The Big Reveal Max's Before and After

Once upon a time, in what seems another lifetime there was a little boy and a little girl and they had to share a room. So, I cleverly decorated their room in green, white and blue so it felt a little girly and a little boyish. I loved that room, and then we moved and I recreated it almost exactly in the new house. And I loved it then too. But, then it grew boring, tiresome if you will. AND, the little girl got older and she needed to have a room of her own (or to at least share with her sister) and the boy needed to have a room of HIS own. When sister moved out, I wasn't sure what I was going to do in the little boys room. I had some thoughts flitter through, but nothing substantial. Then, one day whilst walking thru the mall with the Daddio, I saw a disply at Pottery Barn Kids. It was a GIANT map and what really caught my eye was a pillow with a bike on it. I instantly saw in my head where I was going to go with brothers room. It would be MAPS! And why did I go there? Because he had a super cute Gymboree shirt with a quality navy blue bike applique that he had stained up and couldn't wear anymore and I knew I could turn it into a pillow, or wall art. Thus, a vision was born.

Almost immediately I went out and bought a giant 3D letter M and I mod podged map paper all over it and I loved it. I also found the cutest globe at Steinmart, and I accidentally bought a map on amazon, so I modpodged that bad boy to a canvas as well. Things were starting to come together. I even got paint samples. I was ON this.

Ummm, that was back in August.

Ooopsy.

Well, life happens, you know how it goes. There was just never the right moment. And painting sucks, so there was that too.

Anywhodle, as is usually the case with me and my "inner decorator" one morning I woke up and I was ON IT, like white on rice. It was gonna get done that week or not at all.

I'm quite pleased to report that Maxs room came together rather quickly and nicely. I was very pleased  with the color I had long ago sampled. My darling friend Chris came and put up my board and batten in like 5 minutes. I painted it all in a day, without really moving furniture or covering a darn thing. That was nice. I found many things super discount and paid actually prices for a couple, but in the end, I'm pleased as punch with Maxs Map room. It's masculine, boyish, playful and clean. And the best part...I feel like he can grow with this for awhile. Well, actually, the BEST part was Maxs reaction to the map mural and the whole room. He walked in, gasped and said "I like EVERYTHING you put in here Mom."  WIN!!

So, I will try to appropriately show before and after pics. No guarantees, since I still hate this Mac and can't figure out how to find pics without A LOT of work.

BEFORE

 There she is, in all her green, blue and white splendor. I matched it to a blanket on Maxs little toddler bed. That stripe was a painstaking project, and Jere would have you note that he hung the curtain to match EXACTLY up with the top stripe. (He's a little OCD that way).
The room worked for two little kids, and it was bright.

 Then, they got the bunkbeds, when Max got big enough and there was gonna be a Mayzie. So, this is basically where we left off, BEFORE the redo.

Are you ready?

AFTER

  Well OK, first a shot of the board and batten going up. I have other pics of the process of painting, etc. But that's on my i phone. Sorry bout it.

First view from doorway. The paint color is color is called Provance by Behr. And the white is Swiss Coffee. I LOVE that sign telling Max to go into the WORLD and do good. My friend down the street made that.

Bedding I found at IKEA. I was so excited...it was $20.00 clearance for the duvet covers and the sheets were $12.99 a SET. I mean really, he's 5, he doesn't need the nicest sheets, lets me honest here.

 Here is the aforementioned T-shirt, turned pillow. Jere gets credit for telling me to tea dye it so it wasn't this strong white standing out against all the tans. I just LOVE that bike.

This pillow is an IKEA classic, and oh so perfect for the room.

 Found this sign at Burlington, and I couldn't pass it up, especially because it had the word adventurous in it. But really, I love anything that Max will read and internalize over the years that is admonishing such good quallities.

 This is my map letter. I just bought scrap book paper at JoAnns and cut and pasted accordingly. Really, it might be one of my favorite things in the room.

The ever famous book corner. I love doing a room redo just for the cleaning up aspect alone. I was able to pair down, throw out and clean up that corner.  I LOVE that mirror, which I found at Cost Plus. Two of the letters were from what I already had in their room, and the other two are just cheap wood letters from JoAnns. I painted the small one orange, because I wanted there to be small pops of orange in the room.

I absolutely love how the board and batten turned out. It's actually really cool on the wall behind the bed too, but you can't really see it. It's ok though...consistency is important.

 The map on the wall was my accidental $2.99 buy from Amazon. It makes me happy.

