Thursday, August 16, 2012

Nursery Furniture - Done!


A few weeks ago, I posted that I was working with the new (atleast to me) Annie Sloan chalk paint.  When my mom and dad moved two years ago,  they were getting rid of a lot of stuff they had accumulated over the time they lived there.  And the nursery furniture that my brother and I had used was destined for the junk pile.  But,  I thought I might be able to repurpose it in some way, so we stored it in the spare bedroom until a few months ago.  Here is what it looked like before...


It was very dark brown and highly lacquered with brass hardware.  Clearly, something had to be done.


The great thing about the Annie Sloan chalk paint is that there is no sanding, priming, stripping or prep.  That's right.  You just get your favorite paint brush and get after it.  Here is how the mirror looked after the new coat of paint:


Here is the chest of drawers all finished complete with hardware.




















And here is the changing table (no before picture, but it was the same dark wood, high lacquered finish and brass hardware).














This hardware was perfect.  I found it at Target and ordered it online.











The only pieces of the furniture that we didn't have (and I probably wouldn't have used it anyway because of safety reasons) was the crib.  I ordered two from CribOutlet.com.  They are located on the East Coast and after I placed the order, they called to make sure that I really did want to order TWO cribs.
They will convert to toddler beds and then eventually full size beds.  I am finishing up the crib skirts (pictures to come) and then we need to buy the mattresses.















This is the ladder shelf my dad just finished for the room.  It's a great way to store necessities or toys or burp cloths.  It's exactly like the one featured in Pottery Barn right now - only made with love, which is so much better.

Friday, August 10, 2012

Lots of Growing...

There is lots of growing going on around here - both in the size of my belly and in the level of my anxiety.  Yesterday, I made the 26 week mark.  Hard to believe that I have only 3 months left, at the most, before the girls will be here.  I think we've finalized names for the most part - although we're really not sharing our final decisions.  The ones we've considered but I'm pretty sure we've eliminated include Jillian, Guiliana, and Alexis.  Those were favorites at one time, but we've come to like others better.  The funniest thing I think I've heard is, "you'll just have to wait and see what they look like before you decide names."  Hmmm.  Well, they are identical.  Does that mean we're supposed to name them the same thing?
I would say I have really enjoyed the last month or so.  I was having some back pain, but went to see a chiropractor and after the adjustment, Baby A, who had been breech for about 2 months flipped around.  Within a week, my back pain was gone!
And, the fun of shower planning has started.  Here are a few pics that were snapped last week.  I don't think I look very big here, but I feel big.  The doctor says I'm measuring right where I need to be - about 4 weeks ahead.

My friends at Paper Source are throwing me a shower on September 16th.  They have been so funny about the planning - it's all so secretive.  I am so lucky to have friends that are sharing our joy.  The invite was designed by Jenna Blazevich.  Mad talent - for real.  Her lettering style is so beautiful.



















The girls are growing like weeds.  At my last appointment, they weighed in at about 1.5 lbs each - only varying by about 40 grams.  Baby B was up the night before enjoying a dance party between 3am and 5am, so when the ultrasound tech had the probe on her, she gave us a big yawn.  Amazing.

Like I said, the girls will be here in no time, so nursery prep is in high gear. I couldn't find any window treatments off the shelf I liked.  What to do?  Make your own!  But, I needed something easy peasy.  So, I settled on this tutorial posted on Positively Splendid.

Next came the arrival of fabric by Dena Fishbein.  Kumari Garden to be exact.

















And then, after I picked which fabrics to use, I washed them.  Then, there was lots and lots of this...
(IRONING!)


And then, there was lots and lots of this...
(MEASURING!)
And then, there was some of this, but if you do all your prep right, it's easy as pie...
(SEWING!)













And then, there was lots of running around to different stores to find the perfect hardware that was big enough for the window.   And then, there was time spent marking, and leveling, and drilling, and mollying (my least favorite part), but alas, THE REWARD!















There is actually a pink tie in the ribbons, but I couldn't get it to show in the photos.

And, they are perfect to me.  More to come including a crib skirt tutorial from the same blog, Positively Splendid.  If you ask me, it's positively fabulous!
Happy Friday!