Gallery Wall, A Magnetic Paint Mishap

Since my kiddos have started school, I find myself bombarded with their artwork and looking for ways to display it. We had nothing on our basement walls by the stairway, so I thought that my kids' creations might be a perfect addition. I started off by painting a handful of empty, old frames black. None of them matched so I thought black would help unify them a bit. I then tried to paint on some magnetic paint. BAD IDEA! I bought the spray on kind thinking it would be easy for the kids to change out their artwork themselves with magnets to hold the artwork in place. Well, after about 5 or so coats and several coughing and gagging fits from the fumes, the painted surface didn't hold anything. Even strong magnets had a hard time sticking to the wall.

Needless to say, I ditched the paint and just painted over it with the wall color. I used thumbtacks to keep the artwork in place. I do wish the magnetic paint would have worked so I wouldn't have thumbtack holes in the wall, but I'm still happy with how the project turned out. And my kids are excited that their artwork is framed and out on display. That makes me a happy mama!

Trash to Treasure

Trash

Here's a new project that was so simple. We got a new piano and needed to recover the bench. On it was some pretty nasty brown and white vinyl. I got out my screwdriver, and took the seat off the hinges. Then I took out the nails that held the vinyl on. I had some toile (my most coveted fabric) that I picked up from an estate sale and I simply stapled it onto the seat on the back side a little bit at a time, making sure to stretch it tight. I think it turned out really well.

Treasure