DIY Nautical Paddle for Boy’s Room

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ByMarci

Hello lovelys!

Today I have an easy DIY project for you that I completed a few weekends ago.

Seeing as though our one and only son is now a toddler and no longer a baby,  I’ve been slowly removing the “baby” decor from his nursery and adding some “big boy” touches here and there.  To see the full tour of his big boy room click here.

When it’s time to move him to a “big boy bed”, I’d like his whole room to have a nautical/outdoors-ish theme.  The crib he is in now converts to a toddler bed so I have to stay in the gray family in terms of colors.  (which I planned on doing anyway)  If you missed a picture of his crib/nursery you can see it by clicking here.

So keeping the gray in mind and wanting to add some nautical elements to his room, I made this paddle to hang on the wall next to some sisal fish, decorative bouies, and a sailboat painting but after playing around with it, I kind of like it here in this little basket vignette…

 

 

basket-Paul Michael
decorative bouies-Patina Interiors Consignment Store (originally Homegoods)
octopus pillow-Target
sisal fish stringer-Kirklands
net-found in our garage (Academy)

 

To complete this project, first I had to find the right paddle.  Academy had several to choose from.  I picked the 3′ wooden paddle for $9.99.  They also sell a 4′ for $12.99, 5′ for $14.99, and an even bigger size (not sure of the length) for $29.99.  They all look like this just different sizes…

So I started by mixing 1 tbsp of Graphite with 1/2 cup of French Linen Chalk Paint (both by Annie Sloan).  I wanted to paddle to be gray, but I wanted it a different gray color than what was already in the nursery.  I painted the entire paddle with 2 coats of this mixture.  Some areas needed touch ups because they weren’t covered all the way by both coats but for the most part 2 coats did the job…

Then I got some Sisal rope to add to the handle.  I decided to go with the 3 ply Sisal instead of twine because I liked the look better.  Sisal is a little bit lighter in color than twine.   I found it at Hobby Lobby for half off of $3.99 and had a TON left over by the time I was done.

 

Before cutting the sisal off of the roll, I first wrapped it tightly around the handle exactly how I wanted it to look.  Then I cut the sisal and attached it to the paddle with hot glue.  sidenote* I only hot glued beginning and end of the sisal because I didn’t want a bunch of sticky strings hanging through the sisal when I was done.  Just a little on the beginning and ending pieces was plenty.  Here’s a close up of the finished handle…

 

 

Then I decided that the paddle would look better if it was wrapped with sisal around the top and bottom.  So I added more sisal to the very bottom of the stick in the same way.  And the finished product looked like this…

After adding the sisal I thought I was finished, but once I started looking at these photos, it sparked another idea in my head.  What if I added a monogram or name to the bottom of the paddle?  I didn’t want to just start stenciling and risk messing it up so I uploaded a closeup to my favorite FREE photo editing website fotor.com and began to play around with different fonts to see what the paddles would look like with added monograms.  I had fun playing around with different designs and colors.
Here are a few of the options I came up with.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think the last 2 are my favorites!?

You can print almost any stencil that you like off of the internet and/or purchase one at Hobby Lobby, Michael’s, or Amazon.com.  There are A LOT of inexpensive options out there!

I love how this paddle turned out and feel that it adds that nautical element I was looking for without being too “baby” or “little kid”.  Also it only cost me $13 because I had left over chalk paint from another project and I now have extra sisal to play around with!

If you make your own paddle similar to this one, send me a picture!  It doesn’t have to be necessarily for a little boy’s room!  It could be for a lake house, camp, or even a little girl’s room!  With all of the different color options out there, your possibilities are endless!

 

Remember, when life hands you lemons, turn them into something lovely!
-Marci