Posted by Leslie MojeikoA few warnings before reading this post: a) I tore apart a book, b) I can't measure, and c) this is DIY artwork that doesn't involve the DIYer making any art. So now you probably don't want to continue reading, but despite all the atrocities I've committed, I think this project came out pretty cute!
Like many of you know, Pete and I are expecting a baby girl in less than seven weeks so we're quickly trying to prepare her nursery.
We've gathered almost all of the essentials, but her walls were still very naked. I'm planning to draw and/or paint something for her soon, but I don't want to litter her walls with too much of my cruddy artwork. That being said, after furnishing her room and realizing all of the other things we'll need to buy for her, we couldn't convince ourselves to spend a lot of money for wall art. *weeps*
But that didn't stop us! We visited our local used bookstore to search for a children's book with nice illustrations. I was hoping to find one that meant a lot to me growing up, but the bookstore didn't seem to have any of those in stock. We did, however, find this adorable book called House for a Mouse that was full of illustrations!
I also went to the local thrift store to find some cheap frames. The pewter frames (above) were a great find, but they only had two. So I told Pete, "leave it to me - I'll find two more that will 'measure up.'" As you can see in the pictures below, the other two I found were just a little too big. But I'm stubborn and we're going to make it work.
To make the frames match as perfectly as possible, we decided to paint them a distressed white with pink underneath. We used the vaseline technique that we used for our beautiful vanity.
We then matted and framed the illustrations we wanted to use from the children's book. I love how they all fit together (despite their size differences)!
In the four illustrations we chose, the little mouse is 1) asking daffodils for help in finding a home, 2) asking a snail for help, 3) changing her outlook, and 4) finding her home.
My favorite illustration is #3 that reads "Little Mouse was afraid there might not be a place for her anywhere. Then, as the road took a turn, she saw a house - a real house." I'm sure Lucy will sometimes feel like she might not fit in, but life is always changing and things will always get better. You might just need to take a different road.
