DIY - Nursery Art

Making a baby room has been tons of fun! Especially as it all comes together and we start to add some personal touches! With both my family and Jim's family being out of state, we wanted to include something in Christian's room to tie him to his extended family in New York and Wisconsin. 

I found this cute idea on pinterest pinned from another blog. 

So I decided to make my own and put my own little spin on it. I decided not to use actual 'reference maps' but instead just state shapes. 

Here is my finished product:

Sorry its not the best picture. The picture I took won't upload on here without being upside down for some reason.. 

My hubby has already pointed out that I did not make it geographically accurate... But we live in Minnesota so I wanted to be in the middle. Oh well. 

It's probably pretty self explanatory as to how I made this, but I'll still explain. 

Gather supplies - a frame, colored paper cut to size to match/fit your frame plus extra in a contrasting color for the state shapes, sharpies, and glue.

Find your maps - I googled under images "Wisconsin Map", "Minnesota Map" and "New York Map". You can do the same for the states that you are using. 

Copy and paste the images into Word and size them to how big you want them. Print.

I then traced the images with black sharpie so that the borders were dark. Then I placed the colored paper over the images and held it to a window and again traced. Looking back I am thinking I should have just cut my paper to fit in the printer and printed directly on to it. You may want to do this instead :) 

Cut the images out. 

Mark with a heart the locations of family and position and glue the states on the solid sheet of paper. 

Add a quote if you like and trace to connect the hearts. "No matter how far apart we may be, you are always close to my heart." 

Hang in your baby's room :) 

I also painted a canvas blue and wrote "3 months, 6 months, and 12 months". Once baby Christian is here and is 3 months old, we will add his first set of foot prints! 

Now...for Baby Christian to get here and complete his room :) 

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Thankful Thursday: Puppy Love!

Sooo much to be thankful for, today and every day. 

A hubby who STILL works for Best Buy Corporate in a job he loves. Feeling blessed that he wasn't part of the lay offs this time around. 

A church that pushes me to grow in ways I would never be able to on my own. 

The Small Group that comes along side me as we grow. Love these friends! 

The ability to decorate a cute nursery for our baby boy...final touches were added yesterday! 

A cuddly cute puppy that I get to be just a puppy mama to until Baby Christian comes. Love this little guy! Never thought I would be a small dog person, but can't imagine not having him!

Such a character! 

What are you thankful for this week? 

Stay tuned for a surprise reveal coming soon, a giveaway, and a 'guest post' tomorrow!

28 Week Bumpdate!

28 Weeks, 2 Days 

Belly is definitely starting to get bigger! 

Explaining to Baxter that there is a "baby in there." I saw this done by someone else with a bigger dog who was also more interested in resting his paws on Mama's belly...but I think it stil turned out cute! 

Size of Baby::: About 14.8 inches long and 2.25 pounds. He is approximately the size of a chinese cabbage. 

Symptoms::: Starting to have some swelling in my feet and ankles from water retention. Um...a big ole belly???

Cravings::: I really don't have cravings. Unless you count dream cravings. I have had dreams about craving cake and cookie dough and they were very vivid. I could almost taste the chocolate chips in the cookie dough and the frosting on the cake! And the craving was satisfied :) Calorie free! 

Something I Miss::: Clear skin, being thinner, and wearing my wedding ring on my finger...

Stretch Marks::: Nope :) And hoping it stays that way.

Wedding Ring::: Off :( It has slowly been feeling tight but lately it has been getting stuck on which makes me nervous...so it is now on a chain around my neck. Sad day. I feel naked without it. 

Milestones:::

• Baby has likely developed a regular sleep schedule in 20-30 minute intervals
• Third Trimester has arrived! 
• Baby may now be able to distinguish between mommy and daddy's voice
• Kicks are becoming more blunt and forceful...lots of movement! So fun. 
• I was noticed for my belly by a stranger! While we were in Chicago, hubby and I grabbed dinner at Chili's before heading to the airport. We asked for a table for two and when the waitress seated us she said so "just the 3 of you today?" :) I officially look pregnant to others and not just fat!
• Daddy put together the cradle for our room for baby to sleep in when he is first home! 

Setting out all the pieces. Bax is helping too :) 

Reading the directions. Good job love!

It's coming together...

Starting to look like a cradle. 

It's done! 

Looks great in our room. 

