Tag: nursery
Birds In Flight Nursery Mobile with Tutorial
At Michael’s and Hobby Lobby I picked out fun scrap book paper with lots of bright colors. I created a bird template that would look good from the bottom and the side. We traced the template onto each sheet of paper. My mom discovered that we could fold each sheet of paper and cut four birds at a time.
Here is the template. Note the accordion fold on the scrap book paper above.
We ended up with lots of birds. In order to make them stiff enough for flight but still flexible enough for great movement, we employed my old stand by, Mod Podge.
We paired up each bird and spread the backs with Mod Podge, using foam brushes. We then stuck the 2 sides together and set them aside to dry.
After they dried we trimmed off any excess paper and poked 1 hole in each wing with an embroidery needle.
We cut varying lengths of fishing line and threaded them through the holes in each wing, creating a loop to hang each bird. I would suggest using a very light line. Ours was thick and it made things challenging.
I found a branch that seemed perfect about a month before and let it dry inside our house. We covered it with polyurethane and trimmed off the unsightly bits. We hung it from the ceiling using ceiling hangers and more fishing line.
We then draped each loop around a branch until the birds hung in a desired formation.
Here is the finished product. I ordered a bright orange changing pad cover from Etsy and it looks even better with the mobile.
Fisher is starting to notice the birds as I gently tap the mobile before diaper changes. It distracts him enough to keep him entertained which helps me to get the job done.
The Nursery Part 4: The End
I created this ribbon mobile to go over the crib to keep the wee one entertained. You can read about the creation of it here. We got the crib on clearance at Target, and the crib sheets, Sleep Sheep, and sweet turtle blanket were shower gifts. The curtains are also from Target, and I got the Boppy (complete with the organic cover) on clearance at Amazon. Don’t worry, it is only staying in there temporarily. The rugs lived in our bedroom for a while, and came from the Second Saturday Sale in Little Rock. I’ve seen them at boutiques here in town for over $200, but I got them for $20 each. The crib skirt is my favorite. It was made by my grandmother for my crib 32 years ago, and is still in great shape. It is too long, but I just folded it up under the mattress to make it work. I should have taken a close up picture so you could see the lovely eyelet lace.
This “bookcase” was a gold plate holder given to me by Michelle, my sister-in-law. I spray painted it yellow to match the room, and am using it to hold some of the books we’ve received as gifts. Below you can see the ring full of family tradition ideas that my Dallas shower guests wrote down for me.
And finally, here is Jed’s favorite part of the nursery, the Twilight Turtle. When you turn it on it projects stars onto the ceiling using real constellations. He likes to show it off when we bring people back to the nursery.
The Nursery Part 3: More Vintage and Hand Painted Touches
Today I’m showing you another little corner of the nursery. You can see part 1 of the nursery reveal here, and part 2 here. I love this little corner. We used a regular dresser that we already owned, and created a diaper station on top of it. The changing pad is waaaay bigger than I though it would be, but I guess it is kind of important. The little canvas basket was a shower gift, and I’m using it to hold diapers, cream, and wipes.
These paintings are my favorite part of the whole nursery. My friend Crystal, who painted the letters and buckets, also did all three of these for me. Bunnies and ducks have been inexplicably irresistible to me throughout the whole pregnancy. These paintings fulfill that craving, but without looking too babyish. I love them so much.
The Nursery Part 1: Bright and Vintage Inspired
I searched high and low and all over the internet for inspiration for Baby Bun’s nursery. I picked out bedding at Babies R Us, then ditched it in favor of a set from Target. Then I remembered my great grandmother’s quilts and decided to go in a completely different direction.
I used the colors in these quilts for inspiration, and decided to go with a brightly colored vintage theme. One quilt hangs over a spare chair that will be replaced when we move the glider from the living room to the nursery. The other covers the full size guest bed that lives in half the room.
The little birdie is a tap nightlight, which will be super handy above the changing table. In another cubby lives Paulo the Piggy Bank that I painted with some of my WyldLife girls, and one of the corsages from my baby shower.
