MiniMan's Nursery Reveal

I knew fairly quickly how I wanted MiniMan's nursery to look. I definitely wanted sports incorporated somehow, and of course cars. Daddy LOVES both of these things, and it just wouldn't be right to not acknowledge it in his little boy's room. However, I'm not a fan (in the least) of matchy-matchy nurseries with a theme. I didn't want a quilt with every sports ball on it, or a race car border around the room. [Does anyone even do borders anymore?] I started gathering ideas before Chris' deployment at the end of February. I knew I wanted to accomplish a lot while he was gone, and to keep it a surprise from him (since he would likely be more interested in this nursery than Camdin's). I know I posted a couple of pictures and hinted at a couple of projects in the works, but I held off from posting the "final products" until he returned home so that I could surprise him with the whole look together, and not leak the fantasticness to Internet land.

I started off with colors that would appeal to me, and that already matched the gray walls I had painted for Camdin when she used the room. Navy and Orange. Detroit Tigers colors, duh. I love the combination, but I also didn't want the colors everywhere. Mostly just for accents. 

My first project was the crib bumpers. I had to enlist the help of my mom to keep Camdin busy and away from the sewing machine during the project. [The girl takes after my own heart- she knows how to use it already, but at 2 and a half, I think it's a bit early to let her start sewing her own curtains.] Chris is a big fan of Houndstooth (from old car fabric patterns). So after accidentally finding navy and white, it was a must purchase. Being the pregnant lady that I am, I miscalculated the amount of fabric I needed, so I ended up making the end bumpers a tad different than the sides. Here's the final result:

I incorporated orange piping and ribbon, so as to not make them too colorful or obnoxious. Orange can tend to be a bit much sometimes, and I think a little goes a long way in a room that I'll be spending so much time in. 

Next up was a painting of Chris' car. Some of you may have seen the pics that I posted on Facebook, asking for suggestions. I used a pre-cut project board from Home Depot, and scaled my painting to that size. I knew I wanted to keep the wood grain prominent behind the car, to make it even more boy-ish. 

I started by outlining the different aspects of the car, 

and made sure to label the parts that I needed to "fill in". 

Progress.

Here's where I posted and asked about opinions for adding tires. 

Adding the grill lines really made it pop.

And the finished product... I painted two coats of polyurethane to protect the paint and the wood. And PS.- I took a picture of Chris' tires to copy the tread pattern. My man is a sucker for details, and yes, he noticed this little accent when he saw it for the first time. 

]

On to the rest of the room. Here's what you see when you come in his door. If you know me at all, you know that I'm fairly cheap. OK, a LOT cheap. In my defense, I think this is the sole factor that spurs my creativity for decorating/crafting, so I have no regrets. And I save money! HA. See that white bookshelf in the back corner? 5 bucks. It needs a fresh coat of paint, but you can't beat that for a kids room where it's going to get beat around anyway. 

*No decorations were purchased in the making of this nursery. I simply grabbed things that we already had laying around the house, and put them to better use in MiniMan's room. *

The light fixture is just an ugly ceiling fixture that was there when we moved in. I removed the light cover, and hung this Pottery Barn shade that I found at Pottery Barn Outlet a few years ago. (It was hung in the guest/room office originally -now Camdin's room. I just flip-flopped the light fixtures and curtains for the two kids.)

The art on the window wall is two car prints that Chris found in England while we were visiting friends. We hung them in the guest room (for lack of a better place), and when we found out we were having a boy, I secretly knew that they would be for him. 

 

The model of the C130J was a Christmas gift from his dad a couple of years ago. Again, we hung it in the office for lack of a better place, and now it fits in perfectly to our little boy's room. 

The shelves were an idea found on Pinterest. A Restoration Hardware copycat idea for MUCH cheaper, which you all know I like. The "brackets" are just simple pipes with floor flanges and pipe caps. I spray painted them with a can that I had left over from revamping our garage lights. The shelves were just a 2x10 board, cut to the right length that I wanted. I stained them with leftover Dark Walnut. I wanted them to be sort of ugly and imperfect, and I think it worked out well. 

The football jersey is Chris' from middle school. It might not stay there permanently, but I thought it was cute, and it matches. The storage bench underneath still needs a pad on top, but it serves it purpose. The toy plane was Chris' and the barn set was my brother's and mine. Love their vintage charm.

The book and plane came from the bookshelves in the the living room. The teddy bear was purchased for Camdin on last year's deployment, but she never plays with it and hasn't even noticed it up there. The glove is actually my old glove from softball during the 90s. 

To the other side of the room. I'm reusing the rocking chair I had in Camdin's room. It didn't get much use with her, as she wasn't the biggest fan of being rocked. Maybe I'll get more baby snuggles throughout this next round. 

