Dresser!

BEFORE...

AFTER...



I really like the way it turned out! It looks even better in person (it's a little more distressed when you see it up close). This turned out to be super easy and the perfect accent piece for the nursery! I just sanded everything down, thoroughly wiped it down with a wet rag to get rid of all the dust then I spray painted it a dark brown color. After I let that dry for a few hours I came back rubbed a candle along all of the edges getting candle wax over all the parts I wanted to have the paint coming off then I painted it the final color that we matched to the fabric I used for the nursery. After that paint dried I simply used my nail to scrape off wherever I put wax (it came off SO easy), then I put the handles back on and it was complete! Yay! Now I need another project to start on. I am very much in my nesting trimester if you can't tell:) I have to keep myself busy or all I can think about is having this baby get here already!

So many things to do!!!

I don't even know where to begin on this post... I have started SO many projects lately and I have finished a couple but have barely made a dent in all the things I want to get done before this baby comes! Let me start out with the 1 project I have completed...

These are pieces of fabric that I can change out at any time if I get sick of them. I also could have used scrapbook paper but I just happened to have a ton of fabric left over from multiple sewing projects and classes. This has nothing to do with the nursery or baby stuff I just had a lot of fun putting it together!

These next few of pictures are my blank canvas! Right now it is the office but it will be converted into an adorable baby sanctuary when I'm done with it!

Notice we already have our crib... Now we just need to put it together! Yay baby stuff!

My Nursery Inspiration

I just LOVE this crib bedding set and I would have bought already if it wasn't $500.00 dollars!!! In an effort to save money I have decided to make my own crib bedding. I found the cutest fabric ever at a a little fabric store in Utah (pictured directly below) I originally wanted to find these exact colors but found it difficult to find a main pattern that I liked that was the same so I altered it a little and changed the light green in the picture to a light purple which I think is turning out really cute! Steve helped me pick out the fabric as well so I have to give him some credit too.

We converted our ping pong table into a fabric cutting work-station...

I spent many hours pre-cutting out all the fabric pieces for the blanket, bumper and crib skirt. Here it is all laid out nice and pretty:)

The first part I started was the blanket because it seemed to be the easiest.

Steve really likes the quilted look so since I just got done taking a quilting class I put my new found knowledge to the test. It is kind of hard to see in this picture but I did a stitched fence pattern throughout the entire top part of the blanket to give it that quilted look.

Completed blanket! 1 down, a lot more to go but I love the way the blanket turned out. Steve likes to call it HIS creation. He picked out the super soft fabric that goes on the opposite side and asked me to make it look like a quilt so if it wasn't for his input it would not have turned out as neat:)

Here is a preview of the bumper I have been working on for the past week and a half... This part has by far been the hardest sewing project I have done... EVER! I have had to hand sew a lot of it because of how thick the batting is. I have now broken 5 sewing machine needles working on this bumper, luckily they are not very expensive and easy to replace. I love the way it it is turning out so far and hopefully I can finish it over this coming conference weekend and post a completed picture of it.

This is the dresser I bought of of craigslist that I am in the process of refinishing for the nursery. (The drawers have not been put back in correctly yet so it looks a little funny in the picture) I have been debating on either painting it white to match the crib and bench seat in the room or painting it a kind of antiqued looking turquoise color to match the turquoise accents I have in the fabric. I posted a picture below of an example of this. Any suggestions?

Lastly I found this tutorial on how to make these hanging wall bookshelves below and so I am going to pick out some cute coordinating fabric and make a couple of these...

These are just a few of the projects I am working on right now. I can't wait until it all starts coming together and I can post some more pictures as the office actually starts to turn into the nursery!

20 weeks!

We're half-way! YAY!

Our Utah trip

 Last month Steve and I packed up the dog and headed to Utah for an extended Labor day weekend trip. It is always nice to escape the heat and go enjoy some nice weather. I always love heading to Utah. There is nothing better than spending time with family and taking a break from life. We originally wanted to go over the 24th of July but since I wasn't feeling well at that time we pushed it back to Labor day and I am so happy we did. The weather was perfect! Steve got to mountain bike and golf tell his heart was content (or until he crashed which happened on the 2nd to last day) and I got to go shopping for little girl stuff:) Oh how I love buying little girl clothes, pretty sure I am addicted.

