ANIMAL SANCTUARY

Little by little, I have been adding little touches to Mason's nursery.  First of all, it wasn't finished when he arrived.  Second of all, I enjoy the process of living with things and tweaking them as I go.  And third, I am way too cheap to fork over the cash to do an entire room at once.  I admire those of you who can (and do!) and in some ways am jealous of all your beautiful spaces, but let's face it.  That's just not me.  But anyway, I wanted to share a couple of changes that have happened in the past 9 months.
First, I added a new picture to the gallery wall.  Can I call it that with only three frames up there?  Well, someday it might grow to that stature.  I had always intended to add the umbrella print in Mason's room, but it just took me a little bit to finally get it printed and on the wall.  I bought the frame around Christmas time, so one day a few weeks ago I thought what is stopping me from filling that frame?  So anyway, the art cluster now looks like this.

We also repositioned the crib to be centered on this wall.  Right now, it is working.  And the rest of the room is messy, which is why the shot is so close.
Another change is that I have a small collection of animals forming in the nursery.  Here is a little addition that came courtesy of some birthday gifts.  Yes, I requested birthday gifts with the purpose of putting them in my son's room.  The print came from my dear husband (I had been begging for it FOREVER) and the hooks came from my parents.

This is on the wall you face as you walk into the room.  There is basically a little cove, so it was hard to photograph.  I am in love with this!  Every time Mason and I walk in or out I make him wave hi or bye to the raccoon.  And I love that I now have a place to store the diaper bag in his room.  Extra storage is always welcomed in this house.
Speaking of raccoons, another little guy came to live with us in the form of a toy bin.

Although he isn't full yet, this guy is a great toy wrangler for Mason's room.  And I just know that as the toy collection grows (hello first birthday coming up in twelve weeks but who's counting...) we will appreciate him even more.
The last little change to the nursery was a gift from Mason's Grammy and Grandpa for his dedication.  Things like this mean a lot to me, and I'm so thankful that his grandparents share the same wishes for him that Byron and I do.

I hung this right over the light switch.  From a little farther away, it looks like this.

So those are just a few of the little changes that happened in Mason's nursery. One of these days I'll have to clean it up and take a few wider shots!  In the mean time, sit back and enjoy the details.

Nursery Update - Fabric, Art, and Some Finishing Touches

It's been awhile since I've updated everyone on the progress that's been happening in the nursery, and let me tell you, there has been some...finally!  I was actually getting pretty stressed because I felt like we were never going to have a nursery that would actually be functional without piles and piles of stuff on the floor.  Fortunately, even though things are far from finished, I am happy to report they are definitely functional and I don't have piles of random stuff on the floor. Mission accomplished!
As I mentioned, I got the curtains mostly done, sans hem.  My process was really simple - cut the panels to size, which just so happened to be almost the exact same size as my dining room table, turn in three edges (top and both sides) first about a half inch, then another half inch (all eye-balled), and sew down.  Yes, I used the iron on this step, but no, I didn't use pins.  It worked great.

And once hung using the curtain clips I had gotten, they looked like this.  (Warning - funky photo coloring ahead.  I have not mastered shooting at night OR at an open window!)

The next thing that I can show you is the crib skirt I whipped up.  I used the same technique that I used for the curtains, but I actually finished all the edges.  I just made the skirt panels a little long, then safety pinned them to the bottom of the mattress (lazy man's solution).  This way I can adjust them as I lower the mattress over time.  To be honest, it is NOT my best work.  It was more of a quick and dirty solution.  But it will do, and I highly doubt anyone will be putting their nose up to it to inspect my workmanship.  Not even my mother.

Another project that I think I have yet to share is that we attached the changing pad to the dresser and hung a shelf above.  I really love the way this turned out if I can say so myself.  I had originally intended to hang two shelves, but due to the height that we hung the first one, it just didn't make sense for us to hang a second.  So one shelf it is.

The gold frame you see above is from Pier 1, and I picked it up for about $6 on clearance, down from $24 or so.  I love it, and although for now it's just a picture of mommy & daddy, I hope to soon replace it with one of our first family photos.  Say it with me now...awe.

