Ready to Occupy

It's been ages since I posted, but I've been so busy with crafty projects that I just wasn't ready to show you anything. Now I am!

I had my baby shower yesterday (can you believe it!?) so I was working hard to get the baby's room in order for the girls to see it. Here's how it's looking so far. (I apologize for the bad lighting and color in the photos, it's a tough room to take pictures in).

The colors are a little washed out, but this is the view from the doorway. There should be a shelf above the dresser/changing table, but that hasn't made it's way onto the wall yet.

 Both the dresser and the chair are from IKEA. I hope to add some rick rack or fabric to the chair at some point but I'm not sure if that project will take place any time soon. The rug is from Land of Nod, the crib is a hand-me-down from a friend.

I made the bumper out of the giant pile of fabrics I told you about before. Did you know you could buy a pack of precut crib bumper foam at JoAnn? Me either. It's nice & sturdy so I don't have to worry about it smooshing down too much when the baby gets a little bigger. You can't see it well in this picture, but the skirt is a blueish floral with a rick rack trim & a layer of flat eyelet underneath (same as I did for the curtains).

Here's a closer look at the bumper. I got the idea for the x's from Schnibbles Times Two (you can see the quilt on the cover of the book). I always knew I wanted patchwork for the bumper but wasn't sure how to do it. I made the x blocks first & then added the gingham border to get the pieces to the right size for the foam. It was a very tricky project, but I'm happy with the result. The opposite side is vertical striped (you can kind of see it in the photo above).

I knew for a long time that this was the dresser we'd be using. It just seemed like the perfect size to use as a changing table and the drawers are huge! It's from the Hemnes collection at IKEA. I told you about the knobs I ordered (dreamscapedesigns on Etsy) in a previous post, I really love the way they add a little fun to the dresser. I used a set on the closet doors too. Nick wants to build a sort of tray thingy for the changing pad, but I might just change that plan to some really strong Velcro (we only have 5 weeks!)

Another thing I knew I wanted was the alphabet. I labored over how to do this for a few weeks. I could make my own, but who has the time? I love these, but the color scheme wasn't right and I thought they'd be too white on that white panel wall. The set I got, I had seen in lots of places over the last couple years. I ended up purchasing them from Amazon because they had the best price. I got the teeny clothespins from Amazon too! I just used little nails, very thin ribbon to hang the cards on & thicker ribbon tied in bows to cover the nails. When baby gets big enough to reach the cards, this wall will likely change.

And here's the last big project I made for the room. I had this adorable honey bun laying around and thought it might be fun to use it as the top for a mobile. Naturally, I wanted to make whatever would hang from it. I labored over this project for a long time too. I couldn't decide if I wanted flowers or animals or what! In the end I bought a crochet pattern from Amy Gaines and changed things a little so I got the animals I wanted (I had to have a monkey in there!). It was a chore to get the critters to hang right (and Mr. Pig still isn't cooperating), but they're pretty good now.

Here's a better view of the frog & pig. I loved this pattern...it was easy to follow and super quick to make. I may have to make some more of these little guys with rattles or bells inside.

And now some Etsy love. I bought 3 prints from different Etsy sellers. I used a nice textured piece of scrapbook paper as a mat for this card from Belle & Boo.

I couldn't believe this could be any cuter in person than it was online, but it is! It's from When Guinea Pigs Fly and hangs above the dresser on the right. I don't have a photo of the 3rd print I bought from Trafalgars Square, but it hangs to the left of the dresser in the same frame as this one (also even cuter in person). I love Etsy!

And last but not least, another item I didn't make but I really love:

The lighting in my house is awful at best so I needed to add something near the chair. I found this lantern at a local toy shop and fell in love with it. I'm not into princesses as a general rule, but this thing is just too cute and the colors are perfect! I used a fixture I had laying around from IKEA and a dimmer switch (also from IKEA). At least I can turn it on pretty low if I need to. And yes, you can get dimmable cfl bulbs, yay!

In the end, I'm happy the room is pretty much ready for baby BooBoo and I like the look. One of the comments yesterday was that they liked how it's not too "matchy-matchy", that's a huge compliment in my book. I don't do matchy-matchy.

Now, I just need a baby to live here....I'm so ready. This has been an amazingly uncomfortable pregnancy for me, my back is so done (but I know it's worth it)!

Making Room for Baby

I'm sure you're all dying to know what I've got planned for the baby's room, right? I don't want to keep anyone from sleeping at night so I'll give you a quick preview, haha. (I apologize in advance for the wordy post).

As I mentioned before (I think), I already had fabric collections picked out for the baby, boy or girl. Now that we know it's a girl, I've placed the order and received a delicious box from Fat Quarter Shop (LOVE that shop, btw. Can't say enough about their customer service and man are they fast).

Here's the fabric in all its glory...

Everything but the gingham is from the Dolly Dresses collection by Lakehouse. I decided I wanted to go with the fact that it's a girl but not with a theme or anything too princessey or anything like that. Just bright and cheerful with a feminine flair. I got a ton so I would have enough to make a patchwork bumper and a quilt to hang on the wall above the crib.

I'd said earlier that I might paint the room green, but after going through the fabrics, I decided on a periwinkle blue color. It's just going to work better with the rug we like and the curtain fabric etc.  I went with the color in the middle. I painted the room yesterday and I'm really happy with the color, it's not too blue and not too lavender.

I've painted 3 walls this color. The 4th wall will have white wood tongue & groove paneling, kind of like wider bead board, like this. I'm going to have white wood blinds and white trim too. The pink gingham you see above will be an upper gathered curtain that goes across the window with the white floral as curtains. I might add some rick rack or eyelet trim to the gingham curtain too, not sure yet. That blue floral on the bottom is going to be a crib skirt. I can't show you a picture of the crib because it's being given to us by a friend. It's a honey colored wood, very nice & simple, but I don't have it here yet.

 We got this dresser at IKEA and will place it along one of the colored walls with a changing pad on top. I can hide all my diapers & stuff in the top drawer. I might even use some of my fabric to make a colorful cover for the changing pad, we'll see how it goes.

I've already purchased some fun hand painted knobs for the dresser on Etsy. I'll show them to you when they arrive in a few weeks, but here's an idea...

We got new white closet doors as well (no more dark brown ones, eugh), I'll use two of the knobs on the closet too. Cute, no?

That's about all that we have lined up so far. I am still looking for a cozy chair. I kind of hate the usual nursery glider, so it's been tough. Not to mention the fact that Nick is 6'3" tall. Find a nice looking chair he can lean his head back on, I dare you! haha

I hope to pick up some fun artwork on Etsy too, but I haven't decided on anything yet. I know I love this..

and I saw this in a shop not long ago. I think it'd be so cute above the changing table/dresser.

So, that's how the baby room is shaping up. I'll post some piccies when I have them. It's hard to photograph a bedroom you know. :)

Here's a view of the bump at 23 weeks (disregard my face and hair, I don't photograph well and I don't exactly go get my hair done when I'm about to paint!). :) Too bad about the popcorn ceiling, let's just work with what we've got.

That's a home made belly band, btw. Yep, I'm not paying $20 for a stretchy piece of fabric. No sir.