ORC week 4: an inexpensive shadow box project

for week 4 of the one room challenge, i thought i would share an inexpensive show box project that i finished this week for grady's room.

i love the look of art groupings. i love the repetition, the spacing, the textures that result when several similar things are placed together on a wall. i was particularly inspired by this image:

for the last several years, grady has been collecting flattened pennies...you know--the ones that emboss a "local" scene onto a penny that you drop into the machine. he has about 20 of them, and i decided that displaying them would be a fun personal touch in his room.

i considered several "looks" for this collection, and ultimately decided that something SUPER simple and dark would showcase the pennies in a very subtle way.

i started with some black frames with black mats. i bought mine at michaels, but here are the same ones at amazon:

i removed the photo insert, and replaced it with black scrapbook paper.

i attached the pennies with glue dots. they hold really well and are great for small three dimensional objects.

then, i simply placed them on the scrapbook paper:

 they are the perfect accent in between the curtains!
textural and subtle and masculine.

other progress---

*the chair from overstock arrived. it was VERY affordable and fits nicely bedside his bed.

*i installed this acrylic shelf from cb2 on the wall next to the chair. a few books and some art will be placed on it. i think i will also hang some art on the wall above the shelf. grady plays the guitar, and this chair will be his spot to practice, so the shelf will also hold his notes and music.

* i also added these fun little wooden knobs to the ikea desk! they are from hobby lobby, and they really add some personality to the all white desk.

* i dropped this yummy ralph lauren plaid fabric (scored on eBay) off to have a custom bolster pillow and smaller square pillow made. its actually a bit of a splurge to have a LONG pillow made with a custom down and feather insert, (for the bolster), but i really think that asking a 12 year old boy to put any more than one or TWO pillows tops is just asking too much! i plan on using the bolster on his bed and the square pillow on the chair.

i only have a few things left to do in his room! i am really excited to see it all come together and can't wait to share the finished pictures.