A Woodland Nursery For Our Baby Boy!

 

Finally! The nursery is finished!!

I am just in love with how this Woodland Nursery turned out for our little man!!

I added these lanterns from Home Goods and this bunting banner from Nurtured Soul Designs on Etsy!

I used a plant hanger from Lowes to hang the lanterns.

How adorable is this blanket with this little fox and raccoon, found at Babies R Us!? And the striped crochet blanket was made by my SIL!! You can check out her work via Yarn at Heart!

My hubby made me these cute triangle shelves from some left over reclaimed wood!

This ceiling fan was part of the house when we moved in and I wasn't a fan of the brass, but once I started decorating the room and using brass accents (in the lamp and the hardware), I thought I might just leave it and paint the fan blades!

I painted them to match the dresser and I love the way it came out! Plus it saved me over $200!!!

For the crib bedding, I used a brown, tan, and orange plaid flannel. The fitted crib sheet is from Land of Nod. I decided to do a teething bumper instead of a full crib bumper since my first 2 boys chewed the front of the crib. I used a quilted brown fabric and made my own piping with the plaid fabric to tie it all together!

With my left over fabric, I made this cute little blanket too!

This adorable door hanger was made by a super talented friend of mine!! You can find her custom calligraphy work and more here! She made this for us to use at the hospital on our door, and now it hangs on the nursery door at home! I just LOVE everything about this!!

I found this little end table at Home Goods. It has a rustic finish and I am always obsessed with any furniture that has this 'X' detail!!

How cute is this little metal moose!? Found at At Home!

This is the deer head made of pine cones that my MIL gave me! It was part of her Christmas décor, and was then used at my baby shower for décor! Now it hangs in the nursery!!

The rug is from Target and can I just say this is one of the softest rugs I have ever felt!! I was so surprised by the quality of this inexpensive rug. Perfect for little ones!!

I wanted to make some unique wall décor for the nursery. I made this Field Guide in photoshop and printed it on brown cardstock. I bought this wood slice at Hobby Lobby and then glued the print to it! Added some jute rope and hung it on the wall!

In addition to the field guide, the burlap letter 'T' was a gift from my SIL, and the outdoor sign is from At Home.

And last but not least, I really wanted some kind of quote in the room. When I came across this quote, I  knew it was the perfect one! First I thought I would order the quote from a decal company on Etsy, but then I decided to "be brave" myself and hand paint it on the wall. I know, crazy right?!

Well, I used the projector on a ladder and traced it with pencil first, then I used a burnt orange paint and a small paint brush to paint over it. I added the triangles in between to tie in with the other triangles in the room (the crib sheet and the shelves)!

Love what you see? Click on the links below for step by step details on how I put the nursery together!

Build a Nursery with Me Part 1

Build a Nursery with Me Part 2

Build a Nursery with Me Part 3

Build a Nursery with Me Part 4

What's In My Hospital Bag + a Few More!

 

Having your third baby definitely gives you the chance to implement all of the things you have learned from the previous two. This includes what I decided to pack for the hospital. With my first baby, I over packed and didn't use half of what I brought, and with my second, I didn't pack much and could have used some more necessities. So, this time around, I was going to get it right!

Here are a few of my favorite items from my hospital bag!

1. Nursing gown and robe-This outfit was not only cute for when I had visitors, but it was so comfortable and easy to use! I even brought 2 sets! They come in cute colors such as Navy, Teal, and Pink stripes! You can find them at Buy Buy Baby.  

2. My Brest Friend Nursing Pillow-With my previous 2 boys, I used the Boppy and complained the entire time I nursed that there was no support, so this time around I was going to try something different and I definitely made the right decision! This pillow has amazing support! Don't get me wrong, the Boppy is great for learning to sit, tummy time, etc. but when it comes to nursing, My Brest Friend is the one to beat!

3. Infant Sleep Gowns-I swear by these! For the first 2 months, this is all my babies wear at night. They make for quick and easy diaper changes when you are up at 2am and can barely see straight lol. No zippers, no buttons, no fuss! 

4. Laura Mercier Bare Pink Lip Gloss- I decided to keep my makeup minimal this time around and this is one of my favorite glosses when I want just a slight hint of pink color.

5. Nikon D40-I am in no way a photographer, but having this camera has made taking great photos so fool proof! We took so many great photos at the hospital, I can't wait to share them with you!

6. Sleep Mask-When you are recovering in post-partum, there is always someone coming in to check on you and your baby, lights being turned on, hallway lights, bathroom lights, etc. I loved having this sleep mask to block all of that out and try to get just a little more sleep!

