She's here!
Miss Jolee Raye arrived on Wednesday, July 8th at 6:46 pm.
She's healthy and happy and we're adjusting to life as a new little family of three. It may be a little while before I post anything new. See you when we've got our feet under us again. :)
Getting a non-symmetrical wall arrangement of art and objects to work is not as easy as it looks in magazines. Last Sunday I gathered objects from all over the house to see what would come together for a big blank wall in our new bedroom. I spread my choices out on our bed and came back multiple times during the the day to arrange and re-arrange them. Inordinate amounts of time were spent flip-flopping the objects - pulling in new pieces, throwing out others. I was trying to get a mix that was visually interesting and pleasing and not too stuffy since I was dealing with fun prints and bright colors.
I wanted to try to some fabric art and stretched a piece of textured aqua and white print over a canvas, but by itself it seemed too plain until I added a square of scrapbook paper that mimics the print on our throw pillows, our headboard fabric, and the paper that covers the doors on our big storage cabinet.
I also knew I didn't want all flat art pieces or things too much of a similar scale, so getting pieces chosen to represent those wishes took awhile.
I first hung an old ceiling tin that I painted last summer, the aqua and white fabric/paper canvas, the deep pink floral scrapbook paper (stuck on cardboard and wedged into the back of an antique frame), and the shelf with the pink plate. I slept on that and then the next morning added the plates and put the little blue vase on the shelf.
This wall is at the foot of our bed so it's the first thing I see in the morning. So far I'm loving it.
Miss Jolee Raye is due in 3 weeks (and may arrive sooner), so her nursery has been one of my top priorities lately. And, yippy skippy, it's pretty much done...yay! I'll still have things to add and I want to hang a baby quilt my Grandma made for her, but all the major players are in place and it's accessorized with a bunch of little cute things.
This is what the room looked like when we bought the house...
And this is her little cupcake and polka dot nest today...
There's a new IKEA shelf filled with fun...
And also useful things like flannel blankets Grandma made...
The old rocker has a comfy cushion...
A terrific Pier 1 find...
And the changing table (that went under my paintbrush a couple months ago) just needs the soft pink cover put on the pad and some useful things added to the scalloped shadowbox shelf.
We're almost there.
My Aunt Jo just finished making some sweet pink dotty curtains for the baby's room and we had some fabric and trim leftover.
I had a frame I'd bought for another purpose that didn't work out and I had already sprayed it a fresh turquoise color...
So I used some late-evening creativity buzz last night and made cupcake art. This will complete a trio of pictures and now my head won't be bothered by only having two handmade pictures instead of the required odd number of 3.
I just love what scrapbook paper, fabric, and a hot glue gun can do.
Our back hallway used to be divided by an old bathroom put there in the 70s. Harvest gold, faux wood, you get the picture. Apparently I wanted to get rid of it so badly that I never even took a picture of it. And it was dark as a dungeon back there anyway, so it's just as well. But just imagine a bathroom plunked in a hallway where a bathroom was not intended and add every bad 70s decor feature and you get the idea.
We wanted to open up that hall so we could have a better flow in the house and also so our room would be a few steps from the baby's room instead of a long circuitous trip. Scott ripped it out back in the winter.
And now we're almost complete - only new light fixtures and putting down quarter round trim is left to go.
We pulled in a bookcase from another room and I added a big painting I did last weekend plus my red polka dot bucket and a new lamp from IKEA. (I had never been til a few weeks ago - oh my word- now I know why everyone loves that place.) The door at the end of the hall wasn't there before (we're turning the old pantry into a laundry room) and the bottom of it needs squared off better with the new flooring. And on the other side of the hall that once looked sorta scary...
We used the laser level and hung some canvases that I painted a few months ago when this - "The project that would not end" - seemed near completion. They've been wrapped in tissue paper sitting in my studio ever since and now they're finally seeing the light of day.
I bought these canvases (their bargain 2-for-1 size) plus the big canvas at Hobby Lobby when they were on sale. The huge canvas across the hall was about $25. The ones above plus the paint for the project were about $20. Such a deal!
Lately, on more than one blog I read, I've noticed crafty girls jumping in and doing an upholstered headboard themselves. I decided that would be a great idea for our new bedroom. Since a:) I felt the need for something more dramatic and b:) I had already found our old headboard a new home. It's also cheaper than a store-bought option. So, a sheet of plywood, a little painting...
Some fabric choosing, a lot of stapling...
and a bit of re-leveling later...
And we have a new upholstered headboard! We got the batting attached to the plywood and the fabric stapled on fairly easily. The biggest challenge was trying to hang the board and get it level when I couldn't help much with lifting. Scott ended up balancing most of the weight on his foot while trying to drill the board into the wall (all while standing on a wiggly mattress). He got a gold star for the day.
The bedding is still going to get some updating with a new duvet cover. Then I'll hang some artwork and I think the bedroom will be officially complete. (At least until I decide to change things around).
