A Room for Zoe

I've finally gotten around to taking photos of her room.  Of course, these days it has that "lived in" look so I had to do some staging to get the good photos.  You know, the ones I should have taken before she was born. 

I'd planned on a gender-neutral room right up until I found out I was having a girl.  Once I knew a girl was in our future, those nursery plans went out the window.  We already had an over-sized red chair that I knew I'd be using in the nursery so I basically had to design the room around that. 

The paint color we used is a Valspar (Lowe's) color called Sea Air.  I made the curtains from some inexpensive fabric from Hobby Lobby.  I posted about the mobile here (I'm actually in the process of making a smaller one to hang over the changing table).  I kept the bedding simple and only made a rag quilt for it.  The print came from the Etsy shop, a little sweetness.

Aside from the crib, this changing table was the only other piece of furniture we had to purchase.  The crib and the changing table are both from Target.  The mirror you see here also came from Target.  Lucky for me, my sweet Zoe was born in Feb so I was able to find these red and white fabric baskets, in the Wal-Mart Valentine's Day section, to use for storage.  The piggy lamp used to belong to Han.  Its shade was lost long ago so I bought a plain white one and glued some ric-rac on it.

 

The dresser belonged to Han and  the hutch came with another dresser I thrifted just the week before I found out I was expecting.  Perfect timing!  You can't really see it, but there is a photo of my mom on this dresser (look for it at the end of this post).  She passed away 4 weeks before Zoe was born.  This was also the photo I had in the delivery room with me.  My mom was there for me when Han was born, and she was there with me when little Z came into this world.

Here's the chair the room was designed around.  The pillow came from Target and was another lucky Valentine's Day find.  The side table was made by Charles back when we did Han's first room makeover .  By the way, Zoe's room is the same room that was made over in that post.  Han got moved to another room so we could use this room for the nursery. 

This little shelf, that hangs over the red chair was something I thrifted a few years ago.  It was in the master bedroom until we moved that room up next to the nursery room.  The little peg people came from the Etsy shop, mooshoopork.  She doesn't have any available now, but you can ask for a custom order.  That's what I did.  I'd pinned them and by the time I was ready to buy them, they'd sold.

The shelf over the cubes was one I'd thrifted a couple of years ago.  Seems it was just waiting for Zoe.  A coat of white paint, and it was perfect.  The lamp was a plain one I bought at Target.  I added the red ric-rac and used this tutorial for the fabric rosettes.  The abacus and the vintage Fisher Price cash register were thrifted back before my niece was born in 2010.  I'd planned to give them to her, but didn't for some reason.  I LOVE that cash register.  My sister and I had one when we were kids. 

The Etsy shop, mooshoopork, also sells these adorable plaques.  She didn't have any listed when I bought the peg people from her, and so I just ended up making my own since it seemed simple enough. 

Isn't it adorable?.

We found this cute little rocking chair in an antique shop last Fall.  The smaller Raggedy Ann was thrifted sometime before I knew I was expecting.  I just love Raggedy Ann, and had to have her.  Once I bought the rocker, I bought the larger, newer Raggedy Ann to keep her company.

Well, I guess that's it.  I didn't do a whole lot of crafty, decorative things while I was pregnant, but I did a few room makeovers that I'll be sharing in the next few weeks.  I'm hoping to get back into blogging on a regular basis.  Pregnancy just zapped any energy and creative ambition I may have had.  Thanks to those of you who still have me in your readers!  I was pleasantly surprised at the comments I received on my Zoe post earlier today.  

I love you , Mama!! 

taken at my wedding reception lunch on 6/22/08

Linked to:

Anti Procrastination Tues @ New Nostalgia
Get Your Craft on @ Today's Creative Blog 
One Project at a Time @ A Bowl Full of Lemons 
Take a Look Tues @ Sugar Bee Crafts
Creative Spark @ Clean & Scentsible
Be Inspired @ Elizabeth & Co 
Wow us Weds @ Savvy Southern Style 
Power of Paint Party @ Domestically Speaking
Sugar & Spice @ seven thirty-three  
Transformation Thurs @ The Shabby Creek Cottage 
Fridays Unfolded @ Stuff and Nonsense
Show and Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home  
Creative Things Thurs @ The Vintage Farmhouse 
Free for All Friday @ Sassy Sites  
Frugal Friday @ The Shabby Nest 
Frugalicious Friday @ Finding Fabulous 
Weekend Wrap-up @ Tatertots & Jello 
Whatcha Got Weekend @ Lolly Jane Boutique  
Show & Tell Sat @ Be Different, Act Normal 
Met Monday @ Between Naps on the Porch 

Nursery Crafting

Well, I'm still alive, and still baking this little bun. We've got about 10 weeks until her debut, and I'm just putting the finishing touches on her room.

