Before and After: Fairytales on the Ceiling

Big doin's in the Mallett house today!  A certain someone is turning SIX on Saturday and months ago I decided what I wanted to be her 'big' present.  Just like every night after storytime, I was lying on the floor staring up at this...

Just a big ole, almond-colored ceiling with a boob light.  Yawn.

Her bed and bedding were so cute, and yet this room was so DRAB.  So un-Molly.  So for her big b-day, I decided to change that. 

Here is the BEFORE. 

"Naperville-Beige" walls and that blasted almond colored trim and ceiling.  Ick.  The first job was to get rid of all that.  And if you know anything about Molly, you know we were going pink!  And not just pink, but PINK!!

I actually paid a color-consultant $100 to help me pick the right colors for the kids rooms to make sure I didn't make a mistake.  I've done that before, but I was always painting things MYSELF with cheap-o Home Depot paint, and could re-paint if necessary (and did just that, many times in fact, as it seems I have a challenge picking colors.)

But this time we were paying professionals to do the job, since the ceiling was so high, and I didn't want to screw it up.  So Kristin the color-consultant came in and spent two hours hemming and hawing over paint chips.  And in the end, I hated the colors she picked.

If only that lesson could have been FREE!  And BEFORE I wasted two hours of my life (and of my sister's vacation here).  But some lessons cost moolah, and at least this one wasn't even more expensive I guess.

After all that, I went with my gut...and three trips to the paint store and three big swatches on the wall.  Here's what we got...

This is the DURING...

What?  I told you it would be PINK.  Not pink...PINK!!

But today was when the real magic happened.  Because I found *the one*.  I have searched for this person my whole life - in fact, I've tried to be this person my whole life, only to fail miserably because it is not my calling.  But now I have found HER.  Her name is Laura Campbell and she is a decorative painter. 

A DECORATIVE PAINTER!!!

She charges by the hour and paints like a speed demon.  And there is nothing in her portfolio that I haven't wanted to kiss I loved it so much!  In fact, when we were on our house hunt last year, I took pictures of a number of houses because, though the house wasn't right for us, the PAINTING was to die for and I wanted to steal the ideas for wherever we did end up.

And then someone gave me Laura's name because I needed my kitchen table painted.  And when she came that first time and showed me her portfolio, I just about CRIED.  Because it was HER!!  Every single one of the houses I had photographed, every ONE, was her work. 

So for the forseeable future, I plan on embezzling grocery funds and siphoning any other money I can scrounge up and paying this decorative-painting-angel to paint anything in my life that isn't nailed down.

But back to Molly's room!  We had to start somewhere, and that night, staring up at The Boob, I knew that was the spot.  So today as I ushered the kids out the door to school, Laura came in with brushes and a ladder.  And before the clock even struck nine, this is what we had going on...

Are you freaking?  Because I was totally FREAKING!!

Oh, but it gets BETTER.

I don't know how she can take the same Delta Ceramcoat that I pick up at Michaels and gunk up all sorts of projects with, and make this magic happen, but I am oh so glad she does!

You know there's a castle, right?

Of COURSE there's a castle!

Wanna see it?

Really?

You sure you can handle it??

Because I totally couldn't!

Are you DYING???

well, geez...I hope it lives up to your expectations now...

Kinda feeling like maybe I built it up too much.

You be the judge...

Oh my HEAD, can you stand it????

Here's a closeup

She painted six adorable butterflies for my soon to be six-year-old.

SIGH.

The purple flowers are a nod to Molly's second-favorite color.

Frankly, I'm exhausted from all the excitement.  The big reveal when Molly got home from school was a little surprising.  She was partly overwhelmed, partly surprised, partly in love, but partly concerned that,

"It might be too babyish"

I gave her a hug and told her it might take a while to grow on her and that was fine.

(even though, let's be honest, my heart was breaking a little.  Sniff!)

What I didn't tell her is

"Heck yeah it's babyish, because you're my BABY!!!  And if you think you're growing up, honey, you've got another think coming.  Because you're going to grow up with me kicking and screaming attatched to your leg holding you down like an anchor in babyland!  So get used to it!"

There are loads of people who are excited to push their kids on to the next step, and there's nothing wrong with that.  They can't wait for their little ones to get from lying to rolling.  From rolling to crawling.  From crawling to walking. From walking to running and soccer and gymnastics and twenty-eleven other activties, and into Justice clothes and then Aeropostale and Abercrombie and cell phones at ten years old and cars for their sweet sixteen and spring breaks for senior year and apartments in college...

I ain't one of them.

 So if you need me, I'll be hanging out in babyland with my castle mural, oohing and aahing over the pudgy little butterflies and imagining which room in the castle is mine.

(it's in the turret with the pink flag in case you were wondering).