A nice little vacation...

We are off this week at a beach house with 3 friends from college and their families. Four couples and seven kids all crammed into a house on the beach with a pool! Are we crazy or what?

I have lots to cover when I get back home next week... And rest a little from our vaca!

Pelmet Box... Round 2

As I was looking at the pictures of my plain white Pelmet Box, I knew that it needed a little something else. Truthfully, I kind of knew this as I was working on it, but wanted to see it up before I jumped to a decision. So I set off on a google search using 'Pelmet Box DIY' and pinned some great ideas! But there was something about one of them in particular that really caught my eye!

Source: Elle Decor

I love that its a pelmet box and drape combo, that it's white, and that is looks super feminine! I was sold! Now for trying to recreate the look...

So what do we need to make this transformation happen? About 10 yards of ribbon, about a 70 x 20 piece of fabric, hot glue gun, and fabric glue. I lucked out that I found 10 yards of lilac ribbon at WalMart for only $3.00 in the perfect shade so that was all that I spent on this project!

Let's start with the easy part first, the drapes. To help tie the drapes in with the pelmet, I added a single strip of ribbon on the leading edge only. I used the hem line as my guide and fabric glued it right on. I have both panels done in less than a half hour. While those dried for about 2 hours, I turned my attention to the real work!

Since I had already covered (and stapled and taped) my pelmet together I opted to add a second layer of fabric to accomplish the above look. I happened to have another panel of the drapes that worked perfect. Not knowing exactly how much fabric I needed, I laid out the look that I was going for and then added another foot on each side just to be on the safe side. Then I cut the fabric (while keeping my fingers, toes, legs, etc crossed!)

A quick run over with the iron and it was back to more ribbon attaching. Just like the drapes, my first line was following the hem. I then used a ruler to get the second line straight and at a uniform distance. Here is what it looked like after they were both attached.

Once this part was done, there are no real pictures until I finished as it was all fly by the seat of my pants! But here is how it went down!

I laid my fabric piece across the pelmet so that the ribbon edge would just slightly overhang the box making sure to align the middle of the fabric with the middle of the box. Then I hot glued the entire top of the ribbon overlay piece to the pelmet making sure that the fabric stayed flat and even along the bottom as I worked.

I opted to work on the right side first since it butts up to the wall, I figured if it wasn't quite perfect at least its more hidden! I then folded the fabric down to the side, again making sure to keep the fabric flat and even along the bottom. Once I got this pulled tight I glued the bottom of the fabric onto the pelmet. I then folded the fabric back out to the front of the pelmet (essentially creating a single pleat). I ironed and used a tiny bit of fabric glue to make the pleat more crisp. Then I pulled the remaining fabric behind the pelmet until I got the look that I wanted. I preferred the pleat sticking out a little more so I angled the fabric more downward to make this happen. Once you like the look, hot glue the fabric to the back of the pelmet. Now its just a matter of neatly wrapping the fabric at the top and gluing it in place. Repeat on the second side and you are ready to go! Below are a few close up shots so you can see how it went together.

And here she is in the room! The pom-poms have been moved to the other side of the room and now it's just the gallery wall and this beautiful window treatment! I am so glad that I decided on this look and can't believe how easy it actually was! Pardon the photography - the ribbon is photographing really shiny but you get the idea!

UPDATE: This was obviously at our old house and I was devastated at the prospect of not having this window treatment in Fia's room. Thank the Lord - one of the rooms had the exact same size window and my masterpiece found a new home! We had some trouble with the movers getting a little rough with the pelmet but thankfully my resourceful husband and father in law came to the rescue! 

Here is an updated shot of the window treatment and gallery wall in Little Lady's new room. I still adore it and am so happy that I was able to recreate this look and link up with the Dog Days of Winter  Make It Link Up!

Pelmet Box... Round 1

As Fia's new room reveal photos show, I decided to create a pelmet box for Fia's room and pair it with curtain panels also. I used the super easy Little Green Notebook tutorial and it was a piece of cake!

So with 3 pieces of foam board, some batting, duct tape, staple gun, and 2 extra Ikea white drapery panels I got to work.

I made my pelmet 40 inches long and 16 inches tall with a 4 inch side piece. This was mainly done because my foam boards were 20x16 so this allowed me to tape 2 together and not have to do any more cutting!

