Nursery Project: Crib sheets (and a revealing)

While my dear mother (and father, and brother and sister) was in town for Mother's Day weekend, I starting thinking about what color crib sheet I wanted or what design, but I didn't want to pay much for them.  The kid just sleeps on them after all.  And then they'll get exploded on.

I remembered that I had the fitted queen sheets from the sheet set I made my downstairs curtains out of years ago and thought maybe if I knew how to make a fitted sheet I could use those to make my crib sheets - for free. :)  I also found my old dorm sheet I used for 1 year that's baby blue t-shirt kind of sheet.  My mother, the sewer, of course knew how to do this and so we cut them out and she sewed up 2 to show me.  That left me with 3 to finish sometime.  I did it today.  I sewed all three and they all fit and look great!  I'm really excited about them and I was pretty pumped this morning with their completion.  So much so, that I told Dash how awesome his mom was - and that it was no wonder he chose our family to come to.  It was an achievement for me and they were free!  I'm feeling pretty good about things today...

The chocolate circles remind me of Dwell Studio stuff and I love the silkiness of the gray fabric.  These are some posh crib sheets.

We measured the size of the mattress- I grabbed the dimensions from Ikea's website - and added 2 inches to each of the 4 sides so the sheet would reach around to the bottom.  We cut a square out of each corner (whatever the depth was including the 2 inches) and then french seamed the corners together.  Put elastic in the corners and then hemed all the way around.  Really not that bad.

What's your favorite?

We can't get enough of this barn door so I keep showing it off. :)

The copper pig is Bryce's from childhood, the silver crab you can barely see is Bryce's from his Grandfather Long who was stationed in Sicily during WWII.  It's engraved Sicily 1944.  We love the wooden train.  I need to get some baskets and bins and books to fill the shelves now. :)

I really wish I would've taken pictures of the room's clutter, then cleared out, then empty with the walls painted, and then with the things going in it slowly so you could see the amazing difference.  But maybe it's good I didn't, because you don't really want to see all that.  You want to see the finished product!  It's not finished yet, but here's what you get right now.  Oh, the random bag on the floor is the diaper bag I purchased the other day.

Next on the project list:
barn door
wall o shelves
crib sheets
mobile
find a dresser
mount and hang antlers
window treatment
put shelves and rods in closet
stenciled pillow
figure out what to do with the small navajo rug that's thrown on the back of the chair

Nursery DIY: Final Photos

 The 'Barn Door' we built from scratch an this is what it looked like raw.  

Then we thought maybe we'd like some metal brackets like our inspiration photo.  I can't tell you how many doors I looked at over and over again so it's not like this is the one door I saw and said, "Yup, that's the one!"  I share this picture, because the wood tone and worn look is what we liked.  We decided we wanted a bit more 'interior' look to our door than the 'outdoor' barn door with the diagonals or z design.

The other DIY that I had planed was a "Wall o' Shelves."  This was based on a photo of reclaimed wood planks laid across braces hung on tracking.  A little more rugged and industrial than a regular bookcase or floating shelves.

  We ended up deciding to put them a little higher off the ground so they're not as accessible to climb early on and then decided I didn't need them to go all the way to ceiling so we stopped about doorway height.

We originally bought cedar planks because of the neat ombre coloring on them for the shelves, but when we finally got down to it, we returned them and bought the regular douglas fir or whatever is at the lumber  yard.  Cheaper and they'd match our door staining exactly.

 Here's the mounting board we stained first as a tester.  It is what we screwed into the studs on the wall and then mounted the door track to this.  Bryce picked out a grey/blue stain that mimics that of the Ikea crib but I knew we wanted a natural wood tone so I bought Miniwax's Special Walnut and rubbed it on with a cloth.  We then went immediately back over it with a wet rag of the grey and rubbed it in/off with a dry one.  The walnut color is GREAT and the gray doesn't really show, but sure did a lot for making the wood look older.  I really love the outcome of the staining!  It's interesting to see how each piece of wood takes the stain differently and gives you a unique look each time.

The stained door!

door track mounted to the wood.  The wood has already been predrilled and marked for hanging on the studs.

up on the wall...getting so close...getting so excited for the final product...

Wa LA!  Finished, hung, balanced, and brackets and handle are on!

Stained shelves - I didn't take before pictures, but it's the same pale wood as the door was.

Thanks Mom and Dad for coming to visit and working so hard while you were here!  I love the door and shelves and Bryce loves that you were here to help do it so he didn't have to.  After all, he did make the door - I really couldn't expect him to hang it too. :)

Here's a little sneak peak of the nursery decor.  We went to Ikea to buy the rug I wanted after their next shipment came in.  They came in on Wednesday but we planned to go Saturday morning, so I called Saturday morning and asked if they had some (before we took the hour drive there) and they said, yes, we have 8.  We found them after some looking, but they were down to 3.  Good thing we went when we did!  While we were there, Bryce, because he loves Ikea so much, decided that while still kind of early for putting a nursery together (I was 16 weeks I think) we better get whatever else we wanted from Ikea because there would be no second trips. :)  Smart man.

We got a little bored one night a few weeks later and decided we wanted to put the chair and crib together so we did.  Here's a sneak peak of what we added to the mix since then as well.

I bought our first bit of clothing for Dash - a little something for next spring and a zip up jacket and pants for this fall and winter.

while at TJ Maxx I spotted these two options for wood side tables.  Long story short:  I found this one at West Elm on line for $153 on sale and loved it.  It looks awesome in the picture!  Couldn't commit to it because of the price and then finally saw one in person and was not impressed.  So I could let my heart move on.  I was looking at using old barrels as a side table and spent a couple days looking around on eBay.  Then I found these.  I had to have.  Big decision to choose between the two styles.