I ordered these acrylic letters from a place called craftcuts.com. I got to pick whatever color and letter style I wanted. Totally love it. The box on the shelf was from Home Goods, loved that it incorperated orange and travel themes. Globe is from Steinmart and the Eiffel Tower was brought back from France by Jeres dad when he was in the service there.

This fabulous old trunk was a steal. One of my good friends has a shop that she sells her stuff in. She let me come "shop" and gave me a screaming deal on it. It's huge, and I love the random blue stripe on it. It has toys and a smaller trunk full of fabric in it.

 I LOVE old keys, I don't know why, they just are cool. So, and old key AND a hook for his backpack? Yes please!

Love this sign. Found it on clearance at JoAnns. Really, anything that had anything to do with world, travel, life, I was grabbing. I also enjoy the small scale of this. Oh, if you look at the picture of the whole wall, that cool world clock is from IKEA.

And finally....the masterpiece. This is just white paint. I wish I could take full credit for this brilliance, but alas, I can not. I knew I wanted a big huge map of some kind. I looked at all kinds of vinyls and contemplated doing that and framing it in. But then, I went on pinterest which is a very rare occurance. I looked at everything map, world themed I could find. And one brilliant chick had done this, just projected the image up on the wall and traced it with a paint pen. I said....DONE!  I found a map online and traced it onto a sheet protector. Then, rather serendipitously, Maggie came home from school with, a world map outline. I liked its shape so much better than the one I'd done. So, I had Jere trace it onto another sheet protector. I borrowed an overhead projector and gave Jere the task of making this happen. If you know nothing...know this...he is a PERFECTIONIST and OCD, oh and also, quite secretly artistically talented. Anyway, first he traced it onto the wall with chalk and then when he tried to use the paint pen, it wouldn't work. So, we wiped the wall clean and he attempted the paint pen again. Apparently I got sucky paint pens. So, he found a SPONGE brush in my laundry room and snipped the sides and then just use paint and a brush and traced the picture onto the wall.  Let it be know, I would NEVER have been able to make such a perfect looking picture on the wall. It.is.awesome. I LOVE IT!  I asked him to add "oh the places you'll go." He did, free hand.  It just really makes me happy.

So, there you have it.  Maxs Map room in all it's splendor.
Hope you like it.

World maps and brain stimulation,

Allyson


LIST:
Paint - Provencal by Behr, Swiss Coffee by Behr
Go Into the World sign - Custom
World map - Amazon
Bedding - IKEA
Explore letters - craftcuts.com
Globe - Steinmart
Travel box - Home Goods
Subway sign - Burlington
Hook, small sign, Giant M - JoAnns
Mirror - Cost Plus World Market
Trunk - Old Brick House vintage market
Locker basket on dresser - Old Brick House vintage market
Laundry Hamper - Home Goods

A Twofer Trash to Treasure Tuesday

You guys....the alliteration up there is just astounding, don't you think?

So, remember how I used to do projects all the time? And how I was all thrifty and stuff, and was painting this and that and re-doing? It's weird to me now. Like, how did I do all that? When did I find the time to shop and clean and sand and paint and re-do things? I just don't know. Sort of like, how did I used to blog allll the time? Part of me is sad that I seem to have forgotten how. I mean, Mayzie is seriously the most hilarious and amazing child and I have literally nothing of her short life blogged. Tragic really.  BUT, I totally digress.

Here's the deal. Once upon a time, when my Grandpa died, and then his wife died (NOT my grandma) there was this super awesome, dreamy chair/rocker/glider thing that I wanted. But alas, my Aunt and Uncle claimed it (which is fine, since they bought it in the first place) and I was sad, for a minute.  Fast forward a couple of years and the other day I got an email from my aunt asking if I wanted said rocker.  Umm, HELLO! Yes, the answer is YES! So, I toodled myself on over to their house and picked up the chair.  See, here's the thing, there is nowhere really to put it in my house, but I wanted it. It's comfortable and, well, I wanted it.  That being said, I decided it would go in my music "area" and this started a thought in my head that now I needed a small table to anchor the area, create a scene if you will.  And thus, a new project was born.

