DIY Faux "wall paper" stripes tutorial

Alright, I mentioned in my last post I would put up a tutorial on how to do "faux wall paper stripes" with colored butcher paper. Honestly, it was easy! I even did it while the hubby was sleeping (in the same room!) I have been searching for a budget friendly way to fake paint my walls for quite some time now. I looked into renters wallpaper, fabric with the temporary glue made of cornstarch, I looked into buying vinyl. I thought, and thought and thought...and nothing I researched was worth my effort (since I don't know how long we'll live here) or fit within my budget that my husband wouldn't have a COW when he found out how much I spent doing such a project!

I finally came up with the idea of using colored butcher paper because my husband is a teacher. He came home once upon a time with a big wad of paper, and asked me if I would make a poster for his classroom, and a light bulb went off in my head!

Looking back on this project, I wish I would have chosen to do 9 inch stripes rather than 5 inch, but I wanted to get as many stripes out of my paper as I possibly could (because I am cheap resourceful like that). But either way, I still love it over my bare walls!

So here it is! The tutorial to do it yourself.

1.  Find a location in your area that sells colored butcher paper. I found one in Orem (because the there isn't one where I live) that sold it for $0.35 a foot.

2. Measure your wall so you know how many feet you need to buy. And also decide how wide you want your stripes. A normal paper is 36 inches long. So you'll need however many papers divided by the width you want, that will fit on each, until you have enough to cover the entire distance of your wall.

ex. my wall was 8 feet wide, by 12 feet tall. I did 5 inch stripes and put a stripe every 10 inches. I was able to get 6 stripes out of one paper width.  I needed 2 papers, and had some left over.

3. Using chalk (literally my daughters play chalk) I measured my 5 inches per stripe, as well as length 8 ft, plus one inch (it's better to be too long than too short right?) all the way up and across my paper to use as a cutting guide. I used white chalk since nothing else would show up and that was my back side once it was hung up.

Measuring Stripes and making guides to help with cutting

4. Cut your stripes. I couldn't find any scissors, so I used my rolling fabric cutter (which is probably why my lines were so loopy, besides the fact that I can't cut a straight line if my life depended on it! Although it was probably easier, it would be more sturdier using scissors...imo.

5. Next, I went into my room, where my husband was sleeping in our bed, and measured my wall and made a notch every 5 inches with the chalk because it would come clean so easily afterwards.

Sweet Dreams dear Hubby!

6. Using my notches as a guide, a level, and push pins, I hung up my stripes one by one. On one of them I had to cut around a plug plate. I cut around the plate (going in less than 1/4 of an inch further than needed so the plate would lay in front the paper ever so slightly). *3M also makes poster paper hanging tape that doesn't leave any residue or take the paint off that you could buy, cut up into smaller pieces, and hang that way. I chose pins, but my thumbs were SUPER sore by the time I was done!

*This was before I cut the paper around the outlet.

6. I did buy some of that tape mentioned above for a few of the "middles" of my stripes. Some were looser than others and it was really bothering me, so I used that to make it smoother on the wall.

7. The BEST PART...Hang your decor on top!

Ran out of paper and pins, so Here it is "finished" until Monday (I was doing this project over Mother's Day weekend) and I can go buy more!

Room Make Over-in a weekend! YAY!

Okay, so I don't know about you, but my bedroom in ALL the places we have ever lived, has been a last priority in being decorated, and often times used as a "shove everything in boxes and stack them up in the corner" room. I HATE THAT! 

I finally decided on a color scheme, and told myself I was going to do SOMETHING...It had been 4 years, this has gone on LONG enough! So I told my hubby that I wanted a clean bedroom for Mother's Day, and used birthday money for some supplies (lucky for me they are right by each other), and have been slowly collecting items (living within my monthly "crafting budget") and was able to make it happen! I am so excited!! I have never been so happy to open my eyes in the morning! Here are some of the things I did in my Room Make Over *still have  things to finish, like curtains, and repaint our dressers, but that will come with time).

I am so excited to show you my "new look" in our bedroom! I can't wait to get more things finished over time! 

This is my "striped wall" I made with colored butcher paper and pins. I currently rent, and we're not allowed to paint, but the bare walls were KILLING me, so I had to do something! I know fabric with the temporary glue with cornstarch would have been an ideal option, but it was too expensive for my budget! I ran out of paper and pins, so the wall isn't finished yet, but it will be soon! Look for a tutorial coming soon!

Dandelion Art picture I painted myself, I am pretty happy with how it turned out, especially since I am not the most artistic of people! My hubby loved it because it was yellow, I loved it because it gave the wall a little "pop". Tutorial on how I did this coming soon too!

Sorry this picture is blurry! Of some of the things to come...this is one of them. I am going to pain the picture frame and the & sign white so they stand out a little more, and blend in with the color scheme. I got my A and C from Joann's and modge podged paper on top. Used shoe polish (my favorite thing to distress with) to distress the edges! 

Rocking chair with yellow pillow....next!

My favorite thing I have done thus far!! I mentioned my birthday was recently, so these are the supplies I got to make pillows to go on my bed! Super easy, and with the great sales Joann's is having currently, I got for a major deal! 

This is "His" side of the bed. Again, one day our dressers will be painted! My hubby has all this "junk" he unloads out of his pockets every day and it drives me INSANE! So to solve the problem, we compromised with a "junk box" where he can put his wallet, badge, phone, keys, ect. and I can see nothing but pretty decorations! 

And this is "Hers" I need to paint my picture frame white (not blaring red) so that it'll match! But I am in love with how everything turned out! 

