Posts Tagged: room

Crafts / Kids / Projects — No Comments
22
Feb 12

Nola is 2, and has a “new” room

Nola is now 2-years-old, and continues her refusal to both sit still and smile for pictures. 75% of her photos are either exuberant-grinning-blur or disinterested-curmudgeon-stare.

Nola

She really is a happy kid, I swear!! Just seems like whenever I get my camera out she puts on her poker-face, lol. We found her a Cabbage Patch kid at Goodwill that I could not believe — excellent condition… with clothes on, even! So of course I had to make her new baby doll a blanket.

Doll Quilt

I knew I was keeping all those strip-scraps for a reason, and not just because I’m some kind of fabric hoarder… because I’m not… I also made her some fresh new pillowcases for her big girl pillow that she has now!

Pillowcases

I put in some extra effort to put French seams on them, which easily doubled sewing time, but WOW was it worth it! So nice… I think I’ll put French seams on everything from now on… lol yeah right like that’s going to happen!

Nola also got a bedroom makeover “for her birthday” (not that she would really know any better, but that was my manic justification, anyway). Remember a-year-and-a-half ago when I was all like, “I’m gonna make Nola’s room all awesome!” with grandiose plans? Well none of that really happened until just recently…

BEFORE

AFTER

Yes, those are the same Alphabet Wall Cards as mentioned in the original post, finally up on the wall! They are so wonderful, great quality, and create a nice large-scale effect that fills a lot of space (’cause empty wall space is what we had!) — and for less than $20, you really can’t go wrong. The Discovery Kids Lunar Phase Moon Lamp is pretty effing sweet, as well. I also got one for Gunner’s room, and now I’m thinking I need to get another to put in our (the “grown-ups”/parents) bedroom.

BEFORE

AFTER

Lots of toy storage, with room for more (dear god please, not too much more). Plus a couple shelves dedicated solely to BOOKS — Nola’s absolute favorite things ever.

BEFORE

AFTER

(Note the dotted-line silhouette in there where bunting will eventually exist.) The picture hanging at the end of her crib was drawn by her big brother especially for her! There’s also a sneak peek at the crib bumpers I’ve been working on (sheesh, by the time I get them finished she won’t be sleeping in the crib anymore).

Zippered Reversible Individual Crib Rail Bumpers

I’ll be posting a blog entry with more pics of those when they’re all finished. The fabrics are “Fandango” by Kate Spain for Moda; and yes, they are now out-of-print — and now you know how long I’ve been picking away at this project. Diligence!

Kids / Projects — 2 Comments
13
Jun 10

Nola’s Room Makeover, Intro

Now that Nola is no longer a flailing newborn, she needs a proper baby girl’s room to grow into. I have plenty of plans swirling around in my head already, and most of them are simple and I already have most of the stuff I need. It’s just a matter of finding the time and getting it done!

Note the gaping white areas of blank wall space. Boring! My plans include alphabet wall cards, proper curtains, a small set of shelves (like in Gunner’s room), get that motorcycle out of there, switch out the breathable bumpers and mobile for the “new” ones acquired this weekend, and much more! I do like the extra storage under the crib, but I need to get a proper storage tub for the space there. I’ll be posting some “halfway there” pics once I get a few things done. ;)

FYI, here’s what Gunner thinks of the whole thing:

Mmm... root beer...

Kids / Projects — 1 Comment
1
Feb 10

Gunner’s New Room

One happy almost-5-year-old in his new room

Last year, we began remodeling the back room to move Gunner into that larger room. A long, long time ago, it was a roommate’s room, then when the new baby (namely Gunner) came along, it became the “junk room” because there was no way I was putting a baby in that room with the nightmarish electric-puke-chartreuse walls. But as Gunner grew and accumulated more and more stuff, he quickly outgrew the smaller “baby” room and really needed more space. The decision was 100% cemented with the beginnings of baby number two, and months of procrastination was quickly becoming regrettable! But with the help of our wonderful families we were able to finish it up relatively quickly. Thank goodness! As you can see from the before photos in this archive entry and the after photos below, it turned out beautifully.

Gunner’s new loft bed was crafted by his grandfather (my father-in-law) years ago, originally for our nephew but he outgrew it a few years ago and we inherited it when my sister-in-law cleaned out her storage garage. It was perfect timing, and it’s such a cool bed! I was worried about him sleeping so high off the ground, but he’s been doing just fine (settle down, mom) and it’s nice to have the extra room underneath. I really like that the organization drawers for toys and his clothing worked out so well, and I got to sort and put labels on everything! I’m hoping that the labels will help him with some “sight” reading and he will be able to keep track of where everything is and clean up after himself more easily. He’s also got a brand new bookcase so that all of his books are now in his room! I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time in order to clear out some space on the livingroom bookshelves for our growing collection of books.

Now it’s just a matter of getting the new baby’s room more settled and figured out. It shouldn’t be too difficult, the crib and changing table/dresser and all the other good stuff is already set up. I’m just waiting on some Alphabet wall cards to spiff up the plain white walls. Then I’ll throw some pink sheets and blankets on things and see where it needs to go from there. *sigh* Always a work in progress.

Projects — 1 Comment
5
Mar 09

Junk Room Update

I’ve reached the midway point. Here are some “Before” and “After” shots…

Junk Room IMG_0329 Junk Room IMG_0321 Junk Room IMG_0322 Junk Room IMG_0323

Next step: Prying those fugly seam trims off the wall, taping, mudding and sanding, then two coats of paint to cover that ghastly lime green.

After that: Vacuuming and shampooing the carpet, setting up Gunner’s new “big boy” bed that grandpa made, transferring all his stuff into new storage drawer units, putting up posters.

Will this be done by the afternoon of Saturday, March 14th? We shall see…

Projects — 1 Comment
6
Jan 09

Winter Project: Junk Room

That’s right, boys and girls… I’m tackling the “junk room.” (woot) I want to clear it out, paint it, and move Gunner into there because it is bigger than his current room. “Why paint it?” you may ask. (wonder) Well, because the walls are lime green and the carpet is cornflower blue. (gross) It’s truly hideous. Let me show you…

Junk Room Junk Room Junk Room Junk Room

Notice the sweet-ass Technodrome? Yeah, that’s not going anywhere; my husband would punch me in the face if I even considered getting rid of his Turtles. (lol) But there’s PLENTY of other stuff that can be liquidated. So, I will probably be selling what I can on eBay, consigning what’s left of that, and donating anything leftover.

I purchased a used 2-drawer file cabinet today, so the first step will be sorting out and filing away the paper work and bills and such. Next will be to sort through everything to decide what to sell off or get rid of and what to keep. The cradle, crib, car seat and stroller will be going to one or both of the grandparents’ house(s) for attic storage. We don’t have an attic.(annoyed) The desk will either be given to my nephew or consigned. I hate to get rid of it, I’ve spent a lot of time at that desk during my teen years, but we just don’t need it and it’s taking up a lot of space.

I’m hoping to have this done by the spring (hope) or sooner if I can really get some major chunks done everyday. If I include the painting process, it probably will be spring by the time it’s ready. If I can get it done in time for Gunner’s birthday in March, that would be AWESOME! We will see… baby steps.