The dresser was purchased through an online yard sale page on Facebook. Pretty great find for $100. It's not technically a dresser, either. I think it was a buffet or entertainment piece, so if further down the line we want "bedroom furniture" for his room and/or we need a buffet/entertainment piece, we have some flexibility! (PS. It's FILLED with clothes from friends and family that oh-so-generously handed down to us, or from my 2nd hand sale purchases.)

The hockey skates are Chris'. They still actually fit him, so should he ever need them during our stay here, he knows exactly where they are. The large frame up top will have a different piece of art soon, once the name is finally decided. (We're still at a stand off, so don't ask if we've chosen yet. And no, you don't get to know what it is until he's born, so just be patient.) The square frame will be used for his/our hospital bracelets, just like I did for Camdin. The small frame on the end is a picture of the J prop. We had it on our wall clock, which has since been taken down due to small hands and her removal of objects.  

The white cabinet is actually the medicine cabinet that I used for Camdin and her diapering supplies/ medicine. I spray painted it white, and flipped it around so that it wouldn't be in the 'c' shape, which so conveniently worked for her. Don't worry about the inside being ugly. I was lazy and didn't paint it, knowing it would drip and not look great anyway. It has yet to be filled with baby essentials (hiding in the attic and bathroom, because someone else in the family has a climbing/getting into things fetish.)

The orange metal box is actually my Dad's old tackle box from his childhood. He argued with me over my taking it home (after I found it in a box in their basement). I told him it would be put to good use for storage, and looky here... it fits newborn diapers perfectly!! Yes those are Honest Co. diapers. Aren't they cute?! 

I'm still planning to cloth diaper MiniMan, just like I did with Camdin. His new britches came in the mail not too long ago, in fact. I'm trying out the BumGenius pocket style this time, instead of the All-in-Ones (or Freetime). Just waiting on the two gray dipes that are back ordered.

I have yet to make a pillow out of the Lions sweatshirt that folded up on the rocking chair. But my two infinity nursing scarves are finished and hanging on that giant hook. 

Last but not least, the mobile. I started hunting for something boy-ish to use, like a hubcap or bike rim. I stopped by a bike shop that had a rather large trash/toss pile outside. I found this one in the mix, and the owner had no problem with me taking it for FREE. Woot!! I used Chris' vice in the garage or attempt and straighten it a bit, but I also sort of like how it's not perfect. 

I wasn't sure what I wanted to hang from it, 

but I knew it needed to be simple and still eye catching for my MiniMan. I sought out another idea on Pinterest -shocker- using pinwheels. 

I searched for some great scrapbook paper and got to work. I made them double sided to be a tad more interesting and colorful. 

There you have it. The nursery is ALMOST finished. Just a couple of tiny projects after his name is decided upon, and we'll be ready for his arrival. I'm totally anticipating him to be early. One, because of the size of my belly... He's MUCH bigger than Camdin was at this point in pregnancy. (I know, I know they say you're 2nd is usually bigger, and you show faster, but he feels bigger, too.) And two, I'm starting to have the same symptoms that I did with Camdin in the last few weeks of pregnancy with her. I am so hoping he stays in and cooks as long as he possibly can, but I won't complain if he decides to make his worldly entrance early, as long as he's healthy! I'm just so darn excited! 

Happy Wednesday!

Growing Like A Weed

So Camdin has definitely hit her stride on growing... height-wise, at least. 

I bought 1x8 board a long time ago with intentions on making her a growth chart that we can move with us. I finally found time to paint it and hang it up behind her door in her room. I went with dandelions. You know, the whole 'growing like a weed' thing. Not really clever, but easy to paint. It kept it simple and shouldn't look baby-ish as she grows. Here's a close up.

I measured out the hash marks up to 6'. Who knows how tall she'll actually be.

The top mark was her height in December, after turning 2 years old. Check out the next picture. 

Not even 3 months later, and she's almost TWO INCHES taller?! (Don't mind the "mismatched jammies/never changed into real clothes, but changed our pants" look.)

The mark just above her head is 3 feet. Just as a reference, she's growing at a much faster rate than I was. I was a measly 35" at 3 years old. Camdin's there at 27 months!

I guess it was a good thing that I got this project done when I did. Easier to keep track of her giant spurts from now on!

Wedding Dress Wine Night

So I had this idea...

It came to me after randomly discussing with several different friends that many of us had never had our wedding dresses cleaned or packed away. Mine was/is still hanging (probably with sand still stuck in the seams) in a bag in our guest closet. Remembering that I had heard this repeated several times, I thought, we need to all come together and drink wine while in our dresses... white wine, just to be safe. 

It was perfect timing to host such an event, because most of our husbands were away on deployment together. Any excuse to gather and drink wine, am I right ladies? And to wear our dresses, yes please!

(I know we all secretly hoped that we'd slip right back into them.)

Here I am, wearing my dress, mid-day. Don't mind the clean diaper behind my shoulder. And I forgive you if you didn't even know that was a (cloth) diaper. 