Thick, Hearty, may I even say Sexy Pancakes?!

So my wee one and I caught bronchitis recently and the thing I have been waiting most anxiously for is enough energy to cook again! I love cooking!

I have a large pile of bananas turning brown, and even more in my freezer, so I needed something to do with my bananas and ALL I could think about was banana oatmeal pancakes...EXTREME style! (haha okay, just really good!)

Here's what I came up with randomly throwing things into my bowl, and I must say, I was pretty darn pleased! I am not kidding you when I say these are thick, hearty, and sexy! (See my beautiful picture with all the goodness on top!)

So, I will admit, I am a texture person, and so I either have to go chunky, or not eat it! If it has any chunks at all, it's gotta be really chunky for me to be able to gobble it down. So you can make this a little less chunky if you so choose.

Blue Berry, Banana Oatmeal Pancakes:                          Yields: 6-8 medium to large pancakes




1 1/2 c. white wheat flour
1/2 c. oat flour (I ground up oatmeal in my mini seed mill)
1/4 c. old fashion oats
1 c. apple sauce
2 bananas (riper the better!)
1/4 c. blue berries (ours were frozen)
1 egg
3/4 c. milk
1 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
shake or two of salt

Add all the ingredients into a large bowl, use a hand mixer to mix. I left the bananas and blueberries a little chunky (not completely smooth mixture). Cook on a large griddle at 300 degrees for 3-5 minutes each side. *These are THICK so they need time to cook through* These are also not super sweet pancakes, so that is why I added the more sweeter toppings! You may play around as you wish to get the sweetness to your liking!

Top with butter, syrup, chopped up bananas, blueberries, cool whip, nuts, ect. Anything your heart desires! Enjoy!
 

Mother's Day Shelf Display

My husband knows that I enjoy crafting, decorating, and all the things he cannot comprehend why I enjoy them. He usually gets frustrated at all the things I want to buy, or do buy, because he doesn't understand what is so thrilling about decorating! We've come to an agreement that I would have a "seasonal shelf," which is placed in our entry way.

Each month I get excited decorate the shelf in a new way and buy a few things from the dollar store, DI, or my favorite local home decor shops to make it just a tiny bit better than last year (or in reference to ST. Patrick's day last year, it became an actual holiday on the shelf this year). I love it. I love that it gives me my little space, I don't have TOO much to store in seasonal decorations each year, and it makes celebrating all the holidays (even small ones) so much more fun for me!

This year was the first time I ever decorated for Mother's Day, and I have to say, it is probably my most favorite "shelf display" I have done YET! Probably because it is filled with people I love so much! I love the family history, the love, and wonderful women that have been in mine and my husband's life that is displayed in such a small space!

I want to share with you my "Mother's Day Shelf" in hopes that maybe you can find a "shelf" in your home and be as excited as I am each month when a new holiday or season arrives!

Mother's Day Tribute

Today is Mother's Day, and what a great day it has been. I have been blessed with a beautiful little girl, and a husband who loves me so much, a family who does nothing less of helping me to become my best, and friends to help me remember to have some "girl time" along the way.

For MANY years, Mother's Day was probably one of the worst days ever celebrated in my world, because it only reminded me of the relationship I didn't have with my mother, whom I only remember her image through photographs. I have longed and wished for that relationship to grow, and over the years I have learned and had experiences that have helped me realize, she is never far. The flip side of this, has also made me realize that Mother's Day is such a beautiful, and great day to remember those whom we love and have helped us become who we needed to be, and guided us to be the "Moms" we are today.

I have always struggled with Mother's Day talks, and how they almost always choose men to be the speaker, and talk about how "great mothers are" and they always refer to their wives, their mother's, and how grateful they are for them. Don't get me wrong, they ARE amazing, but I also think that a large portion of women are often forgotten on this day.

I wish that for once, someone would get up to the podium and say, "You are all Mother's, every woman in this room. Having a child of your own, is not the only qualifying factor that makes you a mother." SO many women struggle to have children of their own, are not at the point of having children in their lives (whether young or old), or have their own mothers-whom are not a part of their life, and all of those women, I think would agree, that mother's day is a big fat reminder of all of those hopes and dreams you don't have.

My life has been filled with so many beautiful and wonderful women, who have took me under their wings, and guided me through life as IF they were my mother (and many of those are outside of my family). I have truly felt loved by others simply because of their actions, their words, and most importantly their examples of what a righteous woman should be, and how I can someday be, just like them. Mother's are women, who have been given the ability to infinitely love God's children, in ways that no man can ever love. He gave women the ability to nurture, and strengthen themselves, other women, and children whom they come in contact with. He puts people in certain places, like Primary Teachers, Young Women Leaders, or Visiting Teachers, whatever the role may be, so that we may all be Mothers; with infinite love to those we serve. I know that I have been blessed by those women, who have reached out to me, and my family, whom I would call a 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th... the list goes on and on, "Mother" in my life.

The world is blessed to have such beautiful, imperfect, yet loving beyond all measure, women in this world who can make a difference in people's lives by being a "Mother." In my opinion, as a daughter of God, you were meant to be a Mother in all circumstances, whether through your own children, your child's friend, the children you teach or mentor, the women you visit teach, the sisters you serve, the neighbor down the street, or the little girl who lost her mother at age 3. YOU were meant to love in all capabilities possible on this earth, YOU were meant to influence those for good, and YOU were meant to be a "Mother." 

I know that God will make all things work out in the Heavens. I know that we will all have families, whether in this life or the next, and that you will be a beautiful, holy, righteous woman, called by God to do the most important calling in this world and the world hereafter, TO BE A MOTHER.