Here we go:

1. Cut your foam board as desired. A ruler and a box cutter do work best. Don't forget to also cut a support piece if you are taping together 2 foam boards. This really helps for support.

2. Tape together the base of your pelmet box. Go crazy with the duct tape! The more the merrier :)

3. Cover the pelmet base with a layer of batting and staple it in. Two things about this step: only some of the 1/4 inch staples seemed to hold so I used stapling and taping as a combo. Also, if you are doing white pelmets, consider doing 2 layers of batting. From certain angles you could see the tape thru mine.

4. Now repeat step 3 using the fabric. Again I used a combo of stapling and taping!

5. Attach the mounting hardware to the pelmet base. I opted for hot gluing corner braces to the pelmet on each of the sides and in the middle so that it would actually not attach to the wall but rather rest on the curtain rod. (sidenote - about 8 hours in I learned that hot glue wasn't a smart way to mount the braces as Fia was awoke from her sleep at 9pm by a falling pelmet! Lesson learned... use epoxy!)

6. Mount the curtain rod to the wall. I used a cheap Target one that was less than $3 and since its hidden no worries!

7. Add the curtains to the rod. I wanted mine to stay mostly open so I used to wooden clothes pins to keep them from sliding more to the center.

8. Mount the pelmet box. For me this was simply placing the box on top on the curtain rod.

And we are done! Well, most people would be done.... but something seemed to be missing!
More details coming tomorrow!

Pancake Saturday!

As I have mentioned before, little Fia is a super happy and smiley baby! Unfortunately, this comes at the cost of eating dairy free! This is a challenge for me to say the least as I am a self professed cheese addict. What makes it even harder is that milk or milk protein is found in almost everything processed. So I jump up and down when I find an easy and yummy recipe that I can eat and my family finds to be tasty (and not too crunchy!)

Little Man loves to help with the cooking and one of his favorites is pancakes. I have spent the last 2 months or so making him pancakes (with milk as an ingredient) and watching jealously as him and the hubby enjoy a stack covered in maple syrup. It finally occurred to me to look up a dairy free version and I am happy to say that this Saturday I was able to partake in Pancake Saturday too!

Here is the link to the recipe.

1 cup flour
3 tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup almond milk
1 flax egg (1 Tbsp Flax meal + 2 Tbsp Warm Water)
1 1/2 tsp vegetable oil

Sift together dry ingredients.

In a separate bowl, whisk together wet ingredients until combined. Batter will be lumpy. We like to add some food coloring at this point to make it more exciting for the kiddos! We also added frozen blueberries once batter is poured in the pan.

Cook in a skillet over medium heat. Flip when bubbles begin to appear on the pancakes surface.

Fia's Nursery Reveal

Well, I have shown bits and pieces of her nursery but never did a full post on it! So here we go!

It's been almost 4 months and already things have changed from since we first brought our little girl home. The crib bumpers are down, a mobile is up, the ottoman from the chair has been relocated, and our 'little' girl has now solidly wearing her 6 month clothes! She is such a happy baby and loves to talk and coo but only if you talk to her first. She loves to sleep and has already given me countless 8pm-5am nights... and I am looking forward to many more!

 

And here are the full details:
Crib - Hand me down from Little Man (bought for $250 at Baby Boutique closing!)
Crib Bedskirt - S&L William via Ebay, with color modifications by Gigi (using Restoration Hardware Silver Sage Silk fabric, and Lilac blanket binding)
Crib Sheets - S&L Mocha Trellis (patterned) and Gerber Jersey in Lilac
Mobile - DIY
Lilac Peacock Floor Pillow - Made by Gigi, using S&L Delphine fabric backed with Target Tablecloth
Sage Floor Pillow - Made by Gigi, using RH Scroll Duvet in Silver Sage
Ladder Shelf - repurposed from Dad's Bachelor pad
Clothespin (used as bookend) - Joann Fabrics
Doll in Crib - Habba Fiona Doll
Goat Stuffed Animal - Bla Bla Dolls
Play Tray - DIY (yes - Little Man loves to sit at his desk while I feed Fia!)
Gallery Wall: Shell - Home Goods, Vintage Look Door Knob - Hobby Lobby, Herringbone Art in repurposed frame, Vintage Unicorn Print - Etsy, Hanging Square - HomeGoods, Letter F - Joann Fabrics, Clock - Target
Roman Shade - DIY Using S&L Delphine Fabric
Pelmet Box and Panels - DIY using Ikea White Panels
Chocolate Glider - Another steal from the Baby Boutique closing (Ottoman is next to crib w/ stacked pillows)
Changing Table - Hand me down from Little Man, Pottery Barn
Rome Print - DIY using Ballard Designs Map Papers
White Crate used to hold diapers - Pottery Barn Kids
Lamp - Repurposed HomeGoods find using RH Silver Sage fabric
Pendant Banner (above closet) - made by sis for my shower, full post coming!

