, I would stand back and stare at it. At one point, Caleb, walked through talking to me and the moment was too cool not to capture.

It was actually hard to decide which shapes to give more details too. I could have kept going with details, but I didn’t want it to feel too precise. I wanted some whimsical aspect, so I just added enough details to make some of the blander shapes pop.

Enjoy your Creation!

Now that the wall is done and it looks so good, it’s hard to believe we left it at such a rough spot for so long.

That’s what happens with a full mind though. We get used to seeing things a certain way. Other aspects of life take over your attention and thoughts, and you just settle in.

It may be a matter of not having enough time to get to that project or you are just so use to seeing it that way, you forget there could be anything wrong with it.

Have you wanted to draw or paint on your walls?

I love the intentional care to this forgotten spot in our home. It now looks so happy and makes me smile every time I see it. I’m racking my brain on what other spot in our home could use a little attention. I  few ideas that come to mind are…

  • kids’ bathroom cabinets
  • kids’ bathroom walls/floor
  • pantry walls
  • master bathroom closet
  • kitchen accent wall
  • laundry hook wall

These areas could just use some organization or maybe a simple paint job. OR maybe I should paint some more murals. That really was so fun. Have you ever wanted to paint or draw on your walls. We grow up being told not to do so, but then we forget when we are grown and have our own house…that we get to make the rules. It’s like one of those habits or ways of thinking you just keep going with because it’s what you have always known. If you want to try something, I say…go ahead and do it.

Be a Crazy One

Your idea might seem crazy. You might fail at it. I certainly “messed” up as I painted this mural. There were even some big “oops” where paint got on a different wall and the carpet, but it’s nothing a little hot water and soap didn’t fix.

I learned and now I know what to be more careful with and to do differently next time. Anything worth wild or that comes to life first takes imagination. It can be crazy to see something differently, but maybe that leads to something beautiful.


Have you done something that filled your heart up recently? I know I need creative fixes after big projects or seasons that are stretching. Painting has always been a great brain break for me. If you need help figuring out your own brain break, I’d love to journey that with you in my Create More Connection Course. Enroll today and we can get started.

Now, what do you think? Are you ready to draw on your walls too? Maybe start by just looking around your home and deciding what is one area that you have gotten use to seeing in that way, and it could be so much more.

Have fun and imagine the possibilities!

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Wood Cake Stand

August 9, 2013 By Erica Deuel 6 Comments

unique_cake_stand

I have an obsession with natural elements. Sometimes I wonder if I really was supposed to build a Swiss Family Robinson tree house, rather than buy this new house. Not really…but can you imagine!? That place has always been a dream to me.

If you remember my log end table, you know I love working with logs and sticks. The latest project I incorporated them in is this unique cake stand. If you have a chain saw (or a dad with chain saw like me), than you can do this project!

The first step was to have my dad slice me some slivers of a larger piece of wood while I stole a piece of his firewood.

Slice_wood

I picked the sliver of wood that I liked the best and used some of my amazing Haven swag sandpaper from 3M to make the top smooth. Side note: I love this sandpaper and the back no slip grip sold me on this product! They aren’t paying my anything to say that. It is legit. Good stuff.

sanding_wood

I cut my piece of firewood to the height I wanted for my cake stand with my new miter saw (that I will be sharing with you next week).

Tree_woodI then squirted a little wood glue into the center of my wood sliver and pressed the stand tightly into it. I then hammered a small nail in from the top of the cake stand to add some extra strength, and it kept the two pieces tight as the glue dried.

using_wood_glue

Hammering_a_nailMy last step was to stain the top. I used Early American for a nice dark color. It soaked in immediately to the raw wood. There wasn’t much brushing the stain on or wiping it off. It kind of soaked right in and stayed, but it worked!

staining_wood

wood_cake_standOnce the stain was dry, it was done! I love the way it turned out! I must note that I placed these strawberries on the stand for like two seconds for the picture. If I was to really place food there for longer periods of time, I would seal the top with something that is safer for food. I think my stand might end up holding jewelry, but the possibilities are endless!

natural_cake_stand

What do you think!? Do you like adding natural elements to your home too? I mentioned in my Haven conference recap that I wanted to share some of the swag love with one of you! O. Sing, you won!!!  I am so excited you finally won something since you enter ALL my giveaways! I will be in touch!

