A couple months ago, Matthias told me, “In our next house, I want to have my very own art gallery.” And since we have plenty of space, and no plans to move any time soon, I thought, “Why not give him an art gallery now?”We have a loft upstairs that connects all the bedrooms. It’s a great space but I’ve never really decorated it.  I pulled everything out of the room–some random throw pillows, an old lamp and some random toys–and left just the basics for a clean slate.

Here’s the finished space. It’s whimsical and simple–a perfect kid’s space. I framed a few of his favorite pieces of art–and there’s lots more room for more framed artwork!

We found this couch a couple years ago at Pottery Barn. It was a floor model and marked way down. It’s super comfy.

The chair is from Target quite a few years ago and it’s still in great condition.

I picked up a couple new pillows and the small aqua lamp from Target. All of it was on sale–nice!

I love this Eric Carle style sun art that Matthias did last year in first grade.

I drew some chalk frames on the chalkboard and we can add more frames and art as needed.

Matthias loved it. And now he has his very own art gallery!  Doesn’t it make you want to pull out the watercolors and create?

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This is the easiest project on the planet–but I thought sharing a few steps might inspire you!
You’ll need construction paper, a hole punch and twine.

I used a large heart punch, but if you don’t have one, just cut out the hearts by hand for a sweet look.Every heart needs two holes at the top.Then slide twine {or lace or ribbon} through the holes to create a garland.String the garland in front of a mirror, an empty frame or above a bed. So sweet!

Need more Valentine’s inspiration? Check out Lindsey’s Valentine’s mantel here. Have a little more time? Create this origami garland from How about Orange! And here are 12 adorable Valentine’s ideas from Tip Junkie.

Welcome to our home. This is our entryway, or at least, the wall behind the door as you enter.

The mirror was a hand-me-down from my mom. The quilt was a thrift store find and the plaster heads were also a thrift store find. It’s a little eclectic, but that’s how I like it!

Sometimes stuff like bags, shoes, books, backpacks, etc piles up in the entryway. But I at least try to move those things to the laundry room so I can shut the door and not think about it. Ha–don’t you love my organizational strategy!

Those plaster heads are funky/pretty. I think they were $2 each–and with a sweet heart garland between it kind of unifies the wall decor.

I’m planning to rejuvenate this space a bit by painting the bench and switching out the quilt and pillows {and I’ll also change the garland}. I am trying to decide between three colors for the bench…

My three top choices for the bench are 1. cream 2. mustard yellow or 3. avocado green.  Cast your vote in the comments section–and whichever one gets the most votes, that’s the color I’ll paint the bench! So fun!

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I had an idea to make our handprints into a wintery forest scene. It was a fun project–here’s how I did it.

I traced each person’s hand and then added some extra small branches to make the hands feel a little more tree-like.

After I cut out the hands, I cut out simple trunks and taped them together.

I spray painted a large canvas with flat gray spray paint.

Then I placed the trees where I wanted them and used a silver glitter spray paint to cover all the exposed areas.

The paint is still a little wet in the picture above, but you can see it’s a slight contrast. I wanted it to be subtle.

Then I took my time placing tiny dots of glue all over like falling snow. I wanted it to look like it was snowing, and the snow was collecting in the branches of the trees.

Then I sprinkled glitter–a super fine glitter, to cover all the glue dots.

And I let it dry overnight. Such a fun, winter project that celebrates family!

this weekend i bought some inexpensive glass candles {plain white} at the grocery store and decided to get creative!

this project is pretty darn easy and very low cost. and the candles placed together makes a great impact!

first i found a font i liked and enlarged it and printed out the word peace. i carefully cut around each letter to create a relief stencil.

then i tore some yellowed pages from an old book and decoupaged them onto the front of the candle.

for decoupage i used two parts white glue to one part water.

once the decoupaged paper was dry, i placed the cut out letter over the candle and carefully sponged black paint over the letter. then i extended the black paint to create a box shape. once i covered the area with black paint i removed the cut out letter.

 with a few snowflakes and a vintage frame, it makes for a simple, pretty winter display.

i can’t believe next week is thanksgiving and then christmas is right around the corner. i’m so excited i can hardly stand it! we’ll put up our christmas tree right after thanksgiving. when do you put your tree up?