I Love The Flower Girl

And I knew
(I knew, I knew, I knew, I knew)
She could make me happy
(happy, happy)
Flowers in her hair
Flowers everywhere!

Thank you, Cowsills, for that inspiration.
I, Katey, have always been somewhat of a wild field, running barefoot through the flowers kind of girl and I imagine that if our little one is a girl, she will probably enjoy the same whimsy and adventure that I do.

Despite loving flowers, I have always been hesitant about decorating nurseries in them. You mention a flower nursery and my mind immediately goes to pastel pink, white and pink roses and daisies and a whole lot of soft, soft colors. Hey - if that's your style, great. It's just not mine. I love bold prints and bright colors and for several months now, I've sworn that the only flowers to hang out in the nursery would be an array of colorful wildflowers in a vase. That's it.

I did find crib bedding that was white with red poppies and although I LOVE poppies, something about the bedding seemed too busy and lacked the pop of color that I was looking for. So it was decided: if we have a little girl, she will not have a flowery nursery.

...Until I discovered a whole new world of flower power...

It seems that bold is making a comeback and perhaps super soft girlie nurseries are a thing of the past. Check out these impressive fabrics that would add a fun and funky flair to any little girl's nursery (and wardrobe!).


Laura Gunn Fabrics



Check out these adorable outfits by Etsy seller, 1crown3tiaras




I take it all back!
I WANT FLOWERS!!!

The turquoise and hot pink are so much fun together!
And of course, that fabric would look fabulous in our tan and turquoise nursery!!

23 days until we find out if the nursery will be flowered.

Nursery Inspiration

Just a few weeks from finding out if we are having a little lady or little man, our wheels are spinning with name ideas. There is so much responsibility in naming a human...and raising one. To allow ourselves an escape from the name-game, we thought it would be fun to share the boards that Katey put together for the nursery.

If we are team blue, this is the inspiration:

If we are team pink, this is the inspiration:

(our team pink inspiration board is having trouble...stay tuned for the image. Sorry!)

You can find in our other nursery posts that we have already started to put together the room for baby with tan walls, chocolate stained concrete, turquoise furniture and paper lanterns hanging over the crib. All we need now is to know who will be dwelling in the space so that we can finish decorating.

Sugared Plums

Hold the phones! Stop the presses! Put down that chocolate shake!

We have something that will make the sugared plums truly dance in your head!
We're talking about feathering your nest, Flora style!

Becky Flora is one of those mom's who seems to always have a creative idea up her sleeve. Her kids always look oh-so-fabulous (and she shops at thrift stores!) and as if wrangling two kiddos, remodeling her family home and volunteering her time with local youth activities doesn't keep her busy enough, this super mom has pulled another creative move and we are sooo excited to share it with you!

First, let's adore her family for a moment...

I'm sure that we can all agree that Becky's creativity was poured into her children. Have you ever seen a better looking family? Well done Becky and Josh!

Back to feathering your nursery or nest...

Becky attended a "no gifts" birthday party for a child and coming from a home filled with toys, she best understood the "please don't fill my house with plastic, noisy stuff" plea. But, ever the thoughtful gal that she is, Becky wanted to gift the little one's momma with something special. After all, it was labor day and just three years previous, that momma was working VERY hard to bring her baby into the world.

With Ellie Cate (5) and Ben (2), Becky TOTALLY understands the labor of love and she poured that same love into the special gift for her friend...a plaque with a picture and a quote.

But not just ANY picture, and not just ANY quote.
Becky picked things that were special to the family and before she could blink, she had orders coming in like crazy! A thoughtful gift for a friend is turning into a loving and very special gift of a lifetime for so many families. How neat is that?!


Here are examples of Becky's work...




Hey, it's us!


Inspiring, right? We think so too!
We are so excited to find the perfect spot in our home for our plaque!

Have you figured out a spot in your nest yet? How about in your nursery?
Becky takes custom orders and makes her plaques to your liking - colors, quotes, pictures and all! Not feeling very creative? Having a hard time deciding on the style you want? Don't worry! Becky will help you every step of the way. You can even order an already made plaque, with your own goods on it.

Your walls will be so happy!

Becky takes each project very personally...

"Many of my customers give me the 'back story' on their quote or picture so I feel personally connected to each one. As I am working on it, I am thinking about their love for the spouses, kids, fiances, etc."

...so you know that she pours her heart into every plaque, making it so very special and unique!

Grab a tissue, wipe away your tears of joy (FINALLY! A gift that everyone will like!) and point your clicker over to Becky's online store:


www.thesugaredplums.etsy.com


Impressed by Becky's ability to balance it all? Wondering how to keep your creative juices flowing without falling behind on life's happenings..you know, like laundry and diapers. Becky offers her advice:


"Don't ever stop creating. If being creative is something you like to do.... find time in your super busy, over scheduled, sometimes draining day to make it happen. Carve out a little part of your day to just sit and let your hands and mind work together to make something special"

And there you have it - great advice from a great gal!

Because her plaques are all about the fun and funky, touching and lovely quotes and moments, we asked Becky to share her favorite quote of the week and of course,
it comes from her little guy, Ben.



“Hey where did my cracker go? Oh yeah, I eat it in my mouth.”

Rocking Redo!

We are always looking for fun, inexpensive ways to update our nursery and nest and it thrills us to no end when we find projects on other blogs!

One of our favorite up-and-coming blogs is
http://thathouseonthecorner.blogspot.com/
where Caitlin tackles her home projects one DIY day at a time.

