Here's a question from Becca:
I'm due to have my 3rd child in two weeks. This baby and my son (14 months) will be sharing a room. We just recently moved into a house and the boys' room is nowhere near being done. Actually it hasn't even been started - talk about procrastinating. The theme for the boys' room is going to be a retro-modern Dick and Jane. I have bedding being custom made. We have super cute cribs (the Hermelin crib - but we're going to paint them) picked out - though IKEA doesn't have them in stock right now. I don't have a clue for giving the room personality. I want the room to be functional for a nursery but also functional as a toddler's room too. I have no ideas for art or decorations. We are on a small - read very small budget. Anything DIY would be cool. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated.
When we think of Dick & Jane and Retro-Modern we think of primary colors especially reds and blues. If these are colors you like, that might be a good place to start.
You mentioned you're having custom bedding made and there are plenty of other ways to incorporate fabric: curtains, a throw pillow on a chair, soft blocks, covered frames, etc.
The fabric panel at the top of the post is inexpensive (24" x 44" for $6.75) and could be framed or hung from a dowel. You could also make a mobile with the individual panels .
Here's a selection from the Katie Jump Rope line by Freespirit and designed by Denyse Schmidt. There are plenty of other patterns and colorways available.
Below is a selection from the Kids Vintage & Retro category at eQuilter which also carries the Dick & Jane fabric line by Michael Miller
The best source to turn to for affordable art prints is Etsy. Seller Lanis Vintage makes art from vintage flash cards ($8 each).
Ric Rac and Buttons makes hanging plaques from pages of vintage Dick & Jane books (which are easily found on Ebay if you want to make your own).
Hit thrift shops and garage sales for vintage toys to display on shelves. If you can't find anything locally, Ebay and Etsy Vintage are also good bets.
For example, we found this vintage metal firetruck for $15 on Etsy.
We hope these ideas will give you some food for thought. Readers, what ideas do you have for DIY projects or sources for vintagey-retro-ish products for Becca?
I don't have any suggestions but I thought I would mention that we had a similiar plan to paint the Gulliver crib from Ikea. I had seen a post about painting a Gulliver crib here. My husband worked for WEEKS on sanding/stripping/painting and it was a complete nightmare. Whatever kind of paint they use was an absolute nightmare to strip, cribs have a million curves/annoyances, and the paint that was left repelled the new paint we used. He is fairly experienced too. Unless you are planning on having the crib professionally stripped I would strongly recommend another choice.
We ended up having to throw away the crib and buy another one. Seriously -- cut yourself some slack. We just used a lot of color around the white crib which we are quite happy with BTW.
view JudiAU's profile
There has been a Dick and Jane calendar the past few years, which is a good way to get a dozen big prints for framing or decoupage. There will be one for 2009 in stores soon.
Other good vintage flea market/garage sale finds are wooden puzzles (glue the pieces in place, slap a hanger on the back, and it's art!), children's record album sleeves (so cheap!) and children's printed or embroidered handkerchiefs or pillowcases to frame or make into pillows.
Can't wait for a follow-up on this one! I'm sure it will be brilliant.
view LaughingSara's profile
Great theme!
I did a couple DIY projects for my son's big boy room on a major budget: http://mamaknj.blogspot.com/2008/07/operation-big-boy-room-handmade.html
I think the easiest thing to do would be to get your hands on a Dick and Jane book and frame the pages you like for wall art.
I would be a little wary of painted vintage toys as lead in paint was commonplace years ago. Even if the kids are playing with it, it's still possible for some flaking to occur. You could always get a lead test kit if you wanted to check.
view mama k's profile
I am really impressed that your kids even know who Dick and Jane are.
view vjm's profile
framing the dick and jane pages would be a great idea, as would perhaps decoupage: use the pages to decorate bins for toy storage, wooden blocks for decor & play, mix in some coordinating dots, stripes, or plaids. kelly mccaleb's etsy shop sells darling bunting banners, custom made to suit your decor. Adding one above a window would be darling.
view sassypiggy's profile
What fun. I love all the suggestions.
If you're a regular Ohdeedoher, you've seen this from me before, but just in case ...