Fortunately the lovely diaper genie is hidden if you are just peeking in the room, but yes, it is on display for all to see. Sometimes function overrules form.  And I don't know what to do about the big black cord hanging down from the fan, so I think I'll just have to learn to live with it.  Maybe Byron and I could figure out a way to change it out for a clear cord?  Or affix it to the wall somehow so baby doesn't reach up and grab it causing the whole thing to topple over? Thankfully I have some time to ponder that one.  By the way, the fan came from TJ Maxx for around $30 and I love it. I had been looking for a little fan of that size that was a little bit vintage-y looking for awhile now, totally unsuccessfully (or at least not for a decent price).  TJ came to the rescue.

Finally, we got started on the gallery wall.  Two items probably does not technically a gallery wall make, but it's a work in progress.  I'm pretty sure you have seen these two pieces before.  The first one required a little work to the frame since my heart was set on white and I could only find black.  Enter glossy white spray paint.  Here is the before picture.

If you are a better spray-painter than I, then maybe the spray paint instructions will work for you, but they didn't really work for me.  What I mean is, the paint said that it would probably take two coats.  Um, it was more like 6-7, or even more, for me.  I lost count.  And honestly, I probably could have done more.  So maybe I'm doing something wrong?  I don't know, but the frame is now white.

And here it is on the wall, with the 'M' I made a few nights ago.  Love!

And that is where we are today.  There is still some closet organizing to do, some drawer organizing to do, work on the gallery wall, book sleeves to make (did I mention I want to make those too?  I ordered the CUTEST fabric for them.  I can't wait to get started!), a mirror to find and hang, etc.  But overall, the room is in pretty good shape for this little one to make his arrival. You hear that little man?  Any time is fine with me!

Here are a few wider shots to put things into context.

Fun with Crayons

A while back, I had pinned this image on my pinterest board.

So last night, I tried it.  I found a white shadowbox frame that was 10" x 10", so I started by making a stencil that was approximately 8" x 8".  I had originally printed some letters out on the computer, but in the end, I just went with a really simple M shape.  Hmmm...was that a hint?

I had also purchased a piece of white scrapbook paper that I used for my background.  I traced the M onto the scrapbook paper and cut it to size.

I purchased two boxes of 24 crayons, but in the end I picked up a third, mostly because there are so many oranges and blues and I wanted my colors to be more varied.

Before I started gluing, I needed to figure out how I would break my crayons to size.  I finally decided on using a cutting board and a knife.  Maybe not the best use of my kitchen utensils, but it worked great for this project!

The last thing I did before starting was that I actually had my inspiration picture pulled up on my laptop so I could refer back to it.

Now that I had my art station set up, it was time to get started.  I loosely measured how big my crayon pieces should be, cut them to size, and then used rubber cement to attach them.  I used rubber cement because it was the first thing I found around the house that would work, but I'm sure there are lots of other adhesives that would work.  I would be nervous about hot glue, but maybe I'm the only messy one out there that gets glue stringies everywhere.  I'll show you the next parts of the process visually.

One thing I didn't do at first, and then only occasionally, was to erase my pencil marks.  In the places where I used a sharp crayon head, if you look closely, you can see the pencil marks.  Oh well.  I don't think that most people will see this from that close up.  I will also say the rubber cement takes awhile to dry, so I wouldn't move this right away.  Of course, I couldn't possibly wait for that to see what it would look like in the frame, so I did jimmy the frame on without lifting up the M.  Here's what that looks like.

Perfect!  Now I just can't wait to get it up on the wall.  I'm planning a little gallery wall, but so far I only have two pieces to hang so it will be a little sparse at first.  That's okay.  I love what I have so far, so I'm comfortable to just keep adding to it with items that I love as I can.
Altogether, this project was really affordable, and I highly recommend making one for yourself.  The frame I found at JoAnn for 40% off, so it was about $12.  The scrapbook paper was $.69, and the 3 boxes of crayons were around $1.30 each.  My grand total was under $17.  Woot woot.  If anyone else out there takes on this project, be sure to let me know how it turns out for you!

