Baby Girls Nursery, Part 2: Wall squares

"You cannot adjust the wind, but you can adjust the sails."
-Unknown

What I'm reading:  It Starts with Food (I'm slow, okay?)
What I'm writing:  Back to the romance.  Charge!

Our house is big and "middle-aged" (not old!) and we have tons of expensive projects on the list that aren't all that fun or decorative (like replacing the water heater).  Because my decorating budget tends to run on the slim-to-none side, I'm always up for ideas that make a big impact for not a lot of dollars.

In the middle of my serious nesting, Husband and I took a pilgrimage over to the Salt Lake area to shop at Target (cue rays of light and singing angels).  I found these adorable canvases.  They were the perfect color and went right along with my cutesy woodland theme:

But.  BUT.  (And that's one big but.  From a girl who knows about big butts.) Check out the price tag.

$25 a piece????  Okay, in the scheme of things that is not a lot of money, but for one canvas... there was no way I was blowing chunks (ha ha) of my budget on a little wall canvas.  And then the little bell in my head went DING!

I remembered this post about wall art using scrapbook paper on one of my favorite blogs, Thrifty Decor Chick.  Now, if there's one thing I have hoarded enjoyed over the years, it is PAPER!  I love paper.  I was a Stampin' Up! demonstrator for eight years and I have quite the scary craft cave of doom collection.  Between my paper "collection" and my friend Cricut, I knew I could come up with something similar for much, much less.

Note:  One of my favorite tricks for coming up with a theme/mood/color scheme for a room is to find a paper collection that I love and use it for inspiration.  It helps me focus my efforts.  Some folks use fabric, but what can I say- this girl has a serious thing for paper!

I was right on board with using squares of MDF instead of canvas.  I bought a big sheet of 3/4" MDF and had the guy at Home Depot cut it for me.  It took about 5 minute to have the whole board cut into 12x12 squares and they didn't charge me anything for the cutting.  Husband acted a little miffed that I didn't bring it home for him to cut (something about manly pride) but I think he was secretly glad.  And that board would have ended up in our "Projects" pile for our kids to toss out after we die.  Because it would have sat there for 80 years.  At least.

First I lightly sanded the edges of the squares, but I didn't worry too much about perfection.  Then I painted all the edges white with plain old acrylic craft paint.  I made sure to paint about an inch around on the face of the board in case the wood and the paper weren't exactly the same size.

You can see in this picture how I've raised up the squares.  I just put scrap pieces of 2x4 under the boards.  This is so the paint doesn't stick to the newspaper covering my craft table.  Nothing ruins a great paint job like a bunch of lousy newspaper that just can't let it go!

I have made MDF squares for some of my other room, but I've always just used solid sheets of paper.  I wanted something a little more graphic for Girl's room, like the images on the Target canvases.  I turned to a Cricut cartridge that I'd always wanted to buy, but couldn't justify until I found out we had a girl coming to our family.

This is my Cricut station.  I clip little notes on the clothesline (from Ikea) to remind me of my settings for different projects.  That way I know how to set the speed, pressure, and blade for the Cricut, and the size I chose for each image.  

 Next I went through my hoard collection and chose all the paper I thought might work for this project.  I am a total craft snob, and I think Stampin' Up! paper and cardstock is absolutely the best quality.  I may not be a demonstrator anymore, but I have enough paper to last me through the 100-year zombie apocalypse.  For those who are fellow Stampin' Up! snobs, I used Certainly Celery, Soft Sky, Mambo Melon, Pink Pirouette, and Chocolate Chip.  I started by ModPodging an entire sheet of paper on each board.  My main colors for the room are aqua, light green, and pink, so I went with pinks and greens to contrast with the aqua wall color.

Next I started cutting out the image layers for each square.  I chose an owl, a mushroom, and a ladybug.  I cut the shapes as big as possible to still fit on a 12x12 background.

The hardest part of this project was waiting for the ModPodge to dry between layers.  I distracted myself by working on other things upstairs.  I would ModPodge a layer and then just leave the craft room so I wasn't tempted to add the next layer too soon.

If you've not worked with ModPodge before, I have a couple of tips.

1.  Don't be scared.  MP is amazing stuff, and very forgiving.  It's really very easy so don't talk yourself out of trying it because you think you'll mess it up.  Also, paper is very cheap, so if you do mess it up, scrape it off and start over.  You're not out much, and if the craft stores are closed during the Zombie Apocalypse, you can always come raid my stash.

2.  Brush it on with a foam brush and remember your motto:  Thin, even layers.

3.  Smooth out all the bubbles.  Start from the center and rub outwards to push any extra out the edges.  

4.  Even the best MP job will have a few bubbles left.  It always looks better after it dries so don't freak out if things look a little lumpy at first.  I promise.  It always looks better after it dries.  I will repeat this mantra as often as needed to help you keep from hyperventilating.

Once I had all my layers in place, Husband helped me hang the boards on the wall.  We did it exactly the same way as Thrifty Decor Chick- nails right through the corners.  I think he pre-drilled the holes, but I had pregnancy brain and that detail has gone bye-bye.  Sorry.

And here is the grand reveal:

LOVE THEM!  SO MUCH!  The vinyl above the boards is also from Stampin' Up! (now retired).  It is one of my favorite quotes and I earned the vinyl for free, but I'd been waiting for the perfect place to hang it.  I want my baby Girl to have confidence in herself and to follow her dreams, so this was the perfect place.

We hung the boards right above the changing table.  Every time I changed a diaper, Girl points at them and we talk about the pictures and the colors.  I always tell her, "Mama made these for you, because she loves you."  It still makes her smile.  And they make me smile too.

All things considered, these wall squares cost me about $3 for the wood, since I used things I already had on hand.  (Husband the accountant would point out that the supplies I had on hand still cost money, but who wants to listen to him, anyway?)  That's much better than $75 if I had bought three canvases at $25 each.

Thanks for sticking around through this very long post.  Next time I'll show you my lamp makeover.  I bet you just can't wait.