Showing posts with label Nursery Room. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nursery Room. Show all posts

Wednesday, 19 February 2014

Affordable baby bedding coming soon to a Bouclair store near you!

I'm very excited to see that Bouclair Home will now be offering affordable, adorable & modern baby bedding & nursery decor!

via Bouclair

via Bouclair

via Bouclair

Four years ago, when I was pregnant with my first child, it was nearly impossible to find modern nursery bedding that did not cost as much (or more) than the crib! I ended up buying a set from Dwell Studio that I loved but was way over priced!

via Dwell Studio

Since then many affordable & modern options have become available. Target has a great line of mix and match pieces!

via Target
Now Bouclair's new line promises to be just as cute as the expensive sets I've pined over at Serena & Lilly, Little Auggie or the ones over at Land of the Nod and for a fraction of the price! Stay tuned, their website says coming soon!

via Serena & Lily

via Little Auggie
via Land of the Nod



Tuesday, 10 December 2013

My latest fabulous & free find!

I'm finally getting around to decorating our newly painted and therefore, very naked walls...I've had some pieces ready to go up for some time now but there are still some spaces left to fill...Enter The Handmade Home's free download and I could not be happier as there's a perfect spot in our "nursery nook" for these. Just download here, print on quality/thick paper and hang with mini clothe pins on the wall. A-d-o-r-a-b-l-e!



Free printable via The Handmade Home

Free printable via The Handmade Home

They also have numbers!

Free printable via The Handmade Home

Follow Yolanda's advice from her latest post and package these in colourful tissue in a pretty box, add a bow and you've got yourself a sweet and very inexpensive gift!


Friday, 6 December 2013

DIY Paper air balloon mobile

I wanted to create something special to place over the change table to keep baby busy while being changed. I came upon quite a few mobile ideas on Pinterest and chose to make something myself. I had been into air balloons, elephants and stars while planning for this baby and so air balloons it was!

My DIY air balloon mobile

There are so many tutorials online...You can follow this one from Simply Frugal.  I followed a few and worked with a free air balloon template I found using Google. I used paper from a pad of cute scrapbook pages in various prints (something like this) and some wood dowels in the craft aisle at Walmart and voila! Not sure how long a paper product will last in our house but it's definitely a cute inexpensive addition to the space.

I used a small clear 3M Command hook to hang the mobile from the ceiling. I love these as they can easily be removed without any damage to your walls. Amazing!
3M Command Hooks via Walmart


This would make a sweet gift to give at a baby shower or to gift over the holidays.


Monday, 22 July 2013

Creating a space for a newborn in our master bedroom: Choosing a mini crib

We moved to a new house one month before our son was born. It was necessary to do so but definitely challenging and I would not recommend moving just before your due date to other mothers to be. Having said that now that #2 is on the way we've decided to hold off on moving to a larger home. We plan to have our sons share a bedroom but for the first few months the new baby will stay with us in our bedroom. Luckily we have a little bit of a "nook" in our master bedroom and so I've been working on plans to make this tiny space as cozy and as efficient as possible.

I was so glad to find the Babyletto Grayson mini crib at Fabbabygear. They have 2 locations in Ottawa and one in Toronto. They were the only Canadian online retailer I could find who sold this crib. They deliver for free within Canada (small surcharge for large furniture) which is amazing and they give you a 10% discount if you create a baby registry with them. We will be picking up our mini crib and mattress next week-end and I cannot wait to get it back here. The inspiration for our little "nursery nook" was built off this little grey crib. It also comes in white and espresso.

Babyletto Grayson mini crib via Fabbabygear.com

The smaller size allows us to have a real crib (as opposed to a Pack'n Play or a bassinet) in a tight space and it can easily be folded and put away when not in use or to take with us should we stay with family or friends. They claim it fits babies until the age of 18 months which would be great but we do have the full size crib in our sons room ready when this one gets too tight.

Babyletto Grayson mini crib via Fabbabygear.com

Our runner up was the Alma mini crib but it was slightly smaller (and so would not accommodate a growing infant as long) and was priced higher...The Alma mini cribs comes in the same neutral colours as well as bright lime green and orange!

Alma Mini Crib via PinkiBlue

Alma Mini Crib via PinkiBlue


Check out this article on Sabbespot's blog regarding this new trend of using any nook (even closets) to make a space for baby in very small abodes!