Today, I want to share her mobile with you.

I'd planned on making one from the beginning, I just couldn't figure out what I wanted. I shared one type of mobile with you all, months ago. I actually started making that one, but of course, as soon as I found out I was having a girl, my nursery plans changed. Out went the gender-neutral room, and in came the floor to ceiling girly room.

I ran across this mobile a sometime back in late summer, and decided I'd give it a shot, even though, it seemed to be pretty time-consuming.  

Following this link will take you to The Handmade Home, and to the tutorial for the mobile.  I'm just gonna run through a few tidbits on how I made mine.

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First off, this wasn't nearly as time consuming as I thought it'd be.  It's the perfect TV project.  Since I started knitting, nearly 10 years ago, I have the hardest time just sitting and watching TV.  I absolutely HAVE to have something to keep my hands busy.  This project was great for that!  

Second, for a mobile, you can't beat the price.  I spent around $5 on this.  The only things I had to purchase were extra felt sheets, and the baker's twine I used for hanging. 

I used a few pieces of fabric on some of the rounds, but I found I liked the way all felt looked better.  It just really made the embroidery stitches stand out (it seems like I may have read this very same thing over at HH).

I found my baker's twine here.

I cut all of my circles by hand.  I traced around various household objects with a fabric pen and then cut everything out.  I used objects (spool of thread, small tape measure, suction cup) that had similar measurements to what Ashley recommended.  * Just so you know, I've added the Sizzix Big Shot she recommended to my Christmas list this year.  Fingers crossed that i get it!  I have so many plans for that machine (think garlands galore).

Our ceilings are 8ft so I didn't make my mobile nearly as long as the ones over at HH.  This means I didn't need quite as many rounds as she did.  I ended up doing 5 strands.  The 4 outside strands had 4 completed rounds on them and the center strand had 6.  I ended up using a total of 44 rounds. 

I used a 15" hoop, which I painted to coordinate with the rounds. 

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One good thing about this mobile is that you can use it for years.  It's not really babyish, and would be fine in a child's room.  Shoot, Han is 13 and she wants one for her room.  

I'm hoping to be back to blogging more frequently, at least until Zoe arrives.  It's been a LONG time since I've tended to a newborn so I'm not exactly sure how much free time to expect.  My guess is, not much. 

Linking to:
Met Monday
Motivate Me Monday 
Sunday Showcase 
Made By Me

A Perfectly Imperfect Quilt

It looks like I'm just a day shy of a month with no posts.  Sorry about that!

Let's see, I last posted about planning to decorate my new master bedroom.  We've been in that room for three weeks now and I love it!  I've still got to hang curtains and also hang a few other things up, and then I'll be back to blog about that.

Right now I want to share with you a couple of things.

Number One:  We had an early gender ultrasound and found out that we're expecting a GIRL!!  We were all three hoping for a girl.  Her name will be Zoe Quinn.  Charles chose the first name, years ago, and I chose the middle name.  Actually, it was a name Han suggested several years ago, back when we used to sit around and try to come up with names for fun.   

Number Two:  I immediately went back to my original plan of a girly nursery with blues and reds instead of the colorful gender-neutral nursery I thought I wanted.  

I have a pretty good board going on Pinterest for all of my ideas, and I've already started on making some things.  This weekend, I finished this quilt.

It's a rag quilt that was inspired by this one made by Kristin at Write it Down.

I loved the fabric she used, but sadly, it's no longer available.  Luckily, I was able to find a similar fabric line from Moda called Ruby.  I bought 2 charm packs and ended up using 70 of the 84 squares (I left most of the gray fabrics out).  I used cotton batting in the craft size, and for the backing, I used some matching fabrics from my stash.

