Well, my momentum has slowed with projects around my house. I am still working on the finishing touches for my daughter's room. I only started this project back in March!? I always struggle with knowing what to put on the walls. I want the wall decor to be timeless, yet appropriate for my 8-year-old. Whimsical yet sophisticated....is that possible? Anyhow, I love to decorate with framed photos, so centered above her bed is a beautiful black and white framed photo of her. We had our family portraits taken this fall, so I let my daughter pick out her favorite picture of herself, and we blew it up to a 12x18 size. I bought a 22 x 28 inch white frame at A.C. Moore for $20. Since the size it not a standard size, I had to purchase a mat on-line from Frame Destination. Their prices and shipping rates were unbeatable. The quality was wonderful, and I received the mat in less than a week. I was super impressed with how carefully the mat was packaged. There was so much bubble wrap, my kiddos and I actually took the bubble wrap outside and laid in on our driveway and jumped all over it, screaming and laughing the whole time.
Here's how it looks centered above her bed.
I know you're wondering where does the monogram wall art come into play, right? Well, before we began this room redo, my daughter had a letter "E" wall decal on one of her walls. She loved that decal, and was bummed that we had to take it down, in order to paint her room. Note, decals once you take them off, are VERY difficult if not near impossible to reapply. That being said, I thought it would be fun to have her initials monogrammed, and when I shared the idea with her, she was elated. I stumbled upon this blog post one day several weeks prior by Dixie Delights. She made a monogrammed canvas, and it turned out so beautifully, that I decided to give it a try. It was super easy. I simply bought the size canvas that I wanted for the space I intended to use it in. I actually ended up with the 22 x 28 inch size, which is rather ironic as this is the same size of the framed photo above. I searched etsy and ebay and stumbled upon a vendor who made an 18" Wooden Vine Monogram for $11.50 with only $3.50 in shipping. This price was unbeatable, and trust me when I say I scoured the internet to find the best price. The monogram came unfinished, in birch wood. The best part for me was it is made right here in the USA! The length measured 18" long and the middle initial was 12" high, with the others letters with a height of 9". I would have liked for the letters to have been taller, but for the price I was willing to compromise.
When I received the monogram I lightly sanded it, and then applied the paint of my choice. I opted to have Home Depot Color Match the paint to my daughter's coral/peach quilt. I bought a sample of Behr paint for $3, which was more than enough paint. I opted for a flat finish as I knew I would be painting the canvas with Benjamin Moore's Simply White, Semi-Gloss finish, as this was the paint that I had on hand and used to paint all the trim in my daughter's room. It did take a bit of time to paint the monogram. I applied two coats to fully cover. Make sure you have a paper bag or piece of cardboard under the monogram as you paint it. It can make a bit of a mess as you aren't just painting the top, but rather curvy sides. The best advice I can give you is to take your time and go slowly. It is super easy to get drips and runs, so paint slowly and with little paint on your brush, and watch closely for runs.
Here's how the monogram looked upon arrival
As you paint, it's helpful to hold the monogram in one hand and paint with the other hand. Make sure you get paint into all the crevices.
And, here's what it looked like after the second coat of paint.
As I mentioned earlier I bought a blank canvas sized 22 x 28 at A.C. Moore for $10. All canvases were 50%. Lucky me!!!
Sorry the photos aren't the best. The lighting was poor that day and the light from the window caused a glare of sorts on the canvas, but you get the idea!
