Tuesday, April 26, 2011

A Jungle Safari

I've always wanted to paint a jungle scene on the wall...
But we live in a rented home and the owners requested that we keep all our walls the 
same
plain
cream
color
everywhere.


So I've brainstormed a few ways to keep my walls clean,
yet colorful ;)

With help from the kids...

I present our newest mural!


This is an elephant (see his trunk?)

and a turtle,

and a giraffe.

We have some really great 
Wildlife Fact-File Books that helped us get some proportions correct (sort of ;).
{Found those at a garage sale- score!}

Since my husband is away with the military {again}, I took the opportunity to spend a few nights painting after the kids were in bed.

During the day, the kids did a great job painting the grass and flowers.


And I learned a lot about painting murals


like how to pace myself...
{so I didn't get sick of it before it was finished}

Or how to thin the paint for a certain desired effect.
And now I feel more prepared for the day when I can paint on the walls of our own house.

And finally...
Ta-da!
(Can you find my son's elephant or turtle?)





This was all I had left of my brown crayon after finishing all those spots on the giraffe:



Makes for a great reading corner, I think.

Here's my son's baby gorilla.  It's kind of hard to spot since it isn't any larger than my finger:

And here's the beginnings of our jungle-explorer-kits we plan to use for our next adventure ;)

Overall, I am really happy with the mural, but I am sure I'll get sick of it after a couple months and wanna switch it up again ;)
Do YOU guys have any murals or paintings on your walls????
Wanna share?

Happy exploring,
-CK

This post has been linked up!  Check Jenn out!  She hosts a GREAT link-up party!

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15 comments:

Donna Perugini said...

What a great idea, CK! Your jungle mural worked out perfect!

My grandson was into dinosaurs forever (until age 9), so I painted a two wall T-rex. T-rex lasted until the 'dino-love' went to Star Wars Legos. It took me eight hours to paint a 9' by 15' dino in acrylics on the wall. Really hated to see it go :O(

My name is Becka said...

I love that you showed the dead crayon. So funny.

He lived the real dream.

CK said...

Oh my goodness, Donna! That sounds SO awesome! Do you have any pictures of the T-Rex!?!?!??!

Jayna Rae said...

Great improvising!!! I love it. Plus, you save on redecorating when the kidlets tire of it.

What I Did Today said...

What a fun, great, AMAZING idea! Especially for rental walls (bleh). I'd totally start something like this right away if I didn't already know my kids would rip it off the wall as fast as I can put it up. Maybe in a couple of years.... You are so, stinkin' talents CK!! That giraffe is beautiful.

What I Did Today said...

Hahaha! That was supposed to read, "You are so, stinkin' TALENTED." Same diff, I guess. :P

Vicky said...

I'm completely blown away by your artistic talents. Amazing.

I've just put up some vinyl decal in the bump nursery and will hopefully be unveiling that soon... once I tidy up in there. x

Liz said...

I can't decide if the giraffe or monkey is my face. :)

Papgena Made It said...

That is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO cool!
Oh I wish I have your drawing skills! The mural is just amazing!!
I'll sit next to your daughter please!! And bring me some books too!!! ;)

Jean Has Been Shopping said...

Well done! Your mural is inventive, and adds so much color & character to the room.
I do have a mural! We paid a local artist to paint a desert scene in our stairwell.

Unknown said...

That is so incredibly neat! I would have never thought of doing something like that.

CK said...

A desert scene!?!??! Awesome Jean! And Papgena, you can come over any time! ;)

Jocelyn Christensen said...

This is great! When my little brother was born, my mom wallpapered his room with this awesome jungle scene. Believe me when I tell you...IT WAS WILD! :) Your jungle scene is really great!!!

Bri said...

WOW, great job Carrie. Those animals look amazing!

Jenn Erickson said...

What a creative a wonderful solution! I love the way that the different pieces of paper give the mural a pop-art effect, and the fact that you included your son's sweet little turtle and elephant drawings. Your giraffe is phenomenal!! It's always a pleasure to see your projects linked up on "A Little Birdie Told Me..." Tuesday!

Jenn

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