"L" is for Ledges #2

Built: artwork ledges restyled.

Part of a larger project which I can't reveal quite yet, I built these ledges a year ago, which my kids usually use for all their schoolwork and have now been styled more appropriately for a family room setting.

Pictures and pieces that I enjoy, some I made myself.

The framed chalk drawing:

I used ideas from chalk artist Dana Tanamachi, she did the West Elm Holiday 2011 catalog and now is on the cover of Oprah's O magazine Feb 2012 issue, amazing.

Get the paper mache mushrooms full how-to in my post here.

For the chalk drawing I started with a painted red frame and 1/4" plywood painted with black chalkboard paint, sketched out my words on paper first for spacing, then drew with chalk:

The appliqued letter C:

Print out your letter, trace onto back of fusible interfaced fabric with lightbox, cut out, pin into place and sew with buttonhole stitch into place:

The wooden stars:

Paint stars onto wooden blocks:

Drill holes to match size of dowel into bottom edge of star block and bottom center of stand, then glue and hammer dowel into holes.

The hardware cloth memo board:

Here's how I made the memo board:

1. Make a basic frame from flat molding:

2. Cut hardware cloth to fit:

3. Staple gun cloth into place:

4. Then hammer flat, pressing into molding a bit:

5. Add cove molding over hardware cloth to create frame:

6. Then finish edges with thicker flat molding on edge:

7. Stain with Minwax Special Walnut:

This styling project was a bit of a challenge for me because most of my projects are utilitarian and this was simply decorative.

On a normal day the ledges look like this, full of my kids artwork:

But today they were restyled for another project and I promise to share a complete picture and all the details in due time.