DIY Jewelry Station

As we were prepping for Baby B, one of the main things I tried to do was get organized.  I figured (and I was right) that once the little man got here, our house would be overrun with baby supplies and so getting a handle on my own clutter was essential.  One main area of craziness in our bedroom was the little table where I kept my jewelry.  Pieces tended to accumulate as I randomly tossed stuff on the table when I was done wearing it.  This led to tangled necklaces, lost earrings, and forgotten bracelets.  So I decided to create a way to display my jewelry on the wall.  This solved several problems: my table is now jewelry free (and cluttered instead with pacifiers and burp cloths), I can see all my jewelry, and everything stays untangled and in its proper place.  Here is what the whole thing looks like all together:

The main pieces I created were these fabric covered cork boards.  I found the squares at Target and used fabric I already had to cover them (attached it with simple fabric glue).  Then I used silver push pins to hold my pieces and staggered them at different lengths.  I love that the effect is both pretty and functional.  I actually wear these pieces more often because I can see what I have.

To add some interest to the space, I hung this watercolor print of one of our wedding photos that my mom gave to me.

My newly made-over dresser got in on the action too.  It holds my jewelry box, some decorative bottles, and my DIY jewelry tray (where most of my earrings live).  It also currently holds the box with my wedding rings in it, since my fingers are still too swollen to wear them (boo).

Here is just the upper portion of the display:

I completed this organizational project a couple of months ago, but these pictures are from yesterday so that tells you that this system is working!  I cut down on the clutter and created a pretty area in our room all at the same time!

Quick and Easy Side Table Update

Hello dear readers!  Life has been going relatively well now that our new addition is here.  Sleep is a little hard to come by, but of course, that is to be expected.  I haven't had a lot of time for new projects, but I do still have some projects from a couple of months ago to share with you.  I worked on this side table at the same time as my dresser makeover, so it was super quick and easy.

This old side table has been with me since my first apartment.  I painted it black when I got it so the paint was old, dingy and chipped.  It came with a glass top, so I had some green fabric underneath to give some color to the table.  When I changed the color scheme in the living room, I left the fabric (mainly because I was lazy) and it definitely was not working.

So I cleared off the table and threw away the fabric and the glass.  I sanded and primed the table first.

Then I gave it two coats of Thundercloud metallic paint from the Martha Stewart line.  It was a fast paint job and I really like the updated look of the table.  It goes with the new living room lamp much better now!

Click here for detailed instructions on how to paint furniture.  If you want to make the coasters pictured on the end table, the tutorial is here.

Instagram Dump May and June

So we obviously had a major life event happen in June which is taking up most of my Instagram feed these days, but I'm going to dump these pics anyway!

First glimpse of the DIY mobile I created for the nursery...

A thoughtful gift from one of my students.  Teachers love their coffee!

The last Kings game we will get to see for a while...

On one of my days of pre-baby I went to my first solo movie...

One more day of work!

Sneak peek of Baby B's nursery, see the full reveal here!

Had a craving for cake but couldn't decide on chocolate or vanilla frosting, so I used both!

The main issue in my marriage, summed up right here...

Operation Evict Baby started with a spicy lunch...

...then continued on with a pedicure...

...and finished with a walk around the Americana.  P.S.  The plan didn't work.

The first pic of our little bundle!

My first glass of wine from one of my favorite wineries.  So. good.

The little guy is getting bigger every day!

Obviously we had a pretty eventful couple of months!  As always, if you want to follow me on Instagram, click the blue camera in the right hand side-bar!

Introducing Baby B!

Baby B is now a little over three weeks old and Mr. B and I are slowly adjusting to life as new parents.  Needless to say, everything has changed!  But we are having fun with our little peanut and it is so exciting to see how he is changing day by day.  I'm hoping to get back to blogging very soon here, but no promises as sleep (and therefore full brain function) is hard to come by these days!  For now, here is a picture of our little nugget!

Baby Bee's Nursery Reveal!

It is finally time for the reveal of Baby Bee's nursery.  I am super happy with how the room came out and I am super excited for Baby Bee to be able to use it (basically I am super excited for him to just come out already!).  The room was definitely a labor of love and took a while to come together, but I think in the end it was worth it!

This is the view from the door to the room...