More vintage inspired touches include a trio of mod podged doily paintings that you can read about here, and mason jars filled with brightly colored pinwheels.
Glow in the dark sheep live atop the cubby shelf, while toys and a diaper cake begin to fill the play corner.
Jackson enjoys the fluffy rugs that used to reside in our bedroom. They help to mask the ugly rent house carpet. We can’t cover up the rent house mirror doors, so I’ll use them to give you a preview of the rest of the room. Come back this week to see the rest.
A Ribbon Mobile for Baby’s Nursery
At first I cut the ribbon into strips, but they were way too long. I wanted to make sure the baby couldn’t grab it even when he/she is able to stand in the crib. I cut each piece in half and it was perfect. Check out the massive pile of ribbon.
I glued strips around the inside ring first. I folded each strip over and putt a dot of craft glue on it, then held it in place for a few seconds. This was effective but a bit messy. I think you could double the length and knot it in half for a glueless mobile. After the inside ring, I decided to skip the two middle rings and go straight to the outside ring. I glued the ribbon around that ring, and love the way it looks. Then I measured from the hook (centered above the crib) to see how far I wanted the mobile to hang. I divided that measurement in half and then added 2 inches for a little give and the knots. I tied each of those ribbons to the middle ring with a knot and then hung the mobile from the hook. I love how some of the ribbon is starting to curl.
I think it is simple, yet bright and fun. Below you’ll find a little sneak peek into the nursery. Jackson is mystified by all the goings on back there. As you can see we have rugs in place (that used to be in our bedroom) over the weird rent house carpet. There is only so much you can do in a rent house, but I hope to do all that I can to make it lovely. The fabric hanging over the crib is an eyelet crib skirt made for my bassinet (32 years ago) by my sweet grandmother. She died 6 years ago, so I love that I have a piece that she made in the nursery. Hopefully we will get it in place soon. One step at a time.
My Hometown Baby Shower
Even though I’ve lived far away for the last 6 years, my sweet friends from home threw me a baby shower this past weekend. Jed was on spring break, so we headed to Little Rock on Thursday for a little extra quality time with my family and friends. We stayed with my parents as usual, but this time there were 7 dogs at the house as well as 7 people. It was a bit crowded, to say the least. I’ll post more pics of Dogapalooza ’11 later, but for now you’ll have to be entertained with Julie’s (one of the hostesses) pictures from the shower. Crystal, another hostess, hand painted the letters shown above for the nursery. I am in love with them. I can’t wait to hang them (or more likely make Jed hang them) on the wall above the crib. So cute!
Here I am, with my giant belly. This child is growing like crazy and moving like a fly girl on “In Living Color.” Does anyone remember that show? I wanted to be a fly girl so bad.
Check out that spread, y’all. My friends worked so hard and made lots of delicious food for us. We had an incredible brunch of creme brulee french toast, fresh fruit, 2 different quiches, croissants, and brownies, and 2 different cakes. The cakes were beautifully decorated to match the paintings that Crystal created for the nursery. I’ll have pics of both later. Julie created the diaper cake in the middle, which is now decorating the nursery.
Trisha, my mom’s best friend, and her daughter Sarah have known me since Sarah and I were 4 years old. Now she is the mama of sweet Maya, and I’m pregnant with my first. I love that we are still great friends after 27 years.
Marci, Julie, and Crystal put so much hard work into this shower, and I am so grateful for them. They are dear friends that I’ve known forever. Julie and I met very young playing in my neighborhood, then went to junior high and senior high school together. We’ve been roommates in the past and had a great friendship across the miles for a long time. Marci and I met in junior high youth group and became friends and partners in crime soon after that. Crystal and I met in college and were finishing each other’s sentences after a week. I love these girls and they and their families are some of my favorite people in the world. They are all mamas already, and have given me so much great advice. They really get me and it is so important to have people like that in my life. I miss living near them and hope to again someday.