Did you know I’ve had my little heart set on wainscoting in my living room for like ever ?  Have I mentioned this before ?   Perhaps I have. 

So this past weekend was Mother’s Day.  My husband asked the obligatory question, “Dear, love of my life, mother of my children and wife extraordinaire, what is it that you want for Mother’s Day?”  

It took approximately 1.2 seconds for me to shout “Wainscoting!”  

Wish you could have seen him wince. 

I think he was hoping for “Spa Day” or “Chocolate” instead of “Wainscoting” since he had his heart set on a relaxing weekend watching the San Jose Sharks win the playoffs, woot woot !   No, my idea  of relaxation is a home improvement project – call me crazy. 

I started my Saturday morning with some coffee and research.  I learned the following.

Wainscot (paneling on the lower part of a wall) comes in many different styles. 

You’ve got your tongue and groove beadboard, board and batten, inverted panel, flat panel, and raised panel wainscoting.  Researching the ‘how to’ is enough to make your head spin.   This Old House has a great article describing all the different kinds of wainscoting.

I had my little heart set on picture frames sitting on top of smooth panels with a chair rail above, or really something that looks a whole lot like this photo to the left. 

Plenty of websites want to sell you prefabricated kits.   Some online articles recommend hiring a carpenter.  For what I had in mind, I was pretty sure we could do it ourselves in a weekend with some simple supplies. 

And so we did ! 

Sort of.  We’re not finished, but we made great progress.

Here’s the step by step on our version of this picture frame wainscoting. 

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For all the women who have cared for a child,

nurtured a child,

raised a child, and

loved a child,

today, we celebrate you !

There’s one thing I know for sure. 

No job in the world will ever be as challenging as ‘Mom’,

and no job will ever be as rewarding !!  

“A hundred years from now it will not matter
what my bank account was,
the sort of house I lived in,
or the kind of clothes I wore . . .

. . . but the world may be much different
because I was important in the life of a child.”

Happy Mother’s Day

Greetings all, happy Friday.  I have a fantastic giveaway for you this weekend, brought to you by my fabulous sponsor Color Incorporated, your one stop shop for photography services !   Everything from prints in all sizes to greeting cards to wedding albums – all with an excellent service guarantee.  

They also create photo books – perfect for vacations, family reunions, or childhood memory books. 

I also love these spiral bound photo books !

So why do I love Color Incorporated ?  OK, they sponsor my site, so I love that. 

But why do I really looooove  Color Incorporated?  The big smoochy kind of love ?

Because I uploaded this sweet shot of my boy running on the beach.

And they turned it into this keepsake for him in his room. 

(Oh, who are we kidding, it’s a keepsake for me.)  

A canvas I will treasure forever. 

A moment I will reminisce about when he’s a teen and leaves his sweaty baseball gear all over my house. 

And when he asks me to drop him off at the corner instead of in front. 

And leaves the toilet seat up again.

Yes, it is then that I will remember this sweet smelling handsome little prince who is not too embarrassed to smooch me in public.   

Color Incorporated’s gallery canvases are wrapped by hand around a 1 ½ frame with the finest attention to detail.  Each piece is properly finished with a wire hanger and bumpers.  You can choose to leave the back open or cover it with Tyvek® backing.  In addition, your canvas will be coated with a protective spray which protects your work from harmful UV rays so it will maintain its beauty for years to come ! 

Now I’m sure you have a few photos you’d like to have enlarged and made into your own gallery wrapped canvas, well today is your opportunity !

Color Incorporated is giving away not one but two 12 x 16 gallery wrapped canvases just like mine !   Each one is a $73.00 value.  Choose any photo in your vast collection and they will create your personalized work of art ! 

Two lucky winners, yay !

Eligibility to win one of two 12 x 16 gallery wrapped canvases from Color Incorporated:

1) Hop on over to Color Incorporated and take a peek at all of the products and services they have to offer.   Come on back and tell us what product or service you like, and also what special photograph you’d have turned into a gallery wrapped canvas if you won !

2) For a second chance to win, link to this giveaway on Facebook, and come back and leave your Facebook name/profile in a second comment. 

3) For a third chance to win, tweet this giveaway on Twitter, then come back and say “I tweeted” in an additional comment – leave your Twitter profile too. 

Giveaway ends Monday May 10th at 8 p.m. PST.  Two winners chosen by Random.org. 

If you have pictures you need to print up for an album, friends or family, don’t forget  Color Incorporated will even give you your first 25 4×6 prints for free with the code cen10 !

****************  THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED  ****************

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Hiya friends !  Be sure to check out this online article at Style at Home (thank you Lauren!), featuring ‘7 Stylish DIY bloggers’ including a blushing yours truly. 

I’m honored to be named along with Jen from Made by Girl, Sean and Jennifer at Rambling Renovators, Aubrey + Lindsay, Brooke from All Things Thrifty, Melissa from 320 Sycamore, and Michelle from Three Men and a Lady.  Check them out, they will surely be new favorites of yours too !

Style at Home is one of my go-to sources for design inspiration, you must pay a visit, or two, or three, you’ll be hooked !

As if that wasn’t enough to make my day, guess who promised to help me install some wainscoting for Mother’s Day ?  I’m not sure my hub quite comprehends what he’s gotten himself into . . . maybe I haven’t either.   We shall see, we shall see . . .