Whale, isn't that a cute cookie?

Ahoy there, matey! Have I got a fun, little cookie to share with you today.

These 3-dimensional sugar cookie whales are easier than they look. I just baked a batch of my favorite, Kansas Sugar Cookies, cut them up into various, shaped pieces, and reassembled them into wonderful whales.

My favorite part is the candy melt water spout. Thar she blows!

They'd be a sweet treat at any baby shower or birthday party. For the step-by-step instructions, head over to my handy-dandy tutorial on Handmade Charlotte.

Jane Jenni Wall Decal Artwork

Are you familiar with the brand, Jane Jenni? I just love it. Everything is so bright and happy and fun and simple and COLORFUL. It was a source of inspiration when I worked on the graphic identity for Redbud Pediatrics in 2011, and I even used some of the Jane Jenni items for décor in the clinic. (Like these buttons And these plates.)

Earlier this year, I discovered that Jane Jenni also has line of wall decals. I fell in love all over again. I wanted to use them in my daughter's bedroom, but I didn't just want to stick them all over the wall. I wanted to make them feel more like artwork. Something you'd see in a gallery. So, Eric and I bought a large sheet of plexiglass at Menards, and I applied the wall decals to the front of the glass. Then, we attached the glass to the wall using these inexpensive, aluminum sign standoffs (found here at Amazon.com.) Easy peasy.

I love how it adds a lot of color against the white walls, but still allows the room to feel light and airy. 

A Nifty Little Reading Nook

Bea's bedroom is the smallest room in our house - only 10ft x 10ft. Space and storage have always been an issue. Mostly because kids just have SO MUCH STUFF! And it seems to be 10 times worse with a girl.

So, when we started to redecorate her room this winter, I wanted to make her tiny room feel big and airy. But at the same time, I wanted her to have a fun place to "hang out." She's getting to that age where she likes to be alone occasionally - to read or play on the iPad or listen to music. 

The perfect solution: a nifty little nook. 

Eric built this fun, house-shaped hideout with a few sheets of birch plywood. It matches the platform bed that he built for her almost 6 years ago. There's lots of storage underneath for her growing collections of "stuff." And somehow, I even managed to sew a blue, furry seat cushion. I have just enough knowledge of a needle & thread (plus, I watched every episode of Trading Spaces on HGTV from 2000 - 2008), to attempt sewing one. It turned out amazingly well. Just don't flip it over and look at my crooked seams.

Bea loves her comfy, new bedroom hangout. I especially like the little peek-through hole that Eric made on the right side. It allows me to check in, without disturbing her. 

I thought about hanging a mini chandelier light from the peak inside, but I haven't been able to find one that's corded and can be plugged in to the wall. Let me know if such a think exists.

A Jane Jenni wall decal in Bea's room. She's certainly our little book worm.

We accessorized with her bee pillow, stuffed dear and a sweet little framed sign.

Bea and her friend, Morgan, testing out the reading nook while it was being built.

Hello Beautiful Sign

When you name your daughter Bea, you're allowed to have a little fun with it. For years, we've played around with lots of "bumblebee" themes. (Like this. And this. And this.) But now that she's getting a little older, I've been highlighting the fact that her name is also the start of the word BEAUTIFUL.

We made this corner sign for her bedroom last month and I love how it says both: Hello Bea & Hello Beautiful. 

Eric bought a 4x8-foot sheet of birch plywood and cut it to fit the corner dimensions of her room. Then I painted the words with white acrylic craft paint. To give it a satin finish, Eric sprayed a clear coat of polyurethane over the top.

Now, every morning when I wake her up, I say "Hello Bea... utiful."

Big, Pink, Furry, Heart-shaped Bulletin Board

I've had a few questions about how we made some of the décor in Bea's bedroom, so I thought I'd share the details in individual posts. 

First of all, the whole idea for this giant, furry heart on Bea's wall started because she wanted a bulletin board in her bedroom. I mean, what girl doesn't love to pin and tape stuff all over their room, am I right?

And if you know me at all, you know that I love to cover things in fur. (Like this, and this, and this.... oh, and this.)

So, Eric and I went to Home Depot to search for something lightweight and cheap that we could use to build a gigantic, 3-dimensional heart. We found a sheet of 4ft x 8ft styrofoam insulation board, cut it in half, and glued it together with a can of Great Stuff (insulating foam glue for gaps & cracks). Then I cut out the heart shape with a long, sharp, snap-off knife blade.

I knew the front of the bulletin board would need to be a surface that allows pushpins to stay in it (styrofoam is too chunky), so I glued some pieces of foam board to the front and cut around the heart shape of the styrofoam. The finished piece measures 48"x48". 

I ordered some fuchsia Mongolian fur from fabrics.com, and spray glued it to the foam core on the front of the heart. Then I hot glued the edges/sides onto the back of the heart. WARNING: if your hot glue is too hot, it will melt the styrofoam. You have to set your hot glue gun on cool melt and go slowly. 

To hang it up, Eric cut a "french cleat" using two thin wooden boards. That way, we could mount one to the wall, and one to the back of the bulletin board and just slide them on top of each other. Easy peasy. 

Now Bea's ready to pin up all of her favorite drawings and memorabilia. 

Here are a few photos of the back and some closeups that might help if you're interested in making your own gigantic, furry, heart-shaped bulletin board.

This is the back side, showing where to glue the fur and where to attach the french cleat.

Hot glue the edge of the fur to the back.

Mongolian faux fur is awesome. I use it all the time. 

This board mounts to the wall.

This board mounts to the back of the bulletin board.

Bea's Bright, Bold Bedroom

We've been doing some "freshening up" at the Denneler house this year. It started with scraping our popcorn ceilings in January, and somehow it's snowballed into repainting every single room. Bea's bedroom is pretty much done, so I thought I'd share some photos.

I especially love how light and airy it feels in there now - white walls with fluffy white bedding. Bea says it's like "sleeping in a cloud." And there are bold pops of color and texture everywhere. I know white walls might not be very exciting for some of you, but we haven't had a white wall in our house for 20 years. This is BIG for us! (Here's what Bea's room looked like before.)

Eric and I made most of the items in the room, but I did purchase a few fun accents (Check the bottom of the post for links.)

Here are links to some of the items I purchased for Bea's room:

Colorful, chevron rug

Jane Jenni wall decals

"Birthday" print

White fur bedding

Let it Bee pillow

Round, red storage ottoman