And the fun continues!
As mentioned in The Making of a Playroom Part 1, in considering how her playroom would be used for the next few years to come, I had decided that what I wanted most in it for her were the following features:
- An art wall displaying some of her creative drawings and colorings from birth.
- I had also decided that I wanted a self-affirmation wall consisting of childhood photos of her throughout her various stages of growth
- As well as a family tree, as our family mostly live either an ocean away from us or scattered throughout Canada. And I felt it important that they be kept present in her memory and in her knowledge of them.
- She would be needing an activity/arts and crafts center. This room would have to accommodate her through all stages of drawing, painting, jewelry crafting, building lego, playing with Barbies etc,
- The room would also have to include an entertainment corner for movies and her Wii
- Of course, the space would need to accommodate little friends for sleepovers and
- Being the doodler that she is, the room should include a chalkboard wall
And ALL of it needed to happen in a room approx. 12” x 15”.
The Art Wall
As most of our kiddos do, the doodling, sketches and paintings in her new found artistic form of expression was growing! I had been keeping them all along in a folder and simply couldn't bring myself to clear them out as she continued to add new. Until another "Aha!" moment hit that is - an art wall!
Again, I headed out to our local Dollar Store and WalMart stores. I gathered up a variety of inexpensive frames, and painted them all in her new room trim color of Ivory. With zillions of her creations to sort through, I curated them in the order of all of the things she loved as a little one at various times throughout her growth. Then scanned and printed them on cardstock, and arranged them on her art wall with the Pablo Picasso quote "Every child is an artist." hand-painted as the anchor.
Another wall filled!
The Self-Affirmation Wall
Next up was the self-affirmation wall I was wanting for her to see daily, and would elicit for her a strong sense of self. We had so many beautiful family moments captured of her as she lived them with us, some of which she could remember. So again, off to the Dollar Store for small blank canvases.
I printed out the photos on my office inkjet printer and Hodge-Podged the paper prints to the canvases with a foam paint brush, with this time, one of my fave Dr. Seuss quotes to anchor the arrangement. "Today, you are You that is truer than true! There is no one alive who is Youer than You!" What could be more affirming to a little girl than that?!
And another wall filled!
The Chalkboard Wall
While I was searching for additional meaningful ways to fill her walls, Joe was creating a chalkboard for her wall behind the craft table with the addition of molding to frame my chalkboard painted section of wall! After all, she's a doodler! With the addition of a basket to the left of it holding every color of chalk imaginable, they LOVED this feature!
The Craft Table and Benches
And then back to his basement workshop Joe went, to build a craft table with sectional benches with built-in cubbies. Once he was finished the build, that called for me to paint, lightly distress, wax, and sew bench cushion covers in the WalMart fabric pieces. Where I wasn't able to get large pieces of the fabric patterns, I mixed and matched in the coordinating patterns for the sides and back pieces of the covers. I left the backs open with velcro closures for the anticipated numerous required washings.
Once all was ready, we installed the units in a corner of the playroom in front of her chalkboard that would allow her a space to paint, doodle, craft, play with her Barbies, make beaded jewelry etc. Luckily, I had set aside enough of the matching fabric early on to piece together for a floor rug to catch any paint/snack spills under the table to protect our floors, and could simply be tossed into the washer and dryer - and MANY times I did!!
Organization is Everything - The Cubbies
We had made the bench cubbies large enough to accommodate banker boxes which I had then set out to cover utilizing muslin, burlap, bits of the matching fabrics, chalk labels, ribbon with thanks to a glue gun!
The boxes were labeled in chalk: "Art supplies", "Jewelry Making", "My Life Doll clothes", "Barbies" etc, so that she could easily slide them out, and put all away herself along with her play-dates while singing Miss Laura's ♪ "Clean up, clean up...". ♫
The Dress-Up Corner
What is a little girl's playroom without a corner for dressing up in previous years' dance costumes, Halloween costumes, and wigs?!! Being that that one was a given, we installed a full-length mirror on the wall next to the shaker peg rack housing the costumes so they could see their look! Another hit!
And another wall filled!
The Media Corner
We had bought a pull-out sofa a few years back which had been barely used, so we moved that into the playroom. We bought a duck cotton sofa slipcover in a natural color to place over it (also machine-washable) facing a small entertainment stand of a television, her Wii station, Nintendo DS, television and dvd player (yes, this was a few years ago!).
Next up was the addition of floor cushions and a bean bag chair to accommodate her guests or when she just felt like flopping to read a book in solitude, or playing guitar! At night time, it was sleepover central with friends on the pull out sofa, popcorn, video games and movies!
The Finishing Touches
From the remaining fabric pieces, I was able to get enough together to sew toss cushion covers seen above on the sofa. As well, a toy bag for some of her stuffed animals...
Along with a photo clipboard in a vintage picture frame, lined with coordinating fabric pattern, wire installed and photos of all of her nearest and dearest to keep her grounded and feeling loved - printed on cardstock and held in place with clothespins.
Yet another wall filled!
Let Nothing Go To Waste
And still with scrap ends of fabric left over - the embellishing of a small table lamp from WalMart...
And the one final scrap of remaining fabric - enough for a tie-back for her window curtain...PHEWFFF!!
So What's Left To Do?
I painted our old microwave cart no longer needed, in blue to match her room and to accommodate her play dishes and kitchen set...
And painted a bench we had for her music keyboard to sit on as she sat on the floor cushions to play it!
The Final Addition - The Playroom Rules Sign
But the one final addition I wanted to have embody the spirit of her playroom as she would foster lifelong friendships, create cherished moments, and learn some very valuable lessons from, was this.
I had Joe cut a piece of plywood for me, on which I hand-painted playroom rules to not only play by, but would serve her well in her life to live by...
Would I Do It All Again?
You betcha!! With a small budget to work within, the re-purposing of older items, a sewing machine even when one can sew only straight lines, a glue gun, and a paint brush, some of the most amazing memories in a little one's childhood home were made.
And that is more than worth its weight in gold. ♥
PS - If you missed "The Making of a Playroom Part 1", it's over here! See what the room later transitioned to as it made its way to a teen's bedroom once outgrowing her playroom! And this project's finds from FB marketplace for the tween in between!
0 comments