Dining room wall redo - before and after

We moved into a new house last fall, and we're still in the process of decorating and making it "ours." One of the spaces I've been excited about, and also a little nervous about, is our dining area. Before we moved in, the previous owners painted all the walls white, so we're starting with a pretty clean slate. While I'm glad they did that - the next layer of paint down is a very bright green (think new leaves on trees), there's a lot of work to do to warm it up.

Here's a before photo:

Cluttered and gloomy. The canvas is a Wal-Mart print that worked in our previous house, but felt too gloomy in our bright and airy room here. In Alaska, our winters are long and the grey days are gloomy enough. I wanted this wall to be full of color and life. I wanted to make a gallery wall, so we would have a mix of things to look at while we're at the table. I also wanted more storage for things like tablecloths and napkins, and also for crafting and drawing things for projects with the boys.

One day I got fed up and took the gloomy Paris street scene down and painted it with three coats of white paint. I had seen a project on Pinterest I liked - here it is:

Thanks to Salsa Pie for the inspiration!

Here's our version of it: 

We had so much fun making it! On a recent shopping trip, we grabbed some small bottles of acrylic paint in primary colors and waited for a rainy day to make it. The rain arrived and we grabbed paper plates, squirted some of the paint on them and grabbed several glasses and plastic tubs of different diameter, then dipped and stamped. The boys loved it and cleanup was so easy. Total cost was under $10, not including the canvas, which was purchased over 10 years ago. I think I got the original print for around $25, and I'm sure it would be possible to find an ugly one on clearance for about that price today. 

I confess, I had a couple OCD moments when my youngest son was stamping and then smearing the paint (we both took a little break and came back to it), but it turned out great. You wouldn't think a three-year-old and a one-year-old (OK, almost 4 and almost 2) made it! 

Stay tuned for our next project, a button tree! I'll also include my version of a hanging herb garden and a reveal of the finished-for-now wall. 

Have you made art with your children that you hang in a prominent place? Post photos or links in the comments - I'd love to have more ideas!

Hello and welcome!

Hi readers!

Welcome to Huzzah, my corner of the interwebs to share tidbits from our life. I hope this will be a creative outlet and a place where I can share and get feedback from others about parenting, crafting, cooking and generally making the most of life.

A little introduction: I'm a journalist, wife and mother (not always in that order). I'm currently a stay-at-home-mom to two wonderful boys. While they nap I work as a freelance magazine writer and squeeze in as many crafty projects as I can. We love to play and cook food together, we get outside when the Alaska weather allows and we try to learn as much as we can along the way. Things get a little crazy sometimes but we try to work together and stay positive.

Welcome to our world!