I used this Ikea bookshelf to organize toys, blankets, and of course books.

I love the quote from Walt Disney and the Mickey was a present from one of my students.  The gray chevron box held a present from my shower and now hides burp cloths.

We painted this Ikea dresser (and by we I mean Mr. B), which has a ton of storage.  I used a craft paint to give the handles a hint of color.

I got the yellow and gray chevron fabric storage container from Home Goods and used it to hold diaper changing essentials.  I put our pacifiers in a glass jar from the kitchen section of Target.  The blue pinwheels were decor at my shower, I displayed them in a white vase I already had.

The framed Mickey ears water color was a present from my mom and one of my favorite things in the nursery.  The onesie is from our pregnancy announcement photos and I created the printables using this method.

I found some adorable monkey door hangers and gave them a coat of paint in our nursery colors to hang on the closet door for towel storage.

I hung the DIY nursery art I created above the crib.

I found this awesome ottoman at Home Goods and was stoked with how perfectly it matched the nursery.  Mr. B used this nifty contraption to turn an Ikea chair into a rocker/glider that is now super comfy.

The DIY mobile I worked on for hours is hung near the crib.

And here are some more overview shots...

Everything is ready for Baby Bee, all this room needs now is a baby!

DIY Nursery Mobile

The countdown is seriously on people, Baby Bee could be here at any minute!  Mr. B and I have been busy getting the house ready for the impending arrival, leaving very little time for much else.  Especially since I require long breaks after even short bursts of activity.  We did manage to get the nursery all set and ready to go, make sure you check back later this week for the reveal!  This was a major project (read: time consuming) that I have been working on for a while, and I can't even tell you what a relief it is to have it done!  I used these images as my inspiration for my DIY mobile, and as usual, put my own spin on things.  Here is how it came out!

The first step in this project was to get the rings ready.  I bought two sets of embroidery hoops, one slightly smaller than the other.  I got rid of the hoops with the adjusters and just used the plain hoops.  I used basic craft paint to give them a bit of color.

Then came the first bit of tedious business, cutting out the shapes.  I used a 2 inch circle punch to cut out about 100 circles each in my three nursery colors: blue, yellow and gray.  I used my Silhouette to cut out the animal shapes.  They are the same as the ones I used for my DIY nursery art.

I used a clear thread to string everything together.  I put a piece of double stick tape on the back of the shape and stuck the thread to it.  I quickly discovered that the double stick was not going to be enough, so after attaching the thread to the double stick tape, I also covered it with a piece of regular Scotch tape.  Not super pretty, but it's hard to tell with the finished product.

Then came the part that was super frustrating, and hence, no pictures.  But here is what I did.  I used packing tape to attach each of the strings to the hoop, taping on the inside of the hoop.  Once the hoops were set, it was time to attach them to one another.  This required some help from Mr. B.  First, I attached twine to the smaller hoop, then had Mr. B hold the bigger one while I tied the two together.  Then I had him hold onto the bigger hoop while I threaded some ribbon through, which we used to hang the mobile in the nursery.  I criss-crossed two ribbons so the mobile would hang straight.  Mr. B used a basic thumbtack to hang the mobile in the nursery.  Here is the mobile, and a sneak peek at the final nursery reveal!

Luckily, I really love how the mobile came out, otherwise I would be super annoyed with how long it took!  Word to the wise:  leave yourself plenty of time if this is a project you are going to tackle!

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DIY: Disney Notebooks

Hey there Disney fans!  I have a quick and easy Disney inspired craft project for you today!  These notebooks are perfect for school or for office use (I've been using mine to plan out all of my blog posts!)  Here is what we are making:

First, gather your supplies: a notebook, patterned duct tape, scissors, black cardstock, circle punches or templates, Mod Podge, and a sponge brush.

Next, cover the front and back covers of your notebook with the duct tape...

Then use your circle punches or templates to cut out one big circle and two small circles from the black cardstock and position them on your notebook.

Put a coat of Mod Podge on the back of the circles and glue them down.  Then give the front side of the Mickey a coat of Mod Podge to make sure all the edges stay down.

And there you have it!  A totally personalized and super cute Disney notebook!  If you really wanted to get fancy, you could write your name or a cute saying on the Mickey with a paint pen for even more personalization!