Ingrid's Nursery

Well Hello there! It's been a little while, hasn't it?! I've been on a small blogging hiatus, but can you blame me when there is beautiful New England weather to enjoy?? Believe it or not I have been somewhat busy, especially preparing for our newest arrival, Baby Ingrid, who is due any day now! So what have I been up to?? Mostly transforming our 3rd (and extremely tiny) storage closet bedroom into a nursery... on a budget.

So without drumroll, the finished product.

So what did I do to get this simple look?? First on the agenda was to find a crib to fit the space. I knew a regular sized crib would not fit in the room, so I had to resort to a mini-crib. This actually worked out great for my budget, because I was able to find this beauty brand new at Target.com  for a fraction of what a brand new crib would cost. The downside to the mini-crib: it is impossible to find bedding for these things!! The mini-crib idea has not caught on yet, so there is a lack in bedding selection.

So her bedding became my one big splurge in her room. I found a great bedding selection to choose from at Carousel Designs. After himming and hawwing and dreaming of her bedding for months, I finally took the plunge and bought what is seen here. And I couldn't be happier with the product! I even went back and bought some extra fabric for some of the craft projects I wanted to do in her room. So what were those projects?

First off, I cannot take credit for the handmade blankie that is draped over the crib. My good friend Danielle made this for Ingrid. She is incredibly talented and creative and if I had an ounce of her skills, I probably wouldn't have spent as much as I did on this nursery. Please visit her blog to see more cuteness and DIY greatness.

I wanted to make some wall art with some of the fabric I had bought, but wasn't sure what to do at first. After looking for ideas on Etsy, I came up with the monogrammed wall plaque idea.  This was relatively easy to make. All I did was stencil on the letter "I" to the fabric, sewed buttons in place, and then stretched the fabric over a wall canvas. I used furniture tacks and hot glue to secure the fabric into place.

I also wanted something on the ceiling for Baby I to look at when she was resting. I have a mobile, but I didn't really use it for Stella. I first got an idea from Pottery Barn Kids magazine - they had taken a bazillion paper lanterns and hung them from the ceiling. I loved the look, but knew I didn't have the money for it. So I thought why not paper poms instead. I used this great tutorial from Martha Stewart to get me started. I think the whole project cost me $4.

One of my last projects was this pillow cover I made. I used this tutorial to create an envelope pillow case using fabric that matched Ingrid's bedding.  I was going to buy a smaller version of this pillow from the same place I bought her bedding from, except it was $45. Ridiculous!! I'm so glad I made this easy cover instead! All I needed was the pillow insert, which I got from my local craft store for about $9. Yay for added lumbar support ;)

One of the things I am most proud of is her closet! This is what it looked like before...

And this is the after! Hello Organization!! 

I got the cubby organizer on sale at Target. But all of those fabric drawers can really add up! Especially if you want the ones that have the label insert on the front, which is the ones I wanted. Stella had some left over ones from her room, so thankfully I only needed to buy 6 more. I bought them in matching fabric, and got the plain ones. But I still needed to add labels so that me and the Hubby could stay organized. So I made these label holders out of cardstock, used fabric glue and glued coordinating fabric onto said cardstock, and then hot glued them onto the fabric drawers. Now not only are we organized, but her closet is tied into the nursery as well.

I also found these antique coat hooks for $5. I had the Hubby hang them up and voila! Use of the vertical wall space!

Now all we need is Baby Ingrid to grace us with her presence! Cannot wait to meet her, and to spend some long, quality time together in her new room!!