Today was the day. My schedule was clear, I had a few extra dollars in my pocket and off Mayzie and I went to seek our fortunes.  I tried a Goodwill first, but no, it was tragic in there.  So, we headed to my amazing and beloved Mesa Thrift. I swear to you, if I say in my head I need "this", I will walk into that crammed place and ALWAYS find it. It's crazy.  Today was no different. I wanted a small side table, a certain size, round would have been great, but not necessary.  In I walked and directly in my path was my table. AWESOME!  Better yet, it was $6.98.  Another reason I LURVE this store.  There was a fantastic, gorgeous table, similar to my kitchen table, but bigger AND with a leaf and it was 25 bucks. If I had the ability to transport it, I woulda bought that too.  Anywhoooo

After a stop off at Home Depot for some Heirloom white spray paint and some colonial red for another project I headed home. Mayzie went down for her nap and literally a 1/2 hour later I had two "new" lovlies.  And you know what? It felt SOOOOO good.  I was so happy to be looking and shopping and finding. And I was so happy to be in my garage cleaning and painting. And then I was happier creating a little seating area. I MISS this.  So, my soul is sparked and I'm determined to get Maxs room done. And now I might be a little sad I passed on the giant cedar chest for 90 bucks at Mesa Thrift today. BOO!

Ok, so first things first.  I had this old wreath that hung on my door for years and was just super faded and tragic and sad. I took it down this fall for a different wreath and then never put it back up after Christmas.  The other day it occurred to me, HELLO, spray paint it red, it'll be fresh and new again.  Awesome!

BEFORE:

 See, just worn out, ready for some pizazz and new life.

AFTER:

 My happy little front door. I LOVE my yellow door. And I love even more, my fabulous flowers from my dear friend Mindy.

Ok, now for my table.

BEFORE:

 It's super cute, and it was pretty beat up. The top had stains, and it's nicked all over. But there is cute detail in the legs.

 I intended to paint the entire thing. But, after cleaning it with TSP it occurred to me that the drawers didn't need to be painted and that I might like the juxtoposition of the white and wood. So, I left them alone.

AFTER:

 Seriously, how adorable is that? It took me 20 minutes and a can of spray paint. EASY SQUEEZY!!

  

 I get that the chair doesn't look all that nice, or like much, but let me just assure you, it is like a little pillowy cloud of heaven.  It rocks, it glides, it carresses your soul. And the kids totally fight over sitting in it. I'd put it in my family room if it didn't totally and completely unmatch anything I have in there.

Anyway, there you have it. My happy little projects for the day. Now, I'm on a quest to find a trunk for Maxs room and other map paraphanelia. It's gonna be super cool, once I find it, oh and paint it and stuff like that.

Happiness and spray paint highs,

Allyson

Someones on the NAUGHTY list!

I shoulda known that something was amiss...it had been to quiet for 5 minutes. I shoulda followed my gutt and checked.  But I didn't want to, I was happily watching a bad Hallmark Christmas movie starring Andy Garcia (southern accent and all) with Maggie.  And then there she was, desperately trying to tell me that something was wrong.  Mayzie kept saying "eeth" (teeth) and pointing to her mouth, and "ewwww". I had MADE SURE that Maggie had shut the bathroom door, because Mayzie is what we like to call obsessed with "brushing" her teeth. Maggie assured me she had closed it.  What I didn't ask was...was MY bathroom door shut.
NOPE! As I followed her back to my room, while she urgently "told" me something was wrong, I rounded the corner and saw it.

There, in my bathroom, the cupboards opened and emptied, my toothbrush on the counter (heaven only knows what filth it had experienced) the sink stopped up and water running over the counter into the cupboard, drawers and onto the floor below. My bathroom was FLOODED!

This child:

 
 Do not be deceived by her fluffy princess, smiley looks.  She WILL be the death of me.


She is 1000 times more destructive than my other two combined ever dreamed of being. In fact, I can count on one hand the things they ever did that were destructive. ONE HAND PEOPLE!

Not this girl.  Not my Mayzie lady.  She has already written on more walls and tables than I care to count.

Just this week alone she has decimated, DECIMATED I say at least 4 of my snowflake ornaments on the tree, as well as ripped some felt ornaments up and broken a couple of glass snowmen.  I give you photographic evidence of her shredding skill.

 See those little red specks? They used to be glorious red sparkly snowflakes. No more I tell you, NO MORE! She has crushed them to bits.

She has taken a highlighter to Jeres script, which means we now have to pay a hefty price to keep it instead of send it back.

She has broken a bottle of nail polish all over my kitchen floor.

Ripped pictures off my kids picture wall.

She's a devil in disguise.  And this last incidence, this bathroom flooding is certainly her greatest accomplishment.

So now, as I sit and smell the dank smell of wet cabinets (have I mentioned bathrooms totally creep me out, so having to wipe out corners was just more than I could bare), and I vacuum up the last bits of broken ornament and I sweep up the food she's flung across the kitchen, I think...

