A Birthday Project for Kenna

Hey all.. happy Wednesday.. the week is officially half over.. YAYAY..

As I was about to go upstairs and start the Rule of 3 (or whatever magic number I came up with for todays declutter/organizing tip) i realized I have SOOOO many things going on at once.. I dont really have anything down on paper.. which is the biggest boo boo I can make..

ill tell you why..

if you do not have down your ideas on paper.. you wont have a list of what you need.. and you might end up buying something you dont need to...

I started working on a birthday present for my daughter.. minus her bedroom which she doesnt really play in.. she does not have a space of her own.. my kids have the playroom where they stash most of there toys.. and my daughter has a shelf in the dining room closet for her art supplies.. however her brother has gotten into items and ruined them.. She needs a space of her own..
A friend recently posted this idea to me.. and I thought I could turn it into an art station instead..

A WEE family blog, Lego Center


I thought.. hey I already have a rolling storage cart.. I would just need another and find a way to turn the top from Lego board to something else.. the friend who posted this to me suggested a white board.

So I began my hunt for a LARGE white board piece.. the more I looked the more the $$ kept racking up.. the purpose of this gift was to do the art center as cheap as possible so I could purchase NEW untouched by her baby brother art supplies..My budget was dwindling fast..(Im on such a tight budget because my kids are 3 years and 1 day apart.. so there birthdays are one day after another.. so I have 2 kids to be buying for..)

i shelved the idea for a bit and just sat with it in my back pocket.. there had to be a way to make an art center for her.. the goal was to put the art center here:

 

Im aware its a semi tight space.. but.. we dont use the front door thats behind me.. except to get the mail from the mail box.. everyone uses out side door that leads into the main living space.. also.. you can see that fabtabulous white baby gate.. my son can not open it.. at least not yet.. so my daughter can have to space AWAY from her  brother.. which was the whole point.. to give her a special area. alllll her own..

However.. it could not house a full blown desk.. not enough space..

thats when I realized in my guest room where my printer was stored before I made my command center.. I HAD THIS

I dont know if you all know the brand LIFETIME.. not the magazine.. but they make these VERY sturdy folding tables and chairs.. my folks have some nice large tables by them.. they also had this small one..and gave it to me..

THIS would be perfect and by perfect I mean SOOOOO perfect.. i could put this as a desk.. and use the storage cart for her art storage..I had everything I needed right in my home for the shell.. now for ideas to Jazz it up..

My friend Michelle who is a wonderful DIY'er as well as upcycler, suggested I use a chalkboard paint for the top of the desk.. since I couldnt do white board, but I know she likes to write on EVERYTHING she can.. this was perfect..

I decided to spray paint the rolling cart 2 shades of purple..shes not a super girly girl but I didnt want Lightening McQueen all over it (which would be her choice)

so I found 2 shades of purple Krylon spray paint under 4$ a piece..

i also picked up a little 2$ trash can so she can work on keeping her area clean..

If I have a few extra bucks between now and her birthday to Jazz up the wall I will head back to walmart.. they sell OPEN FRAMES (NO backing on them) these would be the decorative frames people generally hang there initials from..

like this--- (front of my house for fall.. and yes Im aware its janurary and its stilllll up there with fall leaves..)  :)
Anyways.. they sell these frames in a variety of sizes for under 3$ a piece.. I thought instead of massive amounts of tape from my daughter trying to hang her pictures herself.. I could hang these frames.. and she could switch in and out her beautiful artwork.. would also jazz up the area..
I figure about 4 frames in different sizes could work..


soooo the project is on like DOnkey Kong.. I have the first layers of the chalkboard spray paint on (an almost full can left over from another recent post I did where I painted the dollar tree tin into a chalkboard)  so I didnt have to spend money on that..

PROJECT COST'S and TOTAL

Table to be made into desk = FREE (was given to me by my folks)

Rolling storage cart= FREE has been sitting in my basement

Chair= FREE (Ive had a cute Ikea Kids chair sitting in my guest room forever.. currently my daughters time out chair)

Spray Paint= $3.64x2= 7.28

Small trashcan= $2.00

4 frames in different sizes.. ALOTTING= $10.00

TOTAL= $19.28

Under 20$ for a childrens art center.. if I skipped the frames it would be under 10$..
thats not bad at all.. plenty of money now to go buy fresh art supplies for her birthday present..

I will post a picture when its in place.. but I dont want her to see until her birthday in about 2 weeks.. soooo that picture will have to come later..

ALSO.. a little tip on the spray painting..
Ive just started using SPray paint for more projects.. and Im really liking it.. however RULE OF THUMB ON ANYTHING you spray paint.. make sure its a rough surface.. if its not.. like the plastic trash can.. spray in light thin coats.. it make take a whole day to get it as dark as you want.. but its worth it..spraying to much at once is to much and makes the paint drip and run down the rest of your surface.. i found , when I painted the other side that thin light coats and I dont have that problem AT ALL.. good thing it was the trash can and not the rolling cart.. that would have ruined my day..lol

Much Love and blessings and hope you are all staying warm...

Shanun