Wednesday 14 August 2013

Gone but not forgotten.....

It's been so long since I've posted anything on here. The only part of our house that I've really added to this blog is the nursery. It is still the same design with the same furniture and wall colours except for a few minor changes and one big change: a new baby boy, Baby T.

chevron crib sheet
The toy corner. The boys' grandmother made the panda teddy bears.

We had our newest family addition last spring and couldn't be happier with our two boys. Again, we kept the sex of the baby a surprise until the birth so the gender-neutral colour scheme in the nursery worked out well for us. We moved little J into a new room that was designed for him & his personality. I'll post something soon about his new space.

jenny lind chevron
The Jenny Lind crib & toy corner.

monte rocking chair
The rocker corner with the home-made art vignette.
cheap diy art
The print made with markers.

cheap diy art
The 80's inspired paint splatter art.
 
I just did some small changes to get the nursery ready for the new baby. First was the artwork. I didn't want to spend much on nursery artwork because I'm sure in 6-12 months I'll want to replace it again. I just used materials/supplies I already had on hand. I thought the little animal prints were still cute and the floral was cute without being too feminine (and also thinking I had 50% chance of a baby girl to use the space). I wanted to use different techniques and mediums for each piece, which sounds like I know what I'm talking about but I created the most basic kind of artwork possible. One thing I did was use markers on marker paper to create a multicolour diamond pattern. Another technique was taking my paint brush and flicking various colours of paint specks onto card stock (idea via paint splatter patterns from the 1980's). I also used a stamp & acrylic paint to make a polka dot pattern. Above the crib I used acrylics on heavy watercolor paper for the abstract. It didn't cost me anything since I had all the supplies on hand already but it did take some time. Each project was 1-2 hours. In the end it was free art that I won't feel bad about replacing. We also purchased a commemorative birth certificate for baby T (we bought one for J when he was born too). The artwork is of sea lions in the ocean which reminds us of the area we live in. We can hear sea lions barking throughout the year at a marina down the road from our home. I was pleasantly surprised at the bright green & blue-grey colours and sketching details in the rendering once we received it.

nursery art
The art made with acrylic paint & a potato stamp.
nursery art
The abstract made with opaque acrylics on 90lb pressed paper.
green wall nursery
The rocker corner.
nursery change table
The change table...the busiest area of this space.
 
The vintage accordion lamp was my late uncle's. For as long as I can remember it was always by his bedside (he was unfortunately a quadriplegic). I sprayed the metal shade white on the inside and a royal blue on the outside. It's great for the change table and also a nice reading lamp for story time on the rocking chair. It makes me think of my uncle often which I like. I also added an inexpensive woven wicker ceiling fixture from Ikea. It casts a nice warm glow in the space.

change pad hooks
The hooks & hanging baskets above the change pad are so practical....they get piled with things everyday (wash cloths, bibs, etc...).
woven ceiling shade
The ceiling light fixture has a really warm glow when turned on (it was hard to take a photo of...a photographer, I'm not). Nice, soft lighting for little eyes especially at night.
green nursery
The doorway to the nursery.
baby booties boots
The shelf behind the doorway is only a few inches deep but is the perfect storage space for little booties & shoes.
baby booties boots
I love little baby booties & shoes...it might be becoming an 'issue'.
 
I really didn't need anything for the new baby since I was so prepared for our first. We didn't know what we were having with J, so I bought everything neutral - clothing, bedding, accessories, etc...It is nice to get a few new things though. I added a new grey chevron crib sheet (adds just enough pattern to the space), a few little outfits and a new white change pad cover. The light fixtures & other little changes made the space feel ready for new baby.

teddy bear wagon
A wagon filled with books & teddy bears.
merry thought teddy bear
This teddy bear was my husbands when he was wee.
 
Little J loves coming into the nursery to chatter & play while I change or rock the baby. He also loves his new room but not as much as he loves the new 'bebe'.

nursery change table shelf
The shelf above the change pad holds all the changing accessories & knick-knacks.

vintage kewpie doll
A vintage porcelain kewpie doll that was always in my Mom's room as a little girl....mine too.

baby moccasins
Moccasins made on a reserve in Saskatchewan...these were also little J's. I've declared them to be a family heirloom...I'm very sentimental.