Lego Book

My kids LOVE legos. In fact, we go to the Lego mini-build event every month. All around the house, we have these:

The kids have dozens of sets that they have been lost in the shuffle as they take things apart to create other things using their imagination.

Throughout the years, we have collected a large assortment of instruction manuals that have come with their sets. Until recently, they have been placed in a large ziplock bag.

Cleaning out J.'s room and trying to get him organized gave me an idea of how to store all his Lego manuals.

Thanks to the clearance aisle at Target, I found these clear plastic covers.

I placed each manual inside the plastic cover and then bound them into a 3-ring binder.

The covers had different colors which made it easy to color code all the Lego manuals (Creator sets are red, Harry Potter sets are Yellow, etc.) Yes, I know, it's a little crazy.

We ended up with 2 binders of Lego manuals which the kids had a fabulous time flipping through. They were excited to be building some of their old sets which is exactly what I was aiming to do (that and to be completely organized at the same time). What could be greater than that?

Repurposing a desk

I was unsuccessful in finding a simple desk with straight lines for J.'s new room makeover. When I found the right style, it was made out of particle board and looked really cheap up close. There were a few contenders, but they weren't the right size. In the end, I looked in my own home and found a desk I already had!

It is simple and it has the straight lines that I am looking for. As for storage. I wanted floating shelves. These shelves aren't exactly floating, but the silver hardware is what attracted me to them in the first place. All the frames in J.'s room were silver so it went well. It also makes the room a little more modern. Since the desk was free, I didn't mind spending the $60 for the shelves. I could have made the actual shelves, but that wouldn't have saved me all that much as the hardware is what added to the cost of the shelves.

I'm happy with the way they turned out. They are deep enough for J. to store his favorite art pieces and lego creations.

I also LOVE this orange magnet board. It was the exact color I wanted in the room so it is definitely a must have.

He can hold up his favorite papers with the white magnets and keep his desk clear of pens and pencils with the silver boxes. Magnet board is $7.99, silver boxes are $3.99 and white magnets are $2.99 for the total price of only $15.00. I think it adds functionality as well as decor to the room. I love how his new writing space turned out.

Framing Jerseys

Since J. is really into basketball and his favorite team are the Lakers (thanks to Dad), I decided to frame some Lakers' jerseys for his room. It turned out really nice.

The thick silver frames against the gray wall was perfect. The little jersey was J.'s when he was little so it is over 12 years old. All four boys wore it, but it still looks brand new. I know the idea isn't new, but this is one of my favorite things that I have created for his room. What do you think?

New Headboard for J.

Two weeks ago, I was gung-ho about building the PB inspirational bed I loved. I was going to have the store make all my cuts for me. After talking with the person in the lumber department and making some test cuts for precision checking, I chose my wood and was ready to move forward.

After only one cut, we both discovered the saw was either inaccurate or needed to be calibrated again. I left empty handed as the cut was so bad, getting square corners to make the bed would be impossible.

Funny story would be that I received a call while I was in DC telling me the saw was indeed now calibrated for me. Isn't that dedication for you? I haven't had a chance to go back so in the meanwhile, I made this head board for J. as my temporary solution.

Since getting rid of the sleigh bed and lowering the bed, the room looks so much bigger.

Here's my head board I made for the cost of $0. I had a scrap piece of wood in the garage that I brought to the store to get cut. It didn't matter if the cut was perfect.

I measured and marked my hole spots.

Then I drilled holes so that I could tuft it later.

I layered foam and batting I already had onto the wood.

I flipped it over and stapled the corduroy brown fabric I also already had.

Next , I tufted the head board.

More detailed instructions on how to hang the headboard here.

I thought it was the perfect solution to what I needed. I do want to build the bed, but I don't know if I will have the time in the near future to do so. For now, the head board makes the bed complete.

Not spending anything on the head board, allowed me to splurge on the bedding. Since it was the exact colors we were aiming for, we had to get it. J.'s favorite color is orange and since the wall was a whale gray and and a boulder gray, the comforter set was indeed perfect for the room. The price tag of $102 wasn't perfect, but skimping in some areas let me splurge in others. I will say that although, the price was more than what I was seeking to spend, I did save 75% off the price tag so I did follow my bargain shopping rule of decorating on a budget.