Nursery Ideas

I know it has been forever since I've written here on the blog, and I'm sorry 'bout that :) I've been a little bit busy over the last few months, but I thought I would stop by and share just a few of the million ideas that are floating around my head. As you all know by now we are expecting a baby boy this October of 2013!! We could not be more thrilled to start this new adventure in our lives, and I am made more and more thankful of who I get to go on this adventure with. My husband has been so sweet and caring since I got pregnant. I'm talking foot rubs, back rubs, bringing me food and water etc. Everyday he talks to my belly, telling him "stay in there until its time to come out, OK?" and "be good to your mommy today." I couldn't ask for more!

 

So now that there is a baby on the way, my brain is in nursery planning overload! I used to think, back before I was pregnant, how fun it would be to plan a nursery. I mean, You get to redecorate a room from scratch, putting in it only what you love not just working with all the junk you've collected around your house. It can be your own personal retreat from the rest of the world, a place for just you and your baby to love. While it is still those things, I never realized until now how overwhelming that all can be. Its not easy for me to create a room from scratch. To go through a store and only buy what I love not just what is cheap :) Especially when it comes to a boy space. I have a tendency to decorate on the feminine side as it is. And in case you haven't noticed, the market on boy things is ridiculously small and mostly outdated. That includes everything from clothes to nursery décor. I guess if your into poorly drawn alligators or Winnie the Pooh your set, but as for the rest of us we just have to figure something else out ;)

 

So I decided to break it down for myself, starting with the things I don't like so I would know not to include those in the space. (that might sound like a pretty obvious thing to others, but what can I say I'm a sucker for anything with a clearance sticker) I knew I didn't want to include anything too babyish, no baby blues or yellows, no jungle animals or reptiles, etc. I also wanted it to be a pretty neutral space because I wanted to keep the guest bed in the room. So with all those things in mind I went to Pinterest. Now comes the fun part with all the cute pictures....

 

Of course there is the crib. I've known for years I wanted this crib whether it was a boy or a girl... 

 As soon as I saw the walls in these pictures, I knew I wanted to do a really light, sunny grey and of course have my usual abundance of white furniture.

 

Source

Source

Since I wanted the nursery to be a space that would grow with our son and be neutral enough that our guests didn't feel like they were sleeping in Baby's R Us, I decided it would be a good idea to add a lot of neutral wood elements like this...

 

As soon as I saw this rustic frame I knew I wanted it to be full of pictures of people that love him. Friends and family that will be a big part in his life.

 

source

 

I also wanted a cute way to store all those random toys that will eventually be scattered around the house. These crates can work not only in the nursery but be dragged out to the living room as well.

source

 

I want to make a wooden growth chart that can be taken with us if we move.

 

source

 

So that's where I'm at right now. I've got a good amount to start with, and of course my usual list of DIY projects. As soon as I finish reupholstering the chair for the nursery (Ill share that project I promise ;)) I can finally get started on that list. Ill try not to be a stranger!!

 

 

 

Valentine Mantle

I thought I would show you all today the simple Valentines mantle I put together. Now usually I am not one to decorate for a small holiday like Valentines day. My husband and I don't even usually celebrate it, or if we do, we celebrate it on a different day that week to avoid all the craziness. So needless to say when I got the hankerin' (yes that's totally a word) to do something crafty I decided to dress up my somewhat sad looking mantle. This was quite the challenge for me seeing as how I don't own any pink or red decor, and nothing with hearts! I was also determined to do this without spending any money. gulp.

 

So my little mind went to work and I started scouring Pinterest for DIY ideas. I knew from the beginning I didn't want to go too Valentiney (I have a tendency to make up my own words) with the all pink and little cupids, especially since I didn't have any red or pink decor to start with. So I started on the heart garland.

 

 

I hand cut all the hearts from some red and pink scrapbook paper as well as some old book pages. The book pages totally gives it a more vintage/neutral look. It was pretty time consuming but ended up being my favorite part of the whole mantle!

 

I had some left over hearts so I used those on my candles for my "height" section of the vignette. I cut out slightly larger hearts from book pages to outline the red hearts and to add a little more of my vintage love. I taped them to each other and then to the candle. Then secure them with a little bit of jute twine.

 

 

Next I started working on the XOXO canvas. I took a blank canvas I had in my stash and started covering it with more book pages. I then used my Cricut to cut out the X's and O's and taped them on. I wrapped some coordinating twine to match the candles.