 Man I'm glad she's a part of our family, and that she lives with us. She is really very funny.  She GETS humor.  She understands at 19 months what it means to make people laugh, and what to do to get those laughs. She does this eye roll thing that seriously makes me pee every time.  So when I was super grumpy tonight, I asked her to please roll her eyes so I would laugh.  She obliged. I giggled.  I felt better.

 She wants to be a part of all the grown ups so bad. She gets real irritated when she doesn't get to sit at a big chair, or play with her siblings and their friends, and she tries to act like she's in on the conversation or jokes.  I love it! And she has THE BEST tantrums ever!  They also make me giggle, cause they're so hilarious.

She LOVES harder and better than any kid I know. She will hug and squeeze you with all her might.  She runs with pure love and glee toward her Daddy when he comes home. Or to her babysitter, or to our neighbor, or to people at church. She's no respector of persons.  She just is loving and friendly. She is really into kissing these days and she's got herself a right good pucker up.


It's a DARN good thing she's so dang cute, and that I love her, and that she makes me laugh every.single.day or she would be in some serious trouble! No, I mean it, cole in her stocking FOR SURE!

In the meantime, Ima gonna make sure that all doors are shut up tight, and items are placed high on shelves so there are no more incidences like these.

Naughty and nice,

Allyson

 

A Boy and his quest.....

Max....he's such an interesting, funny, odd, quirky little boy.  He's most comfortable playing with Maggie and her friends.  He prefers his family to anyone else. He enjoys playing "mom and dad" which is Maggie and her friends version of playing house. He is sensitive and sweet and will often stop to tell me that he loves me. His feelings get genuinely hurt when Mayzie won't let him hold her. He's sure she hates him and he is crushed.  And yet, he's rough and spastic and crazy and loves to bounce balls, and ride his bike, scooter, jump on his pogo stick or do anything he can outside.

Yesterday, as I was in the middle of a voice lesson, he came racing in looking for a plastic cup. When I asked him why, he said he wanted to look for worms. I again asked why, and he said, he just really wanted to have some worms.  I asked where he was getting them and he said he was going to Mr. Lentz's house, who is a neighbor 3 houses down.  Apparently he fishes a lot or, he just happens to have a durth of earth worms. I don't know.  My kids are far better acquainted with all the neighbors than I am, that's for sure(which is easy to do when you're awesome like me and just your kids roam free).  Anyway, I got him a cup and he was excitedly on his way.

Just a few short minutes later he appeared back in the kitchen and he was very sad, crying in fact.  I asked him if Mr. Lentz didn't have any worms. And then, he came and stood right next to me and buried his head in my chest and just sobbed.  When I asked why he was SO sad, he said that Mr. Lentz DID have worms, but that he told Max he would have to pick them up if he wanted them.

Ummm, hello?  Max buddy, what did you THINK was going to be the case here?  

I said "Max, why did you want worms if you don't want to touch them?"
"He said I had to pick them up, and I didn't WANT to touch them." SOBBBBB!!

There was no consoling this child.  Long and the short of it is, he apparently just wanted to have worms in a cup, that he thought would magically get in there without him touching.

It took some doing, but I finally got him to stop waling next to me so I could finish my lesson, but he moved to the family room and seriously sobbed for a good 40 minutes over the injustice of not getting any worms. Finally, Jere came home and had a chat with him. He promised Max that he would come home from work today and help him dig for worms, in our barren, dry wasteland of a yard. It was just what Max needed to assauge his saddened heart.

Cut to today, the moment he got home from school he started asking if it was time for Daddy to come home.  The time could not come soon enough.

At last, Daddy was home....the digging could commence.  The comedy here being, well, not the least of which was the aforementioned wasteland of dry dirt, but the fact that we do not own even ONE semblence of a proper digging apparatus.  Never you fear, we are improvisers if nothing else, and nothing was gonna stop their quest.  So, they set to digging with a pie server and a spoon.  But you know what....it was perfect. It was adorable and Max was floating on cloud nine because HE got to spend time with his Daddy (this is a very rare thing) and they were looking for those magical, non touchable worms.

 This picture was taken before he knew I was taking pictures. Note how intently he was digging.

Look closely to see his pie server/shovel. And also, our super awesome dirt patch otherwise known as our yard.

You're probably surprised to learn that they found none.  But, that didn't dampen his spirits. He went to bed happy in the assurance that they could look again tomorrow, only this time, they'd go to Mr. Lentz's.

