Felt Mobile is Up

The mobile is hung and it adds so much to my not-so-blank wall.  It hangs over my Dutailer glider, and I hope Walter enjoys it.   I just lovit!

Making a Mobile out of Felt

I cut and stitched all of these little sea creatures from felt and embroidery floss. I added round pieces of felt in varying shades of  blue as "bubbles" to each string to balance the weight.  I painted the dowel rods aqua, and then finished each creature off with some sparkle glaze.  I had a lot of fun making this mobile, and it was on a day when I really needed to stay off my feet.

The ceiling is too high over the crib, so I will be hanging it over the glider to jazz up my blank wall.  This will give baby Walt something to gaze at while he's having a bottle from Daddy   :o)

I bought way too much felt, but eh, it's only .34 per sheet.  The embroidery floss in a variety of bright colors was about $2.  I could have used free chopsticks from T. Jin's, but I splurged on a .59 dowel rod.  Everything else I already had:  glue, thread, needle, paint, scissors, sparkle glaze, and jewelry elastic.  I spent about $7 total, and these sell for $78 each on etsy all day! 

My Nursing Nook

The nursing nook is almost complete!  Dale has painted my round vintage side table.  The lamp is ready to go, and now the chair is almost done as well.  I can't believe I thought I couldn't do this.  The chair is coming along very well, and I'm enjoying the heck out of it, too!  I thought the arms would be so difficult, but the fabric seemed to just fall into place. The biggest challenge is sitting on my work stool while 37 weeks pregnant, but no worries because I am taking lots of breaks.  I'll be cheating just a wee bit and taking the cushion cover to the seamstress to sew for me.  I'm a little too intimidated by the zipper and piping.  Overall, I am pleased with how it's looking, so this may be a new hobby for me :o)

Expenses for the nursing nook:

CL Upholstered Rocking Chair = $156

Designer Upholstery Fabric = $40

CL Round Vintage Side Table = $25

Green Paint & Satin Varnish = $20

Aqua Lamp from lampsplus.com = $69

Total = $310

Not bad, considering a new upholstered rocker by itself would cost a minimum of $700 or so.  It has been fun and rewarding creating my own custom look for the nursing nook!

Slipcover Bad, Reupholster Good

Hated the slipcover from Overstock, and it is going back!  It is way too big for my chair and it's not white.  See how it clashes with the rug?  I was stuck at a dead end with not much time, and I really wanted this awesome chair to be a focal point in the nursery.  I had decided on a cute green for the side table with a turquoise glass base lamp, so this muted peony pattern is just not cutting it at all!

While at my little sister's gorgeous baby shower last Saturday, I told our cousin and professional designer, Laura, about my predicament.  She said, "Why aren't you reupholstering it yourself?"  The truth is I thought that was a project completely out of my range of skill!  Of course, at 36 weeks pregnant I ran right out to Joann's last Sunday and promptly found an awesome fabric at 60% off!  Ding ding ding ding!!!!  I felt like I had won the lottery.  It is by Baringer and it is called "Peacock".  I love it! 



We've already carefully removed all the old fabric, and I have cut each section of fabric using the old pieces as a pattern.  I've also begun to staple the bottom kick piece, and it looks very professional if I do say so myself.  Joann's only had 4 & 7/8ths yards of this left and none in the warehouse.  I had just enough fabric,  the perfect amount with not much at all left over, so I guess it was meant to be. 

Here is a good look at my CL chair before & after:

 

Before

 

After



Please VOTE now for Walt's nursery on Project Nursery!







The Blank Wall

OK, so I have a wall I call the blank wall because so far I have not decided on what to do over there.  It is the wall with the double French doors, so there's about 20" between the doors and the built-ins on the right side, and there's about 40" to the left side.  I don't want to extend the mural around the room, so I'm trying to decide between growth chart, painted wooden shelving, and maybe a piece of vertical canvas artwork.  If I do all three it might begin to look too crowded.  I already have the small wooden shelves, but they do need paint.  I can whip up a coordinating growth chart in a few days.  I saw this idea for an impressive vertical canvas piece and fell in love!

Marimekko Kaiku Wall Art

We came across this beautiful nursery put together by AlwaysMod customer Lisa and her family. Check out the great wall hanging made from Marimekko Kaiku fabric!
via: ohdeedoh

Marimekko long repeat fabric made into the large vertical wall art above the rocking polar bear mimics a colorful contemporary Finnish landscape.  The client took the fabric and wrapped it around a canvas frame.  It is stunning, and I would love to paint something similar to be hung on the right side of the French doors.  This could be a project for later since I am now just weeks from delivering.

Here is all I have on the blank wall so far:

Bradley and I painted these last week.  It was really fun to do this project with my 11 year old for his little brother.  He painted the W T R and I did the A L E.  We had a good time choosing the colors and arrangement.  When we were done, he said proudly, "I like it!"  What can I say?  It was a warm and fuzzy moment.

I get by with a little help from my DOG

This is Caya Coyote Bowman.  Lately, Caya has been joining me in Walter's nursery to keep me company and show her support!  I almost stepped on her once due to my 35 week pregnant belly and her amazing camouflage.  She's right there with me as I am putting on the final touches daily.  She was looking at my belly with complete wonder last night!  I'm not sure if she has any idea of what is coming our way or not.

My First Nursery Circa 1999

Nursery 1999

Chest of drawers:  IKEA

Tiny lamp:  IKEA, I painted a little giraffe on it.

Stuffed Toys:  Big Beanie Babies

Mural:  Wendy's Walls Custom Murals

Bedding:  Babies-R-Us

Blocks & Cart:  IKEA

Plush Blocks:  Warner Brothers Store

Glider:  Dutailer

Ahh!  My Dutailer glides again, and I love this chair!  :o) 

It was a gift from my mom when I had Bradley 12 years ago.