The Connection Runners

NurseryWatch: All The Small Things

I've had this post's title in my head now for weeks. The sub-title is actually one of my least favorite Blink-182 songs (yeah, I did that whole "I'm punk rock" in high school for awhile), but I just could not stop singing the tune in my head when working on all of the tiny details for LBA's room.

Although we still have a few minor things to take care of, I thought I'd share a few gray, cream, and yellow updates that we've created thus far.

Note: As you read this post, please keep in mind that I'm not crafty. Anything that looks good is probably something that my mom made. Anything that looks like it was made at a preschool craft corner during a church service was probably made by me.
This stuffed elephant was not made by me or my mom, though. Kevin's cousin, who's an occupational therapist, made the elephant for LBA. It's filled with aquarium rocks. Sounds weird, right? But not really. You see, LBA can use for support in sitting up, during tummy time, or just as something to lean on. The extra weight can also be a comfort to some kids when they get older.

Migi Sweet Sunshine Crib bedding, bought by my mom, made by Bananafish.

Two book slings to hold all of LBA's books on politics, economy, and astrophysics. Oh, and Good Night, Moon. My mom made them using this tutorial. Kevin hung them using wood dowels and drapery hardware. I watched all of this work go down and sipped on a Coke Zero.

A sunshiney wreath that was supposed to be a cool take on a sunburst mirror. However, the sunburst mirror tutorials proved to be too much for my patience while in JoAnn Fabrics, and then I couldn't even get a mirror glued on to the back of this wreath. So a painted wreath it is. It still adds an element of color and texture to the neutral walls.

A jute-wrapped monogrammed letter that I spent 4 hours painstakingly wrapping. I wish I could show you the whole thing, because it's actually kind of cute, but that would mean nearly giving away the name and GASP! that can't happen for approximately 6.5 weeks.

Blankets and burp cloths stored in an IKEA crate that also double as a footrest, side table, and, later, a storage bin for toys. Doesn't that lamb look ridiculously happy to be sitting atop it?

A fun, floral rug that was cheap and cute. It's soft enough for LBA to eventually play on, but it doesn't have the long shag threads that I so didn't want to deal with vacuuming.

More books, a vintage sock monkey, one ultrasound photo and an alma mater duck sit along a white photo rail from IKEA.

More sewing from my sew-rific mom. She crafted this blanket from the same fabric as the book slings and used some leftover gray minky for a pillow cover. I just stuck my finger with a needle over and over again because I couldn't even sew a button if I tried.

Cheap & nearly instant wall art made from four sheets of scrapbook paper and four $2 frames from IKEA. Almost as tasty as my other favorite cheap & instant thing, Ramen noodles. This artwork had far less MSG though.


Somehow, we managed to put together the entire nursery for about half of the amount that I originally estimated pooped my pants over. Nursery stuff can be expensive, but we put in some good old-fashioned elbow grease and got it done without it looking too scary. In a future post, I'll break down the prices and details of everything just in case you're looking to have a nursery of your very own!