Shaped Growth Charts

I've had a lot of fun designing some shaped growth charts lately. Instead of the typical "stick" style these ones are shaped and have 3D elements to them making them such a great art piece that adds design and function to a child's room! Check out some of the new designs below. Next up is going to be a snowboard!

 Woodland Tree Shaped Growth chart with 3D owl, bird and branches. Find it here.

Surfboard Growth Chart. Find it here.

Rocket ship Shaped Growth chart with 3D buttons and window. This one also has lots of metallic paint to give it a fabulous shine! Find it here.

Love them? We do custom work. Just shoot us an email at info (at) bouncingoffthewalls.ca to discuss your ideas!

The BIG Idea!

A few weeks back I mentioned on Facebook that I had a big idea. The problem with big ideas around here is implementing them. Soooo many ideas, not enough time! Except, I LOVED this idea. I loved it a lot. I loved it enough to get it done and show you because I think you will all love it too.

I'll be honest. There are a select few people in my life that have had a peek at this new, wonderful idea and THEY all LOVED it as well.

I know, I know.....get to it already!

As you know, the last item we introduced was the Wooden Monogram Letters. Monograms are popular. I started thinking of ways to make the monogram idea a little more interesting. Why just do the same monograms as everyone else? Then the idea came to me and here it is for all to see.

I struggled with what to call them so for now they're just Initial Name Letters. Kind or boring but I guess, that's what they are after all.

These are BIG. Not everyone-is-talking-about-them big, although I hope that's the case soon, but big as in large.  We cut a large, 24" high letter out of 1/2" thick Baltic Birch (no MDF here!) in the classic, Times New Roman Font. This letter can be finished in a variety of finishes from solid colour to rustic to a shabby chic damask. More finishes will be available in the future.  THEN we cut the name 10" high in a gorgeous, cursive font and attached it to the larger letter. Are they fantastic or what?

The possibilities are endless! My sneak peekers have all been raving about family  names. Last names done instead of a child's name and then the established year added. What a great wedding gift for a new couple or Christmas or anniversary gift for someone who's been married for years!

I love feedback so tell me what you think and don't forget to pin these babies!

Find them on the website here!

New! Monogram Wall Letter Sets

Finally! I've had enough requests for them and after realizing that they're  hard to come by here in Canada I decided it's probably high time to develop a line of Monogram Wooden letters. I carefully went through pages and pages of font styles and picked three that I thought were gorgeous, worked well for decor and were different from others out there.


Monogram Wooden Letters are all the rage! Big and bold they sure make a statement. Fantastic for weddings, family photo walls and nurseries they are classic and will give you the longevity you look for when shopping for home decor. These wooden monogram letters will be sure to last through the years and grow with your child regardless of room theme changes!

At this time we're offering them in four different finishes: Solid colours, Dazzling Metallics, Glitter and Unpainted for the Do-It-Yourselfers. Soon we will be adding rustic, shabby chic and two-colour monograms so stay tuned and make sure you follow our Facebook page for updates!

Each monogram has one large letter that is 28" high in a fancy font of your choice. The smaller letters are in the classic Times New Roman font and are 8" in height. Cut from 1/2" thick  Baltic Birch when you purchase our wooden letters you are getting top quality. No MDF here! Every letter is painstakingly hand sanded, hand painted and finished with a protective spray. 

As the Monograms are a larger item we found the best way to hang them is with two-sided tape. This gives a nice, flush mounting with the wall and provides a sturdy connection to assure nothing will fall off. If you wish to have hooks instead you can choose so in the options when purchasing your piece of art.

You can order yours here!

2 By 2 Rebuild The Zoo

In June 2013 the Calgary Zoo that we love and enjoy as a family was devastated by flooding. The Zoo's  32-acre island was overtaken by the mighty Bow River destroying the buildings and grounds. Although the Northern parts of the zoo are now reopened it will take years and the help of the community to restore the zoo completely. The Calgary Zoo is a place that is close to our family's hearts. As zoo members we visit on a very regular basis and we are heartbroken to see the destruction from the flooding. This summer we have really felt the loss as it is usually when we visit the most. With the kids off school going stir-crazy it is always a good way to do away with the "I'm booored!" that is heard all too often.

We have just recently been working on prints of some of our most popular work so that we can offer items that are in stock. We constantly have people after last-minute gift ideas and usually we are unable to give in to those requests because everything is hand painted as the orders come in. That will be changing in the coming months as we introduce a line of door signs, wall decor and growth charts that are prints of my original artwork. These items will be IN STOCK and ready to go and yes, we can still customize every item!




 
Even though we aren't quite ready to unveil our line of prints we felt this cause was too important to wait so, to you we introduce the very first print item - the Peek-A-Boo Monkey Wooden Plaque. These Peek-a-Boo Monkey wooden plaques are our way of helping out. From now until December 31st, 2013 we will donate $10 from the sale of every monkey plaque to the Calgary Zoo's 2 by 2 Rebuild the Zoo campaign.

These plaques are 8x8  prints on 1/2" thick Baltic Birch wood. They can be customized with a name or phrase of your choice. Unlike other items in our store, these plaques will be in  stock and ready to go. With four colours to choose from we're sure we have just the right one for your little monkey! 

At this time (August 9, 2013) we will start by taking Pre-Orders as we await the shipment of our reproductions. Once the shipment arrives in a couple of weeks we will carry these in stock indefinitely. 

What a great Christmas gift idea!

 Pre-order yours now!

