DIY Baby Closet Dividers

As always, when I'm doing something new, I scour Pinterest for ideas.
I was looking for nursery DIY projects and came across some cool closet dividers for baby clothing.
The problem with all the ones I found, was that they had to be purchased (no thank you!), or they weren't adjustable (i.e. had a permanent 0-3 months stamped across). This doesn't make sense to me because they are only going to be in 0-3 month clothes for 3 months, IF they don't grow fast!

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Owl Mobile for the Nursery

I'm so happy with this owl mobile that now sits in Ellie's room above her crib :)
I knew that Ellie's room would incorporate many homemade items, and a mobile was always on my list of things to design.
In keeping with the owl theme that I imagined for my nursery way back in this post, I decided to brainstorm ways to make my own owl mobile.
Although I have a sewing machine now, I didn't have one when the brainstorming began, and sewing by hand is not my forte, so I ixnayed that idea, leaving me with the option of knitting or crocheting.

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Our Baby Nursery

We did it!
I completed the beautiful nursery for Miss Ellie.
Aside from a few picture frames that are yet to be filled and a couple of art pieces unfinished, it's all done!

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Twine Letter for the Nursery

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The Long-Anticipated Crib!

I cannot, in any way, take credit for the beauty that is this crib. 

My husband IS a handyman. 

He built this beautiful work of art, and I'm so proud that our kids will all get to sleep in it. 

This crib will certainly be an heirloom in our family, and hopefully we will get to see our grandchildren sleeping in it one day! 

Here's the finished product in baby Ellie's nursery: 

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"I LOVE U" Baby Room Frame

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Knitted Nursery Owl

I love decorative owls.
I know owls are a bit of a trend right now... but I'd like to think started the trend, rather than jumped on the bandwagon....
When I began planning out a nursery, I knew I wanted to incorporate owls into the design somehow.
Even in this "early nursery ideas" post I highlighted the idea.

So when I saw this pattern for a snowy owl, I knew I had to make it! 

Finding the extremely soft alpaca wool turned out to be difficult in Grande Prairie, but luckily for me a trip to Edmonton was quickly approaching, and a stop at River City Yarns was only a small detour from where we were staying :)

I was VERY intimidated by the pattern when I first read it, but with help from some very skilled knitting friends, I was able to problem-solve my way though it. 

I sized mine down from the one in the pattern above, cause I didn't want to buy as much yarn, lol. The smaller version is just as cute as the big one I'd say! 

Here's the finished owl for the nursery:

What started out as a stuffed animal for the baby, may end up as a decoration... for mom, lol. 

After all that hard work, I don't want it to get ruined!
Next step is to use my newly acquired and specialized knitting skills to recreate a white owl - so they can sit on the shelf together :)

{xoxo}

Prepping for Baby

 Almost 37 weeks now! 

This baby could come any day <insert terrified expression on my face>, but hopefully it's planning to wait until after Christmas! 

Every time I turn around, I think everything is done and ready to go. And then I'm awake all night and my mind find more things to do. The preparations could be endless!

Here are some things that I happily crossed off of my to-do list this week: 

1. Cleaning and Sterilizing Bottles

Hopefully I'm breastfeeding and now using these right away, but it's so nice to know that it's done, and that they can sit in the cupboard waiting until I need them. Whether that be for formula or pumped milk. It looks like a lot in this picture, but we got three little Avent ones for free, and bought one set of five Playtex VentAire ones.

2. Wash All Baby Clothes & Fabrics. 
Onsies. Sleepers. Blankets. Sheets.
You name it, I washed it and put it away!

3. Prep the Car

We have had the carseat for ages, but now it was time to put it in the car and make sure we were ready to go. Mr. A installed the seat while I watched and played with the dogs :)

Did I mention we also have one of those awesome mirrors??

4. Prep the Cloth Diapers

This step also involved a lot of washing... a load of all the wipes, diapers, and diaper bags. 

But then we had to wash the liners, which are made from bamboo. To get all the oils out and make sure they were absorbent before use we had to wash them 3 times, let them dry and then test the absorbancy. Luckily they were ready to go after that :)

Awwww... I can breath a sigh of relief now.
Is this what they call nesting??
I'm just trying to be prepared!

{xoxo}

Baby Room Update

A LOT has happened since this baby room update!

This room is coming together more and more. Every. Day.

Here are some pictures of the beautiful room (from all angles) after the painting was completed:

Ta-Da!

Amazing right?!?

