The One With the Woodland Nursery

And for the last installment of this series, here is the mood board for our little girl's room. I'm going with a woodland theme, but with a lot of girlie touches.

1. This beautiful fabric from the Wee Woodland collection by Moda inspired the whole room. Even though I don't like any of the other fabrics in the collection, I ordered a bunch of the ABC Cream to make some blankets for her.
2. I plan on making her a flag banner to spruce up the existing curtains in her room, which are a light cream color.
3. I am so in love with all the beautiful art that Trafalgar's Square (on Etsy.com) makes! I'd like to do a collage of some of my favorite 5x7 prints and arrange them on her wall. If Olivia is anything like her big sister, Ellie, she'll love books - so I was sure to include some of the reading prints.
   
4. The Graco Lauren crib is just so plain and elegant. And I really love white furniture - it is practical because it is easy to touch up when needed and since she'll be using some of the furniture that was originally Ellie's, it just make sense to go with the same furniture finish.
5. This little Owl Bank by Just Puff (on Etsy.com) is so adorable.
6. Even more of Trafalgar's Square's wonderful art. I really like the balloons prints for the wall above the changing table.
7. I'll be making her crib skirt out of this material that I found at Fabric Depot. I love the colors and of course, polka dots are always great. The material I picked out for the flags matches these colors so it will all tie together.
   

The One With the Future Pilot's Nursery

My husband, Steve, got his private pilot's license when he was in high school. So, I've always thought it would be fun to do an airplane theme for a little boy's nursery. I would love to go with a teal, brown and white color scheme.

1. I found a pilot teddy bear just like this a while back and snagged it just in case.
2. These airplane prints (by Terezief on Etsy.com) would be perfect. I'd frame them, of course.
3. Katie over at Bower Power totally inspired me with the adorable bedding she made for her son's nursery. She chose navy plaid, but I would love to use brown to go with the teal walls and other accents. Her son's owl nursery is so rustic and classy and I like it!
   
4. Canton convertible crib by Delta.

Tomorrow I'll reveal the mood board for our baby girl's nursery!

The One With the Circus Nursery

I love the idea of a circus theme for a gender-neutral nursery. It is so bright and fun, which is sometimes hard to do when attempting to decorate neutrally.

1. This Elephant Chalkboard from Land of Nod is perfect. It would be such a cute way to write notes to the baby.
2. This canvas illustration of places around the world for each letter of the alphabet isn't necessarily circus themed, but it is so colorful and bright.
3. I love the illustrations Oopsy Daisy puts out, and this Circus Train is no exception.
4. This is technically a Jungle Mobile, but the colors lend perfectly to the circus theme.
5. This Quilted Animal Bedding in sage and white is beautiful and so classy.
   
6. How cute would this little Elephant (by Jessica Bush on Etsy.com) be on a nursery shelf?
   

The One With the Cherry Blossom and Birds Nursery

This mood board was inspired by how I did Ellie's nursery about a year and half ago. Of course, since a mood board is free, I added a few touches I would have if I were richer. And I apologize about the crappy quality of the pictures. They were the only ones available.

The whole point of this room is classic, girlie charm with beautiful colors. I love the whimsy of birds and cherry blossom trees are my absolute favorite. They make living in Portland when it's dreary for 6 months straight in the winter all worthwhile... those pink flowers bloom and it's overwhelmingly beautiful everywhere. I love it and wanted Ellie to be surrounded by that same beauty.

The room color is called Belladonna's Leaf by Benjamin Moore. I got it at Fred Meyer in their paint brand and I just love it so, so much. If only we didn't currently live in a rental, her room would be that color right now.

1. I found this Cherry Blossom Birdies Canvas by Oopsy Daisy and it inspired the whole room! I love the whimsical charm and the wonderful colors. It is perfect for a little girl.
2. The Jenny Lind crib in white is beautiful. I love it's vintage charm and sweet details.
3. This Blossoming Almond Branch Wall Decal adds a beautiful touch to any room and the colors can be personalized - I love the white flowers but would get the birds in a lighter pink.
4. This changing table is so awesome! I love that it is also a dresser and holds the baskets. It is extremely practical, easy to assemble and so cute!
5. This nightlight by Oopsy Daisy goes great with the Cherry Blossom Birdies Canvas listed above.
   
6. The Shabby Chic Cherry Blossom Bedding Collection at Target adds the perfect touch of girlie and vintage to complete this little one's haven.

And just for fun, here's a picture of Ellie and some cherry blossoms last spring when she was just 5 months old. See how adorable she was (and still is)!

The One With the Monster Mash Nursery

For those of you who don't know, we're expecting our second baby, a little girl, in about 9 weeks. Now that the holidays are over, it's time to get busy getting ready for the new little bundle of joy. Back before we knew if we were having a boy or a girl, I was brainstorming nursery ideas. So, for the next five days I'm going to post some of my favorite ideas, revealing the mood board for our daughter's nursery at the end. The main point of this is to share some of my favorite ideas I've seen in blogland, and of course the zillions of adorable children's art I've spied on Etsy. If only I had room for it all!

This nursery idea was inspired by some fabric I picked up at Joann's a few months back and turned into this blanket:


I just love the idea of a fun monster-themed room - and the color choices are endless, which I also like. So... if we were having a boy I might create a room similar to this (click to view better quality):

1. These monster canvases are just adorable! Each one of them is created made-to-order by What Is A Grit on Etsy.com. They can even be personalized with names and custom colors. Canvas art is particularly nice for a baby's room - you don't have to worry about broken glass if it were to ever fall.
2. The Geo-Brights bedding collection by Sumersault Baby is so fun and vibrant.
3. I've been loving the Lauren 4-in-1 Crib by Graco (in Espresso).
4. The Stork Craft Tuscany Glider and Ottoman in Espresso is great. I have one that is similar and it is so comfortable - a must for long nights.
5. Of course, no monster-themed nursery would be complete without a stuffed monster like this one.
6. This cute pillow is part of the Geo-Brights bedding collection listed above.

So there you have it! A Monster Madness Nursery.

P.S. These monster-themed art prints would also be fun...
9 Monsters by Pituda on etsy.com
Monsters 1 and 2 by Galerie Anais on etsy.com

The One With the Reindeer Cupcakes

These little reindeer were inspired by what seems to be a very popular way of decorating cookies... but I made cupcakes into reindeer instead.


They are just chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting and brown food coloring. Chocolate chips for eyes and M&Ms for noses. The extra big Rold Gold Pretzel thins make the antlers. I think they need extra big antlers... regular pretzels would make them look like regular deer. And that is just not acceptable.

Here's Rudolf with his red nose.


And the whole sleigh team ready to dash away.

"Now, Dasher! Now, Dancer! Now, Prancer and Vixen!
On Comet! On, Cupid! On Donder and Blitzen!

The One With the Decking of the Halls

I just love this time of year. And I love decorating for it. This year, I went with a colorful Christmas theme - mostly centered around green, blue and red.

The little nativity is a favorite. It is from Nicaragua. I wanted it to be focal, even though it is small, so I nestled it among some paper trees and beside a framed star I bought at a craft fair.

Now, decorating for Christmas is a little more difficult with a little one - all decorations must be up high and out of reach or childproof. This little Happy Holidays sign is perfect for our living room side tables as it can't really be hurt too badly. And the tin is form Target and should always be filled with cookies or candy... but then I would eat it all.

I snagged this little reindeer a few months ago in yearning for the holiday season. He's another favorite. And since our dining table is quite small, it's nice that I can make a centerpiece with him and some candles that is both festive and compact.

And this is the kitchen window. (My reflection is a nice touch, I think.) The photo collage was another craft fair find last year. I need to replace it with one made from this year's pictures, but I haven't gotten around to it yet.

And of course, no Christmas decorating is complete until Jingle Bugs is on the table... Ellie just loves that book.

I made the stockings myself using this pattern/tutorial for Elf Stockings from Sew4Home.com. The fabric line is "Colorful Christmas" by My Mind's Eye for Blake Riley. They may look a little limp at the moment... but they won't on Christmas eve!
This post could have also been titled "Decorating for Dollars" as nearly everything I used to decorate was either a gift or handmade from materials on sale. Target provided the little sparkly balls atop the trees (they were originally ornaments in the dollar section). To make the trees I recycled paper from last year and also purchased some more from Brenda Walton's Peppermint Twist Collection.
And while I was taking these pictures Ellie thought it must be time for a photoshoot of her as well. Look at those beautiful blue eyes. And notice the jingle bell she stole from a wreath.