Admitting Defeat...

Everything was going well in the decorating department for Fia's nursery. I was even shocked at just how decisive I was about every detail which is totally out of character for me! Only one aspect of her room has really thrown me for a loop and ironically it's the one thing I was most sure of when I started her room.... The window coverings!

 The second I read about the DIY Roman Shade, I knew it would be perfect with the fabric I had selected and would look adorable in my little girls room. I even created one for Little Mans big boy room just to make sure I loved it (and I did!) so what went wrong you may ask?

A couple of things...

1. Her window is facing a horrible direction. It is literally full sun all afternoon. So not only is her room super bright but it gets really hot... Like a good 5 degrees warmer than the rest of the house if the blinds in her room are closed tight. So, I cannot pull up the shade. This to me is a huge deal breaker as I love the way the folded shade looks and am only halfway liking the fully extended shade. (you can see the comparison in the pictures below)

2. The window is on the main wall so it along with the Gallery Wall are the very first thing you see. Since we had to leave the blinds hanging in the windows this left us mounting the shade above the window. This created issues with light shining around the sides of the shades and having to come up with creative way to cover the hanging hardware. (again visible in said pictures)

3. Our windows are about 18 down inches from the ceiling. I am a fan of hanging window treatments higher to give the illusion of taller ceilings and windows. This wasn't an option based on the length of the roman shade.

So where to go from here... I need something that will accent the roman shade, provide height, cover the top and side edges (and be cheap and easy to DIY!) Is this a hopeless wish list? Here's a solution that seems to answer YES to all of my needs!

 Source: Domino

Source: Prudent Baby

 Source: Little Green Notebook

So fingers crossed we will have some exciting enhancements to show very soon!!!

Shopping your House

Its no secret that simply changing the location of an accessory can make it feel new. That is one of my favorite parts of decorating! It is also great to be able to change up the scenery of your surroundings without having to spend a dime!

In addition to the pieces that made up the Gallery Wall, a couple of other interesting pieces made there way into Fiona's room. Two of the pieces came in as is, while two required a little bit of work! So let's check them out!

I am a huge fan of shelving in a baby or kids room. With so much "stuff" it really is necessary to have a place to hold some of it. With a crib, changing table, and large rocker we had very limited space in Fia's nursery so I knew that we needed to go vertical for the shelving. I thought about a few shelves placed above the changing table but I am forever scarred from the pain that was trying to get our bar shelves mounted level in the living room! So, I kept on looking... and found just what I was looking for right in our guest bathroom. A ladder that we had been using to hold the extra towels for guests! I adore that it is free-standing and that it os pretty unexpected for a baby's room. The best part? It makes the perfect display for the many pairs of adorable shoes courtesy of my wonderful friends and family!

When I had Little Man, I was like most first time moms and scared to death of SIDS. I heard about a baby monitor that monitored baby's breathing and I knew right away that I needed it. I used it every nap and night until he finally moved to a big bed this year. It was without a doubt the best and most used piece of baby gear that I got. The only catch? You need to have the base of the monitor on a flat surface  within a few feet of the crib. So the search for a small side table began... and ended rather quickly. I opted for this hammered metal drum stool that I got for a steal on The Foundary a year or so ago. I like that its really small, the contrasting metal and the texture. It is also indestructible which is very helpful since Little Man loves to move furniture around (I start em off young!)