With birthday money from her grandma, Caitlin purchased an old rocking chair ($32) that was in need of some love and a couple layers of paint. After sanding, Caitlin used Valspar's spray paint to give the chair a rocking redo.

Check out the before and after:

Add a couple pillows and you've got yourself an affordable rocking chair for your nursery or nest!

To see Caitlin's full post about the chair, and to get the how-to, visit:

http://thathouseonthecorner.blogspot.com/2010/04/todays-before-and-after-rocking-chair.html

It's A Jungle In There!

Bryson James Sayre entered this world on January 5, 2010 with a stretch, a yawn and a roar, fitting the theme of his jungle nursery! Tiffany and Steven Sayre worked for months to prepare for their little guy and their hard work shows!

Photo Credit: Jackie Matthews

The inspiration for the nursery came from the one and only, Bryson James, himself.

Tiffany recalls, "When I started to feel flips and flops in my belly, I called him my 'little monkey' and we decided that if we were having a boy, the nursery would be a jungle!"

A jungle, indeed! Check out Bryson's nursery...

Tiffany and Steven are not only crafty, but they are also great bargain hunters! They purchased the crib and changing table/dresser on Craigslist for only $400! What a steal! The bedding is NoJo Jungle Babies, at Target.

Wondering how Tiffany turned white walls into a magical safari? Guess what...she's revealing her design secrets!

"We used acrylic paint on the walls. The trees were all done free-hand by my mother and I traced the animals onto clear plastic, used a projector and stenciled them onto the wall with a pencil, then filled it in with paint!"

The lettering, covered in animals, has got to be our favorite goody in the nursery and Tiffany was kind enough to let that design secret slip as well. She pointed us in the direction of craft stores, where you can find lettering just like what she used for Bryson's room. Snag a few wooden animals (or find something similar in the scrapbook section), paint and walla! Wonderful wall art with baby's name!

If you loved this nursery, then you will surely love, love, love the picture of sweet baby Bryson that is featured on our Oh, Snap! page.

Aaron's Art ...Roar!

The lovely and oh-so-creative Heather Wood completed her baby boy's nursery just in time! Two days past her due date, the first-time mom put her nerves at ease as she painted up a storm, or should we say jungle, for the nursery
where her son will soon be snoozing.

Keeping the nursery simple and classy was priority for Heather and her husband Chris but when all was said and done, the walls seemed a little bare. When Heather's mom called to inform the couple that there was blank canvass in Heather's old closet, the creative wheels began to turn and Heather was on a hunt for inspiration.

Searching the web didn't take long for Heather, as she found her inspiration pieces at the first site she visited: www.Rosenberryrooms.com

Heather printed the images off the site, started sketching, did a few practice pieces and in no time, she was painting masterpieces for her nursery! Here are some fun photos of Heather and Chris in their quest to add roaring art to Aaron Christopher's nursery...

Heather's art adds a fun flair to the nursery!

Love the crib and bedding? So do we! Heather was kind enough to spill the beans on where she found such adorable goods for her son.

Furniture is Bonavita, purchased from USA Baby and the bedding is by Lambs & Ivy purchased from JC Penny.

And now they wait... Aaron Christopher Wood is a couple days late for his big arrival, but rest assured, his nursery is ready! Great job Chris and Heather!

Anden's Tall Tale Nursery

Feeling nosy about nurseries?? Us too!
This time, we are peeking in on a FABULOUS nursery done by an
even more FABULOUS couple!

Patrick and Devonna Hendricks
Aren't they just the cutest first-time parents ever?!

Devonna is 27 weeks along with baby boy Anden Jace.
(Anden means led by God and Jace means healer)

Devonna is due on September 20, 2010 so it is no surprise that this artsy mom has been hard at work, making sure to have her son's nursery ready for his arrival. We are warning you now...put away your credit cards! This nursery is going to inspire you to run to the store for a whole new decor for your little one's room!

Ready, Set...Peek In!

Don't say we didn't warn you. By now, you have probably checked your bank account, wondering if you've got enough to splurge on paint and surely, you have Googled "how to: nursery murals" but don't fret - Devonna has the affordable know-how...

"If you're going to write something on the wall, use a projector, trace the writing first, then paint in with a small brush. It makes it a million times easier than trying to copy it by hand. Also, if you are doing a mural, always sketch it out first instead of going right for the paint. You can always easily paint over the messy sketch marks. If you are going to do accents of paint colors, always get the sample size, it's way cheaper, you can get it in any color, and it will go a pretty long way.
All the circles I did are done with a sample size of paint (except for the orange circle, which required about 1 1/2 samples)"

Thanks for the tips Devonna!

Wondering what inspired such a fabulous space? Devonna found images of a nursery with a similar mural and the same bedding online and now you, dear readers, can do just the same! We are confident that many of you will pull inspiration from Anden's room so to help you in your journey to nursery bliss, Devonna has provided paint colors! How cool is she?!

Paint from Lowes: Brown- Swiss Chocolate, Green- Heath Green, Blue-Vintage Blue, Yellow- Daffodil, and Orange- October Bronze.

The crib and dresser were purchased at BabiesRus, the bedding is Carter's Tall Tales at JcPenny and the chair was a hand-me-down from Devonna's mom. The chair was once pink but with a quick trip to Target, Devonna was able to get it slipcovered to match her little guy's nursery.

And there you have it - a tall tale of a nursery!