Little Gold Frame

Once upon a time the nursery gallery wall looked like this:

For the past two weeks or so it looked like this:

I added some of my favorite pictures of Lucy that I've taken in the weeks since she was born. I'm sure that I'll be swapping out photos every few months or so as I take new ones. But for the time being, these are a few of my favorites.

I saved our hospital bracelets specifically for this shadowbox from Ikea. The night we came home the hospital I couldn't wait to put this together and hang it on the wall. I originally just wanted to frame her bracelet, but decided to put all three in the shadowbox. The only downside is that they all have my name on them. I wish Lucy's had her name, but all in the name of hospital safety. Oh well!

For the past few weeks or so the wall has been 90% complete. 

Only 90% because I still had this little guy to fill and wasn't exactly sure what to put in it.

This tiny frame was only $1.00 from Joann Fabrics. In that sneaky rack they put by the register with about 50 other items under $5.00 just to tempt you while you wait in line. I'm a sucker and fell for it!

Originally Jordan suggested putting Lucy's footprint in the frame which I loved. We never did it for a few reasons. For one thing, I didn't want to go through the mess of trying to get an ink footprint from a squirmy infant. I knew it wouldn't be easy and I know I'm a perfectionist and would keep trying until I got the 'perfect' footprint. I also didn't want Lucy to have a stained foot for weeks.

We even thought about using the t-shirt footprint from the hospital, but I can't bear to cut up the shirt. Speaking of, I still haven't decided what to do with the shirt. Maybe frame it or turn it into some sort of gift for Jordan? Any suggestions?

Besides, my mom gave us a kit to do a ceramic footprint, which I plan to do sometime soon, so there is no need to do another one with ink.

Anyway, last week at my in-laws my MIL gave me a cut out from the newspaper of Lucy's horoscope from the day she was born. I didn't even think to look her horoscope up and I knew this would be a perfect fit for the tiny, empty frame. So I pulled out the scrap paper leftover from the gold 'Lucy James' frame project I did on her Expedit bookcase and picked a good background for the horoscope.

Now I have this:

The horoscope reads:

"Your tenacity and stamina are marvelous attributes that you'll apply to remarkable feats. Through the next five weeks, good fortune comes by way of community projects and sales. You'll be shown affection and will enjoy a large number of friends and acquaintances. An inheritance or unexpected bounty comes in February. Libra and Gemini people adore you."

Granted, it doesn't complete apply to a newborn, but I like the "You'll be shown affection and will enjoy a large number of friends and acquaintances" line. So many people already love and adore Lucy, so I think that this part of the fortune rings true. Also the 'unexpected bounty' line sounds pretty sweet although she won't be receiving that from us!

Here is the wall as it looks today:

Working on skylight curtain version 2 today along with another project in store for the weekend. Can't wait to show you all the final products. 

Happy Friday!! Good luck to everyone during the hurricane this weekend. Every state around here including Delaware has been declared a state of emergency. Here's hoping things aren't as bad as they predict. 

Blinded by the Light (Part II) - Trial and Error

I did it. I made my no-sew window treatment for the nursery skylight. 

Please excuse the crappy quality of pictures. I couldn't quite figure out the right lighting and everything around the window comes out super dark in photos. 

I'm not 100% happy with the window treatment. For one thing, I mis-measured the length so there is a small gap on either side between the rod and the wall. Plus the lighting in the room now suffers a bit with the addition of the curtain.
Let me break it down.


Pros:
- Blocks the bright sunlight (the reason for the curtain)
- Attractive fabric
- Spent much less $$ than custom blinds
- Took under an hour to create


Cons:
- Measurements are slightly off resulting in a gap on each end
- Because of the fabric color, it casts a yellow glow into the room during the day. It looks like it's 7pm with a lamp on at 12 in the afternoon. I'm a lover of natural light. I wake up in the morning and open all the curtains and blinds in the house to let the bright, blinding, gorgeous little sunlight I can get in. So I'm not too happy if there's no natural light into the room. 