And now I've shown you what real life looks like at my house.

I cleaned and danced around the house while Camdin took a nap. 

When the chicas arrived, a few of them still had to slip into their dresses. 

Nothing like getting laced up by another bride... when it's not even your wedding day. Ha.

We first ventured out to take some individual pictures of each of us. Some of us went for a more high fashion approach, and totally pulled it off! This is the lovely Kate Spitz of  ourhoodsherwood, who made the rest of us look like chumps with this pose. 

I on the other hand have mastered the cheesy grin. Because I've never oozed sexiness naturally.

But she does... hey hot mama!

Camdin even had fun seeing us all gussied up. 

Although, I think she thought our legs disappeared. Here I am reassuring her that everything is fine. 

Places, everyone!

The smile on this little face is priceless. She LOVES to be thrown in the air, twirled, tossed around. The girl is fearless. 

Group shot! These were all of the fine ladies that came to celebrate being married (or wine, however you look at it). We almost all made it into our dresses, if it weren't for The Dress being in another state (short dress), belly size (ahem, cutest preggo ever), or simply age (tiny lady).

Check out Camdin cheesin' it up... in the wrong direction.

... drum roll...

We even had CAKE!

Being the sentimental gals that we are, we all cut it together. 

Poppin' more bottles after we came inside, and before the dresses quickly got put away because it was hot as Hades this fine June evening. This is Miss Kate looking gorgeous with her make-up and her hair all did. Show off. (love you!)

Camdin even lost her dress... although it was bath time, technically.

So there you have it. Wedding Dress Wine Night. 

Anyone out there still have their dress accessible for a fun night like this? I can honestly say that we all had a blast, and had fun traipsing around in our frocks. However, we were just as happy to remove them and slip into some yoga pants with stretchy waistbands. We reminisced about our favorite parts of the wedding, and were all thankful that we never have to plan another one again. 

Cheers to friends, marriage, weddings, dresses, and wine!

Room Swap for a Big Girl

The hubs and I have been anxiously waiting to announce that Mini #2 is in the making, and we finally released the news this last week. I was hoping to reveal the secret with another shocker regarding a new destination, but that one fell through. (We were hoping to find out about moving later this year, but it now looks like we'll be hanging in Little Rock for roughly another 18months+.) With all of that said, I realized that we had Camdin crammed in the smaller of our two bedrooms for no reason. I thought it might make more sense to switch her to the bigger room to have more space for toys and playing for our time left here. And then we got wind that we'll be staying a bit longer, which solidified my decision (and a new baby doesn't need lots of play room- so for now the other room remains a guest room until the summer time!).

The guest room/office (bigger of the two bedrooms) was the last room in the house that needed painting. That was first on the list. Here's the room before. Boring tan.

Here it is mid-painting.

I chose Aqua Tint by Valspar because I wanted the room to seem as big as possible, and I didn't want much of a color. 

And here's the finished product after it all came together. 

Same curtains and dresser as before, but I added some new art. 

Camdin particularly loves the fox.

Here's her big girl bed with the toddler rail, and the tent I made for her last summer. 

Oh, wait... you didn't know she was in a toddler bed already? Well, let's back up. 

The day we put the room together and laid her down for a nap in her crib, this is what happened.

SO, I swapped the toddler rail in, ASAP. I knew that she wouldn't stay in her crib once she had figured how to crawl out, so there was no going back. We swapped out the side, and it's been downhill from there. She caught on VERY quickly, and has LOVED her bed ever since. 

But she's not the only one loving it.

I even caught Camdin sitting in her bed one afternoon, just having a nice read.

The duvet cover I made from linen and added the stars with fabric paint. I made a couple of sheets as well, and pillow cases for her pillow. I couldn't find anything I liked, so off to the fabric store I went. This was the stash I came home with.

Top is the linen, middle are the sheet fabrics (apparently I went with a bird theme), and the bottom two are the pillowcases. 

Ok... on to the rest of the room. 

This is Camdin's favorite. Her bookshelf and kitchen. 

I made the kitchen out of an old cabinet from the Habitat ReStore. 

Here are my work-in-progress pictures. 

The sink was a stainless steel bowl I had. The faucet was also from the ReStore. The burners are sink stoppers from the dollar store with the top nub cut off. The trivet in the oven was an extra I had, and it works perfectly as a shelf for her baking!

This is the priming stage, and installation of the battery powered light. I later realized it would be easier to have the light on the side of the oven for Camdin to get better leverage for turning it on and off. 

Here is was all finished on Christmas morning, ready for her to dive into. I filled it with all of my old kitchen/ play food from when I was her age. Gotta love parents that kept EVERYTHING. ;)

So this is what her room looks like everyday, now. I love how light it is, with light pouring in her window. It's always so bright and cheery. Just like my little bug. 

Happy Valentine's Day from my little lady who is infatuated 

with raiding her own closet on a daily basis. We love you Camdin!