DIY Bible Verse Art Project

Okay, so this is all part of my nesting, but lately I’ve been motivated to do all sorts of DIY projects! Mostly stuff for the baby, but I have been doing other projects around the house too. I recently posted about the finished changing table, and while waiting on paint to dry for the table I started working on an art project for my sister-in-law, Alexas and myself.

I got the idea from this fabulous DIY blog, Shanty 2 Chic.  The blog is run by two sisters, one a mom of five and the other a working mom of three! They post about DIY projects, savings, promotion codes, gift and makeovers. Basically, everything I’m interested in. 

Recently, they shared a DIY project and a free printable of the Bible verse Pslam 139, 

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” Psalm 139: 13-14. 

I’ve always loved this verse and the book of Psalms, but it touches me even more now that I am pregnant. I knew the moment I saw this project I wanted to do it!  I followed their easy instructions and headed to Lowe’s. I ended up getting two boards cut so that I had enough wood to make two. I altered the free printable slightly to match our nursery colors and had it printed photo paper. I then cut it down to size to neatly fit on the wood. 

I used the same dark walnut stain as in the original post, which I also love! I did however use bronze furniture tacks verses silver ones. I was going for a more rustic look and these certainly helped complete that.   I used tacky glue spray paint to seal the paper to the wood and then hammered the furniture tacks in place after the paper was tightly secured. One thing to note, the tacks can dent easy and the bronze can rub off so I put a piece of paper between the tack and the hammer so not to damage them. I also used the drill and drilled tiny holes into the wood to get the tacks to go in easier. 

The last step in Shanty 2 Chic’s post is to add rosettes.

For Alexas’s, I didn’t want to add rosettes to hers so that she could hang it anywhere in her house. I rubbed out the color on the sides of the paper and around the edges to give it a more rustic look.

For mine, I have not mastered the rosettes as of yet. I hope to work on adding raspberry pink ones sometime soon. I just couldn’t wait to share! Here are some pics!

 

It's been a while...

It’s been a while since my last post. I’m finding I’m having less and less time to write down my thoughts. With our little bundle of joy arriving in just 8 weeks, I’m sure my time will continue to be limited. 

Recently, I have managed to start working on her baby book, finish up a few things in the nursery and continue nesting. I feel like I’ve been nesting ever since we moved into our home way before we got pregnant. I love a clean home. I told Joel, I even sleep better when the house is spic and span. Lately, I’ve kicked the nesting into overload, constantly sweeping, dusting, moping, steaming… but I love it. I think it helps relieve stress and anxiety and I want to do as much as I can now to get everything ready. 

As the weeks get closer to baby girl’s arrival, I have a feeling I’ll be resting, preserving my energy and taking a little more time for me!

Even with the never ending morning sickness, and all the aches and pains, I love being pregnant. I love being able to feel those flutters inside of me and knowing that we have created something that will forever change our world!

Week 31

Dear Baby Girl,

I can’t believe you’ll be here in just 2 months! I’m so anxious to meet you and kiss your sweet face. Our doctors say we’re both healthy and getting along just fine… a text book pregnancy, minus the never ending morning sickness.  I sure do feel lucky to have you growing and developing in my belly!

Some things I know about you already… 

• You are going to be active at night. The nighttime is when you love to kick, roll and squirm around. Your movement seems endless at night.

• You love blue grass, Norah Jones and any similar type music. Every time I play it for you, you kick.

• You love it when I talk to you. Every evening, when we take our bath, you hear my voice and move to let me know you hear me.

• You don’t like for other people to feel you kick, lol. You’ll kick five times in a row for me to where others can even see my belly move, but the second they place their hands on my belly… you stop. 

• You are already loved so much. You’ve already changed my life for the better and I cannot wait to see what other adventures await us.

Love you!

Mommy

My Next Two DIY Projects...

DIY overload...I've already picked out my next two DIY projects!  Alexas shared this brilliant idea with me on how to dress up paper lanterns. Instead of a lamp, we're going to do a paper lantern makeover and hang like the ones seen here.... You can find the full DIY post on this lovely blog called Crafty Nest. I plan to start on this one after my baby shower.

