another craft project for nursery/kid's room

I'm trying to wind down from a hellacious day. Off to blog-land I go.... with a little Cougar Town in the background. I'm pretending the wine their drinking is in my water cup, bedside. :)

Anyway, after doing the crayon project today, I'm keen on project ideas that revolve around letters... monograms... etc. Here's another from :

American Crafts Studio

It would be a cute idea and probably a littttttttle bit easier. Love the way they framed it too.  With a white frame and a gallery white matte, it let's the letter speak for itself.

Presh!!

Crayon Art at 30.

I did it!

I attempted this project during naptime. Ahh... naptime. How I'll miss it.  Got this idea from here: http://pinterest.com/pin/27043362/ via a blog follow called: Chic & Cheap Nursery.

I've decided to put his full name beneath it with ink pen, but Nash woke up.  I'll post again once it's framed, after his bed goes up. For now, here's my almost finished product:

Super easy. More to come...

My Big Boy's Room... canNOT believe I'm changing up his room!!

Now that Knox's nursery is 99.9% done, I need to focus on some small adjustments to Nash's room as I transition him from his crib (a.k.a. nursery) to his big boy room.  I'm hoping the bed is ready tomorrow or Saturday and I'll be able to move him out of the crib. Let me also mention that, that poor crib has seen it's last day. Goodness! It is almost 11 years old!

Here's my latest rendition of where I'm headed... excuse the raw drawing. I was waiting for a load of laundry to finish.

I returned the PBKids bedding (quilt and sham) I'd bought as it was a little too "matchy-matchy" for me. I kept the chambray bed-skirt as a possibility... The thought of it is on the fence still. We'll see...

So, stopping at Target with TWO kids today (out of practice on this one bc Witt has been in school; ahhh... summer), I walked up-and-down the aisles wanting so badly to find a twin sheet set and white, cotton blanket to make his bedding work -- for now. Ultimately, a great fun accent blanket to go at the foot of his bed is where I'm headed. I haven't found the one yet.

I decided to go with these sheets that have a navy stripe and hope they'll compliment the color of the bed:

Did you notice my new little find there in the background? 

He has one now, from Wal-Mart, I think. It's old and cheap and has fallen off his bookshelf a dozen times.  Encouraged by my determination to make a successful scenario out of a tough day, I dragged the kids to TJMaxx HomeGoods hoping to score. Cha-ching!!

Sooooo cute!!!!

I just love how the letters reveal themselves after you take a second look at it. I'm not in love with the shade; too much white. I haven't figured out what to do about it.  The shade on his old lamp has great texture, but it too, is also white. I'm thinking of either covering it with some cute fabric, or trying to dye it in a colored bath of the same blue as the walls.  We'll see once I get it in the room. Either way, it would be very inexpensive to change up the shade without buying a new one.

Art is an important factor for Nash because what's above his bed are 3, black and white canvases of his baby bits I took during his 2 weeks session. They'll stay in his room but be removed from the focus. 

I just love all the options at Etsy and how inexpensive it can be if you use your creativity and channel what YOU LOVE or what reflects your children.

These letters screamed to me last night and so buying that lamp was a no-brainer:

click on the image to take you to the seller's Etsy page:

These are decal letters and I love how low they've placed them on the wall. LIGHT BULB MOMENT!

I decided to purchase those same letters, in white. Like the image above, my plan is to place them right above and to the right of his bed. Go scroll back up to the drawing. That's my plan... at least for now.

Lastly, this morning I got an update from this cute blog I follow called Chic & Cheap Nursery. It's for a DIY art project that they ran across from another blog and I just love the 3-D texture of it and the flow of the colors.

courtesy

I'd been searching for a large vintage letter to put above Nash's bed. Well, this is a great combo of art and the letter. A good nap project that I can sit to do!

I'm pumped.  Small, inexpensive changes to update Nash's room and help him transition into a big boy room. More pics to come as I can scratch each task off my list. :)

Knox's Finished Nursery

So, as of Saturday afternoon after Nash's nap, I finished Knox's nursery. I breathe a little easier now. If he comes early... no worries. I'm thankful. It's come a long way from the start.

Saturday, the USPS dropped off another pouf. This is one I found online that is richer... leather... wider... taller. Well, all-around, more what I wanted. I'd tried to save money by ordering the fabric one and ended up spending more by having to buy another. I'm unable to return the first because it was a custom make through ETSY. Bummer.

Having saved money by cutting some corners, I was able to swallow some of these purchase errors. At least that's how I sleep at night... or don't these days thanks to Knox, himself. :)

My boys share a Jack-n-Jill bath and therefore have sink nooks. I'm working on a few finishing touches in there, but am not too worried about the details. It is, after all, a sink area.

Anyway... for the big reveal...........

Nursing Space (love that comfy little area). 

A little touch of love. That's my Mama with me and our cat way back when. 

Knox's sleepy space and that adored mirror and "Mommy" artwork.

Some vintage planes Nana found in the attic, hung with fishing line.

