"The Most Memorable Days End Usually End Up With the Dirtiest Clothes"-Laundry room re-do

Our laundry room is right off of my kitchen (the center of every home) and the place where we keep the trash can (thanks to our very hungry dog, Sammy). It's also part pantry. Our laundry room is a room where everyone is always in and out!  This room was in desperate need of attention.  The builder's grade paint wasn't holding up to the splatters of trash on the wall (house full of boys).  I painted it a bright yellowish-orange color, the perfect color of cheddar cheese!   It's a very happy color!  Just a little surprise when someone opens the door to throw away some trash!  I used highly washable paint and added some red tubs to help keep it organized.

But the final touch that really makes me happy was to paint some words and add some pictures of my kids when they were little.  It helps to keep me with the right perspective.  Laundry can be exhausting, mundane, frustrating!  But looking back, this is true:

The most memorable days usuallly end with the dirtiest clothes!

Baseball games, fishing trips, days at the park, or even time together cleaning the garage.  I'm glad I didn't worry about getting dirty!  As I send my youngest son away to college this year, I'm glad for the time I had to spend in the laundry room.  It meant we were getting dirty! Making memories, and growing up together!  

To create this I started by cutting out the letters on  my Cricut machine, using 2 different fonts.  The letters are 3-1/3 inches tall and cut using the BOLD feature. I used card stock to make a sturdy stencil.

Next I determined the center of the space where I was going to paint the words.  Using a level and tape, I mapped out where the letters were going to go.  I didn't use a chalk line because I was worried about it coming off clean when I was finished.  Probably not a real concern, but also I was working by myself and didn't want to wait for someone to help me (I can be impatient when creativity strikes!).

Then, using the stencil I created I penciled in the lettering.  I used a fine point paint pen to outline over the pencil marks and to color in the skinny parts.  I used a medium point pen to color in the thicker parts.  I chose to use the paint pens over stenciling or using an actual paint brush because I'm a chicken when it comes to paint brushes and I don't think my paper-stencils would have held up to stenciling.  This process went very quickly and I think easier than cutting out vinyl letters and adhering them.  I'm not sure what the vinyl would do in a laundry room due to the heat and humidity from the dryer.

To complete the design I added some flourishes from a different cartridge to the top and bottom, being carful to keep it centered.

Some things to consider when completing this project:

-Use the stencils one letter at a time.  My cricut didn't cut them out with the right spacing to use the words as a unit. 

-Be aware of where dangling letters such as "g" and tall letters such as "h" will be placed.  You don't want the letters to overlap with the upper and lower letters.

-Start in the center and work out.  This way you can make minor adjustments as you go. Be sure to double check your spelling, especially when writing the words backwards.

-Use a "Magic Eraser" to erase any stray lines.  Wait plenty of time to make sure your work is dry.

As a final touch I added some pictures of each son at 1, covered in food! Making memories and getting dirty! They are 18 and 20 now, so this is especially sweet to me.

Here's the final product!

                                       

I bough some very inexpensive red tubs and used them to organize the cleaning products.  I wrote the labels with a permanent marker.  This would be a cute place to put some special labels, but at this point my creativity had run out for the day and function won!  This organization has proven to be very helpful and time saving when I'm cleaning since I can easily find what I'm looking for!

Supplies for this project:

Cricut to create stencils (you can buy stencils in all different lettering styles and sizes if you don't have access to a Cricut)

sharp pencil 

fine and medium point paint pens

ladder

level

painter's tape

canvas prints 

tubs

permanent marker

Now, every time I step into the laundry room I am greeted with a happy reminder of what really matters!  

~Stacey