Solution?
Since it does the job and my only real issue with the curtain is the color, I'm going to make another curtain in a lighter fabric. 

I chose a white fabric with just a little detailing to keep it from looking like an old bed sheet. I'm hoping that the white will allow enough light to come in without casting an awkward shadow in the room like the yellow fabric did.

Jordan has been working outside and trimming the trees in our backyard that have been blocking out the sunlight during the day. Hopefully a combination of a newer, lighter curtain along with the trimmed trees will keep the bright glare out, but allow enough light to creep in. 


Don't worry my yellow fabric will not to go waste. 
I have another project in the works and will be putting it to good use!


Stay tuned for a re-do of the skylight curtain reveal.
I'll also fill you in on the details of how I made this no-sew curtain.

Blinded by the Light (Part 1)

Guess what? I have a new project in the works.

But first... a little side story for fun and a good laugh at my expense.

I'm truly beginning to understand what it means when people say that being a mom is a full-time job. Believe it or not the day flies by and next thing you know it's 2pm and you feel like you've done nothing but feeding, burping, changing, and playing with your little one all day. And maybe, just maybe you had the chance to brush your teeth or scarf down a granola bar (or something equally as easy to eat with one hand). What I never have time to do (until Jordan gets home from work and I do the baby trade-off) is shower. The one time I did try to shower, I waited until Lucy had fallen asleep, and took literally a 5 minute shower. Meaning I jumped in, soaped up, rinsed off and jumped out. As soon as I turned the water off, I could hear her wailing from the bedroom. Broke my heart. I vowed to never sneak in a shower while she napped again. 

While showering daily is a treat for me, washing my hair is another story. I am lucky enough that I don't get a big grease ball on my head when I go a few days without washing my hair. I tend to get to wash my hair every 5 days. Eww (whatever..) Last night was one of those times when Jordan was on baby duty and shooed me off telling me to take a nice long shower. So I did just that. Washed my hair, shaved my legs, went all out. When I got out of the shower, Lucy was a little fussy so I took her from the hubby for a little snugging. What does she do? Spits up on my still-wet, just washed hair. So what did I do? Jump back in the shower? Dunk my hair in the sink? Nope. Wiped it away with a burp cloth and keep snuggling. I guess I'm officially a mom.

Now back to business....

You can see from these pictures that we have a rather bright skylight in the nursery.

And you can see when the sun comes in it casts a beam of light into the room. 

It's pretty bright, so much that I sometimes have to cover Lucy's eyes or walk her around the light when I bring her in to change her. At certain times in the day it even creeps into her crib. So I needed to find a solution before she begins sleeping or even taking naps in her room. (She currently sleeps in a bassinet in our room during the night.)

 I mentioned in my To-Do List that I wanted to find blinds for the window. I didn't realize how expensive they were! After looking online I realized to have blinds or already-made window treatments I was going to have to pay a pretty penny (some blinds ranged $300-400!) Since not having blinds really isn't an option, I'll need to DIY a window treatment.

Yesterday Lucy and I ran out to JoAnn fabric and picked up some supplies: this pretty yellow fabric and Heat-n-Bond. Last week we purchased two 18-24" tension rods.

While I don't exactly have instructions that I'm following, I have an idea of how I want to execute this project. I plan to create something similar to this window treatment I found on Prudent Baby:

via Prudent Baby

I'm hoping that by using tension rods and making the fabric the exact length of the window and keeping it tight I can prevent it from sagging and letting the light in. 

I'm off to give this project a try. Wish me luck! 

I'll will update tomorrow with a (hopefully) finished product. 

Happy Tuesday!

Fresh fruit

Blend

 Enjoy

1 Month

Our baby girl turned 1 month on Friday!

It's crazy to think it's been a month already. 

It has been the quickest but best month. 

Happy 1 Month Birthday Lucy James!