Next Stop: Wall Art

I have loved the look of subway art for quite some time now and even considered incorporating it into the nursery. I was constantly coming across images like these online. Some signs are bought (and very expensive!) and some DIY. 

Life Abundant

The Splurge or the Steal

Homemade

Young House Love

Restoration Hardware

I decided a few months ago that I wanted to take down the Audrey picture in our living room and replace it with another piece of wall art. The picture was a housewarming gift from my parents three years ago and although I adore the artwork, I have to admit it's a little feminine for Jordan. Plus we are making some other changes in the living room over the next few weeks and need some fresh artwork.

Last week while perusing Marshalls for some nursery goodies, I found this sign in the wall art section.

Excited that I had found something I had been wanting at a place like Marshalls, I snapped a quick picture and sent it to Jordan for his opinion. I was sure to include the price ($50) in the text. More than I would want to spend, but far less than subway signs are retailing for online. 

His response?

"You could make that."

Is that a challenge? That was all I needed. I decided at that moment that I was going to make my own.

It took two evenings of hard work and only $26 (half the price of the Marshalls sign) and we now have our own DIY subway sign. Here is how the wall looked with the Audrey picture:

And here is how it looked after we hung our subway sign this weekend.

I love how clean the wall looks. These aren't actually subway stops. It's the Regional Rail line that runs from DC to Boston - the train we used to take when we would go to Boston for the weekend. I had Jordan pick the stops for the sign.

As I mentioned we have other plans for the living room that include replacing the old berber carpet with hardwood and a bright area rug, removing the bookcase, and replacing the IKEA curtains with a pair of plain white ones so brighten up the space. 

If you want to learn how to make your own subway wall art, I will post a tutorial later this week.

Grandmother's Jewels

As promised, a look through some of the gorgeous vintage jewelry passed onto me by my grandmother (known by her grandkids as "Beebah").

The above necklace actually belonged to Jordan's grandmother, not mine. 

His aunt gave it to me as a gift last Christmas.

I wear this gold bracelet the most. It was one of the first pieces my grandmother gave to me. If you look carefully you can see something written on the bag.

"1907 Gold Bracelet"

There is also an inscription inside that says "Pat Oct. 22 07"

My heart broke when I came home from work after wearing this one day and found one of the roses missing. Part of me hopes I can somehow fix it.

Most of the necklace and bracelet sets I have come with a matching set of clip-on earrings. 

To this day Beebah has never had her ears pierced. 

Picture Perfect

This will be one of the last nursery related posts for a while. Now that we have the main elements set in the room, I just need to add a few details and accents pieces before it is complete. Rather than update you with each knick-nack I add to the room, I decided I would rather halt all updates until I can do a final reveal of the finished room.

That being said, this past weekend, one of the mini projects I squeezed in between our very relaxing weekend is adding a gallery wall to the nursery. A mix of IKEA frames and my bargain Pottery Barn frame with a few thrift store mirrors I've collected (including one of the mirrors I scored on Friday). 

I was very specific in the way I wanted these hung on the wall. I arranged them on the floor and played with the design a few times before coming up with this final set-up. 

In order to replicate it on the wall, I laid a piece of Frog Tape across the length of the middle of my frame collage. 

I duplicated a piece of tape of the same length on the wall in the space I wanted to hang everything.

I made markers along the tape according to where each frame/mirror would be spaced out. After that I simply used the above picture of the frames and tape as a reference and hung the pieces on the wall according to the layout and markers on the tape.

I know it seems like a weird way to space things out, but it truly worked. In the end the layout was an exact replica of what I had planned on the carpet.  

I still need to decide what I want to put in all the frames since I only have one lowly sonogram in there for now. I plan to use the small square shadowbox from IKEA to hold either her hospital bracelet or some other memorabilia from the day our little one was born. Of course her first picture will end up in one of these frames, too. Other than that I may mix some personal and family shots or maybe even one of me pregnant when my belly gets bigger. 

Hope this keeps you satisfied on the nursery updates for a while :)

Thrifting

We've had quite the low key weekend and I think it's just what we both needed. No big house projects to work on this weekend (although I did work on a few mini projects when I could sneak them in). Next weekend we will be back at it as we have someone coming out to measure and give us estimates for new carpeting in our bedroom, hallway and steps as well as hardwood in the living room. I'm pretty excited as I can't wait to rip out the berber carpet in the living room.

Friday after work I ventured out to one of my favorite thrift stores to check out some goodies for the house. Most of my thrift adventures are pretty hit or miss. I did manage to score these great pieces. One gold frame for $.99 and two small gold mirrors for $1.99 each. I've already found homes for all three.  

While I'm there, I always take a peek at the jewelry as I wait in line to pay. 

Every once and I while I will spot a gem like this one.

The perfect dainty gold necklace that can be worn alone during the day or paired with another longer necklace for a night out. 

And can you beat the $1.91 price?

Aside from house goodies, my absolute favorite thing to shop for at thrift stores is a good vintage clutch. The thrift store I frequent most always has two full bins of clutches and make up bags. It takes some digging and patience but I've had good luck and scored some great finds. This time around I found two perfect pieces.

First was this tiny beaded white clutch. It's the perfect palm sized bag with just enough room to fit some cash and a lipstick. All you really need for a night out, right? I love that most of the old clutches come with a thin chain that can be used or easily tucked inside if you prefer.

$2.08

Second was this great black alligator clutch. I've been in need of a good black clutch for a while now so this one was a definite must-have as soon as I laid eyes on it.

$1.98

Here are a few other of my favorite thrift clutches I've collected over time.

I showed you in my closet tour that I have a collection of vintage gloves passed onto me by my paternal grandmother. Every now and then she will present me with a gem - purse, jewelry, piece of milk glass, etc. A few months ago I scored this great bag. It was in their pile of things to donate to the Cancer Federation. I asked my grandfather if I could root through and I'm so glad I did!

Isn't the detailing gorgeous?

I also have an amazing collection of her jewelry that I will have to show you all sometime. She only wears a few statement pieces these days but has saved the rest her jewelry for me to have.

What are your favorite things to thrift shop for?

Deal of the Week

Michael's is having a coupon bonanza this week.

Coupons are good starting tomorrow, Sunday, April 3rd until next Saturday, April 9th.

Deals include:

- 40% OFF Any One Regular Priced Wedding Item

- Extra 30% OFF Your Entire Purchase Candles

- Extra 25% OFF Entire Purchase Wall & Tabletop Frames, Framed Art, & Display Cases 

- 40% OFF Entire Regular Price Purchase Artist Canvas and Paper

- 40% OFF Entire Regular Price Purchase Artist Paints, Pencils, Pastels & Markers

- Extra 15% OFF Celebrate It Basic Narrows, Basic Basic, Sheer Creation, Home & More and Mega Roll Ribbon

- 15% OFF Entire Purchase Kids' Books

I plan to take advantage of the 40% off canvas coupon for my next project.

Get the coupons HERE.