Mermaid grottos and other rainy day activities

I was asked to take lots of colorful pictures while visiting my friend in Kauai this past week. But alas, it rained practically every day I was there- not the best conditions for glorious shots.

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Never fear, we concocted art projects to keep us busy.  I had schlepped paint and brushes, thinking we would do another mural. But with wood panelled walls through her house, there really wasn't any wall space unless we hung canvas. For those of you who have spent any time on a small island, you'll understand that hunting down such oddities as rolls of primed canvas can be a challenge. So, we opted to work with other materials.

Our challenge was to turn my friend's little girls' room into an underwater mermaid grotto.

 With all that wood, this would be tricky.

 

We started with the windows, which until I arrived, had been covered with baby blankets (tisk, tisk, tisk).

We headed for an amazing batik and quilting fabric store on the island- totally drool worthy. (more pics from flickr) I felt like a contestant in Project Runway, as we only had half an hour to select fabric and notions before we had to pick up kiddos from school. On your mark, get set, shop!

Ah, glorious blues. These photos just don't do the colors justice. I took a few stealth shots, but they didn't come out very well.

Batik fabric, in every color of the rainbow. Lots of Japanese prints, too. Quilters, eat your heart out!
Kaycee had to drag me out, as I was prepared to gobble up everything in sight.

In one morning, we managed to sew five tab top curtain panels, all in shades of blue and turquoise. Then spent the remainder of the day trying to hunt down 5 matching curtain rods. In Kauai: amazing batik fabric- no problem. A decent selection/stock of hardware? Forget it.

We found this fabulous fizzy yarn, used for crocheting and knitting, that we thought looked vaguely seaweed-like. We used the yarn to hang some beaded ocean animals we purchased at a local shop.

Stick a bulb underneath mamma turtle and viola, instant night light!

Some quick fix projects included this Ikea lamp makeover. Warp with fabric, add fizzy yarn, and you have instant sea creature.

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I really wanted to hang some blue icicle lights, but those had to be ordered online.  We did hang some blue rope lights around the turret (yeah, they have turrets!).

Of course, I couldn't leave without painting something. So we gave a chest of drawers and set of bookshelves a new lease on life with a mottled variety of blues and greens.

Here they are, in progress. With the addition of aqua glass knobs on the dresser, the look will be complete.

We ran out of time before we could select fabric for duvet covers and the bench cushions, as well  as pick out some new rugs to complete the space.

So, what would you do to make this room more ocean-like? My friend's girls are 4 and 6, but she wants to make the room something they can grown with, so we didn't want anything too themey or young.

Kaycee, will you send some pics when you finish? We all want to see the transformation!