Just a lurker here but i have done big garbage day raids for years tons of old tea pots,buckets all kinds of things. Also last year we did a class project with plastic buckets from a local nursing home.They as well as schools get already made salads in a different size plastic buckets.The diatary department was happy to save me some. We just drilled some holes and then "painted" them with colored sharpie markers.My "paintings" lasted throught the season no problem and will go out this season.We did plaid lines,shapes,verses and poems.One team played tic tac toe in every color, it was so cute. Then we filled with some rocks and a strip of rag to make a bow around the top.They really are nice. Also we got some wood bean creates from wegmans and just put a plastic planter in them with a rag bow in the middle of the create. Hope this helps some.

Is someone handy at your house? I bought a glue gun holder & it is great. The glue if it drips ends up on a 4 in. sq. ceramic tile. it is so handy. I'll try & get pic & ask Kudzu if she will post it. Some lady was selling them several yrs ago, she hand painted design or I think it may have been me. Anyway it makes it look better. Glue gun isn't likely to drop on floor or table & do damage but I always use a 1 ft wide board that is covered with vinyl used in cabinetmaking & in better cabinets. It is white & great for crafts. My piece was supposed to be a shelf, 28 in. long.It just wipes clean & at xmas doubles as extra counter space in kitchen for cookies that need frosting, I open a top drawer & lay it on there with the edge just inside top lip of drawer so it won't fall if I bump it. It wipes clean of paint, glue, etc. Sold at Home Depot I imagine or may have to ask for shelf piece from cabinet shop. You want the shelf as it is vinyl on front & back & front edge of it. I had a large wedding cake board my DH made me & it was stolen by a fancy club even though it had my name on bottom,lady did pay me for it. Anyway great stuff for crafts & cakes!! The glue holder is just 2 pieces of wood 3/4 in. pine base is 11 in. long & 5 in wide. The holder part is 5 in wide & 5 in tall with bottom edge going into base board where it has been cut out 4 in. in from 1 end. You need something that will cut down & remove area 3/4 in wide (holder fits in that slot)& 1/4 in. deep into the board. then go in 1 7/8 in. towards middle on each side & cut out a U that is where the glue gun goes. Glue the holder piece into the base piece, paint any color or stain & varnish. Then paint design on it if you are handy otherwise glue tile on the longer end about 1/2 in out from holder part. That's it!! Pic will really help so I will get going on that!! Jan

thanks everyone! I was happy with how it turned out. i think my kids will enjoy their new room. mtnrdredux, would love to know where you got your pillows. i just found that stripe pic that my toddlers picked out online, so didn't know where it came from. That would be a nice touch to have matching pillows! lyban, sorry, I didn't do the actual painting. we used our GC's paint guy because DH didn't trust me, LOL! it was probably better as that room would never have gotten done so quickly if I had done it!. but i was going to do it following the tips I found on this blog. HTH Here is a link that might be useful: painting stripes tips

Sounds adorable...my opinion, one yellow W on the front, lower right would be cute! As for quilting, the W would show if you outline just one W, and do something different on the rest of the top, a meander perhaps. could you post a pic...might help with inspiration ;-) There are more experienced quilters in the forum who may offer other ideas. Have fun... V.