Pinterest project: Herringbone wall art DIY

After completing the Chevron wall, I felt very accomplished.  I wanted to do more.  Searching for ideas and tips from other bloggers, I stumbled upon this artwork from Moonpie Dreams.  I thought, "I can do that."  (Remember I had just done a WHOLE wall)

 

Moonpie Dreams

 As you can see when you click the link, she has done a pretty good job of explaining the process and even has a link to the pattern she used to guide her.  I felt even more confident.
With that confidence I printed up a 40% off coupon for Michael's we headed to the store.   There was an entire wall of Canvases.  I went with the cheapest, because I wanted a big one.  Since I'm not an artist, the different quality of art materials won't be an issue.  The 30x40 was $32.99, perfect with the coupon.  We had some kid paint and some intermediate acrylic paints at home those coupled with the left over wall paints  and I was stocked.
So it begins....
Following the Moonpie Dreams blog again, I start with a zig zag line down the center of the canvas.

(Apologies for not being able to get a better image, it's quite challenging to capture a thin gray line on a white background.)
With a very large ruler or yard stick extend the lines you want to the edge of the canvas.

Then paint away.

There was no rhyme or reason to the colors in my case, but go with what ya feel.  Some of the colors I mixed together to get more variety (I didn't have that much inventory in leftover paint so I had to improvise).

I liked how the inspiration piece had texture in each color.  There was some glaze in my paint stash, so I thought I would brush it on.  My lines weren't perfect and this could be a great solution to hide my blemishes.
 Turns out, the Miller Lite and late hour may have boosted my art ego.  After the paint dried in the morning and the art was on the wall, I didn't like it.  The hubs came home from work and confirmed that the glaze was a bad decision. 

That night and during baby's nap time the next day I reverted back to the original idea.

Ta-Da!

This project was much harder that doing the Chevron wall.  But in the end it adds some nice bright colors to the room, so I'm glad I was up for the challenge.

Ya never know until you try, right?!

Hydrogen Peroxide and Baking Soda to clean kitchen floor tile grout: Holy Cow, Results!!

So, you know how everyone is always pinning those nifty cleaning tips all over the internet?....Vinegar for everything, homemade cleaning products from ingredients under your sink, etc.   Like most, I have been a skeptic.  While a couple things have worked for me, most seem too easy to be true (or at least they are portrayed that way).  Let's admit it, when you pin it your house is somehow "feels" cleaner but, how many people actually attempt all these tips and solutions? 
I decided to put one to the test.
I noticed while I was mopping yesterday that the grout in the kitchen was noticeably darker than the bathrooms.  Since they are all the same, I knew it was in need of a hard core cleaning.  Obviously, the kitchen is a much higher traffic area than the bathrooms and it's in the middle of the house so you have to walk through it to get anywhere.  I mop with a bleach solution because I have a six year old, a toddler, a husband and a dog.  I guess the bleach just wasn't cutting it to remove the grossness that gets trapped in the grout lines.  After reading several blogs and watching some you tube videos, I decided to try the hydrogen peroxide and baking soda.  This decision was mostly based on the fact that I had those two things on hand and I didn't want to burn my lungs out with straight bleach.
First, I poured a little peroxide on the grout.  I used an old toothbrush to spread it down the line.  Next, I sprinkled some baking soda and rubbed it in.  It immediately looked lighter.   I continued to do small sections because the baby was napping and I didn't want to have to hurry and clean a huge mess if he woke up.  Then I ran out of peroxide...
Oh well, the baby was gonna wake up soon, so I  sponged up the left over residue.  For this I just used water and a basic kitchen sponge. Then I put a towel down to quickly dry the extra moisture, because the baby was really awake now.
I was pretty satisfied with the results.  Then the floor dried all the way-----
Un-flipping-believable!
What a huge difference!!

 You can already see the dirty mixture just after a quick scrub... In the picture below the bottom left corner area has been cleaned and wiped.

You can see where I stopped.  The top grout lines in two pictures above is the "before" and the bottom is the "after."   And it didn't take too long.  These are 18x18 inch tiles and I probably did like a ten by five foot area in 45 minutes.
I will be finishing the job tomorrow during nap time when I have more peroxide. 
If any of you find a method that is faster or easier let me know because this floor will definitely not stay like this forever.....

Until then, (if you have the choice) I would advise to pick a grout color that is not too dark and not too light.  This way you will have one less area to detail.