Nursery Reveal

And now for the post you have been waiting for.... the nursery reveal.
Here are the links for other blog posts about Brecken's nursery in case you missed the post:
Before Pictures of the Nursery
Nursery Inspiration
Stripes and Crib
Crib Skirt
Chipboard Letters
Picture Frames
Book Slings
Custom Made Art
Gray Chair Makeover
Lanterns and Puffs
Lamp Makeover
Dresser Makeover

Enjoy the photos!

Brecken's Nursery: Chipboard Letters

The letters over Brecken's bed was the last project I had left and actually only got it done a few weeks ago. But I am very glad all the details in his nursery are done!

I went to Hobby Lobby and picked up the letters of his name in Chipboard letters. They were on a half off sale, so I got all the letters for $7. I painted all the letters with some leftover light gray paint from his room. I wanted to cover the letters with the same material as the pillow, crib skirt and book slings because I had some leftover. I put the letters upside down on the fabric and traced the letters onto the fabric. I then cut out the traced letter from the fabric.

I then used my favorite craft tool: Modge Podge, to attach the fabric to the chipboard letter. I not only glued the bottom of the fabric to the chipboard letter, but also gave a nice couple coats to the top as well. I let them dry between coats, but this ensured that the fabric was bonded to the letter and gave it a nice shiny look.

I then had a piece of thick foam board that I cut a large rectangle out that I could use as the background for the letters. I covered the foam in leftover gray fabric from the chair. I glued all the fabric down except for the corners. I then used strong glue to bond the letters to the fabric covered board. With the corners of the board that I left uncovered, I nailed the board to the wall. Then I tucked the leftover fabric to cover the corners between the wall and board so you could not tell where I nailed it in. It looks nice but I have no idea how I will get that board down! :)

Brecken's Nursery: Frame Makeover

There was a large wall in Brecken's Room that needed some kind of wall hanging. I already had my two painted canvases so I needed something that was a bit different. I went to Goodwill and bought some old & (ugly! Do you seen the one with the dolls in it?) frames. I then bought white, golden yellow, blue and dark gray spray paint to makeover the frames.

They turned out pretty awesome. I then put a variety of photos and mementos in the frames. Two of the frames feature a picture of Todd and I as babies with our parents. We then have a picture of us with Brecken in another.

 

 Another frame has the lyrics of "Jesus Loves Me"

One particular frame was pretty big and had a sturdy piece of cardboard as part of its backing. I decided I wanted to use this as a chalkboard. I had some leftover chalkboard paint so I painted the piece of cardboard with it. It turned out pretty cool.

 Other frames have Brecken's footprints from the hospital, his ultrasound photo, a mirror, a piece of artwork a friend made, a photo of our dog Bella, and a newborn photo of Brecken.

One of the frames I bought did not have a back on it. I picked up a chipboard letter "P" and a pack of buttons.

 

I covered the letter in white tissue paper and glued the yellow, dark gray, and light gray buttons on it with a hot glue gun. I tied on a piece of white ribbon to the letter. I put two nails in the wall for the hollow frame to sit on and then tied the ribbon to these nails to give the letter the illusion of floating.

Brecken's Nursery: Custom Made Art

When it came to the artwork, I knew what I wanted but I knew I wouldn't be able to find what I had in mind. I love making my own art - it is cheap and (most of the time) fun. I used canvases I had around the house, cut out printed letters, paint and alot of Modge Podge.

I absolutely love this piece of art and it turned out exactly what I was thinking. I love this little song and the lyrics are perfect for nursery decor. The colors of the nursery are in the song: sunshine yellow and grey. So perfect! I know it probably wasn't the proper paint to paint on a canvas, but I used leftover paint from the stripes to paint the dark gray so that all the colors matched.