New! Dazzling Metallic Wall Letters

When my paint supplier sent me some samples last month I fell in love with the metallic paints. I had some basic silver and gold ones previously but hadn't really given all the colours a try. Well, I'm so glad I did! They are fabulous!

Finely ground metal flakes make Dazzling Metallics the brightest, best covering paint for shiny wall letters that will stand out in any room. Dazzling Metallics are available in a palette of bright, glittering colors from delicate translucent pastels to deep rich, shades.  Priced the same as our solid colour letters these metallic painted wall letters are affordable and have a faster turn around time than our artwork items.

I've also been using the metallic paints in some of my custom artwork. They just add so much depth! Whether you have modern decor or vintage inspired, with 19 colours to choose from you are sure to find the right one to compliment any room!

 Check them out on the website here: Metallic Wall Letters

A Short Studio Tour and My First Vlog!

I'm not a shy person at all. If you meet me in real life you will see that I have no problems chatting with you and, in fact, could probably stand to talk a little less and listen more. However, there is one thing I AM a little shy about and that's being on camera! I know you can all relate. We all dislike the sound of our own voices and we all pick ourselves apart in photos so it's only natural that when the two are combined we get a little queasy at the thought of sharing it for the world to see. Or at least I feel queasy about it. BUT! I love challenges. I love forcing myself to step out of my comfort zone and try things that make me feel uncomfortable.

Video blogging, or Vlogging as it's known, is one of those things. So I did it. Today. Completely unrehearsed and spur-of-the-moment. Like, I didn't even know I was going to do it ten minutes before I did. And here it is. For all the world to see. *GULP!*

DIY Nightmare!

So I'm not one for redoing furniture. I don't have the patience or the time. Then a friend put me on to this dresser that someone was selling on Kijiji.

  

We don't have a proper T.V. stand/media center. The one we have was my husband's from when he lived by himself and with a crawling, exploring baby it's been an absolute accident waiting to happen. For some reason she is drawn to it like a magnet and is sporting lots of bruises to show for it. It has to go! 

So, when I saw the dresser I thought this would be the perfect solution! Last year, I redid an old dresser and night stand from the 70's for my daughter's room and they turned out awesome. I didn't have the patience or time then, either but I used spray paints and literally had them done in about a two hour period. Here's what they look like. Nice, right? So, I thought, I'll take this dresser, do the same thing with different colours and be done with it. I wanted to do an off-white with some distressing. Easy, right? WRONG! 

I don't know what is up with this thing but it is not going well! I spray painted it and did three coats. Three coats and it had a "crackled" look that I didn't love so much. Like the paint is sticking to some areas, but not others. Plus, it comes off if scraped hard which just won't do with three crazy kids running around. So, I decide I need to sand it better. I go out and buy the paint stripping gel and take off all the paint I just put on. Most disgusting, messy job ever. Picture curdled milk mixed with baby spit up. Piles of it. Gross. 

Then I sand. I sand and sand and sand and get it all down to it's natural wood and cleaned up all nice. This time I try a spray paint with primer in it. Same result. On the raw wood I get the same result! It's like this wood is very porous where the grain is and the paint just won't stick there. 

 So, I decide it needs a melamine paint that can be brushed on instead. We'd done my daughter's doll house that we made in melamine and it turned out wonderful. Turns out no one sells it anymore as it's illegal in Canada since September of last year. Ok. I had no idea! So, the guy sells me some cabinet and furniture paint that he says is awesome and the closest thing but water based still. "Do I want it tinted?" he asks. At this point I just want this done. "Just give me the white, we'll do white now." Ok. I get home. I sand some more. Want to make sure this baby is ready for paint. I pull out my brush, I put some on. SAME RESULT!! It still has a "crackled" look about it. You know the one I mean. You can buy the crackle paint to get the look on purpose. Here's a photo: 

 

I've now put in many more hours than anticipated. Hours I don't have. The great deal I got on the dresser isn't so great now when you include all the supplies I've bought. So, I keep at it. I've now painted a coat of white on everything. It will sit over night and tomorrow I'll go out there and put on a second coat of white. If it still has the crackled look, well, we'll call it antiqued. I'm not sure what else to do at this point. My only thought is that perhaps the original stain on this dresser was oil-based and because the wood is so porous there's still lots of the oil finish in there that's not liking my water-based paints very well. I have no other guesses. My back hurts, my hands and wrists hurt. I'm done. On a good note, I decided to keep the original hardware and just paint them and THEY turned out amazing! I'll let you know how the rest goes after I drag myself out to the garage tomorrow.....

Vrooom!

Alphabet Packages are a big seller for us and we're always getting requests for different idea for them. To try and stay on top of the demand we are slowly, but surely adding more and more new packages as we get the chance to roll them out. Our latest? A Transportation Alphabet! Perfect for a playroom or a boy's room with a transportation theme it includes plenty of vehicle, motor and road sign elements that work together as a wonderful centerpiece to any room!

In this alphabet we've added some 3D effects such as the stoplight "i", the wheel "O" and the railroad crossing "X". Buy this alphabet painted and ready to hang or unpainted to save money and paint in your own colour theme. 

 

We also recognize that a lot of you are building your own alphabets by collecting letters from various sources. We often get requests to purchase just the "button O" or the "lighthouse from the Nautical Alphabet Package." Well, we're proud to say that now you can purchase these Alphabet Elements right off of our website! Check them out! Most would make awesome wall decor, too if you don't want to put them in an alphabet!