Made With Love

We are entering week 37! I can't believe that in a few short weeks we will meet our little man! I am so excited, and so ready to see his little fingers and toes and kiss his cheeks! There have been a few mild "What are we going to do with a BABY?!?" moments, but for the most part, the last few weeks have been full of excitement! We have finished the nursery, which makes me even more excited every time I walk by his room upstairs :) I know he won't appreciate it for a LONG time (if ever) but I have loved decorating and making the space perfect for his arrival. Most of the items were handmade or repurposed for the space, which makes it's even more special! And now its time for your sneak peek! Enjoy!

I never intended to have a theme for the room, but it ended up being the perfect "adventure-seeking, bicycle-riding, dinosaur loving" space for our baby boy! 

Most of the stuff you see was bought at a) garage sales b) flea markets, or c) given to us by family members. It's amazing what you can do with deals and a little tlc. 

Let's just say that our son better love these pipe shelves because they are never coming down! That was a bit of a project...Thanks Noah :) 

I printed these maps off at Staples and attached them to clearance bin canvases from Michaels. I absolutely love how they turned out! 

I know, I know, there shouldn't be any pillows in his crib. I will take them out when he sleeps there :) I used my Cameo to cut out the letters for DISCOVER and EXPLORE and sewed them onto flannel to make some fun pillowcases. 

These two lil guys were one of the first things I bought for baby.  I saw them at  PB Kids and loved them, but they were way too expensive. Then one day when I was in Des Moines bugging Noah, I stopped in and found they were on sale. Plus I got an extra deal because I was willing to take the floor models. So they ended up being about 75% off :) 

A little Cardinal and Gold for the room.

This one's for Molly:  Fun Bunting :)

Eventually we will fill the picture frames, but they will have his name and some pictures that have yet to be taken :) 

And one of my favorite additions to the space...his quilt. For a while after starting this project, I thought I was insane, but it ended up going together quite well. Just don't look too close - I am definitely not a master quilter! 

We hope you enjoyed the tour of our lil man's space. Now we just wait patiently...

Canning Party

WE must really like parties. No matter what the reason, use the word "party" and we are there! Last weekend we headed up to Scott and Tina's to take part in the first annual Labor Day Canning Party :) 

Mom taught us all the basics of canning, and because of the beautiful weather, and ability to do most of the work outside, it was a ton of fun. Even Ellie and Cecilia got to take part in the fun!

#1 Tomato Picker

Teamwork

Noah's contribution: MARGARITAS :)

Final Products!

We then had some fun around the campfire! A great way to spend the weekend :)

Happy Labor Day!!

Table and Chairs Facelift

Ever since Noah and I inherited our kitchen table and chairs, an idea has been floating around in my mind. The table and chairs are very nice and sturdy, just not exactly exciting looking. So I finally took the plunge and am VERY happy with the result!

I decided to paint the legs and backs of the chairs and table, but leave the table top and chair seats their original color. I went back and forth whether to paint them black or white, but ultimately chose black (and very happy I did). I did use quite a bit of painters tape in the process ~ but I didn't want my plan to be foiled by poor taping :)

Chairs primed, ready to go!

TA DA! Aren't they beautiful!!

Today's post brought to you by the color GREEN

Noah and I have been house hunting for the last few weeks, which has put me into full decorating mode. It's a great way to distract myself from the constant worry/excitement/stress cycle that overwhelms me whenever I have too much free time.

Last week I stopped by the local Salvation Army and found some great items. I spent $6.00 total and bought this cute (well not yet) side table and these mini shutters.

I had found a very cute green spray paint a few weeks back. I had been looking for something to use it on, and both of these screamed "Paint Me GREEN!" So I did :)

Primed and ready to go!

Beautiful next to the redone headboard! 

Not sure where these will go, but B-Bop thinks they are wonderful!

And while I'm obsessing over GREEN, I found these locker baskets at Gordman's a few weeks back. They are awesome :)

Evolution of a Headboard...

This week I have been a busy bee! I gave you a wonderful list of DIY projects to tackle last post, but looking back I shouldn't have numbered them. My first project came the bottom. But I do have good reason... I decided that I should tackle any furniture projects I have prior to moving so then they will effortlessly move from here to our new place :) I started with our guest room headboard.

First of all, I'm really bad at remembering to take before and in-process pictures. But I tracked this photo down from a few years back when we were stuck in a tiny little one bedroom apartment.

Follow the orange arrow, and you'll catch a slight glimpse of before...

I wasn't a huge fan of this headboard, mostly the color of the wood tone. It looked like any other piece of furniture you would buy at a second hand furniture place (which we did). So I decided to give it a nice coat of paint to bring it some life.

Primed and ready to go! 

Anyone that uses spray paint often MUST invest in one of these triggers! Sooo nice :)

Here's the finished project! I promise it will look wonderful when it is not next to the exact same color wall!

Lots more to come!!

DIY Bucket List

I consider today my first day of vacation. Yes, I have been out of school for two weeks, but up until today, each of those days has been full of plans. This week I spent all day Mon-Thurs working the Winnebago Girls Basketball camps. It was really fun, and also sad, to spend the week with the girls for the last time. I wish them lots of luck in the future.

Anyways, back on track to my first day of vacation. My major goal of the summer (besides moving back to Iowa) is to complete a number of DIY projects. This has mainly been fueled by my love of Pinterest.com, a wonderful site that allows you to see way too many projects and ideas :) I'll let you in on a few of the major projects I hope to conquer:

1. A number of duvet covers. I tend to want to change my bedding with the seasons, so I've picked out a few designs I can sew myself.

I am well on my way to completing this duvet, pictures to come :)

Next in line...not sure white is the color for me...

 2. I also want to create come felt flowers to add to out current bedroom lamps (that are very boring).

3. This hamper is a must! For some reason, I cannot get my clothes from the bathroom to the bedroom hamper...

4. And this pillow is a must! I want it to be really BIG so I'm on the lookout for a sale :)

5,6,7... I have others on the list, particularly the repainting of a headboard, side table, and ottoman redo, but I'm not sure how to tackle those projects yet. Don't worry, I will keep you updated!