The first couple of days where spent at Scott and Rachel's house and it was so much fun there! We played with the dog, talked about baby stuff (since we are both expecting around the same time) and went to a picnic in the most beautiful spot ever up in the mountains with the Murray side of the family. Sadly the only pictures I got this trip are pretty much from that picnic. I wish I would have gotten some more of all the adults and some of my family and friends but I just didn't think about it at the time. Here is a bunch of some of the kiddo's for your viewing pleasure:)

The rest of the week after staying with Scott and Rachel we stayed with my parents and had a BBQ, played games, went shopping for baby stuff and found the most AMAZING fabric for me to use on the crib bedding. (A post to come later about the million projects that I have started and hopefully can finish by the time this baby comes!)

We had the best vacation ever! I miss it there already and can't wait to go back again for Christmas!

Baby girl:)

I was actually very surprised today when we found out we are having a girl... I was really thinking that it was going to be a boy. I couldn't be more happy about it though! I love girls and I can not wait to start shopping for her:) I guess Steve's fatherly intuition was better than my motherly because he was pretty sure the whole time it was going to be a girl.

Our baby is very healthy and she was moving around so much! She moved all over the place doing flips and tricks for us, I think she was showing off:) We have to go back again in 2 weeks for another ultrasound because she was moving so much they couldn't get a good shot of her spine and heart. We could hear the heartbeat of coarse, it was really fast and all of her measurements are right on with her estimated due date of February 8th! We seriously could not be happier. Now I just can't wait for her to get here! Yay!!!

I laughed out loud!! A lot.

Goodbye first trimester! I don't miss you one bit

I just wanted to update you all on how things have been going for Steve and I since we became pregnant and for my own memory what it feels like to be pregnant for the first time.

Since this is my first pregnancy I can't help but think about it ALL THE TIME. It's pretty much the only thing I talk about anymore and I'm even starting to get annoyed with myself. (I get annoyed a lot these days). My patience is short but I try hard to manage it and have been trying to relax even though the other day I struggled when Steve didn't want to go to the store to get me milk at 11:00 at night... I may or may not have thrown a fit about it. Milk is pretty much the only thing that tastes good to me right now so I drink A LOT of it. I hate eating with a passion. All food to me is disgusting right now. I don't have an appetite and it's really been tough during the first trimester keeping the food I do eat down. My dream currently is to get one of those feeding tubes that you get in the hospital and get food through that everyday, that way I don't have to taste any of the food and I still get the nutrients the baby and I need to make it through this pregnancy.

I have not gained ANY weight yet which I am happy about but I am definitely looking bigger. I am at 15 weeks today and I am just so grateful that I am not feeling super sick anymore. I have started getting my energy back and getting excited about things again. I love looking up nursery colors, cribs, diaper bags, clothes and anything else baby related that I can possibly think of. Steve has been so much fun during the pregnancy. He gets really excited about the baby and even though he is constantly teasing me for how excited I get over every little thing he turns around and does the same thing! He loves talking about nursery ideas. I feel pretty lucky to have a husband that does some design work for a living therefore appreciates my desire to make our nursery look super cute. He gets excited about baby clothes shopping, doctor appointments and besides the milk incident has been willing to do pretty much anything I ask.

I am just so happy right now that I am in the "fun" trimester. I know it will get even harder as I get bigger and bigger but I am looking forward to every uncomfortable minute of this new life experience. I am so nervous and excited to be a mom. I didn't do a whole lot of babysitting when I was younger and I really don't have a lot of experience with babies but I am confident that I will do a great job because I already love this baby so much and feel so blessed to have the opportunity to have it. The thing I am most looking forward to right now is finding out the sex of the baby in 2 weeks! September 1st we find out and then the next day we head to Utah for an extended labor day weekend. Hopefully we can get a chance to see everybody there!