DIY Mobile Inspiration

One of the projects I am working on for the nursery is a DIY mobile.  I, of course, took to Pinterest for some inspiration and found tons of different ideas.  These are the ones that I loved the most!  (Click pic for original source, all pics via Pinterest.)

Mine is going to be a combination of many of these ideas.  I've already punched out the shapes, now I'm getting prepped for the construction!  Tutorial and pics coming soon!

Craft Organization

One of my main challenges in getting organized has always been my craft supplies.  In our two bedroom (plus closet-sized office space) home, I have never had a place that I can comfortably sit and do my crafts, which means I end up using the dining room table as my office.  Which works fine as a space, but means that I tend to leave supplies and crafts-in-progress all over the place and it gets annoying.  The solution was to create storage space in the dining room, which we did with the use of this hand-painted buffet/bookcase combo:

(Sorry about the crappy photos.  Cloudy weather=no natural light=yucky pics.)

The buffet portion of the unit offers lots of hidden storage options.  The drawers and cabinets hold everything from sponge brushes to felt to plain onesies and tote bags.  The bookcase portion required a little more finesse as it can be seen.  The top shelf holds two baskets, which contain all kinds of supplies:

And I used this clear vase to store my pretty washi tape rolls:

I use this decorative storage box (from Ikea) to hold my fabric paints:

On  the bottom shelf of the bookcase and the two shelves of the buffet, I have baskets to hold the supplies for crafts I am currently working on.  I can stash unfinished projects in there until I am ready to work on them again.

I still sometimes have my projects left on the dining room table, but it is much easier to keep everything clean and organized with this extra storage.  Plus, it is pretty and fun to look at!

To Do List Update: Office Progress

Alright folks, we are down to double digit days left before Baby Bee gets here!  We have been making some progress on our To Do list and I have some updates to share with you today.  My office has been painted, thanks to Mr. B.  It took forever to cover all the pink paint, but it is finally a nice, bright white (though with the lack of natural light in there, it is hard to tell in pictures).  This is what the office looked like before:

And here are some of the changes we made.  This bookcase moved from Mr. B's office (aka future nursery) and is now housing some of my craft supplies, and some actual books!

We moved the desk that used to live on the other side of the office to the top of my craft table, creating lots of storage space.

With the side wall now empty, we moved Mr. B's desk into that space.

We still have a little organizing and rearranging to do in here, but for the most part, the office space is looking pretty good!  Let's take another look at our To Do list.  Slowly but surely making some progress!

To Do:

Paint my office

Move Mr. B's desk into my office

Paint our bedroom

Paint my dresser

Paint Mr. B's dresser

Move futon and TV into bedroom

Paint nursery

Get (and assemble) nursery furniture

Paint bookshelf for nursery

Paint dresser for nursery

Organize all of Baby's stuff

Decorate nursery

DIY: Easy Nursery Art

Hello friends and happy Monday!  I have started to work on some of the smaller details for the nursery (since I have to wait for Mr. B to finish most of the big details) and I decided to create some art using my brand new Silhouette that I received for Christmas.

Here is the finished product:

Here's what you need:  animal cut outs (from scrapbook paper), acrylic paint, sponge brushes, Mod Podge, and some canvases.

Using the Silhouette to cut out my animal shapes was super easy.  You could do your own without the Silhouette, but it took about two minutes to make all of these guys--can't beat that!

Paint your canvases using the acrylic paint and a sponge brush.

When the paint is dry, use another sponge brush and the Mod Podge to attach the animals to the canvas.  Put a thin coat on the back of the animal and then smooth it down on the canvas.  Then put another coat of Mod Podge over the top of the animal cut out and use your finger to smooth out any bubbles or rising edges.  Once that coat of Mod Podge is dry, give the entire canvas a coat so that the finish matches.

Here they are hung on display (in our dining room since the nursery isn't quite ready for art yet):

Cute right?  I'm going to put the elephant on a yellow canvas to go in the middle of the two blue ones.  I can't wait to see how they look hung up over the crib!

*This post contains affiliate links; if you click on these links and purchase the product, I will receive a small consideration fee.  I never recommend products I do not use myself.

To Do List--106 Days to Go!

I almost passed out the other day when I looked at my pregnancy countdown and it said 108 days to go.  Now we are down to 106!  Given that every ultrasound we have had so far shows Baby B measuring about a week ahead of schedule (and given my constant prayers for a 38 week pregnancy), it could be even less than that.  I told Mr. B the news and even he was like "We have so much left to do."  Seriously.  The arrival of Baby B means a huge shift in our home, as we are moving Baby into Mr. B's office and moving his office into mine (which is the size of a closet).  Some of his office stuff (like the futon and the TV) are moving into the sitting area of our bedroom.  Before we add any more furniture into our bedroom, it needs to be painted.  Basically, we have a ton of crap to get done and we are running out of time to do it in!  So I'm putting this list out there into the internet universe to hopefully help keep us accountable and on track.  You are all my witnesses!

To Do:

Paint my office

Move Mr. B's desk into my office

Paint our bedroom

Paint my dresser

Paint Mr. B's dresser

Move futon and TV into bedroom

Paint nursery

Get (and assemble) nursery furniture

Paint bookshelf for nursery

Paint dresser for nursery

Organize all of Baby's stuff

Decorate nursery

I have a feeling the list might grow before it shrinks...Wish me (and Mr. B as he will be doing most of the hard stuff) luck!

Baby Wish List: Goodies from Etsy

As with most things, Etsy is one of my favorite places to shop for all things baby related.  If you look at my Pinterest baby board, it is peppered with items from all of the amazing shops Etsy has to offer.  I love the creativity and cuteness, and of course, love the idea of supporting small businesses.  These are some of my favorite baby things from Etsy!  (Click pic to be taken to the item listing!)