Crowing jewel... the dresser/changing table, lit by an IKEA light
("Jerry" rigged by Papa) and a little sentimental shelf
loaded with baby pics of Ty and I, Knox's letters,
and my baby shoes from Spain.

Dresser knob details. I <3 them so much! My little

Anthropologie splurge. ;)

Etsy children's art with spray painted frames from Aaron Bros.

My rookie re-upholstery job, "Tia Sissy's" childhood lion 

and Big Brother's sock monkey.

The.... pouf.  It needs one more bag of shredded foam to smooth the sides. 

(a project for another rainy day)

The sink "nook". See the small frame? There will be

another one beneath that and a small piece of 

artwork to the left of the black frame. Soon... soon...

Books for bedtime! I'm waiting on my mother-in-law

to bring some old baby clothes of Ty's to incorporate on the 

elephant hooks. Another onesie perhaps? 

Hoping for a little tranquility in his nursery.  

My last nursery design :( 

Now I hope that my next post in regards to Knox, will be of him instead of his nursery! 8 weeks......

....and counting.

To avoid injury -- read -- watch first.

Gretchen, I hate you.


She injured me yesterday during Nash's nap. I bleed for her:

*that's a pretty good iphone pic. ha!

I'm working with metal tack strip to install the backing on the chair... ultimately the last large step for her reveal. I'm having to nail in the tack strip because my fancy new battery powered staple gun won't penetrate the metal holes to connect it to the chair. Figures. The metal strip slid from my hand and sliced back the side of my finger. I quit after that. 

So, I decided to sit down and re-evaluate my method -- do some research -- regroup. That's when I stumbled upon this You Tube channel about reupholstery. GREATNESS. Check it out:

Painting 4-1-1 for the DIY'er

Over my morning coffee, scouring my facebook blog posts and checking in on my daily run of decorator/shopper/mommy bloggers, I ran across a tutorial to help with painting furniture. I read through it, and I admit, it's pretty great.

Having been working on Nash's bed for weeks and realizing the task in reality was far more difficult and painstaking than what I'd imagined, I felt it might be good to share this link.

Courtesy of Censational Girl...

http://www.centsationalgirl.com/2011/04/how-to-paint-furniture/

I hope this link helps put some of my tips into context. Don't be afraid to take on the painting project and don't let my frustration with my project fizzle you.  Part of my issue is tooooooo many helpers and often after finishing a coat the bed pieces would be moved too early, dinged, smudged or scratched and I'd have to take 2 steps back before moving forward. 

Update on bed: As it stands, it's pouring in Coppell and the bed has been relocated to my Dad's shop in Roanoke (across town). He's better set up for large painting projects as there's no risk in too much overspray as there'd be in my garage or driveway.   They leave to go out-of-town for a week and upon their return, I'll revisit the bed to see where I can go from here.  More to come!

Dirty Boy Stuff

Something unrelated to my DIY projects....

MY BELOVED BOY! Here's a few shots of him today running around at Papa's shop.  For those of you who wonder what "Papa" does for a living, he overhauls/sells/builds WWII airplane engines. That basically translates to oil - grease - dirt - heaven if you are a boy and under the age of 10.

exploring in Papa's warehouse:

in "final" sportin' a dirty face:

"B"... a.k.a. Piper the shop cat hiding under a cylinder rack:

off for a little walk with Nana:

"Bog!" (bug!)

Bound and Determined

I'm determined to finish this Gretchen by the end of next week. That's my goal. It's possible, unless I completely run into a road block. I'm using pieces of upholstery that I haven't before... like this:

tack strip

I've salvaged the strips that I removed from the chair when I stripped it and my Mom (who's used these before) swears I can use these. And now I pray.....

While taking Nash to visit Nana and Papa's house today I snuck back in, while he was hunting bugs, to cut the new fabric pieces.  Easy peasy... I just used the old pieces (I was careful about leaving them in tact) as patterns and gave a little extra allowance when I cut them just to be sure I wouldn't be short in size anywhere. 

When I bought the fabric I mis-calculated how much yardage I needed and purchased WAY too much. I'll be throwing some pillows together for the dining table... maybe a runner? Something to utilize the some-odd 2.5+ yards of home decor fabric I have left. Sheesh!

Here's what unfolded today:

Nash and I will likely be tackling this tomorrow. I'm beat from the day and during nap I'll get to try my new fancy shmancy staple gun I got for Mother's Day! :)

Oh Gretchen

So, I'm sure you've thought I've given up on Gretchen.  I'd never toss aside a loved one for being a thorn-in-my-side.  I might just ignore them for a few weeks in an attempt at recuperation.

And that's just what I did.

After weeks (seriously) of sitting in my foyer (half stripped) while I took a break from working on her, she makes a reappearance.  See... she'd been, literally, causing me blisters on my hands from prying every SINGLE staple out of her. I must've taken out hundreds of evil staples out every inch of the seams and then some. So, this morning (with coffee and distracting cartoons for Nash) I revisited Gretchen.

As I type this, I'm happy to say, she sits naked awaiting what comes before her. I can now proud-fully scream from the rooftops that: SHE IS READY TO REUPHOLSTER!!!!!!