This kid......he just makes me laugh.


Earth worms and crocodile tears,

Allyson

Maggies big girl room (and Mayzie)

As you may well know, or not know, my sister in law Julie has lived with us for the last 4 years or so.  So, Maggie and Max have always shared a room.  When Mayzie came along, things got a bit tighter, but we were making it work with her sharing Auntie Julies room.  But this July, it just became time to say goodbye to Julie and allow our kids to have a bit more space to grow. Though we miss Julie, we know that it was the thing that needed to happen.

So, with the room vacated, I could now let my decorating "diva" come out and make something fun and pretty for Maggie (and Mayzie) to share.  Now, I'll be honest. I had a total vision of what I was going to do in this room, over a year ago.  With time, budget and laziness a factor, I had to pair that vision down.  Then, there was an opinionated 6 year old to contend with as well.  I mean really, who said she was allowed to have a say here.  But, after I firmly nixed her desire for an all pink room with unicorns and fairies, I figured I'd better at least let her have SOME (albeit tiny) say in what her room looked like.  I tried to gently "guide" her in what she wanted.

I kept putting the project off for several weeks because I just could NOT find a paint color that I liked.  I had originally thought some form of coral, or a very muted shade of rose/pink.  When I finally found one I thought might work, I got a sample jar and promptly painted a giant square.  Maggie didn't see it until the next morning, at which time her immediate response was "Nuh uh! NO WAY!"  Phew, at least I tried for a pinkish, and she didn't like it.  Thankfully, I LOVE the blog Better After and on it I'd seen a room makeover for another 6 year old and the wall color was really pretty.  I contacted that blog owner and asked the wall color.  She graciously replied.  So, Behr Balmy Seas it was.

I woke up randomly one morning and said, THIS IS IT! I started working and could not be bothered with the realities of life until it was finished, 3 days later.   But, you guys, I couldn't be happier with the results.  I love the color, Maggie loves the color.  I got to incorporate pinks, purple and orange accents, because who knew....everything goes with aqua, as it turns out.  On this same blog, I loved how the woman had painted this adorable, whimsicle tree on the wall.  I wanted that too.  I also "thought" that she'd installed flower knobs so things could hang on said tree.  I went full throttle for those knobs, only to discover, upon closer inspection of her pictures, they weren't knobs, but silk flowers or something.  BUT I was doing the knobs.  Anyway, let me just show you in pictures the befores and afters.

For the record, I'm typing this up on Jeres computer, and it's an apple, and I've never done it on here, and I get confused wtih the picture situation, so let's all hold a good thought this turns out.

Anywho......


BEFORE:

 After Maggie moved into the room, before the redo, she felt the bed was the perfect place to display every stuffed animal that EVER was.

 I absolutely ADORE this built in area.  There is SO much storage.  But it was sort of a catchall.

Proof of my attempt at rosie/pink. And one cute baby photo bombing.
 

Lets face it, bed in the corner = hard to make, but a lot of "play" room.

 

 

 

 

Now, as this has proven to be RIDICULOUSLY difficult and confusing, the pictures on this stupid apple computer, I shall move on to the after and hope for the best.

AFTER:

A shot from the hallway, best I can get in a small space.  No worries, we shall be covering all walls, and details.  That fabulous brown dresser I inherited out of my Grandpas house, I love it so.  I love the bed in the middle, not only for the ease of making it, but because it gives symmetry to the room.

Let's talk bedding.  I found this on Amazon, and I actually love it.  It was my one real concession to Maggie.  She gets pink, purple and flowers here.  But really, all the colors work so well.  I'll be honest...in my "perfect" world, her bedding would be a giant fluff of white and ruffles to fit with the soft and historical business that is happening on the side of her bed.  BUT, I really am happy with this.  It only cost $79.00 for the whole set, which included the two decorative pillows as well.  I should also mention that the fabulous old iron bed frame came from a friends Grandmas sale, I scored it for only $50.00 last fall.  I lurve it so.

 Just a view from the door of the "history" wall.  I just love this.  Also, I chose to give Mayzie and Maggie each their own distinctive M's.  This is Mayzies.

A view of the whole wall.  It includes Maggie and Mayzies blessing dress, my moms baby bonnet, bib, pinnafore and a doilie, all tatted or crocheted for her by her grandmothers. When my Mom gave me these "treasures" I immediately saw them framed and in some romantic little room.  This isn't totally how my vision was, but I still love it.  It makes me happy to be displaying and preserving such beautiful pieces of my families history.  I had all of these frames but 2 just laying in my garage, waiting for the day to use them.  I painted them all white. The two oval frames were awesome finds at Joanns, 60% off, and IKEA, just cheap! I'd like to add a vinyl quote along the bottom at some point that talks about family, heirlooms, history, something.