The other DIY top of mind is a burlap canopy for over the crib. I first got the idea off of one of my favorite sites, Etsy.com. A vendor had posted one of these as a newborn prop. I'm going to head to the crafts stores this weekend to see what I can find to make my own version of this!

 

Fruit Crate Makeover

As you’ve probably gathered, I’ve been nesting like crazy lately. I’ve spring cleaned our entire house from top to bottom and when I’ve not been cleaning, I’ve had a power drill in hand hanging, screwing, and creating new pieces for the house or nursery. 

A year or so ago, Joel and his dad, Matt, went to an estate sell. They each got a box of old stuff, that neither one of them did anything with really…. Until now. Matt’s items came in an old fruit crate. We’ve had the crate sitting in our attic since our last yard sale and I wasn’t sure what to do with it until now. 

Once again, Tip Junkie inspired me to revamp the old into something new. They shared this lovely post from the blog, Running with Scissors on how to create a crate to clear the clutter. I was smitten with the rustic and nursery styles. I decided instead of creating a new one, I would redo the old one I have.

Here are the steps I took…

1. I started with washing the crate thoroughly and then moved into sanding.  
2. Once sanded, I then scraped the paper off of the sides and repaired anything that needed mending.
3. I then used one of my favorite stains, dark walnut, and stained the crate both inside and out.
4. Once stained, I added 4 wheels to the bottom. 

I plan to use the crate to stack diapers and changing products in, and then possibly use it as a magazine holder later on. You can find these crates at the grocery stores, flea markets and farmers markets. There are other versions you can do and endless possibilities for use of these crates.  Just ask for yours and get started on your own DIY version!

Here are my before and after pictures.

Before

 

After

Thankful for our blessing...

Recently, my friend Kristen, who is also pregnant, shared a verse from the book of Samuel with me that really moved me. So I created a design by using this free online program called Pixlr. It's much like photoshop, only free and you are able to access on a PC. I converted it to an 8 x 10 PDF and plan to print the verse out on cute card stock paper, frame it and eventually add the baby’s hand prints to the image.

There are so many cute things to do in the nursery, but I wanted to add some things that make me reflect on what a miracle God has given me and just how much He has blessed us with the gift of a child. 

Below is the image in case you would like to print it for yourself. I can also send you the PDF as well. If you would like for me to change the font or text color, just message me and I can do it for you very easily!

Have a blessed day!

FREE Redbox Rental 3/8

If you know me at all, you know I love FREE STUFF! I found this great blog this week that I love following for multiple reasons. One of the main reasons… she blogs about awesome freebies.

As many of you know, we recently cut out cable. While we were a little sad to see it go, we were gladder that we didn’t have a $100+ monthly cable bill. We got these antennas from HH Gregg (they also have them at Family Dollar for $10) and we currently get 15-20 channels depending on the day. We get all the major networks like FOX, NBC and CBS, which is plenty enough for me.  

We’re also addicted to REDBOX and stalk codes online to get free movie rentals. There are multiple promotional codes available like DVDONME and BREAKROOM. You just have to be sure to enter the code before checking out, and the rental is free for the first night. Watch it within 24 hours and it’s free! 

This week, The Peaceful Mom shared another promo code that will be for one day only…. Thursday, March 8th.  Just enter THANKS2U before checking out and your rental is free for one night! Now we just have to decide what movie we want to rent. Enjoy!

Changing Table Redo Under $40

Recently we purchased a changing table from craigslist that was a little less than cute. I posted the before pictures in a previous post. 

We decided early on, we did not want to invest a lot of money into the current nursery as the space is small and we also hope to transition another one of our rooms into a bedroom in the future. 

We were blessed with the gift of a crib and mattress from my parents, scored a glider off of craigslist in awesome condition and then found this changing table. 

I knew I wanted to paint the dresser white to match the rest of the furniture, but I wasn’t sure what I else I was going to do to bring the dresser to life. We decided to use all white furniture in the space so that we didn’t close the room in any more. Using light colors has helped to make the space appear bigger and more airy. 