We hung vintage phonetics cards on the wall. I found them for $3 at a big antique/craft sale we have where I live. You can see pictures here:
http://pennycarnival.typepad.com/penny_carnival/2008/06/one-of-my-farm.html
view pennycarnival's profile
My nursery was Dick and Jane inspired. Here is my DIY project: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bohlin/1961259857/in/set-72157603075583978/ I love the idea of doing vintage modern. Very cool!
view AKB2003's profile
I agree - the Michael Miller fabric is fantastic - This page gave me so many ideas:
http://www.michaelmillerfabrics.com/MMF/Swatch.cfm?PageNum_query=2&&Kwds=dick%20and%20jane
Why not buy canvas frames and stretch some yardage over them for instant art (or use the fabric as mats for your own pictures, or for the background of a memo board where you can put pictures up? Here's a tutorial with great pictures: http://www.craftygal.com/archives/SU-2002/tableSU-2002.htm
Or, take ideas from the fabrics, like using the letters from swatch FD3153 and spelling out your children's names in a similar way using small individual pre-stretched and treated canvas squares from the art store? Or, bring items from DJ3532 to life - for example, a dark green pouf, or a radio flyer wagon for holding toys and things (or make a cushion for it and use it as a seat) (Radio Flyer also makes a mini-wagon that was selling for $5 at Walgreen's last Christmas - they might carry them again); or mini vintage toy-pedal cars...
Or, from this swatch: LD3151
How about finding some vinyl wall letters that will let you spell out the words on a wall? "Come and play" in textbook lettering, 5" in height runs about $24 here: http://www.vinylattraction.com/ and that's just the first place i Googled. Or, this place seems even more reasonably priced: http://wordsanywhere.com/index.html, and you can order per letter, I'd suggest that Georgia is the closest font and to go really large for greater impact.
If you don't want risk vintage toys, there are great repros out there. My daughter likes a lot of the stuff from Schylling, and this truck looks like it's right out of Dick and Jane: http://www.usillygoose.com/smdiecapiup.html
And while she doesn't have any American Girl stuff, the items from Molly's furniture line might just lure me into that world: http://store.americangirl.com/agshop/html/MultiProductPage.jsf/itemId/83/itemType/DISPLAYGROUP/webTemplateId/4/uniqueId/244/saleGroupId/231
whether or not we ever end up with a doll, because they'd be fine for teddy bears (the one on the Michael Miller fabric could be "brought to life" in the room, and have a tea-party at this table) (note to self: start scouring Craigslist and ebay) and while they'd be a splurge, I'd...I mean maybe she'd...love them always.
Wow...thank you for letting me spend twenty minutes mentally decorating a Dick and Jane themed room! It was fun!
view Marla Good's profile
One idea that came to mind for art work is to get a canvas or canvas paper and let your 14 month old & you get creative! Use paint colors from your palette & when done frame them. I think it's a nice way to get the big brother/sister involved in welcoming their new sibling- plus they are proud to see their art on the wall, and it's really inexpensive. I love the ribba frames from Ikea because they come with a matte, but seriously you could go to any goodwill store & buy frames & paint those too!
Have fun & get some rest while you can :)
view j_wild's profile
Finally! A Dick & Jane nursery topic! I looked everywhere on the internet to decorate my daughter's room and couldn't find anything so I've been piecing things together. I've found it's even harder with a girl's room because so many primary color rooms are heavy on the boy blue color. I love the ideas posted here.
Now...if you all could help me find the perfect rug for this bright & cheery room.
I received name letters that were very pink and frilly and just didn't go with my new theme. I had an Etsy seller re-do them with Dick & Jane fabric and I think they turned out wonderful! The best part of her doing them is the edge is nice and neat and professional with the ribbon and I'm afraid mine might have been messy. Here's a pic:
http://www.etsy.com/get_convo_image.php?convo_id=7216291&image_id=5420404&image_type=full
(hopefully the link will work)
I also bought red and yellow frames at Ikea and framed 4 notecards from Graphique de France. I found a lot of stuff on ebay that you can use too (print wise).
For toy/book storage, I bought the bright strapping baskets from Land of Nod. I thought they were reasonably priced and had great reviews of durability. I'm also in NYC so hard to carry stuff home and these were shipped right to my door.
Let us know how your room comes along.
view ilovemylucy's profile