Another Daughter, Another Room

Last year I FINALLY finished up my oldest daughter's bedroom. It was a LONG drawn out process mainly because I'm so busy that it's tough to find the time to do things around my own house, but I got it done and I'm still very happy with how everything turned out.

This past May we had baby number three. This meant we had to do some room shuffling. I had never planned on moving either of my older kids out of their rooms but our newest addition was a surprise so something had to be done to fit the baby into the mix. We never find out the sex of our babies beforehand so I had to make some bedroom decisions not knowing if we were having another boy or another girl.

I knew one thing though. After all my hard work on Devyn's room there was NO WAY I was moving her out of it! Many people suggested we put the baby in to share a room with whichever sibling it shared a gender with but the rooms are small. Really small. We had a hard enough time trying to fit all their stuff in as it was. Plus, with the 4 year age gap between middle child and youngest we knew there were all kinds of little toys that would have to be kept away from baby.

So, my son, Reid, moved downstairs to the spare room. He was and still is quite happy with this decision as it's the biggest room in the house!

This left his room for the baby. All done in blues with a mural I painted for Reid still on the wall. I figured if the baby was a boy it would be perfect; if it was a girl there would need to be some changes! In May our second daughter, Lachlyn, joined our family. I will admit, I was secretly happy to get to do another room make over and girl's rooms are WAY more fun to do than boy's rooms!

I'm just in the planning stages now. She is only 6 months old after all. She doesn't care what her room looks like. If my track record remains strong she'll be at least 4 before I get it all done!

Here is the room right now. It's not much of anything! A place for her to sleep and us to store extra stuff that we have no place for at the moment!

 (Thank you iPhone for my new Panorama abilities on my camera!)

I don't have much planned yet except perhaps the colour palette. As with Devyn's room I found a piece or artwork to inspire me and I'll take it from there. I came across this print from Children Inspire Design and fell in love with it! I love the words, the colours and the style.

So with that picture in mind I started to plan. Below is the colour palette I've come up with. Roughly. I'm open for variations of it and other colours added in. The purple will be the main wall colour and I plan on covering the mural with the same paintable, textured wall paper I used to cover the mural in Devyn's room. It was such a huge success for us that there was no hesitation on wanting to do it again!

So here's where I need your help! I've started a Pinterest board for Lachlyn's room. A place to start gathering ideas and products. I've only just started to put it together so I'd love your help in contributing to the board if you see things that you think would go well with what I've got so far. Let me know your email address and I'll invite you to be able to pin to the board as well. (Sure wish Pinterest would let you make public boards so you didn't have to go the invite route!)

I'm going for earthy, natural type things. I went really girlie in Devyn's room. This time I want something a little more toned down! I'm also not afraid of colour so don't be afraid! The furniture is currently black with a distressed finish but it likely won't stay the same past toddler age so it doesn't need to play a huge roll in the design.

Let's see if I can get this room going before little Miss Lachlyn is four!

ABC's Get Creative!

One of the top selling products we do here at Bouncing Off The Walls is Unpainted Alphabet packages. A trend that started a few years back, alphabet walls are still going strong and offer not only a fantastic conversation piece to a room  but an educational one as well. Over the past while, and when we get the time, we add new alphabet packages to try and suit all tastes. I still have a few up in the old noggin' that I will get out there for the public to see some day soon!

However, no matter how creative I think I can get with them, my customers are continually amazing me with what THEY come up with. There is nothing I like more than getting emails full of pictures from excited customers showing off what they have created with their unfinished letters. The most recent one was extremely impressive and well thought out. Take a look!

Allison bought the A to Z Alphabet Package and had me paint the button O for her. The rest she took care of herself. The letters were for her little boy's toy room and she wanted something masculine, but fun. She used paints, scrapbook paper and other items to create an alphabet that is not only eye-catching but interactive! With texture and chalkboard paint one can only assume that this alphabet will be touched. How can you not? So, she hung all the letters with two-sided mounting tape to ensure they would stay put!

The C is fuzzy, made with furry yarn! Love it! Also love the D with the burlap behind it!

I'm also digging  the N done with chalk on chalkboard paint. The S is very touchable and done all in twine (her son's favorite letter!)

The X is also covered entirely with burlap and my personal favorite? The & is done with an old, plaid shirt that her son loved but outgrew. How cool is that? Great job, Allison! Thanks for sharing the photos. It's always great to see all the different directions people can take the same alphabets!

Check out a few other alphabets that customers have done themselves.

Nautical Alphabet set

 A To Z Alphabet Set

Border Alphabet Set

Shop Local This Christmas!

Well, obviously, being a small business owner I'm a big proponent of shopping local and supporting other small businesses, especially during this high shopping volume time of year. With Christmas just a little over a month away (yikes!) let's think about putting some of our shopping dollars back into our own communities by buying from businesses that are right here, under our noses! You may be surprised to know just how many are out there and what great, unique items you may be able to find.

I'm going to highlight a couple of my favorite shops located in a variety of places in Canada and the U.S over the next couple of weeks. Check them out and see what they have to offer. Maybe that last minute gift you couldn't find anywhere else!

Let's start with cards. Do you still send them? I have noticed over the years a decline in the number cards that arrive but let's be honest - getting something in the mail that isn't a bill is nice, right? Lindy from Crafted By Lindy who is located right here in Alberta makes some fabulous cute cards. I've purchased from Lindy several times and I'm a big fan of her simple designs and bold colours. Check out her Christmas line! She also does gift tags as well so take advantage and get those while you're in her shop and know that you're supporting a mom of three while you do!

Another absolute favorite shop of mine is located in New York. Nicole from Nicole's Treats makes the best, um.....EVERYTHING! Seriously. I have a hard time even looking at the pictures in her store because I want it all. I have purchased from Nicole more than once for myself and for giving and have been blown away by her product. Even the things I thought I wouldn't like I did! I highly recommend getting one of her gift boxes to give or to divide up and use as stocking stuffers. Or, if you're like me....the treats may not make it to the stockings..... I do recommend getting your order in early with her though as she does get crazy busy this time of year!

And on that note I must go get some chocolate.....