Easiest Knockoff EVER!!!!!!!!!! A Boy Spaces Teaser

Tomorrow officially kicks off our Boy Spaces event.

However, this evening I have a little teaser for you.

It is the most recent, and simplest, 

project that I have added to Roly Poly's bedroom.

I am a Land of Nod gal through and through,

so when I saw these cute and simple 

Work of Art Clips in their catalogue 

not only did I fall in love with them, 

but I also knew that I was going to make my own.

I had already purchased some knobs from ETSY

 while I was prego with Roly Poly,

which means about 1 1/2 years ago.

I had never done anything with them because 
I just didn't know what I wanted to do.

I loved that they matched his Dwell bedding,

but beyond that I had nothing.

So this was finally the project that could put them to use.

It took about 5 minutes from start to finish.

SUPPLIES:

• nails
• knobs
• Super Glue
• string
• mini clothes pins
• photos and other stuff of your choice

What to do:

First I nailed the four nails spaced apart at various heights 

and distances so that the string could be run between them.

Next I took the super glue and I filled the hole of one knob. 

I then placed the knob over one of the nails and held firmly for about 30-45 seconds.

***Make sure that your nails are pulled full enough out 

that there is space between the back of the know and the wall.***

This step is repeated for each knob.

The next step is to tie the string onto the first knob 

and then continue to wrap it around each knob

 so that it goes back and forth in a zig zag pattern.

You are now ready to hang your photos and memorabilia.

I added some Creative Memories title stickers 

and a rocket sticker backed on 

white card stock and then cut out.

I love that I can change this as I get new photos 

and other important memorabilia.

I hope that this first project revs you up 

and gets you into a creative mood.

If you are a knob collector like Ashley from Little Miss Momma,

you could use this in any and every room.

You can read about her knob obsession here.

I am looking forward to this week.

Are you ready to ROCK some Boy Spaces?

Bathroom Serenity

For many people the bathroom can be a place to get away.

I remember in high school I used to sit on the bathroom sink and cry when I had a bad day.

It was a place of solitude.

Even still, I love my master bath complete with jet action tub

for spa like relaxation.

However, my guest bath needed a redo last summer,

because I wanted it to be a place where my boys felt like they belonged.

It is their bathroom after all.

{There will be more about this transformation next month 

during a week long series on Boy Spaces}

Well, after all was said and done there wasn't 

anything on the walls.

In fact, they have been bare for almost a year.

Then I saw these in the Land of Nod Catalogue.

source

They were too large for my bathroom,

too much for my budget,

and the wrong colors.

So I decided that I would take a stab at creating my own.

Mind you, I do not have Photoshop or Illustrator.

So this was all done on WORD.

 I started this back in early February.

It took only a few hours to create the printables,

but I had trouble finding frames that had a shape that I liked 

at a price that I liked.

I finally found some a few weeks back at Ross, 

one was even on clearance because the stand was broken.

This was no matter to me because I knew I'd be removing the stands and hanging them.

I sprayed the frames in colors that would coordinate 

with the rest of the room, 

specifically with the shower curtain.

Here are the final results.

Poor lighting in a bathroom with no windows.

What do you think? 

I adore them.

We assigned the tasks to mom and dad based on who most often requests each one to be done.

If you would like too see other versions of this project see Beckie at Infarrantly Creative.

I was so excited to see that she too had knocked these off.

I felt like I must have truly had a great idea if she had it too.

Check it out to see how she did hers.

Land of Nod Knockoff Wall Book Bin

I know that many of us out there love Pottery Barn,

and we also love Restoration Hardware, 

and I am sure that we love Crate and Barrel.

Well, I absolutely adore Crate and Barrel's kids stare

LAND OF NOD

Even the name is cute.

Their prices are fairly reasonable,

depending on what you are looking for of course.

For instance these shelves right here aren't too hefty a price.

They are $49

However . . . 

I made a knock off for a grand total of 

$9

This is a serious savings!!!

So what did I do?

First I found this at the thrift store.

It is a Norman Rockwell plate rack.

It cost $2.25.

Woot! Woot!

Okay, then I ran to Home Depot and picked me up some white spray paint.

I was ready to ROCK!!!!

Here we go . . . 

First, I removed this lovely gold placard.

No longer necessary.

Then I grabbed some 300 grit sand paper that the hubs had in the garage.

There were some spots I had to smooth out. 

I also sanded lightly over the entire shelf.

Once that was all nicely done,

I got down to business and started spraying.

I think I did about 6 or 7 very light coats.

Next comes the molding. 

This molding was .59 per foot.

The hubs cut it and nailed it on, and then he did the touch up painting.

Next he hung it up.

Looking good, right?

Well, there was just the small matter of those little spots
in the middle where the metal placards had been.

I knew I wanted to put a quote there.
Then I remembered that for my MA Graduation invitations
my friend Jenna had found a great quote about literature from
my favorite author DH Lawrence.

If you are familiar with Lawrence's work you may be thinking,
"She put something HE said in a babies room?!?!?"

It's not inappropriate. PROMISE.
It says:
Oh literature, oh the glorious Art, how it preys upon the marrow in our bones.
It scoops the stuffing out of us, and chucks us aside. Alas!




See. Not bad.
I like how it demonstrates the deep emotional connection that can be made to books.

I printed each sentence on cardstock and cut them down to the appropriate measurement.
5x3/4 inch


Then, after like three weeks of distractions, I Mod Podged them onto the book bin.

I had some trouble getting them to be completely smooth.

Any tips for next time?

VOILA!!!
(Yes, I say this at the end of most projects. Why not?)

Some of the books are different because it took so long to finish up this project.

Then I added those final decorative touches you see on top of the book bin.

First, these blocks.
 I picked them up at a local antique store.
They were $1 for the small ones and $2 for the large one.

I know that isn't exactly cheap,
but I only wanted these 5.
Also, I didn't feel like scouring the thrift shops for wood blocks.

I love the way they turned out.

Next, I placed one of our favorite books atop.
I Love You Through and Through

Have you read this one?
If you haven't, I promise it is cute and fun to read with the kiddos.


There you have it.

All done.

What do you think?
What thrifty transformations have you been working on?


*** I have entered this item in Seven Thirty-Threes Knock It Off Contest****
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