"The Butcher", aka Cameron, doesn't really live up to his last name. There is no meat cutting or anything that has to do with blood or slaughtering in his life, but we always thought it would be the best ongoing laugh if he ever became a surgeon. "The Baker", aka Ashley (me!), thinks she can bake, but for some unexplainable reason, her cupcake business just didn't quite take-off. We'll blame that on the mass amounts of people following the same dream. Together, Cameron and Ashley have bought their first home. A home of our dreams? Well, it isn't a dump by any means, but it definitely needs some taste. Although, individually, Cameron and Ashley could strip any screw they come in contact with, together, they can actually accomplish big projects with the right direction, some creativity, and a fair share of bickering.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Fullfilling our Boys' Dream of a Spiderman Room

It was a daring move to start having our 2 boys, ages 4 1/2 and 3, share a room.  They had absolutely no objections to gaining a new bedtime buddy and now a year later, they are inseparable.  Since moving into our new home, we wanted to do something fun and different to their new bedroom that they share.  We did a sports theme for a moment in our old rental, but that didn't really excite them.  As they got a little older, Jack and Max really fell in love with Spiderman!!!  Cameron was very excited that Diego and Mickey Mouse were a thing of the past, and geared up to create a Spidey room that we hope they will adore for years to come. 

First, we researched different wall murals and kind of came up with our own, but really just winging it at the beginning.  We decided to purchase 3 paint colors; a white for the clouds, a grayish blue for the sky (also a building color), and another blue for some buildings.

 Cameron can be pretty good at drawing, so I fully trusted that he could free hand these clouds and buildings. I was pleasantly surprised after we got the blue sky and clouds up.  BTW, I realized we didn't need to paint the entire wall the blueish gray because the clouds take up a good portion, but remember, we didn't have a set plan before beginning.

We then purchased a Spiderman decal from Potterybarn Kids (didn't want to attempt to paint this one ourselves!).  It came in 3 different pieces and as you peel it off, ripping can easily occur.  We got it up as best we could and the boys LOVED it!!


Next, we wanted to paint some buildings.  We didn't want to make it realistic looking and decided to do more of a silhouette.  We did use painter's tape so that we had even lines, but realized how not-so-perfect this can come out and I ended up doing lots of retouches after it all was dry and tape was pulled off.  With a little work, it turned out pretty good.



I really enjoy having somewhere to hang the kids artwork and such, so I tried to think of a way to create this using Spiderman.  So, we came up with this... 

Using hook screws (okay, so I don't know the correct terminology for these little guys) and clothesline, we made Spiderman come to life making a web and at the same time, hanging artwork from it.

Started by drilling a small hole on 2 ends of the wall.
Then, screwing those hook screws into the drilled holes.
We took the clothesline, brought it through the hook, and then wrapped it around itself to make it look more realistic.

I then can't explain well what we did next.  We tried to make a web as best we could by placing hook screws at different points on the wall.  We then pulled the line through each hook and knotting and cutting when we needed to.  This is how that all ended up...


And, the finished product...







We got the boys each a Spiderman quilt along with red sheets, which compliments this wall pretty well.  Their new set of bunk beds are up and set up on the wall opposite of Spidey so nothing is blocking our masterpiece except for a low dresser and a toy organizer.  This took some time and patience, but I think Cameron and I are pretty proud of the results!!