And now... Just a reminder of some of my inspiration for the room: 

And here's an early look at the room with some furnishings :)

View from the doorway:

I love this blue dresser from Ikea :)

And look at this custom closet my amazing husband did!!

So that's where we're at :) 

Lots and lots of progress done on the room!

But we're not done yet! 

Still to do/get:

Curtains (probably a light yellow colour to match the other yellow touches in the room)

Baby crib built <insert husband>

Baby bedding delievered (although it's already purchased!)

Shelving unit of some kind ... probably white cube-shaped item...

Baby mobile craft done

Baby art-work/crafts done (minus a few pieces that will have to wait until the baby gets here!)

So proud of our progress!

{xoxo}

Baby Room Update

LOTS has been going on in this busy household lately, and progress on the baby room makeover is no exception! If you remember from previous posts, our baby room colours are gray, white, yellow, and navy. Yellow and navy both qualifying as accent colours. 

Our plan for painting was to build wainscotting for the bottom half of the room (completed weeks ago by my amazing husband), and to paint the bottom half of the room (including the wainscotting) white, and the top half of the room gray. 

Here's some pictures to show you that we really are progressing!

Mr. A sanding and painting the wainscotting in the garage.

A few frames and accent pieces getting painted to match too :)

And onto the bedroom!

Now that all the priming is done, we can get started on the gender neutral gray with Grandma's help on the edging :) 

PS - we only used baby friendly paints - no need for my mama to worry!

And three gray coats later, we're starting on the white coats for the bottom half :)  

I'm REALLY excited to see how it all looks when we're done. 

I'm pretty sure it's gonna be amazing.

Turns out you can accomplish a lot in one busy weekend of painting if you really try! 

{love}

Baby Room Beginnings

Well. We're 5 months in and planning a nursery. 

Can't believe that our lives will change drastically in only 4 months!

You've already seen my decorative ideas here, but now it's time to transform the baby room. 

This is the nursery as it stood a couple of weeks ago - functional guest bedroom:

And now to begin the transformation.
We started by selling our extra guest bed. Then Mr. A ripped out all of the moldings from the room. 
Our plans seem simple... 

Paint. Wainscotting. Crown molding. Closet Organizer.

Here you can see the room in shambles (not everyone shares these moments!), and the splotches of gray paint on the walls. The walls haven't been primed yet, we're just experimenting with colours.

And here (below) is the first wall of wainscoting in place (sort of)!

We made a tentative model to see if we would like it. 

Now Mr. A is hard at work measuring, cutting, and attaching each of the wall panels so we can check the style and the measurements before we begin priming and painting.

Thoughts?? 

We are excited - I'm thinking that it's gonna look great! 

How can I go wrong with Mr. A doing all the hard work - he's the best :)

This little room will be completely transformed by the time we're done with it! 

{xoxo}

Early Nursery Ideas

For all of your viewing pleasure, here is my gender neutral nursery room inspiration board:

There are a few themes running through the board:

1. Navy, yellow and grey. I hummed and hawed about these colours, but when I see them together I'm very happy.It's actually fairly easy to find products in these colours because they're popular right now, and I like the idea of having just pops of yellow throughout the room.


2. Patterns. I love the lively patterns in these pictures. From the trellis printed rug to the chevron printed pillows. I really would love some patterns to pop out in this nursery and liven the room.


3. Crafty touches. My baby room will not be complete until I have completed a few projects for it! The Owl mobile is ADORABLE (or maybe thats just me and my love of owls, lol). I don't know if I can create something as intricate, but I can try! And the letter frame is something that I will 100% be copying with scrapbook paper :) Many more projects in my mind that aren't on this board though.


4. Functionality. Although I want everything to flow and look great, it also all needs to be functional. After all, babies will be crawling around on these floors! I definitely will need something ultra fluffy and/or comfy for the baby to rest on on the floor (a flat rug probably won't do the trick!). Any chair will have to be in the form of a rocker or glider - just a necessity. And storage! It can look pretty, but it better store all the clothes, books, and cloth diapers well! 


5. Neutral. Last but not least... it has to be appropriate for a boy or a girl. Since we've decided not to find out what we're having, I have to rein in the decorating and keep it neutral until the baby comes. Once he or she is here I can add pink dolls or red firetrucks, but until then, it stays clean and neutral :)

Thoughts?? Other suggestions are welcome, but you better be quick cause I'm gonna start shopping soon. Only four more months to get ready!!

{love}