Here's the side table with the chair and ottoman and little sheep rug stationed, ready to be put in the nursery.  At this point we're still waiting for the room to be cleared out, painted, and the sliding door to be hung.

The beginning

Here're some pictures from the beginning of this journey for us.  My 'bump progression' pictures that we only took on two occasions and the bit off mess the room started out as.  Basically, here's the unloading I did from my phone and camera. :)

14 weeks pregnant - starting 2nd trimester

This is kind of how I felt...I remember thinking I had a big belly.  It was really just like I'd had a big lunch or like I was the party girl with the beer belly and I was missing my flat stomach.  Kind of funny how busting some pre-pregnancy pants can really put things in perspective and you realize that what you thought was big, was not big, and what you think big is now, probably still isn't. 

Here I am again at 18 weeks pregnant.  Notice I've started to gather paint colors and furniture behind me.

 A week later at 19 weeks pregnant...I don't know why we took these pictures, but it captures a part of my daily life.  

My pants are always unzipped.  I realized it a couple shots in this time. 

 So who knows how long I'd been walking around work with my fly down.  I do this ALL THE TIME.  I know sometimes I get lazy, but seriously.  I think the problems gotten worse since pregnant and I'm having to jimmy-rig my pants so the zippers are only half zipped to begin with.  Makes it easier for them to end up unzipped I guess.  At least, that's how I'm explaining it.  Blame it on the pregnancy and just laugh about it.

I really don't have much a belly in these pictures and I think it was about 20 weeks when my belly actually 'popped' and went from looking like a gut to an actual, believable baby bump.  Here's a picture from that Sunday.  Yes, my mirror's dirty, it's not your monitor or your eyes.

 Pictures from the beginning of my nursery looking and planning.  I took a trip to Ikea and found most of what I wanted (we did not end up getting the dresser, but I guess it's still an option)  We did not know the gender of the baby at this point so I was keeping it mostly gender neutral.  I also knew I wanted something not really baby or too themed.  I wanted something that could transition easily and something I would enjoy being in at 3:00 am for feedings.  I like the idea of a cabin like feel with old wood, skin rugs and antlers.  The colors I leaned toward were a golden yellow, kelly green, and if it's a girl throw in the pale blush colors, and if it's a boy, throw in a red/orange - for a more southwestern feel.  I wanted a southwestern print rug and I wanted to replace the closet door with a sliding 'barn door.'

MUST HAVE THIS RUG.  Quick, make Ikea employee check when more will be in and make sure Bryce and I get one!  I was so excited I couldn't even take a focused picture.

Thought this would make a cute dirty clothes hamper.  Maybe in the bright Kelly Green color?  Get a European sham pillow case and put a drawstring in it for the liner?

 fun storage ideas and a color that's in my nursery inspiration.  Must.add.something.this.color.

I like the idea of a cable system to display birth announcements or whatever, until the kid is drawing and can hang their own creations in its room.

Found these at Target and thought they'd be cute if it's a girl for a more vintage feel.

I've seen some nice things done with these...thought about mixing some in above the dress or crib.

Like the idea of a cool glass lamp shade - trying to think if there was something fun I could put inside it.  I also like the yellow base beside it.  Another color being used.

Then I had to get serious on the wall color and color schemed of the nursery so I could narrow my searches and control my running thoughts and ideas.

 I thought I'd be using a Home Depot card to buy the paint so that's why I'm looking at Behr colors.  Ended up not using the Depot card so I had Benjamin Moore match the winning Behr color.  They did  a wonderful job too  - I love the wall color.  Thanks Jen and Bryce for the input and final decision.  Wall color winner is the middle bottom gray, Dolphin Fin.

The one on the left was a little on the green side and was a close runner up - kind of made it a little more woodsy and traditional than contemporary or industrial.    I was afraid the one on the bottom right would be too dark for the small room with little lighting.

Realization

I realized this week that I am at the end of my 2nd trimester.  I have only 3 1/2 months left in this pregnancy.  That means in just over 3 months we'll have a third member of our family.  Ready or not, here he comes. :)  We're ready...in some ways.

Thus far

I've been sitting for the last 4 hours at my first yard sale. First that I've taken part in as an adult and that I remember.

Luckily, the weather's been perfect. Our driveway is still partially shaded and the gentle breeze is wonderful. I've been listening to birds chirp as they chase each other and I've watched the yellow balloon tangle and untangle itself from around our mailbox as it is slowly deflating from the sun. The sky is a beautiful blue (made possible by low humidity) and the field of yellow wild flowers (weeds) across the street gives you something to stare off into.

I've waved, smiled, and said hello to many a passing car and driver as they slow down to survey the treasures I rounded up last night (and just so happen to neatly fit on one folding table).

I've only had 3 people get out of their cars and walk up. One woman commented that I had good things, but she was looking for baby items. Yup, not gonna find that at my table. She seemed certain that I would be able to sell my things, but still 4 hours later, here I sit withnot a thing gone :).

I have enjoyed the morning though. It's kind of nice to just sit outside with your thoughts (or mindless Internet surfing and blog reading). I don't get to do that so much -especially during the work week. Dash is out here chilling with me because I made him. If he has (been blessed?)Bryce's personality, he's hating me right now and that's why he's been punching and kicking so much this morning. I've been playing it off like he really just wants to be outside my belly to enjoy this beautiful weather and play with us.

2 more hours to go and everything will be driven to Goodwill and donated. This yard sale helped me clear out a few things and get them out of the house instead of out of hiding and then placed on the floor in a meaningless pile. So, i will not allow them to go back in. That's another positive out of this. Maybe Bryce will make me Mac n cheese for lunch and bring it to me. That would make 3 positives and it hasn't cost me a thing. It hasn't earned me anything either...