The creative side of me...: Wall Art Station for my Kaitlyn

So I seen this wall art station on the infarrantly creative blog and thought the ideas was cute, creative and functional. So I had to make one for my daughter. I had a small spot in my kitchen were I could hang this art station and thought it would function well for my daughter. I also had plans to make myself a magnetic calendar for above the art board and to hang a cork board on the cabinet next to the magnetic calendar as a little info center for me. I'll discuss each of the other projects in upcoming blogs.

So back to the wall art station it was easy for me to make because I do have some power tool experience. I did change my art station in the size to work better for my space and used chalkboard paint on the large MDF board to make it usable for chalk as well. This decision has paid of well for me because my daughter loves it. The only draw back is... I do have a lot of chalk dust to sweep up. Small price to pay. It is not only great for keeping her busy but she can work on her art board when I'm cooking or just working in the kitchen. The location is perfect she is out of my way and away from the range when I'm cooking but she can still be with me in the kitchen during meal prep etc. with out being under my feet (in the way) which is a good thing when your a mom. See my daughter is mostly attached to my hip. We joke about the umbilical cord not being cut! HA! HA!

First thing to this project was I like the overall look of the art station and that it was painted black. I love black but not in a dark way! It must go back to my childhood were I wanted to paint my room black but of course my mom said "N0" Sorry mom! Someday I can discuss this w/ my Therapist! LOL!

My kitchen is the last room in the house that needs to be remolded and the most expensive so being on a budget we have to take it one step at a time. We have been working on replace all the appliances this year and then moving forward in the future to a new floor, cabinets and counter tops. It will get completed someday. When we moved in the kitchen cabinets were the ugliest color baby poop brown.... this is what I called them. I painted my kitchen red and paint my cabinets rustic black and went with a apple theme. Well last October the red was looking pretty sad and I was ready for a change. So I picked a new wall color something a little brighter/ warmer and the winner a creamy buttercup yellow (paint color tearose) and did it make a difference. The kitchen no longer looked so dark and closed in and the new color looked great with the black cabinets.

So for the art station the items needed is a shelf (which makes the top part) 1- dowel rod (to hold the paper roll) 1- 1/4 thick 24" x 48" piece of MDF board (makes the back) it will have to be cut to the width of the back of the shelf. 1- 1" x 4" x ? what ever the width of the MDF board ends up being cut to ( This is the shelf that holds art supplies) then 2- 1" x 1/4" x ? what ever the width of the MDF board ends up being cut to (These are the boards that holds the paper down) 2- L brackets ( Which will hold the supply shelf), screws and 4- nuts. The hard part was the top shelf... I liked the one used by infarrantly creative but she found hers in someones trash. Well lucky for me I had the same shelf hanging in my hall and I bought mine at Pat Catan's. Bad news is Pat Catan's no longer sells that same shelf. Looked at several different craft stores with no luck. So I decided to use the shelf from the hall and later I'll do something new in the hall. Except my shelf was smaller width wise then the one used by infarrantly creative but on the plus side my space for the art station was smaller as well. So all around it worked out for me. Like I had mentioned earlier I made changes to length & width and used the chalkboard paint on the large MDF board so it can me used w/ chalk which my daughter loves more then the paper part. I also used a 1/4 thick MDF board then 3/4 originally used. I had to use a different size dowl rod to fit the diameter of the paper I found. So over all the cost: Shelf- free, MDF board $6.00 (Home Depot), Dowl rod $1.00 (Pat Catan's), Cheap flat black spray paint $1.00 (Wal-Mart), Chalkboard spray paint $4.77 (Pat Catan's) 1- 1"x4" x ? used for the bottom shelf free (left over) 2- 1" x 1/4" board to hold the paper $2.00 (Home Depot) Screws- free (left overs), 4- nuts free (left over), 1- Pack L brackets $4.00 (Home Depot) I had to buy them in a pack of 4 but only needed 2. So to build less then $20.00 dollars. Then I found white paper on a roll at Pat Catan's for a $1.00 but it was to long in length by 1 inch but my husband offered his advise... cut it on the miter saw and it work perfect. Chalk 60 pieces $1.00, eraser $1.97 all at Pat Catan's. Then my metal container $1.00 Target. P.S. I love the $1.00 bins at Target. Also keep in mind Pat Catan's does have cheap art supplies for kids in the $1.00 range markers, paint, crayons etc.. which goes a long way when on a budget. So for complete instructions check out infarrantly creative blog: http://www.infarrantlycreative.net/ go to all things I.C. on the right and under kids stuff. I have to thank this blog for hundreds of great ideas it has given me and inspired me!!! Love this site!!! Thanks infarrantly creative !!!!