The Big Reveal!!! (Deployment Projects #22-26)

Wow!  So much to post today!  Today is the big school room reveal, but I have 4 projects to show you before I can show you the finished product!  So lets get started.

I Picked up this great book at an antique store that we stopped at on our last trip to Ohio.  It is titled, "The Complete Compendium of Universal Knowledge" - - containing all you want to know of Language, History, Government, Buisness and Social Forms, and A Thousand and One Other Useful Subjects - -- what a title!!  It is copyrighted in 1895.   It is fantastic!  It has....well, everything you would want to know if you lived in 1895!  I was perusing all the useful information in it when I found the military pay charts.  Of course I had to look up what hubby would be making if we were in the Army in 1895.  Major with 10+ years of service:  he would be making an even $3000.00 / year!  Thank goodness we make more than that now!

I wanted to use some of the pages from this book as artwork on the walls.  I carefully cut the pages out of the book and framed them in a couple of frames I had picked up on clearance a while back.  I framed two different sets of pages:  The Military Pay Chart and The Dictionary of American Nicknames.  I love these frames because you actually "float" your picture between the two pieces of glass.  The best part is that you can take them off the wall, turn them around and still see the other side of the pages.  There is so much interesting stuff in this book, I didn't want to miss out on any of it!!

Next project was to put the alphabet up on the wall.  From day one my kids have had to write in cursive.  When children learn to hold a pencil and start drawing and scribbling, they naturally make curvy lines and circles, they generally do not start by drawing straight stick lines.  So it is just easier for them to be able to form the curvy cursive letters than it is for them to make block letters.  I have found that we have had to do very little penmanship practice and they both write very neatly.  They both do a great job with it, but since this is Charise's first year, she still needs to look up at the alphabet a lot to remember how to form some of the letters, especially the capitals.  I wanted the alphabet to blend with the room, not stick out like a sore thumb, so I ended up making my own.  I cut out a base shape from different black and grey scrapbook papers, then a smaller black shape to fit inside and finished it all by writing the cursive letters with a white pen.  I think it gives it the look of writing on a chalk board.  I hung these above our white board so the kids can reference them quickly and easily.

Project # 24 was to put a picture of the kids up on either side of their desk just to distinguish "their" areas.  When we were in CA, we had the privaledge of my very talented cousin taking some pictures for us.  She took these fantastic pictures of the kids and I thought they were perfect for this project. 

The pictures are printed on a very heavy cardboard - -I'm sure there is a technical name for it, but I have no clue!  They were great on their own, but I wanted to add some dimention, so I took some square pictures that I used to have hanging in my old workroom and simply attached the kids pictures to the front - - the old pictures make a great frame and they look like they were made for each other.  To attach the kids pictures, all I simply did was use the Command Velcro Adhesive strips.  That way, if I want to take the pictures off later, neither the photograph or the original picture will be ruined!

Project #25  was the curtains.  I love these curtains!  The fabric is a vintage looking woven green stripes with a very skinny raspberry stripes and - you will never be able to pick it out in the pictures  but it has an accent of tiny yellow stripes which is where I got the yellow wall paint color from.  I wanted a Roman shade, but not the work of making a roman shade!  I knew that I did not care if it functioned, I just wanted it to look cute, so I made a faux roman shade.  I decided to do two separate shades so that when we move, if our next room has two windows, I can just separate them.  I used vintage white buttons to hold up the folds on the shades and finished it off with a great brown and raspberry tassle trim.  They are subtle, yet very cute!!

Sooooo, now it's time to show the before and afters of the entire room!

Just to pain your eyes again and to make you really appreciate the after...

the before

and

Drum roll please.................................

we have such an inspiring view out our window - - the neighbors siding and window only 3 feet away!!

The afters!

I am really happy with this room.  It is a very subtle, sophisticated, organized, cheerful, gender neutral room with old world charm!  The kids are enjoying it and I honestly have noticed a difference in their focus and work ethic.  I am enjoying having a room to teach in that makes me feel happy and not like I am in school again myself!  This definately isn't "your Momma's schoolroom!"

So, what was your favorite project of the school room re-do?  Leave me a comment and let me know!