A couple simple projects

I’ve been feeling extra crafty lately. It also helps that I have a baby on the way so that I can focus my creativity into something useful

While in Omaha for a work-related program, I discovered Pottery Barn Kids. I LOVE this store! I can’t afford anything in it, but the patterns are all so vivid and have a “handmade” feel to them. Of course after that I went online and obsessed over all of the cute stuff they have for kids. One thing I really liked was how they used decorative wall letters to add to a room. Since I would much rather duplicate the idea rather than spend $8.00 per letter, I decided to dive right in and make some for Haley.

It was a really simple and affordable project, with the help of pre-cut and painted letters I found at Wal Mart I’m sure there are more stylish fonts to choose from at different craft stores, but unfortunately I live 30 minutes away from Michaels so I made do with what I had. I used white craft paint and filled in any spots that were too light. Then, I used masking tape and made different sizes of lines which I painted over in my nursery colors. I chose chocolate brown, green, baby pink, and white but there are so many color varities that would work. I’ve also seen some pretty creative designs out there, but I chose to keep it simple. After the letters had dried, I used a hot glue gun to attach lengths of chocolate brown ribbon to the back of the letters and tied bows. All that was left was to attach them to the wall with thumb tacks. Ta dah! They really do add to the room.

Close up of one of the letters. They’re not perfect, but I still like them!

We recently bought the Butterfly Meadow crib sheet set at Babies R Us and I absolutely love it. It came with the sheets, comforter and cover, bumper, diaper stacker, and valance.

We washed and put everything together, but because the baby room has 3 large windows, we really couldn’t use the valance. Of course, I hate to waste good crafting potential, so I decided to get creative and make it into something useful.

We are short on space in the room as it is, so I already had an idea to make some kind of hanging pockets for me to put baby essentials in like lotion, wipes, etc. since there’s no more room for shelves and storage containers. The valance presented the perfect opportunity to do just that. It was just the right size, and already came with an easy way to hang them–with curtain rods.

I cut the valance in half to make two pockets, then proceeded to fold and iron my edges where I would need to sew (~1/4 inches from the top.) When that was done, I measured the entire length and used disappearing marker to mark 5 pockets across each. Then, I sewed the pockets and voila! Instant storage solution for a small room! The only expensive part was buying the curtain rods…They were about $10/rod, which wasn’t too bad really. Here’s how they turned out!

Here’s a close-up of the pockets.

I think my next venture will be into the world of baby bibs. I went to Barnes and Noble and used my birthday gift card my mother in law gave me to buy a book called “Sweet Booties!” which has a lot of great baby projects, including cloth blocks, bibs, and clothing. I can’t wait to start!

Preparing for Haley

After weeks of amassing all the things that tiny people need when they come into the world, I think we finally have the basics down. And when I say “down,” I mean we have this down to a science, or maybe a fine art.

My husband and I are all about the “combo’s.” What I mean is that we have discovered the joy of items that can be used for several purposes. Basically, these are items that save us money by being 40 things in one instead of having to buy those 40 things separately. Admit it. You love saving money too. Plus, who wouldn’t love a crib/pasta maker/swingset?

In the convertible items line, we have a Pack n’ Play, which converts from a bassinet to a playpen (which I’ve heard is a taboo word now because it implies imprisonment, but is probably still a better word choice than “kiddie jail thing that we throw you in so you can play with toys and stop screaming at us.”) We also have a dresser/changing table which is great for those short on space. Then there’s my personal favorite: the crib that turns from a crib to a toddler bed, then to a day bed, and finally into a twin bed. Wait, read that again. It’s 4 beds..in one! How great is that? When Haley grows up, she and her husband will have a bed to sleep in. Heck, it will be our wedding gift to her. For the $300 that we spent on this thing, you better believe Haley will be passing this bed down to my grandchildren’s grandchildren. It’s the gift that keeps on giving.

That said, it’s been a lot of fun decorating the room with everything and waiting for Haley to make her appearance…which still can’t come soon enough for me, even though I know she has some cooking left to do.

Crib and crib sheets. We decided to go with a white/brown/pink/green kind of theme. Yeah, it’s a lot of colors but it looks good!

Dresser/changing table combo!

Getting creative with what little storage space we have.

I just love this little Willow figurine. My boss gave it to me and it’s one of my favorite things in the room! It even kind of looks like Pat and I.

The rocking chair we just got. It’s sooooo comfy! I sat in there for 4 hours the other day reading the Twilight series

Christmas present fromt he McCaffrey’s. I owe them my soul for this!

The baby shower will be in 2 1/2 weeks, I can’t wait! While we have a lot, there’s so much we still need!