Cate here. I've been MIA since June because I was on vacation with Caleb, Chelsea & the rest of the fam followed by an epic week of Young Life camp.

Caleb is currently on staff with Capernaum {the Special Needs ministry branch of Young Life} which means I got to spend a whole week bunking, laughing, stretching, and adventuring with as well as delighting in these lovely ladies. Good times were had by ALL! If you've never been to a Young Life camp I highly suggest you find a way to go. It's not at all like the grimy outhouse and rainy campsites of my childhood. Our little group got to go tubing, climb on a ropes course, and eat a giant cookie for dessert. Awesome right? And after such a great couple of weeks, I'm even more pumped to share with you all this week's guest post!

Ok. So. I've been seeing a lot of chatter about engineer prints on pinterest lately. If you haven't heard, engineer prints are made on industrial printers typically associated with architecture and engineering plans. They are printed in black and white on GIANT paper. So what's the big deal right? Well. Rumor has it they are only $7 to have made at your local copy center. BOOM! $7 bucks for a 3ft x 4ft piece of potential wall art. Not bad right? Well I was still skeptical.

Often times I can get pumped about a new, intriguing project only to have the fun sucked out of it by a disappointing outcome when I DI-try it. But I am happy to report this is NOT one of those cases:

To get my trial run started, I needed to find something to have printed. So I made a wish to The Graphics Fairy and she happily granted with a FREE equestrian-themed printable

The thing about engineer prints is they only print in black and white. So I was careful to chose a print that was meant to be that way and went to Staples with the 8.5x11 pdf on a thumbdrive. I was skeptical of the printing quality since I was attempting to blow up the document to such a large size, but as my luck would have it Staples was having a sale - 24" x 36" engineer prints for $3. Figured it was a good enough price to pay for a test run. And let me tell you, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the image.

Now that I had my giant engineer print, I need a way to hang it up. Buying a giant frame to fit it kind of defeated the purpose of such a cheap print. So I consulted pinterest for more ideas and found these gems (pun intended ;)

{Source 1: Apartment Therapy} {Source 2: Curious Prints}

{Source 3&4: Mighty Vintage}

I was going to make my print into a faux pull-down chart!

I swung by the hardware store and found some cheap, simple molding for about $0.79 a foot. I cut it into four pieces 24" in length at the complimentary cutting station in the molding aisle. Don't be intimidated to use a hand saw at one of these stations - molding is soft and cuts easily. But I'm sure you can always ask one of the employees to help if needed. {Side note: after I did this project I even found that some home improvement stores sell craft wood in a nearby aisle that are already cut to 24" or 36" in length. Even better!}

Complete recap of materials needed:
Engineer Print {24" x 36"}
4 pieces of molding cut 24" each
Staple Gun, loaded
Twine

Materials now gathered, it was time to assemble. I lined up the top of the print and stapled it front-side-up along the molding.

Then I sandwiched the print between another cut piece of molding on top and stapled the sides in a cross pattern. I suppose I could have glued it too, but this has been holding fast for a couple weeks now. I did the same to the bottom of the print with the remaining two pieces of 24" molding.

To get it ready to hang, I measured and cut a the length of twine I needed and tied the ends - stapling it onto the back of either end of the top pieces of molding and right above the knot.

Viola! Giant wall art for just under $10 {$3 for the print + $6.32 for the molding}.

I'd say it's a pinterest win instead of a pinterest fail!

Happy Wednesday,

~Cate

This post was published under Chelsea's Garage, now affectionately known as StyleMutt.

Aside from the wet weather we've been getting, I also have a little one with a horrible whooping cough, (heading to the doctor this morning for that, an 18mo check up, and 3 flu shots. Yikes!) Since we've been staying inside the last couple days I've been able to get some little decorative projects done for Shire's room when we switch her and Mason, (we currently have Colin and Shire together, Mason in the room next door).

First thing I'm excited about is I think I finally decided on a headboard! This is the third idea for her headboard that I've played with, and I like it the best of all! This picture is of the 'trial' I did yesterday, laying the different fabrics underneath the panes of glass on this old window.

Each of these fabrics is incorporated elsewhere in her room so I love having a piece that brings them all together! I think I'll finish this today - just need to cut the fabric to size and staple it to the edges of each wooden frame that will border. (I'll be sure to snap pics of the process to show you so you can try it yourself!)

I also had time to work on a project that has been in my head for quite a while. This fun one is not for the faint of heart, as it involved ripping out the pages of a very old and dear classic.

I pulled out most of the pages with pictures, glued them onto colorful scrapbook paper which I had cut to size about one inch all around larger than the book pages.

I'll hang these on her wall as a collective work of art - the pictures are arranged to tell the story without words. She loves her books and I thought the idea of 'throwing a book up on her wall' seemed appropriate. :)

We are mere weeks away from making the Big Switch! It will be so bittersweet for us. Our twins have been together from the beginning. The very beginning. But all signs are pointing to this being the right time to finally give them some time apart. The last few days I have observed Colin tackling and wrestling Shire, (were talking several times an hour here, so imagine over a whole day of play how often this happens), and Shire laying there crying and yelling "Stoooop it!" Mason, on the other hand, gets right in and thinks it's the funniest thing ever when his big brother comes up and tackles him to the ground. Yes, I think it's time to let the boys be boys in one room together. :)

Moving on, I thought I would show you what's coming up for my little business this fall! Here's the schedule, at a glance:

Upcoming projects for Chelsea's Garage:

*October 14-20* I am helping to decorate our home church, Christ Community Church, in Ashburn, Virginia! It is a wonderful space that is currently a big blank slate. We'll be bringing in paint, molding, tables, fabric, the works! And with an extremely tight budget it's giving me the opportunity to think outside the box and get reallllly creative! So grateful for this awesome opportunity to help create a space that is as warm and inviting as the church body that we've come to think of as family.

*November 10* 9am - 4pm Autumn Chelsea's Garage Sale.This date is tentative depending on how much the above project takes out of my family and me, but go ahead and pencil it on your calendars. I have a fantastic stock ready and hope to add a few more fun pieces and decorative items by that Saturday. As always, the event will happen regardless of the weather, (since it's in my garage), and complimentary refreshments will be served.

*December 10* 6:30pm Annual Christmas Auction with the Cornerstone Schools of Washington D.C. Chelsea's Garage is donating a piece for this fantastic Christmas auction which will raise funds for an amazing cause! Funds raised through this auction will be used to provide scholarships for students from low-income families in the greater Washington, D.C. area. How awesome is that?! The event, starting at 6:30pm will be held at The Strathmore Mansion. Come on out to find some beautiful Christmas gifts and help give the gift of education. For more information on this event and cause, please click here.

Whew, so much to look forward to! I will update with fun photos of these projects as I am able, as well as Shire's room when it's finished! If you have any questions about anything on my schedule or would like to get involved in anything you see, please don't hesitate to contact me at chelseasgarage@gmail.com!

Thank you for stopping by!

~Chelsea