 Mayzies M is just a $5.00 cardboard 3d thing from Joanns that I painted white and glued some rickrack and flowers to.  Then I thought it'd be cool to finish her name in the corner, so I had Jere write it on there.  He has the BEST handwriting!

 
This frame was around a giant corkboard that I ripped out and put up on the wall by Maggies desk.  It's a super cheap/crappy frame, but it was the perfect size to go around the dress hanging on the flower.  I absolutely love hanging frames around 3d objects.  And this particular look makes me happy.

 I LOVE this little pinnafore, especially because it happens to be in a corally/orangeish color, which ties in so perfectly!!

  My Moms sweet bonnet.  I won't bore you with ALL the framed things, but just a taste of what is up there.  And how simple it was to do!

 For Maggies "M" I knew I wanted something fancy and grand looking.  I went to IKEA and got this frame for $29.00 and then enlisted the help of a neighbor friend to cut me this vinyl M. I applied it straight to the glass, which frankly is a bit nerve wracking, to get it just right.  It's not, it's crooked, but it's ok and I still love the way it looks.  You'll be "shocked" to know that Maggie was so upset, because Mayzie had a decorated M and hers was just boring.  FOR REALS?  I went out of my way to make hers fancy looking and yet, not what she thought was cool. Oh well, I still love it.

 Found this perfect and darling lamp at Target, to bring in the hot pink color and it was only $20.00.  The polka dotted jewelry box on the dresser was at Home Goods for $6.00.

As mentioned, I adore this built in.  It was one of my favorite features when we bought the house.  I literally ripped that cork out of an already framed cork board that Julie left behind.  I glued and nailed it into place and then just threw up a few of Maggies things.  I LOVE the little decorative bin on the first shelf, it has all the fabulous colors, coral, purple, aqua and pink.  Found that at Target for like 8 bucks.  I can now shove all of Maggies stuffed animals into the drawers and there is TONS of space in the cupboards above for anything and everything else we need to store, and or get out of the way for photo ops.  You know.

The closet wall was the perfect place to put the tiny kitchen, which still gets used regularly, and to throw in a splash of yellow with that antique mirror that I bought at a sale for a mere 10 bucks last Spring. Also, let us note the cute flying pink vinyl bird.  I got a set of 5 for $2.99 on Amazon.  They make their appearance around the room.

 As I mentioned, I saw this on another blog.  But then, when I was looking for vinyls, I saw this, but in brown, and realized that other lady must have just copied it. Which, gratefully, I have artsy friends and my friend Lies'l just came and free handed this onto the wall for me, with crappy brushes I might add.  I love the whimsy and the fact that it takes up the whole wall. I even included a knob by the desk for Maggie to hang her backpack on.

 Let us note the happy bird sitting on the tree, and the other one flying away, into the air vent. And Mayzie gets to sleep peacefully under the silly tree.  I also love that my friend that made me that quilt on Mayzies bed musta been inspired, because it's aqua and pink.  

 So, I went to Hobby Lobby and picked up 7 glass drawer pulls, and they were half price, thank goodness.  I had NO IDEA how I was going to attach them to the wall, but darnit, I was gonna do it, no matter what.  I also stopped at JoAnns and bought these teeny little canvas' and some scrapbook paper and ribbon. The canvas' were on sell for 99 cents, AWESOME!  I cut the paper to size, printed out some pictures and also picked up some scrapbook accent pieces and created these little hanging pics for the tree.

 So anyway, I went to Home Depot and actually found helpful people.  These two workers opened up many a package of screws and plastic wall thingys to find the right fit.  I ended up getting those plastic anchors that you drill a hole, tap them in and then screw the object in.  They worked PERFECTLY!

 I love how they look, and the fact that there are happy little reminders to Maggie of her family.

 Ummm, so finally here...Maggie INSISTED that she have a picture "in" the tree, because she's a crazy monkey, and was wearing monkey pajamas.  Besides, it IS her room after all.  

Hopefully you've enjoyed the little tour of the room makeover.  It's still in that new stage, so it makes me happy every time I pass it.  Next up, a re do of Maxs room to make it more boyish, and ALL his.  I feel maps in my future, because he wants sports, and well, that's just too cliche.

Little girlies and pretty spaces,

Allyson