Nursery DIY

I love, love, love decorating. When I decided to become a foster parent I became really excited to prepare a nursery (I call it the baby room more so than a nursery) in the house. I searched on Pinterest for ideas and read many blogs regarding ways to prepare a home and more specifically a room for a child in foster care. I knew I wanted to go with a gender neutral theme and keep it very soft and calming. I love the color gray on walls as it reflects natural light and can brighten a room as well as maintain a feeling of calm. Since I knew I wanted gray on the walls, I began my search for furniture. I looked on Craigslist and FB selling walls where I found a crib ($60), a Pottery Barn changing table ($40), and a rocking chair (free, I love those freebies)! I happened upon a gallon of black paint at Lowe's for $9 that I was using to re-do corn-hole boards so I decided to paint all the furniture black to match (prior to painting the furniture I made sure it was safe and also read up on how to seal furniture appropriately so that it would not harm the child).
Using the same paint, I planned on adding a stripe on one of the walls and then use a soft green, teal, or yellow to add smaller stripes. When I began reading how to paint stripes on a wall and learned how tedious it was going to be, I started to get anxious. I love to craft, but if you look at many of the things I create, they are not exactly perfect and I knew if I added a stripe that had a slight angle it would bother me. I nixed the idea and began strolling through Pinterest. I almost immediately became inspired to create a baby room with a theme from one of my favorite places to visit: NYC! I found a NYC skyline and knew I could easily paint it on the wall better than a perfect/even stripe. From there, my theme soared. There are not many NYC themed baby rooms out there so I used some things I found on Pinterest (like this awesome ABC print which I hand created) and thought of some additional details on my own. I love how this room turned out and it is definitely my favorite room I have ever decorated.

Found these awesome marquee letters at a local craft store helping to bring Broadway into the room.

Amazon has all kinds of great books, I searched for NYC themed children's books and found many. The book on the far right (Little Miss Liberty), I have owned for years, using in a summer program for children at a book store. When contemplating whether or not I should really do a NYC theme I happened upon the book in the middle (The Dancing Clock) at a store and knew that was my answer.

I found a print on Pinterest just like this displaying the NYC subway system as an alphabet and recreated it using card stock and my wonderful Cricut!

The changing table used to be white with pink baskets from Pottery Barn, I painted it black and spray painted the basket yellow to incorporate NYC taxis into the room. The rocking chair came from a friend. Again it was white with blue cushions so I re-painted and added new fabric to match the rooms colors. I created the apple pillow from some left over fabric. The wall print above the rocking chair was one of the very first things I purchased for the nursery. It is from Natterdoodle (see photo below for link to website and what it looks like).

The wonderful hand painted skyline! My favorite skyline in all of the USA. I love that is also incorporates One World Trade building. I used a projector to draw the skyline on the wall and then painted using two coats of black paint.

To add some childish items to the room, I found a print on Pinterest by the artist Julian Montague and was inspired to create my own using PicMonkey. I also created a Taxi print using the same website. The apple I found at Hobby Lobby and spray painted to create a "big apple." The Statue of Liberty came from my Great-Grandmother (whom also loved NYC). I purchased the Empire State Building from Amazon.

I love that I was able to incorporate this child's high chair into the room. When I was young, I used to shop with my Great-Grandmother at antique stores. One day when shopping I saw this high chair and told my grandmother that I had to have it. She purchased it and painted it white, it then stayed in her house until she passed a few years ago and I acquired it. Now it is a perfect book shelf for all the awesome children's books I have. 

This is the print located above the rocking chair. I purchased it from Natterdoodle. I fell in love when I saw it and knew it had to go into the baby room. Check back later for a blog post regarding this beautiful print.

To add "big apples" and to have a mobile NYC themed, I made my own. I hand cut and sewed felt apples, hanging them from a cross stitch hoop using fishing wire. 

I make baby blankets and if you follow me on Instagram, you know this. I scoured all over the internet looking for NYC themed fabric. It took me forever to find exactly what I was looking for and thank goodness for Etsy! I came across a little smaller than a yard worth of scrap fabric. 

This past December when the room was almost complete I went to NYC with my sisters. Of course, I had to pick up some items (including this teddy bear) to add to the room. 

Since I didn't know what age I was getting when applying for foster care I decided to keep a twin bed in the room. The colors already matched and I thought it would help add storage. I bought the 5th Ave street sign from a store in NYC while visiting and found this beautiful poster of the Brooklyn Bridge from Michaels. I spray painted the lamp to match, found a shade at At Home and created the age blocks to use for pictures. 

Sea Salt Dark Chocolate Almond Clusters

Yes, I put sea salt, chocolate, and almonds in the title of this post. Yes, this is a recipe I tried this week and let me tell you....it is amazingly delicious and very easy to make with only 3 ingredients!