 

 

A few nights previously my husband went to Michaels to get some craft paint and he spotted some little wooden signs. So he bought me a few of them, one being this little Love sign. If that isn't love I don't know what is!! So I painted it red, and put it front and center. I stacked it on a craft paper covered book and the only little pink book I had that just so happens to be about cupcakes. That's Valentiney right?

 

 

 

I might add a few things here and there as the week goes on. My Camellia bush is just starting to bloom in the front yard so hopefully I can add of few of its white blooms soon. But overall I'm pretty happy with it, especially since I used only what I had around the house. That's the beauty though of being a DIYer at heart, your up for the challenge of making things out of nothing!

 

 

 I added a few more things to the coffee table and brought out my pink pillow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 I fell in love with this pillow from TJ Maxx a while ago and bought it even though it doesn't match anything else I own. he he Maybe it will be useful down the road if we have a little girl in the house, but for now it fits right in with the Valentines Decor. :)

 

 Linked at:
 

Thanksgiving 2012

I know this post comes waaaay late, but I thought it couldn't hurt to share it anyway :) Just to forewarn you this post is going to be pretty picture heavy, because well I'd rather let the pictures do all the talking! I got most of my inspiration from Pinterest (no big surprise there) so if you would like to see some of my inspiration pins, you are welcome to visit my fall board here.

I was so excited to host our very first Thanksgiving at our house this year, and I wanted to keep the decorations very simple and natural. I am not a huge fan of traditional Thanksgiving decor and colors so I put my own spin on it. I went with aqua pumpkins, white plates, tan linens, and natural tree branches for that pop of fall color. Hope you enjoy!

  

 

 

 

 

 

Each person had a cloth napkin, paper napkin, and personalized leaf place holder.

 

 

Mmmmm you cant forget the sweet tea.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Sorry for the crazy eyes, Britna caught me off guard, but yay for homemade Pumpkin Cheesecake!

 

 

Britna did such an amazing job with all the arrangements around the house. She is also responsible for all of these beautiful photos!

 

 

 

 

Evan had the most important job of all, entertaining the little man. But they enjoyed themselves thoroughly on the wooden ramp Evan made that morning.

 

 

Overall I would say it was a very successful first Thanksgiving. Thanks to a wonderful family that helped me out and made it so much fun and memorable.

 

If the host is smiling at the end of the Thanksgiving, you know its been a good day. :)

 

Its Finally Fall

Yes, Fall is here, well not actually here. Its still 101 here, but my calender says its here so out goes the summer decor and in comes the Autumn goodies.  I decided to take a break from working on stuff for the shop and actually make something for myself. Boy am I glad I did! I followed this amazing picture from Pinterest to a blog called Ella Claire, where she gives a full tutorial on how to make this beauty...

 

To see her tutorial go here.

 

So I started following her steps, only I had to tweak them a bit.

 

I measured my mantle and decided how big I wanted my sign to be, since I had to make it from scratch. I decided 24"x30" would look best. So I started digging through our scrap pile and cutting my pieces.

 

 

Then I made up some cream chalk paint and painted on one coat, then some streaks of a minty green, then one more coat of cream. (the last coat didn't make the picture)

 

 

 

Then sanded her down, and started tracing the words. Now this could have been a fairly quick process, but our printer was out of ink, so... I ended up having to trace the letters onto paper by taping them onto my computer screen. This slowed things down quite a bit, but where there is a will there's a way!

 

I didn't get picture of the last steps, but i traced my letters onto the wood, then traced those in paint then filled them in. My camera doesn't really do this project justice. In person you can see a little aqua showing through, and the nice worn antiqued look to it.

 

 

 I added some spray painted candle stick holders, and some pumpkins I got last year from the Target dollar bin, and now I have a cheap, and simple Fall mantle. Now if only it would start cooling down around here so I can start enjoying all my favorite fall foods!

Vintage Cabinet

This little vintage beauty has turned into one of my all time favorite pieces. When my lovely cousin pointed it out to me, I knew I had to have it. It was pretty the way it was, but I just couldn't resist painting it up a bit.

 

 

The tag called it a "Spice Cabinet" but I loved the thought of it being a bathroom cabinet.

 

 

So once I spray painted it Antique White, touched up the metal with some bronze spray paint, and distressed it a little it looked like this....

 

I just love the country feel it has! I wish it had a twin I could keep for myself :)

 

Linked up at: