Look What Came In the Mail Today...

After much delay thanks to the wonderful postal system of the United States, I finally received my long-awaited package from Rkdsign88 on Etsy.com.
In a few weeks we will be moving Ellie to a new room so that her old room can become the nursery for the new baby. A while ago I was looking around on Etsy and found the most adorable art for Ellie's new room.
It arrived in the loveliest of packaging, which made me feel o so special.

I ordered 5 prints and received one bonus one thanks to Rita.

This print is the main reason I ordered them. It is so perfectly Ellie - she is literally reading her books all the time. And of course it's perfect because her bedroom is already decorated in these colors. Could it be any better? Probably not...

This print is the first one I saw that attracted me to her work. I really like elephants. And cute little girls playing with them.
Steve gave his input and insisted this mother-daughter print be included in the order. I was definitely okay with it.

I was a mini-ballerina when I was young and perhaps Ellie will be one, too.

And we live in Portland so anything with rain is sentimental to me.

Those were the 5 I ordered and I received this as a bonus. I just love it - especially because Ellie will be getting a little sister here soon. And sisters are wonderful.

This bookmark was also a bonus gift. I can't wait to give it to Ellie when she's into chapter books someday.

I will be framing these in plain white frames from Ikea and putting them in Ellie's new room. I'll show you pictures when her new room is all ready.

The One With the Personalized Notebook

I seem to have a recurring problem. Although I think notebooks are a great way to stay organized, I can never seem to find one that would allow me to have the sections I want to organize the kinds of things I need organized. Solution: DIY Personalized Notebook.

This is the one I made for my friend, Mallory, for Christmas.
I used blue and green scrapbooking paper to decorate the front and tabbed pages, since those are her favorite colors. Think of the personalization possibilities! You could completely customize the look to get exactly what you wanted.
(Please excuse the shininess. That's a result of the lamination and the camera's flash.)
I listened to Mallory's ideas of things she wanted to keep track of for a few weeks and then decided on the following tabs:

• Recipes (she loves to bake)
  
• Home Inspirations (for products or room ideas she might want in her future house)
  
• Projects (we're always collecting them from blogland and beyond)
  
• Gifts (she's an amazing gift-giver, partially because she listens to what people talk about and keeps track of things she thinks they might like - now there's a whole notebook section to make that easier for her. Now she can keep track of gift ideas when she sees them months ahead of the time she'll need them.)
• Addresses (everyone has addresses they need to keep handy)
  
• Miscellaneous (I included this tab for any random thoughts, quotes, inspiration or scheduling reminder she might want to jot down)
  

This is what the individual tabbed pages looked like. Inside each tab I included blank white pages - but these could be personalized, too.

In retrospect, I should have added a pocket in the front or back since she's always hanging onto sale ads so she can use them at the right time. It would have been a great addition to make this even more useful.
If you make yourself one, you can get them bound at your local Staples or Office Depot - anywhere with a printing center should be able to do it. Keep in mind that if you use chipboard for any embellishment, it cannot be laminated. Stickers and paper are a better route.

Next up, I'm going to make myself one - and hopefully, with a little perfection, I'll be offering these in my upcoming Etsy shop very soon.

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