Nursery Reveal

BEFORE… Office/Craft/Pet Room

AFTER… Soothing room for our baby boy with lots of personal, DIY touches!
 

 





   
       

And of course some burp cloths that match the nursery and our love for Michigan State!

Paint Colors: Sherwin Williams 6758 Aqueduct and Sherwin Williams 7073 Network Grey

Crib: Davinci Porter

Changing Table: Hand-me-down gift from some friends

Recliner/Ottoman: Harmony Kids Newco Taylor Classic Swivel Glider and Ottoman

Lamp Base: Lowe’s

Baskets: Hobby Lobby

Fabrics:

Emily Herrick Going Coastal Crab Walk in Gray

Emily Herrick Going Coastal Sea Star in Gray

P&B Textiles Downtown Circles in Light

Laura Gunn Magnolia Lane Textured Plaid in Turquoise

Tutorials Used:

Crib Skirt

Teething Guard

Valance

Changing Pad Cover

Entryway Mirror

Yeah, I’m lame and have no before pictures of this beaut. My father-in-law made this mirror/frame, which hung over the family couch in the house that Mr. Tote grew up in. His mom was prepared to throw it away and I snatched it from the ‘toss’ pile. Mr. Tote’s dad had used a miter saw to create the frame and stained the original oak a natural color.

While it was “nice,” it just wasn’t our style. So when I got my hands on it, we sanded it down, painted it white and added some 1x1/4” decorative trim to create the illusion of a window.

And I had a vinyl wall quote that said “Come in. Laugh much. Visit often.” that I cut apart and stuck to the mirror.

BEFORE: AFTER:

I really love how this turned out. It really opened up that area with the illusion of a window being there. I have been wanting to put a foyer table in that spot, but the door has presented some challenges. This mirror is the perfect compromise to liven up that wall.

Seed Bead and Pin Ornaments

My parents have some of these beauties on their tree that I believe were made by my great grandma. She used the satin covered balls and didn’t have to worry about covering the entire ornament since the satin looks nice, but I only had styrofoam balls handy, so I had to make do. I painted my first ornament before getting started in case any of the styrofoam showed through, but quickly realized that wouldn’t be a problem so I didn’t bother painting any of the others.

I used this tutorial from Thrifty Fun to get started.These are pretty time consuming, but they go great with a glass of red wine and some Desperate Housewives on the DVR. Plus, they look AMAZING on the tree. 

Birch Bark Luminary

I’ve had this fun craft from Project Pretty bookmarked for over a year now. I struggled for quite some time with where to get the birch bark. I had my eye on the neighbor’s birch tree, but she vented to me about the kids ripping the bark off her tree, so I figured that probably wasn’t the best idea.

This past spring, we went Morel mushroom hunting up in Lewiston. We were about a week too late to do any good hunting, but I did snag up some birch bark while traipsing through the woods.

I used a leftover vase from a friend’s rehearsal dinner this summer. I ended up having to use some Mod Podge to get the bark to stick, as the spray adhesive just wasn’t strong enough in spots.

The soft glow of this luminary is perfect for the holiday season!

Love-ly Christmas Countdown

I wanted to do something special for Mr. Tote for Christmas this year. When I saw this Spouse Christmas Countdown on Dating Divas, I knew it would be perfect! What I didn’t anticipate is how long it would take me to actually construct a countdown telling him all of the things I loved about him. Coming up with the reasons was the easy part. Assembly was a different story.I texted him to say I was working on something special and for him to call me half an hour before he was due home from work. When he called, I was right in the middle of making it!So I told him to find something to do for an hour and then to call me. An hour later he called… the kitchen table was littered with scraps of paper, the Cricut machine, glue and scissors. “Give me 45 more minutes,” I said. He called again, 45 minutes later.Blast! Still not done. So I told him to come home but to wait in the garage. So he bought some eggnog and spiced rum and sat in the car in the garage for a good half an hour before I was finally ready to reveal my surprise.I love the way this turned out and I think he does, too. Each day, he gets to turn over the appropriate number and find a special note from me, describing one of countless reasons I love him.I love the Christmas season! This is going to be so much fun!

*edit: The font I used was Pea Krystyne from kevinandamanda.com*

I am linking to the following party:

Taggies Cuddle Blanket Tutorial

It’s no secret that babies love to play with the tags on blankets and stuffed toys. Something about the texture of the tag that is silky and soft… I hear it’s a comfort thing. These blankets are soft and have ribbons sewn into the perimeter.

When purchasing a name brand blanket, these security blankets can cost upwards of $25. Yikes! You can easily replicate this playful, cuddly number for around $10 and give a young child a comforting, much loved security blanket.

Items needed
1/2 yard soft fabric (fleece, flannel, etc)
Variety of ribbons in different widths, colors and textures (grosgrain, satin, etc)
Scissors
Measuring tape
Sewing machine or needle with thread

1. Fold your fabric into a triangle to make a square (approximately 18”) and cut. I chose to use different fabric for the front and the back but you can easily use the same fabric.  2. Lay your fabrics together. If there is and “inside” to the fabric, make sure these oppose each other (i.e. have the right-side-out of the fabric face the inside).3. Keep foster kittens from messing with your ribbon (if applicable).4. Pin your fabric together. 5. Lay your ribbon out around your blanket (not necessary, but it helps when visualizing the finished product. 6. Cut 16-20 pieces of ribbon, 5-6” long each. 7. Lay  your ribbon around the blanket (again, for visualization purposes).8. Fold your ribbon in half right-side-out, and pin between the two layers of fabric with the cut ends facing out and lining up with the perimeter of the fabric. 9. Once you have all the ribbons secured, sew a 1/2” seam allowance around the perimeter of the blanket, leaving a 3” hole to turn the blanket inside out.

10. Turn the blanket inside out, tuck in the edges of the hole and hand stitch the opening closed.