This is my first collaborative post with IKEA where I get to make small improvements around the house using IKEA products. Sounds like a dream, right? Well, the very first task made me break out in cold sweat.

We are free to do whatever we want – all ideas and creativity are our own, but we do have to work around a theme given to us for each post. And for this month, the thoughtful people at IKEA suggested CRAFT ATTACK. You know, something to do with the kids since it’s the school holiday.

Except, I can’t do crafts! I’m not a crafty mum. Having me writing and teaching you how to craft with your child is pretty much equivalent to a tone-deaf person teaching singing class because an expert I am not. No amount of Pinterest inspiration is going to help me.

But! I’ve always wanted to do something about this wall in the girl’s room.

Bare and bare. It is screaming for some love. I guess enlisting the kids’ help in decorating the wall counts as ‘craft’? Right? Humour me, please.

My Crafty (Budget Friendly) Gallery Wall

Ta-dah!

Not too shabby, eh?

While I’m usually a wing-it kind of person, I, ahem, did have a set of rules to create this wall:

1. Nick specifically told me that whatever I hang on the wall has to be light because our child sleeps right underneath it. These FISKBO frames are light and inexpensive. The big A3 sized one (30x40cm) is $4.90 and the small ones (13x18cm) are just $1.90 each! I quite possibly heard some singing, and impulsively grabbed 8. I’m SURE I’ll find a use for them all, eventually.

2. A gallery wall doesn’t have to be a wall full of photo frames. Since Lauren (and soon Georgia) is always bringing home arts and crafts from school, I want the wall to display multiple things and can easily be changed. I can easily clip important reminder and/or any colouring pages on to this clipping board I got from Daiso for, you guessed it – $2.

3. Texture! Again, it has to be able to change easily, so I use these ‘pinning boards’ made out of HEAT Pot stands from IKEA, 3 for $3.90. It makes pinning light and pretty things (like this tulip flower Lauren made for Mother’s Day) practical and fun – so says Pinterest.

I made these tissue flowers from err… tissues and if you’re game, let me know in the comments and I’ll write a tutorial post on how to make it!

4. It is a good idea to lay out everything in position on the floor or in my case – the bed, to see how it looks together. I enlisted Lauren and Georgia to help me. I’m surprised that they have pretty strong opinions on where things go.

6. Get the kids to make the ‘art’.

Crafters and artists need their tools and I’m happy to find them under the same roof at IKEA. These MALA series of paper, watercolour and fluorescent paints provide hours of fun for the little ones.

Finger painting is an art activity I don’t mind doing with the kids because it’s truly very easy and you really can’t stuff it up. My standard is pretty low, so I’m very pleased with how Lauren’s tree looks! For this, we use the MALA watercolour box that comes with 14 colour tablets, two water cups and a couple of brushes.

I also got these MALA fluorescent/glitter paints and we use it straight from the bottles. As in squeeze and trace as if using a pen. But you could also dilute it for a lighter effect and paint with brushes.

7. Frame anything you want!

You can frame anything from brightly coloured wrapping paper, dried flowers to Instagram print-outs and kids’ artwork. My friend, Dawn does very pretty customised hand-lettered pieces but I’m sure you have friends that sell their art or photos or prints on Etsy (or their own sites – you know what I mean). It’s always more meaningful to support friends than buying from the shops!