I got the inspiration for this print from a piece of artwork I saw at Target. I loved the print because an alphabet print is the perfect nursery decor but it also sneaks the words "I love you" in perfectly. The Target print was cute but was not the right colors for his nursery. Obviously I couldn't have unmatching colors in the nursery! :)

Brecken's Nursery: Book Slings

I had an empty wall in Brecken's Room and I was thinking about doing a bookcase there, but realized with it being a small room, I didn't want it to seem cluttered and too full. I had seen this idea for book slings on a blog at this link. If you go to that link, you will find the full tutorial to make these book slings. They are fairly easy to make and look really cool! I used extra yellow chevron fabric that I used for the crib skirt and a pillow to make these. They really add alot to this small wall and can store Brecken's favorite books. It is alot less cumbersome than a large bookshelf.

Brecken's Nursery: Lanterns & Puffs

When I was looking for nursery inspiration photos for the baby, even before I knew we were having a boy, I fell in love with pictures of hanging works of art consisting of lanterns and "puffs" as I call the tissue paper balls. Whether it was a boy or girl, I was bound to have one of these works of arts. Once I found out it was a boy, I started to plan the yellow and gray nursery and this was one key element I was going to have. 

 

 I had two unused white lanterns in my house that I had in college and I ordered a pack of tealish blue Martha Stewart lanterns off of Amazon to help tie in some different textures into the mobile. I then made yellow and blue puffs from tissue paper. I attached clear fishing line to all the puffs and lanterns so I could hang them.

I also made a dot garland from gray paper. I used a circle punch to make the dots then used my sewing machine to tie them together.

I had a board laying around my house so I drilled holes into the board. Then I strung the fishing line through the holes to hang the puffs and lanterns, using a strong tape to attach them to the top of the board. I then drilled the board of puffs and lanterns to ceiling. I later used a staple gun to reinforce the fishing line to the board.

Nursery Progress

Here are some pictures of the nursery so far!  The walls are finally painted and the crib is up. Thanks to my brother for helping us do some painting and the crib a couple weeks ago! 

 The guys and the completed crib. I haven't decided what side of the room to put it on yet, once I have the rest of the furniture for the room, then I would know better what to do with the crib. 

And here is what I accomplished Saturday. I have never done stripes on a wall... and I will think twice before attempting again. Wow what a project. It took the most time to measure out the stripes and get the straight lines drawn. The taping and painting did not take near as long. Even though it was alot of work, I am very happy with the results!  

The Closet. I painted the top the light gray and dark gray in the bottom - then there are my Ikea organizers. 

 The final paint job. More projects to come soon - well there better because this baby is coming soon! :)

New Curtains!

So I did a little work in my bedroom today. I have had these new curtains I have been meaning to put up for months and finally I was productive! :) I love productive days like today! 

So here is the before shot of one side of our bedroom- since we have been in our house (believe me there are other before pictures I will show later!) I got the boring curtains for $2 - but have gotten their money's worth in the last couple years. I didn't like the heavy closet doors and they always stay open (I think that is the 5th time in the history of living in this house that those closet doors have been shut.)

 

A shot of both closet doors. The brown just doesn't go with the colors. 

So here is what I did today! I really wanted heavy black curtains and it was hard to find them for some reason. After looking for a bit, I found these faux silk curtains in a really long length at Walmart.com for $20 a piece. Pretty good deal if you ask me! They are really nice heavy fabric and have an inside white liner. I have had these for months - I just HATE hanging things - but I found these tracks for curtains from Menards yesterday. All you do is hang the three mounts to the ceiling and pop the track in and it has all the clips attached. You just clip the curtains in and the curtains can easily slide back and forth. 

I also hung some wedding photos in the corner. It is about time I am getting those put up too.

Here is a shot of the his and her closets half open.

I really think it gives the room a nice chic look It also seems like the ceiling is taller with the floor to ceiling curtains. Finally I will "shut" my closet doors because they are so easy to pull back and forth.  This is one of the last projects I am finishing up of my mini makeover of my bedroom. More pictures of the whole bedroom soon!