Nursery Update - Crib Mattress and Curtain Update

Good news - the crib has a mattress!  We now have a place for little baby Stover to lay his precious little head.  Phew! The mattress and the carseat are the two absolute must haves (aka stress points for this mama) in order to bring a little one home from the hospital.  I mean, don't get me wrong, there are plenty of other necessities, but the rest are things I can send Byron or a parent out for while I'm chilling (ha!) in the hospital.  The carseat and the mattress were musts for me, and now that the mattress is in place, there is one less thing for me to stress over.
I was really surprised at how big of an impact it has on the room.  It really makes a difference!

And here is a close up of the crib sheet I found.  Warning - although the color goes great with the rest of the room, it has NOT been washed and is incredibly wrinkly.  All things in time, my friends.

Adorable.  I think I need 4 of these for spares.  Note to self:  update registry.  I also really need to get a move on making a crib skirt.  I feel that in my near future.  Maybe with the long weekend I can get a start on it?
And now for some not as happy news.  Remember the fabric I was testing out for curtains?

Well, before I started cutting and hemming the panels, I thought I should probably test the fabric for length.  I doubled it up and clipped it in place and of course, this is what happened next.

Not so bad here.  Let's zoom in.

Noooooo!  There isn't enough fabric!  I know this isn't precise, but if I were actually doing it I would have to hem both ends, and let's face it, I would end up hating it.  I have another piece of this fabric, but it isn't long enough either.  I guess that's what happens when you buy remnants.  So now the plan is to switch it out with the other fabric I had found for the room.  I doubled up the material and clipped it in, and here is what it looks like.

Again, the curtain panels won't puddle on the ground, but rather I would end them just below the window's trim piece. And there would be two side by side, rather than just the one.  Of course, now that I can't have the cream fabric, now I have my heard set on it.  But the dark print is fun, too, and I'm sure I can learn to love it there.  And now that the dark print will go on the window, that leaves the cream to potentially use on the chair.

First of all, ignore the piles of baby clothes on either side of the chair.  It's garage sale season, and I haven't organized everything et.  Second, I can tell just by looking at it that the lines in this fabric are going to be a beast to keep straight. I can't go having a crooked print, now, can I?  No.  We won't have that.  But seriously now, I need some opinions. Would this print be better on the chair, or better as a crib skirt?  I go back and forth.
So anyway, with the holiday weekend giving me an extra day to work on the house, it would be really nice to get started on the curtain panels (especially because they are going to be so easy!).  I will at least consider it an accomplishment if I get the fabric washed.  That's one step ahead of where I am now.

Nursery Update - the Refinished Dresser

Amidst continued work on the front landscape project, we also managed to complete the dresser for the nursery.  I was super excited about this project.  I was just so anxious about the transformation.  This is the one project that I kept bugging Byron about getting to.  Fortunately for me, there were a few rainy days spattered in there that prevented work on the outside, so this project is now done.
After the dresser was sanded, it only took about two coats of paint.  I never know how many coats something will need, especially when we cover a color with white, but two seems good.  And we didn't go through too much of the paint, which means we can use it for the other five pieces that are still in our basement waiting for their turn to be refinished.
So now that it is done, here is what it looks like in its new space.

It looks so clean and bright.  I am in love with the simple chrome knobs and pulls.  They are sleek and yet appropriately masculine, though if we were having a girl I would have wanted to spring for some bejeweled knobs and pulls like they have at Anthropologie.
As far as what comes next, I definitely want to line the drawers with some pretty fabric or paper.  I am intending to install a changing pad on top of the table and to use the top drawer for all of the necessary diapering supplies that will need to be close at hand.  The other drawers will probably go to clothes, but I haven't exactly figured that out.  I am also still debating what should go above the dresser.  Should I put a mirror for baby to look at himself during diaper changes?  Should I hang some art?  Should I consider shelving?  I would really like some shelving somewhere in the room to keep track of display items and books and stuff, but I am just not sure where they should go.  I guess I'll just have to keep plugging away at the room and hopefully everything will just fall into place.  And of course I am still doing plenty of research for additional inspiration!