Inspiration for "nursery nooks" via Sabbespot


Will update with pics once we get the crib and nook put together!

Monday, 8 July 2013

Guilty guilty guilty but busy busy busy!

So I'm feeling a little very guilty seeing as I have not been giving GiftLOVE any love this past while...The truth is I keep adding projects to my to do list while I'm barely chiseling at the existing mountain of "to do" items I want to do before the baby comes...I have completed a few and am part way through a few more...

I thought if I shared my intentions with the "cyber universe" I'd be more likely to hold myself accountable...so here goes, my short list (items I absolutely want to do before the baby comes from my long aka never ending to do list):

1) Build my son a teepee. Done. Will share pics of the final product this week. Check out inspiration here and here and here as well as the tutorial I followed here.

Teepee inspiration via 6th Street Design School

2) Find items for the new baby that will fit in the "nook" in our bedroom that he will be sharing with us for the first few months (before joining his big brother in a shared bedroom). Will share challenges of having a second baby in a 2 bedroom home (It's really a 3 bedroom but the hubby works out of the third as a home office full time)...the products that I am soooo glad I found (this compact crib especially!) and finally hopefully in the next month, photos of the finished nursery-nook.

Inspiration to create a nursery "nook" in our master bedroom via  These Moments of Mine

3) Redecorate my son's nursery to make him a special big boy's room before the baby comes...Again, will share all the fun (and practical) items I found to redecorate on a budget!

Fun accents to decorate my son's new big boy room via Gathered Nest Design on Etsy

4) Finally pick the paint colours and backsplash to refresh our kitchen and home this coming month. Have you ever looked for the perfect grey??? I've found that I'm not the only one feeling a little overwhelmed over what grey to use. Check out these helpful articles here, here and here.

Benjamin Moore Greys via Thrifty Decor Chick

5) I have many DIY's I'm currently working on.  I'm currently making my version of this, this and/or this, and this and hope to try to make this, this and one or two of these! Will update as I complete projects...These are all to decorate my son's rooms or our living space but can all be made to gift to a loved one!

Similar to a garland I'm currently working on sold on Etsy via Lullaby Mobiles

6) As for gift giving in the immediate future, I need to find a small gift for my brother and his wife's first wedding anniversary, a birthday gift for my godson's 3rd birthday, a housewarming gift for my brother-in-law and his wifey and something special for my father's upcoming birthday...Will share what I find...

1st wedding anniversary gift idea - Antique white heart throw embroidered with the couples names and wedding date  via Things Remembered

7) Last big item on the short list? My son's 3rd birthday...I think we will keep it small this year - like tiny small...I read somewhere that a nice rule to follow is to invite as many friend's as the child's age...I think we will do just that! He had a huge first birthday party (30+ people I think) and 8 kids for his second party...I think this will be the last year that we can get away with a very small group of friends (and considering I'll be 7+ months pregnant by then momma needs to keep things simple!  I will still do a theme of course (I can't help that!) and considering his new found obsession with dinosaurs...a dino party it will be! I'm thinking dino cupcakes in cones using these fondant molds or these which are ready to use to decorate, DIY dino tails & these cute "loot bags" but using dino books and lots of dino balloons of course!! Will definitely share once it all comes together!

DIY dino tail tutorial via Running with Scissors
Updates coming soon ;)!

Monday, 10 June 2013

Baby & Child Restoration Hardware

Ready to fall in LOVE? If you don't know about Baby & Child Restoration Hardware you need to go and take a look.

via RH baby & child

via RH baby & child

via RH baby & child

via RH baby & child

via RH baby & child

via RH baby & child

via RH baby & child


They are on the pricey side and we do get hit with extra fees for ordering from Canada but when they have sales like this one I can't help but start to shop!

via RH baby & child

There are too many goodies on this site! To name a few, they carry some of my latest obsessions - items I have on my list to buy for my son's room since he will be sharing it with a little brother soon...

1) Framed baby animal portraits by photographer Sharon Montrose:

via RH baby & child
via RH baby & child
These are just too adorable and at $140 for 4 wood framed prints it's a pretty good deal! She sells them off her site for $25 per print (no frame).  Take a look at all her work at The Animal Print Shop.