This onesie is sad, but true...

I love these adorable little bow ties and how easy it would be to dress up a plain onesie with them...

This one is for Mr. B.  To be honest, I don't even get it, but apparently it's a music joke...

I love how dapper this little set is...

And of course, gotta have some HP love...

I actually already bought this one for Mr. B for Christmas (minus the bow and with the Dodgers and Giants, obviously)...

I actually did pin some practical items as well!  I love this modern quilt...

This diaper clutch is super cute and stylish, while also functional...

I love this diaper caddy (though the blue is a little bright for my color scheme) and how organized it looks...

Super cute and creative, right?  I'm trying to control myself and not buy all of these awesome goodies!

Baby Wish List: Nursery

So many things that come along with baby-making are much harder than they seem from the outside.  Picking a name?  Practically impossible.  Managing the decisions that have to be made about baby's health?  Totally overwhelming.  Decorating the nursery?  Huge project.  Right now we are in the cleaning out stages of planning the nursery (right now it is Mr. B's office/music room) and it is just, plain and simple, a lot of work.  He has to move some of his stuff into my office (which is the size of a closet to begin with) and other items into our bedroom.  The logistics of it have become a bit of a headache.  To distract myself from said headache, I think about the fun things that come along with creating a nursery: the decorating.  I have finally finished our registries (another seemingly fun task that turned out to be daunting) and I'm super excited about the decor elements I have picked out.  I wanted to stay away from theme rooms, so I picked a color palette (gray, light blue, and yellow) and went with different geometric patterns in the color scheme.  These are the items I'm hoping to use in our little man's nursery!

From Target:

I love this gray rug; it would be perfect for the nursery and could be used in several rooms as baby grows.

I like that these curtains are patterned, but don't look too girly.

I love the shape of this lamp; if I get it, I will paint it yellow.

These crib sheets were literally one of the only sets I liked after looking at numerous stores.

I like the touch of yellow on this pillow (which would reside on the chair below!)

From Babies R Us:

This is the only big ticket item on our registry; I love the shape and the modern feel of this glider.

I love the blue/gray combo of these blankets.

From Ikea: 

This dresser will double as changing table.  I like that it has tons of storage.  It will be getting painted, most likely white.

I like the modern lines of this crib, and of course, it doesn't hurt that it's from Ikea and therefore totally affordable!

Those are our main decor wants (well, mine, Mr. B couldn't care less).  I plan on doing some basic artwork and downloading some printables to create a gallery wall of some sort, which of course I will share with you soon!

My Pregnancy Must Haves

I'm sure it's no secret that being pregnant is rough.  Basically from six weeks up until my current state (24 weeks pregnant today!) I have been uncomfortable in some way, shape or form.  In the beginning in was nausea and exhaustion, now it is backaches and heartburn.  I think those women who brag about how much they love being pregnant and how awesome it is are big fat liars.  That's not to say it's all bad, I mean, feeling the baby kick and seeing his little face on the ultrasound is pretty damn exciting--it's what makes all the pain and discomfort worth it.  But I'm also not going to lie, so far, being pregnant=no fun.  There have been some essential items for me that are making this whole business a little bit easier to deal with.  These are my must haves for surviving my pregnancy (so far):

1.  Cinnamon Toast Crunch:  My major craving so far has been for cinnamon--cinnamon rolls, coffee cake, anything cinnamon.  Cinnamon Toast Crunch satisfies my craving and still gives me some nutrients (and of course, with cereal comes milk, which is always good!).

2.  Burt's Bees Chapstick: I have always been a Burt's Bees girl, and with the extra skin dryness pregnancy has brought on, these babies have been a lifesaver!

3.  Gummi Multi-Vitamins:  I absolutely HATE swallowing pills, and most vitamins are the size of horse tranquilizers--no thank you.  These gummi vitamins have allowed me to get my nutrients, even during the first trimester when I was nauseous all the time.

4.  Jolly Ranchers:  Nothing has helped my heartburn quite like Jolly Ranchers.  I suffered from heartburn before pregnancy, but never with the frequency or intensity I do now.  I don't know what it is about sucking on these hard candies, but it provides a few minutes of much needed relief.

5.  Pregnancy Wedge Pillow:  I just got this pillow a few days ago and it is already making a huge difference in the quality of my sleep.  I am a stomach sleeper, and stomach sleeping has been a no go for a few weeks now.  Placing this pillow under my bump allows me to almost feel like I am sleeping on my stomach.  It also relieves pressure from my hip bones, which have always been one of my achier joints.

6.  The Bump:  I actually started frequenting The Bump when I was in the trying to get pregnant stage and got tons of useful information from the ladies there on their message boards.  Now I am a member of a group of moms who are all expecting babies in June.  These women have been an essential part of calming my fears, sharing symptoms, and celebrating the little milestones of pregnancy.

7.  What to Expect When You're Expecting App:  WTEWYE is probably one of the most famous pregnancy books out there.  There is a lot about the book itself I am not a fan of (I mean, if you can read that book and not be totally freaked out about all the things that could possibly go wrong, you are a stronger woman than I), but the app has been super helpful.  Each week I get a new update on the baby's size and the changes he is going through, plus all the things I can expect for myself that week.  Every day there are new quick tips and links to blog posts and info for my particular stage of pregnancy.

Of course, the most essential helpful thing for surviving pregnancy has been my amazing husband, and our friends and family.  Mr. B does everything from rub my back to make me eat my vegetables.  Without him, I don't think I would have made it this far!  Any of you ladies out there have pregnancy essentials you couldn't live without?  Let me know, I still have sixteen weeks to go!