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Love Your Curls

May 22, 2015 By Erica Deuel 2 Comments

As a mom, one of my biggest hopes for my kids is that they would grow up proud of who they are, how they are wired, and the masterpieces God created them to be.

My boys are gifts that made me a mom, stretched me more than I knew possible, and helped grow me into the mom I am today. I will be forever thankful I got introduced into motherhood with them. When I found out our third was a girl, I was so excited but also….scared to pieces.

It is no secret that girls can be picked apart and critiqued everyday. Sometimes a girls worse critic can be herself. Every comment about her hair, size, color, attitude, likes/dislikes has the power to uplift and build up confidence or tear her completely down.

If I can succeed at anything as a mom to a little girl, I pray that I help her to be confident and convinced in the masterpiece she is. I want so badly for her to grow up knowing she is a unique creation and to and treat herself like she believes it.

wavy_hair_little_girlWhat some may not know about my relationship with my little Reagan Noel is that our biggest fights are about her hair. She hates for is to get styled, washed, brushed, braided, played with, and put in a pony tail. In summary, she really just doesn’t want her hair touched.

She has the most beautiful curly hair. I just adore it, yet it requires care like anything else so that always puts friction between us.

Curly hair gets tangled. The only way I can brush Reagan’s hair is if it gets washed and I comb it while it is wet. Even then, it is still a battle. I don’t wash her hair everyday. So when we do wash and brush it, you can only imagine the cries of my dramatic, sweet four-year old. I am continually trying new brushes, products, and techniques to make this little task easier. I was so excited when I was selected to try Dove’s new curly hair products in their  “Love Your Curls” campaign.

love_your_curlsIf you have a four-year old girl (your experience may be like mine), they like to dress themselves, already have an opinion and taste in clothes, and a little lip gloss will bring them much joy. Reagan is a free spirit when it comes to her style and for the most part I don’t fight it. I let her choose outfits and often times bite my lip when she walks out the door.

When it came to her hair though, I’ve always just taken control. This may be because she is four or may be because for the sake of time it is one thing I can do “quickly”. It has been such an unpleasant experience, why drag it out for longer than it needs to be? I compliment and praise my daughter for her curly hair often, but here was an opportunity to teach her about her hair and build some confidence in the process.

wavy_little_girlWe started with a hair cut. It was hard for her to let her Rapunzel hair goal go, but we cut off eight inches and it is still long. We then tried Dove’s shampoo and conditioner. I let her rub some in her hair, I did as well. There were minimal tears letting her assist with the wash and rinse! I found the shampoo and conditioner left her hair feeling soft and smooth and more manageable!

Next, we tried some of the new Dove styling products.

little_girl_curly_Hair_care

Curly_hair_careWe loved the Quench Absolute Supreme Creme Serum. It is Dove’s first curl leave in nourishing treatment. It’s fast absorbing, lightweight and can be used on wet or dry hair. I let Reagan’s hair be about half air-dried when I apply it. I love how you can’t even tell she has a product in her hair. There is no hardness to her curls. They are still lightweight but just a little less frizzy.

When we were done doing her hair, she was smiling so proud. Here I had not just complimented her hair, I let her take some ownership in helping to care for her hair. By taking the time to turn an unpleasant task into a teachable moment, my daughter grew a little pride. I wonder how many special moments I miss by rushing to get through the task at hand.

curly_hair_little_girl

We have not used these products for very long, but I am pretty sure I am a huge fan.

Did you know that one in three women in the US have curly hair?

Did you know that only 4 in 10 little girls with curly hair think their hair is beautiful?

Dove wants all women and girls to love their curly hair. The “Love Your Curls” campaign  was created to encourage women to celebrate their curls and inspire future generations to do the same. I believe the more we celebrate how we are and people around us do the same, girls will more likely feel beautiful and be proud of their unique characteristics.

The NEW Love Your Curls book is a poetic tribute to curly hair. It is intended to represent and inspire curly-haired girls of all ages. If you would like to get a copy of the book to read to your little girl, you can download a free e-book here. You can also personalize it and create a customize dedication to your little girl. Reagan absolutely loved the book and seeing girls that had hair just like her.

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My Reagan is sassy, spirited, full of life, and so fun just like her curly hair. I pray she grows up loving her hair and being proud of how she was created.