I will be getting these close ups for the boy's room:

via The Animal Print Shop


2) A teepee tent for hiding/reading/playing/dreaming :):

via HR baby & child

3) A mobile to put over the change table to help keep baby distracted while diaper changes are going on:



via RH baby & child

Enjoy!




Thursday, 30 May 2013

My Son's Nursery

We have now gone from a family of 3 to a family of 4.  For our first son we had plenty of time to shop for the "perfect" nursery.  We found it very challenging because we didn't want the brown and beige colour schemes and we wanted something modern.  As soon as you shop for something modern prices go up.  We finally found a crib on Walmart.com by Baby Mod - modern, simple, nice and inexpensive.  Walmart.com has a huge selection of cribs from inexpensive to very expensive.

Via Walmart.com
We thought it looked a lot like the Oeuf crib we were eyeing that was 3 times the price.

Via Oeufnyc.com
We are so happy with the crib and even more happy that we didn't pay a lot for it because our son ended up destroying the edges with his teeth - we had a beaver on our hands!

This is how the crib looks in his room.


We painted the walls with Benjamin Moore Aura paint in the colour Stone.  The pain quality is great and very easy to clean.  Until this day, his room is my favourite room in the house because the colour scheme is so calming.  The grey was really the perfect choice.


The rest of the furniture was purchased at Ikea mostly because we liked the colour and finishing.

Via Ikea
 
To add colour to the room, we framed pictures of cartoon characters we like.  I bought the frames at Winners/Home Sense (in my opinion the best place to buy picture frames).


The rest of the colour was added by his books, mobile and stuffed animals.



Finally, the light fixture is one of my favourite pieces.  The hanging glass bubbles reflect on the walls and make it look like floating bubbles.  We made sure to also get a dimmer.  We purchased the fixture from Living Lighting in Ottawa.


We also recently added this wall decal from Wall Talk.


His room is still a work in progress with other touches I would like to add, like shelving.  For our second son, we went with the same wall colour and even furniture but the layout is different and so are some of the small touches.  Unfortunately, the room is not finished and everything is still a work in progress!!


Sunday, 12 May 2013

A Gift for Me for Mother's Day

On the day I became a mom, my husband read me a newborn prayer he found online.  It was a beautiful moment that I will certainly never forget.  Not only were we emotional having just become parents and met our wonderful little guy but we were in tears reading such beautiful words.  I've wanted to frame it for my son since that day and unfortunately, I haven't had time and then I just couldn't find the right paper to print in on. Finally, last week it dawned on me that I should just print it on one of my son's newborn shots.  Took me long enough!!

Here is the result:

 
This picture was taken by a wonderful photographer, Eduardo Reyes.  You can see his work at www.eduardoreyesweddings.com.  It was perfect to fit the prayer.  I tried to find the source of the prayer online and I couldn't but you can find it on so many blog posts online and I got it from this blog.   I framed the picture in a white frame and will be hanging it in my baby's room.  It will be a nice keepsake.  I hope to do the same for the next little guy.

Hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day!

Monday, 1 April 2013

Hello Monday!: A Great Weekend for Organizing

This weekend was great.  An extra long weekend to enjoy with friends from out of town and with family, and to organize the home!  A very productive weekend indeed. As both Mrs. P and I mentioned before, it is very important in a small home with limited storage to stay on top of organizing.  The goal this weekend was to work on the second nursery with baby number two arriving very soon.  Just like in the first nursery we needed to do something with the closet to maximize space.  We considered a pre-made closet organizer or custom making one, but in the end we just went with removable and changeable closet organizers from Ikea.  We thought this made more sense especially with small clothing items for babies, pyjamas, bibs and receiving blankets.  This way we will leave the permanent customizing for when the kids are older or leave it to a purchaser when we decide to sell and move.  This leaves options for a family that may have different needs.

I love the size and flexibility of these. Plus they are extremely affordable.

Via Ikea
Via Ikea
In addition to white and black, the bigger size also comes in this lilac colour.  I love how it adds colour to the closet.  In store, they also had a turquoise colour that I absolutely loved.

Via Ikea
We also got these boxes to put on the floor in the closet and one on the shelve in the closet.  I use one of these for toy storage in the room and the other I use for extra supply storage (i.e., diapers, diaper genie liners, wipes, etc.).  According to Ikea's site " two boxes fit side by side in a 39 3/8" wide wardrobe frame". They fit perfectly in the closets  in my home.

Via Ikea

Via Ikea