7. Nivea Kiss of Moisture-Lip balm is a must for me no matter where I am. I cannot sleep without it. I recently discovered this brand and I love it! It keeps my lips moisturized all night long!!

8. L'Oreal Miss Manga Mascara-In keeping with my minimal makeup plan, I packed my favorite mascara(of the moment-it's drugstore too!) My go to minimal makeup look is always a pink gloss and a coat of mascara.

9. Socks-My feet are always cold, and when you are in the hospital, its not like you are going to wear shoes everytime you get out of bed! I found these cute Betsy Johnson socks on clearance at Tuesday Morning. Why not do a fun/funky sock to make you feel good while you are stuck in bed for 3 days!?

10. Lansinoh Lanolin Cream-This cream is my holy grail of breast feeding. I truly believe that this cream along with the proper teaching of nursing techiniques is the reason why I have had such successful breast feeding in the past. If you are nursing, this is a MUST HAVE!

11. Disposable Nursing Pads-Once your milk does come in, you are going to want these breast pads in your nursing bra! Plus they are disposable, so you can toss them as often as you need to. For all you Grey's Anatomy fans, we don't want a Miranda Bailey moment when your milk lets down and your shirt becomes soaked in minites-how embarrassing!

There are 2 more things that I just have to share with y'all!!

Did you know that every expecting mom with medical insurance can order a FREE breast pump?! All you have to do is call your insurance and find out who you need to order it through! There are also quite a few different pumps to choose from. I chose this Medela pump because when my second son was in the NICU, this is the pump they let me use and I fell in love with it! And now I have my own! It takes about a month from ordering the pump until you receive it, so make sure you give yourself enough time!

This has become my favorite new baby item by far!! It is the NEW Kindii breastfeeding system. The starter kit is shown here in this photo. It comes with everything you need to get started! Let me explain how it works...

It comes with over 10 different pump attachments that screw right onto your pump, you then screw on the disposable bag and pump directly into the bag. The bag is then removed and a seal tight, screw on lid is placed on the top. You can store your milk in the refrigerator or freezer. Remove a bag from the fridge, place it into the Kindii warmer (must be purchased separately), place the bag into the bottle form, add the nipple (starter kit comes with 3 nipples; slow, medium, and fast), and feed! Then toss the bag in the trash! It is such an easy to use, step by step breast feeding system! No more washing a ton of parts too!! If you are breastfeeding, you need this!! You can find Kindii on Target.com

I hope this has been a helpful post for all you mommas; expecting, new, and experienced!

Cornice Box Tutorial Using $1 Foam Board!

 

The door to our back patio needed a little love...

Of course my first choice would have been to buy a new door altogether, but that is just not in the budget right now! So, what does any designer do in this situation? Dress it up! 

I decided to make a cornice box to add some pattern and color. I thought about making a roman shade, but we don't really need the privacy, and I had about 1/2 yard left of the fabric I used to cover my couch pillows, so I thought a cornice was the best option! 

Not only did I use fabric I already had, but I built the box out of a large sheet of foam poster board from the dollar store! 

Since this project turned out so well and was sooooo cheap, I wanted to put together a tutorial for you! This is definitely a beginner level project that anyone can do! Let's get started!

STEP 1: Measure your door window opening and decide what size you want your cornice box to be. I made mine about 1" larger on each side of the window and about 9" long. Using a ruler, mark the large front piece first, then the top, and 2 sides. You can use an exacto knife to cut along each line.

These are the 4 pieces you should end up with. 

STEP 3: Tape your pieces together. I used a heavy duty masking tape to secure all of the seams and corners. *Tape until your heart is content because you will never see it!

More tape!!

STEP 5: Lay your fabric out under the cornice box and begin wrapping it like you are wrapping a gift with paper. I used a staple gun to attach the fabric. 

You won't see the inside, so don't worry about raw edges or messy folds. 

And here it is! You can use small "L" brackets, Velcro, or 3M tape to secure your cornice box to the door. It weighs nearly nothing, so you do not need heavy duty hardware. 

The fabric I used is Spring Mix Aloe by Robert Allen. One of my favorite fabrics!!! You can see it used on my couch pillows here.

Now the door ties in with the valance over my kitchen window! (you can see my window panels here as well)

I am so pleased with how this turned out and how easy it was!! You can use this simple cornice box tutorial for almost any window in your home! 

So, what are you waiting for!?