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I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

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My colorful girl’s bedroom

April 6, 2015 By Erica Deuel 10 Comments

Disclaimer: The wall stencil and stencil brush I received for free. Thank you Royal Design Studio Stencils for so generously gifting them to me. All opinions are very much my own.
royal_design_studio_stencilWhen I started dreaming of how I wanted to create my Reagan’s new bedroom, I knew I wanted lots of color, texture, patterns, and fun. I pictured fun color with pops of natural elements and black and white contrasts thrown in. What I did not take in account was my daughter having an opinion, and she had one.

She wanted a pink room.

What!? Everything in me screamed “nooooooooo!” I am much more a purple mom for a girl. I wanted to fight her, but it’s her room. I love her more than my hatred for pink. Together we decided one purple wall would be fun. So, I painted some samples on her wall and they lived like that for a couple months while holidays and other rooms were completed. Finally it was time to paint her room. She was THRILLED to see that pink go on the wall. I held my breath.

before_paint_jobchoosing_paint_colorlight_pinkIt was really bright. I had to try to envision the end result. I kept thinking this seems like a nursery for a pink ballet themed room. I just kept playing in my head “I love my daughter, I really love my daughter” as I painted every stroke. I fought that picture in my head with what I knew the end result could be.

I loved the purple wall, but it didn’t seem quite right. It was definitely a punch of color, but it was also a little just like a purple wall. I wanted it to have more jazz and fun. I knew I needed to stencil it up, just like I stenciled my boys accent wall.

painted_girls_roomI was so excited when I saw that Royal Design Studio Stencils had so many fun, girly stencils. I fell in love with the Petal Play Floral Damask Wall Stencil. It was the perfect mix of fun and beauty without being a cartoon flower or a formal old floral.

When this stencil arrived, I was thrilled to see that there was a special ceiling stencil included that helped fill in the pattern at the top of the wall. You may remember on my boys wall, I simply cut the stencil to create that piece, but this was all ready for me!

I used what I learned from stenciling my boys wall and just went at it. No fear this time!

royal_design_stencil

royal_design_stencils

stencilingThis stencil was so simple in the fact that I did not worry about it looking slanted when I stood back. Based on the pattern there was no fear of my stencil going crooked. What was a little more tricky was lining up the stencils, and that was only because the connecting pieces (petals) were smaller.

I ended up drawing a sharpie arrow on my stencil to a few bigger, stand out petals. This helped spot the connecting place quicker.

how_to_stencilI decided to use gold as the accent color for this stencil because it’s fun and also subtle. I wanted the wall to ultimately look purple but also fun and a true accent wall. The stencil created that look!

I did the stippling effect again. I loved it with the gold paint because it created a gold leaf look with shimmering highlights of metallic gold.

One thing that I did not realize until this project was what a difference the stencil brush makes! My boys room was the first wall stencil I have ever done, so I just used the same stencil brush I use to create little wood signs. Big mistake. I got my hands on on the 2″ All Over Stencil Brush from Royal Design Studio Stencils, and it made all the difference. This project flew in comparison to my boys room.

wall_stencilingThe process wasn’t fast enough for this sweet, exited girl.

It was worth it though! The wall came out better than I expected. I love it. It is that punch of fun, whimsical, pattern, and color that I was hoping to create in this room.

stenciled_girls_wallI love how this room can grow with her. It’s so fun now, but it can also last for years. I joke with her now about trading rooms. What I love most though, is she loves it as much as me. She calls her wall her golden flowers.Bohemian_decorBohemian_girls_roomAs I painted this room, I realized I really didn’t want to spend the paint or time to paint her closet. It was a clean light gray. It looked fine and was in good shape. There was really no need to paint it except that it would have this harsh line that might look like I took the lazy way out in not painting it, whenever the closet doors were open.

Let’s be honest.

They are open most of the time too. I toy with taking the sliding doors off at some point, but for now they are there. I decided to just make this element creative as well. I used some painters tape and added some jagged lines into the closet to paint the wall.

painted_closetBy doing this technique the wall looks intentional (not like a lazy mom), and it’s also a fun element all on its own! I really love it, and now I want to go back and do the same thing in my boys’ bedroom.

Reagan’s room is so close to being done. I have a window treatment idea still to do, and I also want to sew her a rag quilt like I did for my bed and then I will be ready for a full room tour!

color_is_so_funWhat do you think of all the color and splashes of fun? Does it make your heart go pitter patter as well?

I hope you feel brave and try going for it with color or some other crazy element in your life and home this week. The more I go with my gut and be bold with color…the braver I get to keep trying new things! Who knew you could find such bravery in you by a fresh coat of paint!?

