A Pretty Bathroom, Eventually.

The bathroom has become the first finished room of the house.

All we needed was something for a funny spot on the wall, in between the shower and the doorway. I contemplated going the French "Le Bain" (or la, I never know!) route, but it just didn't really fit with how the room had already evolved (without a fight). We'd gone the textured, natural look and it was soothing and clean, and pretty, without being "girly". I'd already made this Tissue box cover so it was only natural to continue in that vain. Another trip to Kaisercraft where I spent my $20 loyalty gift card on random scrap pads and some very specific papers. The Basecoat range was perfect for my project. It features great colours and texture up the wazoo. Once I'd chosen my papers and bought my canvas, I was ready to go.

I started by mixing some white paint with PVA glue and painted the edges of my canvas. I don't really know what I was hoping to achieve by doing this, maybe a bit of texture, or the opposite? Anyhoo, it didn't make too much difference, so we were all good. Then it was a case of working out how exactly I wanted to use my papers.
 I was really expanding on what I did in Tadpole's room, but I didn't think squares were going to cut it, plus my canvas was 51x51cm, too tricky to do even squares. I considered some kooky patterns, but in the end, I went with my usual style; Simple. Stripes it was. After a few practice line ups I was ready to get gluing.

Never glue things in a hurry.

 You end up making a mistake (gluing whole sheets down instead of cutting one) and having to pull it all off while it's still kinda wet. You end up with a lumpy mess on your canvas that needs to be sanded back. Of course you'll have to wait days to do this because you have a Tadpole.

Anyhoo. We start again, and this time, even though I was pretty fast at it ( but in a fun I can't wait to finish this kinda way) I did a pretty good job.

But something was missing. It kinda faded into the wall a bit.

It needed something more. So, I painted the edge of the canvas (again) with brown paint, carefully matching the browns already in the papers. The PVA from my first attempt actually made the texture of the canvas stand out more, and considering this thing was all about texture, I rolled with it.

 Now see that bit on the far left? That's what happens when you stop paying attention and cut the paper the wrong size. I still need to go back and glue it down better, but you can't tell once it's on the wall.

See how the bottom is curved? That's what happens when you buy your canvas from Dollar King. Whatever. Mr Frog turned it up the other way and you can't tell.

This little section of the bathroom was the inspiration for the canvas.

The finished bathroom, before Mt Frog flipped the canvas, and complete with his P.j's hanging on the door. He's not impressed that I left them there to take the photo.

Pffft. I'm keeping it real.

This post wasn't sponsored by Kaisercraft. But Kaisercraft.... Call me.

MC

Back in The Saddle

It's been too long! So long in fact that I went and had a baby girl! The tadpole is now eight weeks old and taking up lots of time and energy... which I mostly enjoy.

In this past week I've managed to find an excuse and a project to get myself back in the crafting way. Here's what I've been up to...

Take one, plain wooden box you bought super cheap, and remove the hinges and latch.

After a light sanding,  paint around all the edges and inside, then glue scrapbook paper cut to size to the inside of the bottom .

Then get to gluing the outside, one side at a time. I cut my pieces out in sequence and glued them as I went to make sure the pattern was continuous. Keep in mind you'll need to put the hardware back on, so poke holes where the screws will go.

Now I waited until I had covered all sides before I sanded off the edges of paper. Don't do that. Although a little more time consuming, I think you'll get a better result if you sand as you go. Just make sure the glue is mostly dry before you do.

Once you're happy with the edges, give the lid and the bottom a couple of coats of glue. This gives it a satin finish and is "water resistant". Of course, you could use polyurethane if you prefer... but I was doing this on the cheap.

Screw the hardware back on and you're done.

A great gift... fill it with lollies or a little surprise, and a great project for the school holidays!

Enjoy

MC