For now it will stay at the foot of the bed, but once baby is here we will pull it up next to my side or Jim's side of the bed. It also rocks so that will be nice! We may also consider moving the mobile to the cradle until baby is in his full size crib in his own room. 

THANK YOU 

Grandma Karen, Grandpa Denny, Aunt Jen, Uncle Dan, and Cousin Sarah! 

Looking Forward to:::

• Baby Class this Saturday! See previous post about this. 
• Baby Shower in 24 days! 
• Seeing Christian in his oh so cute "Going Home Outfit"! 

Cute little onesie- size Newborn...we will make it work (See below for a close up and info on where we found this).

A little hat. 

Newborn size pants (striped).

0-3 months size pants and long sleeve top in case its chilly (Monkey). 

Found this cutie on Etsy! Its a Carter's onesie that has been embroidered and a soft mesh backing was added inside so it won't be scratchy on baby's skin. 

2 Months, 3 Weeks, and 3 Days...

OR 

83 Days...

OR 

12 Weeks

TO GO!!!! 

Can't wait to meet you Christian! 

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The Nursery!

Baby Christian's room is pretty much ALL set up!!! Yes, almost 4 months in advance...but we are so excited! And my dad bought us all the bedding and decor for Christmas so I couldn't resist getting it set up...neither could hubby :)

We decided on a Noah's Ark theme for Christian's room.

The view as you walk into Christian's room. We decided to keep the twin bed in there for a couple of reasons. 1.) It may be a good place to crash on sleepless nights. 2.) It will be Christian's bed some day and right now we only have a 1 bedroom. 3.) It will probably end up being a good location to dress Christian. 

The large Noah's Ark scene hanging on the wall is actually the quilt that came with the crib bedding. Since Christian will be too little for this for quite awhile, we thought it would make for some great added decor while avoiding the hassle of draping it over the crib. Plus, having it in the crib with Christian increases the risk of SIDS. Hence the mesh bumper you will notice in the pictures below. 

We are hoping to add a changing pad to the top of the 2 dressers at the foot of the bed. The green bin will hold lotions and diaper creams, etc. 

A close up of the animal pictures above the dressers. 

A close up of the lamp - Ark filled with 2 of each animal! Or in this case, 2 elephants, 2 giraffes, 2 lions, and I think there are 2 zebras in the port holes below! Love it! :) 

And of course, a close up of the quilt! As crazy as it may sound, the elephants foot on the left is actually a rattle and the little lion's foot on the right is actually a squeaker! So much for this blanket being used for sleeping! That sounds like play things to me...and Baxter agrees! He thinks its for him ha ha 

Now for the other side of the room.

Sorry for the poor lighting. But here is the crib! I guess you can't really see it, but there is a mesh liner and a cute dust ruffle of fish in the sea. The crib is also still serving as a storage space for some baskets and blankets and bibs, etc. that still need putting away. Daddy even agreed to the valance above the window! :) I have suggested this since BEFORE we got married as our house does not have a single curtain or window treatments of any kind. Jim always said "it would make the room look smaller" but this one came with the crib set and went up without a question :) Our swing/bouncer is also in the corner, but once baby comes, that will likely move downstairs and then whenever it is needed at the moment. It will probably be mobile. 

We are also hoping to find wooden letters to hang by ribbons spelling "Christian" on this side of the room and then also to add a border of wall clings of animals "2 by 2". 

A close up of the mobile over the crib. It plays a real soothing tune too. Two elephants. Two monkeys. Two zebras and I think two lions. 

And finally a close up of the diaper holder. For now, it's on the crib. The dresser seems to short, and honestly, I can't figure out how to attach it to the dresser. Part of me also thinks it may be more realistic to just store the diapers in the top drawer of the dresser since that is where the changing pad will be, but this is just so cute! And again, came with the crib set. 

So yes, the room is looking pretty close to ready, and ready very early, but there is still some final touches to take care of. And the dresser is still empty. However, daddy and I have not been able to resist picking up a few cute outfits...neither has grandma! 

Thanks, dad for the nursery stuff! We LOVE it!! Can't wait for Christian to be here to use it! 

Starting the Nursery

We have a crib!!! A good friend of Jim's at work offered to give us his daughter's crib as she is now sleeping in a big girl bed :) Check out this cutie! My hubby and the crib :) THANK YOU JENSEN'S!!!!