I say this quilt is imperfect because it is.  All of my quilts are.  I'm what you'd call an impatient quilter.  I try to get them done as fast as I can, and this often means that my blocks don't match up like they should, and I usually end up having to trim up the sides of my quilt tops because some rows end up longer than others.  You know what though? I'm OK with this.  The quilts I make are never going to be in a quilt show.  They're never going to be passed down from generation to generation.  They're meant for right NOW, to snuggle up in while taking a nap or watching a movie.  If you're like me, or if you've never even tried a quilt, this one is for you!  The ragged seams will take away from the fact that you have wonky blocks and rows, and the quilting-as-you-go part?  Shoot, quilting can't get an easier than that!

The tutorial I used, which is the same one that Kristin used, is here at Creations by Kara.  Kara mentions that flannel is the best fabric for flannel, but I honestly didn't have any problems with just plain old cotton. 

Well, that's all I've got for now.  Hopefully I'll be back later this week with a master bedroom update. 


Linking to:
Motivate Me Mon @ Keeping it Simple
Met Monday @ Between Naps on the Porch 
Amaze Me Monday @ Dittle Dattle

Nursery Stuff

First off, I'd like to give a big thanks to those of you who left comments on my last post. I replied directly to those I could, but some of you have your e-mail addresses blocked.

I've decided to let Han do the room the way she wants since it's HER room, and not mine. I got several suggestions of painting the dresser lime green, which is one of the colors in the bedding, and I think we'll be doing exactly that (with Han's approval, of course!)  * Since I started this post, we've considered purchasing new furniture for her room.  She's almost 13 and I think it's about time she has an actual bedroom set.  We're planning to finish the rest of our renovations before we make such a large purchase, so until then, she's just using the yellow dresser.


Now on to the meat of this post.  I showed a couple of nursery idea boards last month and I mentioned that I'd probably end up changing my mind. I know myself so well. I think it was that same week that I decided I'd like to do a gender-neutral nursery.


I was inspired by this nursery from Susan Weinroth. So bright and cheery!

One thing I have to consider when designing this room is the chair we'll be using in there.  It's the big red chair from my studio that so many of you loved.

Considering the red chair, I thought it might look nice to have white walls and then uses pops of color around the room.  Kind of this like nursery that I found on Pinterest.  The source from the pin was from the boo and the boy , and she credits Spearmint Baby.  I looked through the featured nurseries there, but I couldn't locate this one so I'm not sure where it originated.  It sure is peppy though!

Once I got the general scheme down, I started thinking about accessories.  I blogged a few weeks ago that I'd started knitting/making a mobile similar to this one.

blabla

So far, I've knitted the band and started on the birds, which are currently wingless, with a few still unstuffed. 

 bird pattern can be found here

Here's my dirty paint chip from the color we're using in Han's new room.  Her wall color is the last one, Sea Wave.  I was really hesitant about that color until Charles got it on the wall.  Now I love it!  I'd really like to use one of the other two colors for the nursery walls, instead of just having white walls.  The reason I thought that might work is because it'll be a great contrast against the white furniture we'll have in that room, but it'll still look great with the red chair.

valspar colors

I have so many ideas for this room that I have to be careful not to over-do it.  I want it to be cheerful, but simple.

Stay tuned for updates.  We should have this room cleaned out and ready to work on sometime in the next few weeks!

Linking to:
Think Pink Sundays @ Flamingo Toes

Yeah, I Got Nothin'

Seriously, guys.  I'm having huge creativity block over here.  My mind is consumed by pregnancy and diabetes (I'm type 2) right now, and the only creative thing I've done lately is some knitting for baby.  Even that's hard since I have no idea what gender this little niblet will be.

I haven't posted in over a week, and believe me, I haven't forgotten about my blog.  I just can't come up with a project to do and blog about.  Well, I should say that I can't come up with a quick project to blog about.  I haven't found the time to work on anything that would take a good amount of time to work on.  I seem to run errands all day and by the time I get home, I'm too tired to do anything.  I can only imagine what life will be like once baby arrives.  I honestly don't know how you guys with multiple small children find the time to do all of the projects you do, AND blog about them.  

Like I said earlier, I have been doing some baby knitting.  Right now, I'm working on making a mobile that will be a mix between these two CUTE mobiles that I found.  I've done the band that goes around the ring and am about to start knitting birds just as soon as I can get a few minutes to sit down. 

*If anyone is interested in these particular mobiles, you can find them here.