*note my little helper. safety first: wear a hard-hat around Mommy 

when she attempts projects of this magnitude.

Today, we have plans to hang at Nana and Papa's for some fresh air. After a long weekend of go-go-go, my 2.5 year old needs some playtime outdoors that'll entail all things boy: bugs, dirt, water, dogs, mud, etc.  I'm hoping while there, to cut out my fabric using the pieces I removed from the chair already. En route to my parents, I'll be stopping by Jo-Ann Fabrics to ante-up the cost on the pre-made piping to use around the edges. Here we go.... I'm turing a corner. 

More to come. Happy Monday!

A Change of Pace

After many weeks of posting updates on the nursery, DIY project to-dos, and how-tos on those DIY projects, I thought it might be time to sprinkle in a little of what's up with the (already here) kiddos.

Friday afternoon my hubby had his annual work golf tourney (the Disco Cup) at Bridlewood Golf Club in Flower Mound. Each year the Delta Companies hold a golf tournament to raise money for the Scottish Rite Hospital of Dallas. It's a blast every year!

I decided to pick Witt up from school and take both the boys out for some fresh air and some fun.  Here are a few pictures of the fun.

excuse the cruddy iphone pictures....

and my most favorite pic of all....

Moroccan Pouf v. Stubborn DIY'er

I. Want. A. Yellow. Pouf!!!!!

I hate this... my need to win the Texas Lotto has started to become overwhelming.  If I won the lotto, I'd be able to order the pouf I dream about at a mere $295 (hysterical, right?)  But, since I don't even play the lotto, I'm on the hunt for a more cost-effective alternative.

This afternoon I jumped on Ebay and found one for $119. I was good with that... it had good color and lines. I paid for it and then got an email from the seller saying they were out of stock. THAT'S my luck. Not the winner's luck that I'd need to win the Texas Lotto. Bummer. I'm in the process of asking for my money back. That's yet to be seen.........

So, do you think I'm crazy to take this on?

Look here:



Now, go here: http://www.re-nest.com/re-nest/how-to/how-to-make-your-own-moroccan-pouf-091531

 

Yes, I know, I know... why another project? Sometimes you have to be that crazy to love something that much.

:)

Nursery Update

I'm on the home-stretch now with decorating Knox's nursery. Seems that the rug decision has been the hardest part... that and bringing all the yellows in together so that they flow easily without fighting each other. Who woulda thunk it!? So many yellows: lemon yellow, golden yellow, baby yellow, g-u-h.

I've also been battling the pouf decision: we went from a yellow, fabric one from Etsy to a grey, knitted one from CB2. Once I brought the rug home from IKEA, I realized the greys weren't from the same color family. The pouf from CB2 threw a more bluish tone where the rug was more like the walls and the crib skirt. So, they fought each other and since the pouf sits on top of the rug... EW.

Off it goes back to CB2 and the yellow one (bc I had it custom made from Etsy) will be moved into the guest room to live with all the other stray pillows in the house. <-- rookie mistake.

I'm ordering a different yellow pouf today with hopes the leather and the size will help bring it all together. It's more what I've wanted. We shall see....

Until then, here's where we stand...
-shelf above dresser/changing table needs to be hung (for knick knacks and such)
-once 3 pictures from Etsy arrive, they need to be hung on the same wall in red frames like above the crib
-elephant hooks from way back need to be hung on the book wall
-still need to find the black floor lamp for behind the rocker
-waiting on the table from Urban Outfitters to arrive (it's backordered -- BOOOO!)

Here's a few snaps of what it looks like today during Nash's nappy time ------

Crib bumpers = Tylenol PM and a warm bath

What did I tackle today, you ask? Well. HAHAH. I tried...tried... to sew Knox's crib bumpers. 


Let's start by thanking my beloved Mother (especially as we embark on Mother's Day) for helping me tackle this.  Then, let's thank my Dad (go ahead and insert sarcasm here) for calling her away to supervise his haircut (bwhaha) so that I was forced to try my hand at it alone thanks to my stubbornness and pregnant impatience.


Miserable F-A-I-L.


1st: do not attempt sewing solo, as a novice, with a 2 and a half year old, near dinner time or your living room will look like this (that red circle and text says, 'dirty diaper'):

2nd: Do relish in the mess you make at your work station. It will always make you feel like you were really wrapped up in each little stitch without any pause.  Then, when you succeed, you won't complain when you have to clean it up. (I'm not done as of 10pm tonight and so the mess still awaits a fresh attitude and, well, my Mom to come help again in the morning hours.)

Look at all that lint from the fabric!

3rd: Don't get defeated. Ha. Easy for me to say... I gave up after 1 hour of solo sewing. Partially because I was having trouble catching the allowance on the yellow piping in the seam with the minky fabric panels. I am a perfectionist and was determined to have it perfectly taut all along the seam. Not so much. 

Here's an up-close shot of what not to do. I'll do my best to put up some close-up shots tomorrow after I (*cough* Mom *cough*) sews it correctly. WINK. WINK.