Thank you for stopping by, and I hope you have an awesome weekend!

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My Craft Desk {a special furniture revamp}

May 24, 2013 By Erica Deuel 2 Comments


craft area

Do you ever buy things…like big things…pieces of furniture, not knowing where they are going to go? It seems like a piece of furniture should be a big purchase that requires lots of thought and consideration before buying. It usually isn’t for me. When I find something that I like for a good deal I usually buy it (assuming that by the time I refinish it I’ll have a use for it).

That is the story of this desk and chair. I really fell in love with the chair more but for the pair only being $30 together, I knew I wanted it. They weren’t always so pretty though. When we got them home they were a nice dirty, ugly brown. I saw the potential though.

I want to quickly show you how I revamped this piece of furniture, so you too can find an old ugly piece of furniture and give it new life.

My first step in revamping old furniture is to remove all the hardware and give it a nice Clorox bath. I like to know that any germs, dirt, or dust on that piece came from me or my family.

old desk

cleaning used furnitureThe next step is to sand it down. Although the desk is real wood, the top of my desk is some kind of laminate/coated wood. I went ahead and sanded it too with a piece of 60-Grit sandpaper, since it had dried paint, pen, and glue stuck to it. Sandpaper Tip: The lower the number the rougher the grit. 40-60 = stripping. 80-120 = general use. 150+ = fine tuning and finishing. Change out your sandpaper based on your project stage. I often use 60 at the beginning to strip down and rough up my pieces. I then move to 100+ for smoothing and finishing. 

sanding furnitureAfter everything was sanded, I primed it with a nice coat of Kilz. Since I was using Kilz paint, I could have skipped sanding my piece (for my paint to stick) except that I wanted to create a nice even base for my paint. There was a lot of discoloration in the wood. Sanding it helped to give everything a more even start to then prime and paint.

priming a wood deskI didn’t know what to do with the top, since it was not real wood. Around this time I was thinking this was going to be my craft desk at our new house. I decided to not paint it because of how this desk was intended to be used. I knew as a craft desk that it would get scratched and things would get stuck to it quite often. The original laminate covering would wear better versus a coat of paint on top of the laminate. I then used left over paint from Reagan’s dresser makeover to paint the rest of the desk. My color is Disney Paint’s Pluto’s Paws.

painting a wood desk

I then layed out the stencil I had bought (Learn how to use the stencil over here: a colorful stool).

laying out stencilsUsing Disney’s Cool Marine, I started filling in the stencil and was then forced to decide how much of my new color I wanted to be on the desk. The answer would decided which way I used my stencil as you can see in the picture below.

using a stencil

using stencilsI stared at those two wider drawers for the longest time, trying to decide which one I liked better. I struggled to decide. I’m not usually a “yellow” fan, so I opted for the design on the right that featured more of the Cool Marine. I really liked the look of the design on the left though, so I used that technique on the middle drawer. I like how the mix all looks together.

I think it’s important to realize that everything doesn’t have to be exactly the same so it “matches”, and different things together can really be beautiful.

small sewing deskI then sanded the edges of my drawers and desk. I wanted the desk to look more rustic. I was going to be staining this piece to tone down the brightness of the yellow a bit and knew the rough edges would help to hold the stain’s color better.

sanding painted furnitureMy stencil job is not perfect as paint smeared under parts of the stencil where it was not supposed to. I think the sanded edges go with that “imperfect” look better. It kind of makes the whole piece imperfect and rustic with charm.

difference in sanding

wood sanding projectI like to paint the back of my projects to have an area that I can test things out. On this project, there were a couple different stains I was thinking about using. I tested a gray stain out on the back and didn’t like it so I went with Early American by Minwax.

I think the wood color stain compliments the warm yellow color better than the cool gray would have done.

testing stain color tip

small wood sewing deskI went ahead and stained the top laminate as well. I don’t think it changed the color much, but it did give the desk back its shine (that I had sanded off during the cleaning and stripping process). After my stain was dry, the last step was changing out the hardware! This is an old desk and I couldn’t find hardware that fit the exact width of my horizontal holes. I used carpenter’s wood filler to fill one hole then drilled a new hole to line up with my new hardware. It was a couple of extra steps but totally worth it. The newer slick handles allow for the stencil to be the major eye catcher rather than the old handles. I also used three different handles on this piece and I love how they all look good together but are different.

mixed drawer knobs

My new desk was then done! I simply had to move and set it up! Although I didn’t totally know how it would fit in our new house,  I knew I could use this piece. I love how it turned out and it is perfect in the corner of our bedroom. (a.k.a. my new area for creating!)

craft deskI have found a few of my favorite things to help decorate this area.