At first, I thought I would use stencils on the two top doors, but I struggled to find any in the craft stores that I was satisfied with and I didn’t want to risk ordering something online that didn’t work.  I then debated doing stripes on the two top doors with different widths and colors.  I had seen this done as a wall treatment on HGTV by using painters tape and choosing several different shades of one color to provide more depth.  

During my recent trip (one of many lately) to Joann’s, I stumbled across a 50% off sale on wall decals. I purchased the last hydrangea decal available for a whopping total of $4! I loved it the moment I saw it and was hoping it would work. Hydrangeas are my favorite flower and they were also the main flower in our wedding.  They were even incorporated in our wedding invitations provided by Days Gone Design. You can view more here. 

After some trial and error of sticking and re-sticking, I finally got the flowers and accents placed the way I wanted them.  They were extremely easy to work with!

I ended up painting the wooden knobs that came with the dresser with a hammered bronze spray paint. The paint added a shine to the knobs and makes them appear to be metal. I also think this last touch really finished the piece. The finished table ended up costing me under $40!

I plan to complete the table with an inexpensive changing pad from Target and Carter's super soft brown dot pad cover.  So here it is, the final reveal! Enjoy DIYers!

Before (sorry, the before images were pulled from the craigslist post and arent of great quality)

 

After

 

 

The Nursery...

We started working on the nursery in January. I can’t wait to post pictures on our progress. I should have done a before picture, but I do plan to post the finished space.

We are working with a very small space. We decided we wanted to have the baby on the same floor as us, and as close to our bedroom as possible. Well with the current layout of our home, this meant our sewing room or sitting room off of our master bedroom had to become our baby girl’s nursery.  Eventually, we’ll finish the room upstairs that we currently use as storage and maybe this will become a new bedroom, playroom or Joel’s dream, a man cave. For now, we are making do with what we have.

So far, we have the crib in place (the most important part), a glider (we found almost new off of craigslist for $75) and some decorative accents from my favorite store in the world, HomeGoods. We also found an old dresser off of craigslist that I am currently painting and stenciling. I'm making all the art work for the wall and cannot wait to share all my DIY projects!

The walls were already painted a pale yellow so we decided to keep the color scheme neutral for the most part. The base of the room is pale yellow and I’ve added some light brown  accents. Our furniture is white which helps keep the space from looking too small. I’ve also worked in raspberry pink accents through throw pillows, blankets and artwork. I hope to paint some old shelves I have either pink or brown to give the room a pop of color. 

For bedding, we are going basic. I had no idea that baby bedding could be so expensive and it seems every set I like is over $300! I refuse to pay that much on baby bedding that will only last a couple years. So with prices sky high, I decided to go the basic route. I am picking out several sheet prints that I love and that coordinate with the room. We got a basic ivory crib skirt from Amazon, which I love. It lays perfectly with the crib. My friend Jamie blessed us with a bumper that I adore and the colors match perfectly! It’s all coming together in my head; I just hope the final outcome looks as good!

I can’t wait to post the pictures!

Welcome Baby Lawson!

We got the opportunity to meet our newest family member this week; baby Lawson Phillip Kamm! He entered the world at 12:27pm on Wednesday the 29^th. How unique to be born on leap year!

He is absolutely precious and we are looking forward to watching him grow alongside baby Brooks and our own baby girl. 

Congratulations Heidi, Zak and Harleigh on your new little blessing!

Welcome 3rd Trimester!

Well baby, we’re almost there! Just a few more months and I will be holding you in my arms. I can tell you have gone thru some growth spurts lately as my belly is growing too. In just 2 weeks, I had almost outgrown my dress for the wedding your dad and I went to over the weekend. Luckily, your dad has some great zipping skills and we managed to make it work!

You are kicking more and more too. You love it when I play Norah Jones in the mornings and at night. I can also tell you love to hear me talking to you at night too because you respond with baby kicks and jabs.

We’re getting more and more excited every day! We celebrated your dad’s best friend’s wedding this weekend and it was like a mini babymoon for us. Here are some pictures of our trip to Florida. Our last major vacation for a while…