Cheap Ikea Art Transformed!

Have you ever bought something even though your insides were screaming WRONG! for the space you had in mind?  I am usually a cautious shopper who thinks and rethinks every purchase but a trip to Ikea on Memorial Day (think throngs of shoppers, long lines, three boys and a Mr. who could think of a million more appealing things to do on a holiday etc.) found me at the front of the checkout line (finally!) with a cart full of Ribba frames and you guessed it, this piece of art, that I knew in my heart of hearts would be totally wrong for our home.  I stood there unsure of what to do as the cashier rung up the frames at lightning speed.  Just as he picked up the item in question I looked at the Mr., who, as if reading my doubt riddled mind, quickly mouthed in my direction "We can return it later.." and calmly proceeded to pay for the purchase. And just like that the deed was done and I became the reluctant owner of a cheap piece of art I knew not what to do with.

The nearest Ikea store is 45 min. away so it did not make sense to return it.  Since I really liked the overall size for the breakfast nook wall and the hanging hardware attached to the back was very sturdy, I decided not to throw it away and coated it with primer instead. After first coat....(I used two coats)

 I am really loving a quote by Albert Camus that really speaks to what our family has discovered while going through a difficult time in our lives (you can read more about that here).  I painted the whole board burnt yellow and used white acrylic paint for the lettering.  I first tried using a stencil but did not like the perfectly uniform look.  I wanted more of a free style so I lightly wrote out the letters myself in pencil and then painted over them with white acrylic paint.

I am by no means experienced when it comes to creating wall art so I was pleasantly surprised when it actually turned out to be something I wanted to display!

another angle...

If you want to see the print in living colah' watch the short video below.  My dear sister was visiting us from New Jersey and so the family gathered at my house for the weekend.  While reminiscing about our childhood my brother and sister decided to try a clapping game we loved as children .  Hilarious I tell you!  The print is in the background...

The primer I used was Olympic's No VOC Primer and the burnt yellow was a sample of Behr's Wild Bamboo with some brown acrylic paint I mixed in.  What items have you dramatically altered lately?
To check out our different makeovers with before and after pictures go here.

I am linking up to Boogie Board Cottage and C.R.A.F.T..  Please visit them for lots of inspiration!

Framed Art For a Child's Room

All three of my children are avid readers (the youngest is an avid listener ha!) so we own many, many books. There are old favorites that I have read to them over and over again throughout the years.  I chose to frame five pages from those favored books and created a (mini) gallery wall.

 I framed a page from  "Good Work, Amelia Bedelia" (one of my favorite stories as a child as well)

One from the book "Madeline and The Bad Hat" ( "Careful, girls, watch your feet" love it!)

One from "The Story of Babar"

One from an all time favorite around here "The Christmas Day Kitten" from The James Herriot's Treasury For Children.

And one page from "Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel"

The boys really liked this idea and we plan to continue adding more pages down the road. The frames are all Ribba from Ikea.

  Hope everyone has a great weekend!