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My Little Pony {Craft}

February 8, 2014 By Erica Deuel 2 Comments

My Little Pony Craft ProjectIt might get messy. It might take a few steps and seem tedious, but in the end you could have one really happy My Little Pony fan grinning ear to ear.

This craft was a bit of an act of love for my little girl. She loves My Little Ponies. I think she has about six ponies, and they go everywhere with us. There are squeals of joy when ever she sees a My Little Pony shirt, card, show, etc.

One day we were painting and she says she is going to paint Fluttershy (one of the My Little Ponies) and I got an idea. I gave her Fluttershy’s colors to paint with and let her go at it.

toddler_paintingShe had a blast painting her Fluttershy. If you have a new three-year old, you know her painting looked nothing like Fluttershy. Yet, she was proud of it, and it truly was beautiful. I have so many paintings and “pictures” of hers like this. I decided to help her transform her art into a Fluttershy.

I found a Fluttershy image on google, saved it to word, and stretched the image so it ran off my print area. It took moving the image around my print area five times to print the complete image.

Fluttershy_pony_puzzleAfter I printed off my Fluttershy, I taped the puzzle pieces of her together, cut the image out, and laid it on top of Reagan’s painting. I then traced the pony onto the painting, and cut it out.

painting_my_little_pony

I then had a painted silhouette image of Fluttershy. I used the paper print out as my stencil. I kept cutting off pieces of my stencil Fluttershy so I could trace those exact lines onto Reagan’s painting to get the most similar image possible. This was wayyyyy easier for me than trying to draw the pony freehand.

my_little_pony_craft

toddler_paint_projectOnce I had some pencil lines of Fluttershy’s features, I went over them in Sharpie. I ended up cutting out eyes and a wing from a different part of Reagan’s painting, and I glued them onto Fluttershy’s body to give her pony another pop of color and texture.

The next step was the most tedious. I glued yarn to give her pony a more “real” My Little Pony look for the mane and tail. This added another texture that I love. I added a strip of glue and then laid a strip of yarn on top. As I went, I realized it was faster to add a bunch of glue and then lay a bunch of yarn strips on top.

my_little_pony_art_project

yarn craft 2Once all the yarn was in place and dry, our Fluttershy was complete! We think she turned out so cute, and Reagan wanted to carry her all over :).

My Little Pony Craft

fluttershyI had to convince her she was safer to hang on the wall. We ended up placing her in an Ikea frame and did a background matte like I did in this cheap wall art. I love all the color and textures and how this piece just adds another fun touch to Reagan’s bedroom.

little_girl_bedroom_wall_artSo, what about you!? Do you have a My Little Pony fan? You could easily take this concept and turn it into your child’s favorite character.

Thank you so much for stopping in! I hope you have a great weekend!

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Little Girl’s Bedroom

June 13, 2013 By Erica Deuel 9 Comments

Bedroom makeover

Reagan’s Bedroom is one of my favorite makeovers I have ever done. I think because for half of the creating and planning for it, we were not even in our new house yet. I learned a lot about trying to create for a space that you don’t get to walk by and stand in everyday to imagine and “see” your project come to life. I was stretched and now have made something I am proud of as a result.  If it was my choice, we would play in there all day everyday.

Although she may only be two, it is something Reagan is proud of as well. If you were to walk into my house right now, she would ask you to come upstairs and see her room…even if you have already seen it. It makes my heart so happy. Some work might have been required, but what an easy way for me to show love to my daughter by being able to create something she loves.

Since before we moved, I have been showing tutorials and DIY projects that I have been creating to incorporate in her room. I thought it would be helpful to put all those in one place, so there is a little summary of how create this room. Please feel free to bookmark it, pin it, or share it. It is my hope all these hours of creating can inspire others to create as well.

DIY little girl's bedroom

Minnie Mouse Silhouette

DIY Fabric Bunting

Burlap Lampshade

Refinishing Ikea Furniture

Painted Stool

Stick Heart Wall Art

Teal Rustic Dresser

DIY Painted Striped Wall

It’s so nice to have all these links in one place! Many of these projects are some of my favorites, and I am so glad I can give you this summary. A few other items that I have incorporated into this room are shown below.

Elements for a girls bedroom

Wood Log End Table

You are My Sunshine Rustic Sign

Hair Bows and Headbands

Thank you so much for checking out my little girl’s bedroom summary! I hope these links and posts can help inspire you. Please feel free to contact me, if you have any questions about how to do any of these tutorials!

 

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