Ingredients:
2 cups of whole almonds
1 cup of semi-sweet chocolates
sea salt

Directions:
1. Place almonds in a single layer on a baking pan covered with parchment paper and place in oven for 10 minutes, stirring one time, at 300 degrees.
2. Melt the chocolate either using a double broiler on the stove top or in the microwave. If using the microwave, use a medium size safe microwavable bowl. Melt the chocolate in 30 seconds increments, stirring between each time. It took about 3 minutes for the chocolate to melt.
3. Stir the almonds into the chocolate, making sure to coat almonds completely. Scoop a spoonful of almonds out and onto wax paper. If wanting large clusters using a larger spoon and scoop 10-12 almonds at a time, if wanting smaller clusters use a small spoon and scoop 6-8 almonds. Continue till all almonds are used.
4. Sprinkle sea salt on top of the clusters and allow to set. For mine to set quickly, I placed in the fridge.
5. Enjoy! You can s
tore clusters in fridge for up to four weeks.
 

Bubbly & Brunch Bridal Shower

This past weekend, I, along with the four other bridesmaids, hosted a bridal shower in honor of my sister and her upcoming nuptials. The theme was Bubbly & Brunch and I chose to carry her wedding colors into the bridal shower. We used navy and white as the main colors with pops of red here and there. 

The invitation was inspired by a design on Pinterest and I re-created it using PicMonkey.

To add some color to the walls and additional decor, I made these paper flowers using a tutorial I found on Pinterest.

The mimosa bar was a huge success. We provided blue champagne flutes to match the colors of the shower and it was also used as the party favor. There was champagne with three different juice options and four different garnish choices. We also provided some sparkling juice for some of our younger guests and our guests who are expecting.

To determine who's glass was who's I used my Cricut to cut paper rings and then had guests write their name.

The food choices included mini quiches (some with meat and some vegetarian), french toast & smoked sausage kabobs, waffle bitty bites, mini hash brown casseroles, fruit pizzas, fruit kabobs, veggie pizza, and sliced honey ham. For dessert we offered two different donut cakes, a powdered donut cake and a variety of homemade donuts from a local donut shop.

We played Guess the Bride's Age. Guests had to look at the pictures and guess what age the bride was according to the photo. It was a ton of fun to find the pictures and play the game.

My sister, the bride (3rd in from left), and her bridesmaids. 

Flag Banner DIY

I love signs and banners at parties, they are very easy to make and add a pop to anything. When hosting my sister's bridal shower this past weekend, I created a simple "Miss to Mrs" flag banner to decorate one of the corners. To make my life simpler and to make the banner even in size, I used the We R Memory Keepers Banner Punch Board. I absolutely love this tool and wonder what I did prior to having it. It is so easy to use, with printed guides on the board itself. It comes with an easy to hold blade and it's own hole punch. The board also allows for you to create pennant, flag, or crest style. Below is how I created this awesome banner with links to the materials I used.

Materials needed:
Card stock (any size and color)
Paper Trimmer
Cricut (for letters)
We R Memory Keepers Banner Punch Board
Scissors
String
Adhesive

Directions:

First, Gather materials needed to begin and decide what size you would like your banner to be as well as how many you need. 

I chose to make my flags 7 inches long and 5 inches wide. 

Next I placed the paper one sheet at a time inside the punch board. I made a flag so I didn't need to use the printed guides on the board, but if making a pennant, you can follow the guides to help give you the exact size you want. Using the cutting tool provided with the board, slide the blade following the guides across the paper. Repeat on the other side. 

To punch a hole in the flag, I placed it in the nifty hole punch slot on the board and pushed down, repeating on the other side. Then, I used my Cricut to cut the letters I needed, adhered them to the flags. Last, I used red/white striped baker's twine to hang the sign.

DIY Chalkboard

  

Found for $4.99!

 All the craze right now are home made chalkboards to write all kinds of fun  sayings on. I use them during my photography sessions for newborns and infants to capture specific quotes or information regarding the child's birth. I have used them for engagements to capture a couple's songs and most recently I have used them to help capture a little one being adopted. My sister is going to be using them at her wedding to show the menu during the reception and I have found some beautiful ideas on Pinterest to use as welcome signs, at showers for games or food buffets. Purchasing a chalkboard from a store can be boring so I have been scouring thrift store to find decorative frames that I could then in turn create into a chalkboard. This is a very simple and inexpensive craft.

Have had this for years, a little
goes a long way.

Materials needed:
Decorative frame with glass
Chalkboard Paint (can find at Walmart or a hardware store)
Foam Brush






Directions:
Prep the glass by popping it out of the frame. If the glass is not removable use painter's tape to tape the edges.
Apply a semi-thick coat of paint over the glass. You will want to apply about 4-5 coats waiting until each coat is completely dry. If you don't let it dry, the paint can start to chip off and clump. To make sure I had the entire area covered I would raise the glass towards the light to see if I could see through.
Once paint is completely dry place back in frame and use to decorate!

Finished product!