Hello lovelys!
Today I have an easy DIY project for you that I completed a few weekends ago.
Seeing as though our one and only son is now a toddler and no longer a baby, I've been slowly removing the "baby" decor from his nursery and adding some "big boy" touches here and there.
When it's time to move him to a "big boy bed", I'd like his whole room to have a nautical/outdoors-ish theme. The crib he is in now converts to a toddler bed so I have to stay in the gray family in terms of colors. (which I planned on doing anyway) If you missed a picture of his crib/nursery you can see it by clicking here.
So keeping the gray in mind and wanting to add some nautical elements to his room, I made this paddle to hang on the wall next to some sisal fish, decorative bouies, and a sailboat painting but after playing around with it, I kind of like it here in this little basket vignette...
To complete this project, first I had to find the right paddle. Academy had several to choose from. I picked the 3' wooden paddle for $9.99. They also sell a 4' for $12.99, 5' for $14.99, and an even bigger size (not sure of the length) for $29.99. They all look like this just different sizes...
So I started by mixing 1 tbsp of Graphite with 1/2 cup of French Linen Chalk Paint (both by Annie Sloan). I wanted to paddle to be gray, but I wanted it a different gray color than what was already in the nursery. I painted the entire paddle with 2 coats of this mixture. Some areas needed touch ups because they weren't covered all the way by both coats but for the most part 2 coats did the job...
Then I got some Sisal rope to add to the handle. I decided to go with the 3 ply Sisal instead of twine because I liked the look better. Sisal is a little bit lighter in color than twine. I found it at Hobby Lobby for half off of $3.99 and had a TON left over by the time I was done.
Before cutting the sisal off of the roll, I first wrapped it tightly around the handle exactly how I wanted it to look. Then I cut the sisal and attached it to the paddle with hot glue. sidenote* I only hot glued beginning and end of the sisal because I didn't want a bunch of sticky strings hanging through the sisal when I was done. Just a little on the beginning and ending pieces was plenty. Here's a close up of the finished handle...
Then I decided that the paddle would look better if it was wrapped with sisal around the top and bottom. So I added more sisal to the very bottom of the stick in the same way. And the finished product looked like this...
After adding the sisal I thought I was finished, but once I started looking at these photos, it sparked another idea in my head. What if I added a monogram or name to the bottom of the paddle? I didn't want to just start stenciling and risk messing it up so I uploaded a closeup to my favorite FREE photo editing website
fotor.com and began to play around with different fonts to see what the paddles would look like with added monograms. I had fun playing around with different designs and colors.
Here are a few of the options I came up with.
I think the last 2 are my favorites!?
You can print almost any stencil that you like off of the internet and/or purchase one at Hobby Lobby, Michael's, or Amazon.com. There are A LOT of inexpensive options out there!
I love how this paddle turned out and feel that it adds that nautical element I was looking for without being too "baby" or "little kid". Also it only cost me $13 because I had left over chalk paint from another project and I now have extra sisal to play around with!
If you make your own paddle similar to this one, send me a picture! It doesn't have to be necessarily for a little boy's room! It could be for a lake house, camp, or even a little girl's room! With all of the different color options out there, your possibilities are endless!
Remember, when life hands you lemons, turn them into something lovely!
-Marci
Labels: annie sloan chalk paint, boys room, chalk paint, french linen, graphite, gray, little boys room, paddle, sisal
