Modern DIY Granny

2009-03-01T17:05:00.000-08:00

Decorating a toddler room for my grandbaby James is my latest project, and my most exciting. I plan to work on it over a period of six months, mostly on weeknights after I get home from work. James is not quite toddling around yet, so it’s good to get started early, and use my free time wisely.

I’m starting with a blank canvas – a freshly painted, sunny, white room, approximately 8 x 10, with cream colored carpeting. First, I’d like to add an area rug so James has a place to play with his toy cars. I found the most fitting rug at Just Kids Rugs. It's called the Fun Time Silly City Map Rug. It’s bright and colorful with cute art work. James will not only enjoy playing on it, but it gives me the opportunity to touch on other aspects of the rug, for learning experiences. We’ll talk about urban living, with its tall buildings and busy streets. And we’ll discuss the artwork on the rug – we can draw doodles of silly, little people, kids and pets in a variety of colors, just like on the rug.

The rug will be great for pretend play too. What if the rug turns into a magic carpet that takes James away to far off places? Where will it take him, and what’s it like there? A great mind stimulator don’t you think? This rug has everything I need to get started with my toddler room project.

Next on my list is the purchase of large wooden wall letters to spell out James’ name. I found just the letters at Craft Cuts. They’re 9" tall and about ¼” thick and are made of Baltic birch plywood. I will be hand painting each letter and embellishing them with wood cutouts of objects and characters. I found some nifty cutouts at Michael's. They’re called painted layered simple shapes and they’re made by Provo Craft. They are pre-painted. I considered buying plain wood cut outs and decorating them myself but these ones are so adorable, I just couldn’t resist. What a great way to have James recognize the letters in his name, plus add personalization and beauty to the toddler décor theme.

Oh, I’m having so much fun being a granny and a do it yourselfer at 52 at that!

Until next time,
Modern Granny!

Thanks to Just Kids Rugs and Provo Craft for the pictures.