LaY dOWn YoUR SweEt hEAd

I recently finished making some (mostly decorative, but totally necessary:o) ) pillows for baby girl's nursery. I stitched the flower and crown appliques on by hand, then did the pillow part with machine. It was a fun, satisfying project...and they accent the room like I was hoping! Pictures of the finished room are coming, but for now I leave you with these:

FAbRiC FLoWErS

Baby girl's room is coming right along! The other day I whipped up these super-easy, no-sew fabric flowers (tutorial on MADE.blogspot.com). I chose three coordinating fabrics that fit in with the nursery colors...this little photo shoot will give you a little sneak peek at the nursery:

I didn't have any wooden dowels for the stems so I used some of husband's unsharpened pencils-sorry, babe!-and painted them brown.

I love them so much that I want to make some for the dining room...

...and maybe some for our bedroom...

...but for now I feel good about crossing another thing off my nesting list, and being one step closer to finishing the nursery!

ChALkbOARd

A large white wall in my kitchen needed some help! I had a big framed map that I wasn't using...and I had an idea! First I painted the frame (which was dark brown) with the same paint I used earlier for my thrift-store desk. A sort of grey-teal-blue color. Then I got some chalkboard paint at WalMart for $10.00 (kinda pricey, but I am planning on using it for other projects). If you use this chalkboard paint then do it outside...it's very smelly. I painted right over the glass in the frame. Then I waited an agonizing 24 hours for it to dry before using my mom's chalkboard pen (the coolest invention ever) before playing with it. I got my inspiration for the words from this website.

Do you like how it turned out? My favorite part is that you can change it whenever you want! Now I really want to find more things to use this chalkboard paint on!

LiViNG RoOM UP-dO

I recently found some pretty fabric at trimweaver.com that I thought would give my living room a little more pop. So I made two new pillows for the couch in a teal-gold-and grey floral:

On one of the pillows I used some gold quilted fabric that I covered my desk chair with:

I was also in desperate need of some curtain tie-backs. So I sewed a strip of the same floral fabric onto each curtain with hidden velcro to loop aroound the curtain. When the curtain is closed, the strip of fabric is easily tucked behind the curtain.

I had to mix some gold curtains with the teal-grey-bluish ones because I didn't have enough of either curtain for all the windows in my living room/dining room. Now they work together welll with the same fabric tie-backs!

I got a yard and a half of this fabric during a half-off sale and made (2) pillows, (10) tie-backs, and a valance for the kitchen window!
...And I crossed another project off the Nesting List:-)

A NeW SuNnY BAthROOM

The "girls' powder room" (or guest bathroom) was in desperate need of a re-do, as these pictures show:

No Life.

No Style.

No Personality.

So I chose a bright, sunny color and added some girly, vintage touches.

I didn't want to spend much money so I decided to make the shower curtain myself. Remember this fabric? Yes...it's the sheet I found at the thrift store for $1.50! I had the shower rod already, but added a large button (or two) to each ring. I picked all different sizes and colors and glued them on.

I found some old hankies from my grandma and put them in yellow spray-painted frames that I already had. The spray paint was about $4.00.

I took an old wooden sign I wasn't using and covered it with another hankie, then wrote "Little Dreamers make Big Achievers" with a permanent pen. I bought the little wire shelf/ towel bar at Hibernation for about $12.00. All the Burt's Bees Baby lotions etc. are from my wonderful Mother-in-law who keeps me in ample supply:0) The colors are perfect with the new theme!

I have been on the lookout for a new rug and some hand towels...but haven't found the right ones yet.

When Madelynn woke up from her nap one day to find her bathroom re-decorated, she exclaimed, "OOOHH Mommy!" Then she went around touching everything saying, "Mommy made this!"
It's nice to have someone appreciate your decorating:0) Now I walk into the bathroom with a bright smile....and I crossed another project off the "nesting list!"

NEstiNG

Here are a few things that have been keeping me busy around the house lately:

Organizing and getting the nursery ready for baby girl (nursery pics soon!):

Painting and organizing my newest thrift store find (sorry there's no before photo-it was an ugly honey-colored wood with brass handles):

Re-doing my terribly messy, embarassing laundry space:
BEFORE-

AFTER-

And finding a space in the garage for husband to hang his lovely, ever-growing collection of hats:

I have also been working on decorating the guest bathroom...and the nursery, the livingroom, the master bathroom, husband's closet, the kitchen....
No, I'm not nesting or anything.....:>)

MiSs MAddeLyNn'S RoOM

Its finally finished! This has been one of the most fun decorating experiences I have had! I wanted the room to be colorful and fun-just like Madelynn. I tried to get as creative as possible and think outside the box. Usually I am a very precise, "matchy" and symetrical decorator-so it was fun to do something different! See what you think:

Madelynn's wonderful Nana and Pa bought her the super-cute wall stickers, hedgehog beanbag, and awesome pink storage cubicle and canvas buckets. My sister painted the bright green owl figure sitting under the tree on top of the storage cubicle :>)

The "woodland friends" sheets and bedspread are from Target (originally I wanted the owl bedding from Pottery Barn but found the Target version at almost 1/4 of the price!).

I bought the hanging birdhouses for a dollar each at thrift stores and painted them and covered one roof with fabric.

This little pink child-size mirrored cupboard used to be bright red and very shabby looking. A fresh coat of pale pink paint and it looks brand new!

I gave Madelynn's pink curtains an update by sewing a huge tree with a pink bird on one panel, and a giant owl on the other panel. All the fabric I used was on hand. (I really must invest in a nice camera one day-these pictures look terrible!!)

The pink retro kitchen was a Christmas gift from Nana and Pa:-)

I just noticed the mixed-media canvas above the kitchen that I made has some fabric hanging down in the corner. Guess I didn't hang it far enough above the kitchen and Madelynn put her special touch on it!

I have to say that Madelynn seems to really like her new room! She was very excited to see all the little critters on the walls. She also loved helping me paint the birdhouses. I love that the room now fits my daughter's colorful personality!

Here is what I spent to re-do her room:
Bedding: $65.00
Birdhouses: $2.00
Pink Paint: $12.00 (I was shocked that a little quart of paint was so expensive, but I have plenty left for a few projects in the baby's room :-)
Everything else I had on hand!

MiXEd MEdiA ARtwORk

Last night I had so much fun creating two mixed media canvases for Madelynn's room.

The best part was getting to use so many different materials-canvas, paint, fabric, wood, stickers, and glue! I used two painter's canvases I had laying around and painted them a pale pink. Then I found a coordinating green fabric and glued it in a strip on the bottom of each canvas.

The tree stems, leaves, and flowers were leftover wall "stickers" that I used to embellish the walls of Madelynn's room. They are removable, so I had so much fun playing around with different designs...they are so goof-proof!

The little owl is actually a thin, wooden, paintable cutout from a craft store-but since I didn't have very many paint colors, I decided to use fabric instead! I cut the fabric shapes just like the pattern that was pre-drawn on each owl, then glued them on. Soooo easy! Then all I had to do was glue the owls to the canvases. it was so much fun!

Madelynn's room is almost done and ready for pictures! Only a few last minute touches!