  1. One of my favorite pillows I have made.
  2. A new, sweet reminder embroidered hoop art that I made right before we moved. I also really like how I can use my Ikea hanger as an old school (before Pinterest) memo inspiration board.
  3. The week we moved in, we found this bird’s nest with three little eggs just a few feet off our deck. We got to watch the birds hatch, feed, and learn to fly away that first week we were here. It was such a special and exciting time as a family discovering our new place and experiencing joy together in our new house. It is one of my first memories in making this house our home, and I love the reminder of sweet family moments the nest brings.
  4. Scrap sewing pieces and an awesome light that I won from Red Head Can Decorate.
  5. Fun metal tin to hide my paperwork, receipts, and patterns.
  6. Vintage playing cards from my favorite childhood movie that helped inspire my blog’s name.

craft desk itemsThis area is not done. I have to hang up some of my organizers and figure out a shelf system I like. I’m making progress though and was so excited to share with you a new piece and place that will help me bring lots of creations back here to show you!

my crafting spot

Thank you so much for stopping by! I am excited to show you next week the piece my husband was making over simultaneously as I was working on this one!

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Take Steps Upward {step stool}

May 17, 2013 By Erica Deuel 6 Comments

step stool makeover

Have you walked by those pretty step stools in home decor stores and started drooling? I have…well almost. It’s been border lined between lusting and spontaneous buying, but the price tags always scares me off. I seriously have seen these small pretty step stools priced at $50. No joke. I just couldn’t pay that for something that I could create something similar too.

So, I took my daughter out on a date one afternoon and we ended up at Michaels and I bought a plain, raw wood stool for about $6.00 (with the use of a coupon from Michaels’ website).

I made this so quick and it captures the look and ability of those more expensive stools. It allows you to take steps upward while looking beautiful sitting there in the corner. Here is how I made it, so you can save some money too.

Materials:

  • wood stool
  • spray paint
  • acrylic paint
  • stencil
  • sponge paint brush
  • clear glossy spray/mod podge

The first step is spray paint the bottom of your stool. You could also use acrylic paint here, but because of all the different angles I decide to just spray it. I thought it would be easier and create less “dripping”.

spray paint wood stool

Next, paint the top of your stool. You can use any color, but something that compliments the color of the legs will help give a punch of “wow” factor to your stool.

paint wood stool

You might be able to tell I have used my stencil before. More on that project coming soon. 🙂 Any stencil will do. I liked this one because it was a circle shape and my stool is also a circle. I bought this at Michaels as well. Use your sponge paint brush to lightly dab paint into the slots. Remember you don’t have to use all of the stencil. As you can tell, I am not catching the scalloped edge of my stencil for how I am using it on this project.

stenciling wood stool

stenciling a wood stool

It was too boring for me left like that, so I wanted to add another color and used a small stencil that came with my larger one to go around it. I only used one of the flowers and just eye balled where the next one would go until I had filled the outer part of my stool’s top.

little girls painted wood stoolDon’t worry if you go over the stencil and get paint on the original base color. I did too! It is no big deal to go back, after the color has dried, and paint the original color back over it to cover the “oops” up.

fixing a stencil paint job

painted step stoolI really loved it, but I wanted to look more professional and finished. I sprayed a light coat of a glossy spray on top. Mod podge would work as well. The idea is to give it that finished shine.

Clear glossI love how it came out! My daughter loves to sit on it and draw on her chalkboard wall in her bedroom. What a cheap way to make a fun and functional accent piece. I am all about adding in pops of color!

What do you think? Will you save some money and try making one of these stools yourself?

diy foot stool

Thank you so much for stopping in! I hope you have a great weekend! If you haven’t entered to win a Mohawk rug yet in my giveaway, there is still time! Click over to see my dinning room rug and enter today.

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