I am sucker for lamps so it comes as no surprise that I would be able to relocate one into the nursery. I originally thought that a floor lamp would be ideal but quickly changed my mind as I remembered that a toddler and a floor lamp aren't a great combination! So I set my sights on this little guy. A clearance purchase from HomeGoods several years ago that has never really found the 'right' place. With a quick coat of Champagne spray paint and some work on the shade we were in business. I used the solid sage fabric to recover the shade and trimmed it with white blanket binding and lilac ribbon. A custom look in less than 10 minutes and this perfect little lamp finally has a resting place on the changing table in the nursery!

The last piece that I added wasn't for Fiona at all. It was for the Little Man. I knew that we would be spending quite a bit of time in the nursery and I wanted him to have a little spot in her room where we could have some toys and books. A standard wood and white lap desk was perfect! However, it wasn't in very good shape and I figured why not spruce it up a little. With a sample can of Serena and Lily Hydrangea paint I got to work painting all of the maple colored wood. Two coats covered it great and it's a pretty lilac pink color that I love. I then took the extra lilac ribbon from the lampshade project and hot glued it around the base of the tray to make it look more finished.

Creating a Gallery Wall

The set up of Fiona's nursery is such that you really only see 2 walls when you walk in. The wall on the left is where the crib is placed and the wall straight ahead has a window to the far right (this is why we did not put the crib on this wall... limited space!) I wanted something large to place on this main wall but without spending a fortune! I knew that a gallery wall was the perfect solution! I liked the idea of starting with some key pieces and being able to add to it as she grew!

I was OBSESSED with unicorns when I was growing up and my mom happened to have saved a unicorn stick horse that happened to be in the exact same color scheme as Fia's room! Serendipity :) So I turned to Etsy for inspiration. I searched for Unicorn and was ecstatic to find a beautiful vintage looking Unicorn constellation print! I quickly ordered it and eagerly awaited ints arrival so that I could get started (mind you I was about 32 weeks pregnant and the contractions were just about to put me on bed rest!) Well it was just my luck that not only was the Etsy seller from Canada which means no expedited delivery, I also had my old address listed on my PayPal account. We finally got it sorted out and I got my beautiful print in about 3 weeks time which seemed like an eternity to me!

My Unicorn that inspired the Gallery Wall :)

Once the print arrived, I started scouring the house for frames and other things to include in the Gallery Wall. I am huge fan of shopping your house before heading out to the store. 

I literally have every size and color frame jammed into a closet, so this is where I started. I try to hold on to them no matter how ugly the frame or print is since it's so easy to revamp them! I was lucky to find 2 nice sized frames that had long since been pulled from the walls. The frames were both silver in color and had a nice scroll design that wasn't the same but looked to be in a similar style. I also stumbled upon a bright yellow square shaped wall hanging. It could easily be made into a picture frame or it could display a little trinket. I also stumbled upon a red vintage looking door knob and 2 large scallop shell wall hangings. I knew that I wanted to include a letter on the wall but since we had yet to choose her name this would be added after the fact, so in the mean time I used a M letter that we had as a place holder (for our last name). This gave me 7 pieces to start the wall with... and wouldn't you know that I only got one before picture?

Since, I was able to gather all of this stuff I knew that I needed a way to unify it all to make the wall look connected and what better than spray paint to make this happen! I had stumbled upon this beautiful color called Champagne Nouveau on one of my many trips to the craft store. I loved that it was a metallic that looked gold in some lights and silver in others. 

So I took the frames off the pictures and set up a spraying station outside. Then armed with my spray paint (and mask being that I was now 35 weeks and just off bedrest!) I spray painted the frames, door knob, square hanging, and the letter M. The shells actually worked without being painted and I loved the variation in color and texture. Here is my one before shot of the frame and once I ripped off the cardboard backing to remove the print.

I loved the color and it was finally starting to come together! Now I just needed to find something to put in the smaller frame... I toyed with a page from a cute child's book but could never quite decide which one. And as I was blog surfing one day, the perfect idea appeared... paint swatch art! So on our next trip to the Man Store, I let Little Man select all of the purple paint swatches he wanted. He loved it! I definitely recall taking pictures of this project but I attribute it to prego brain that they are nowhere to be found. I cut the swatches into rectangles and I opted for a combination of a herringbone and chevron design. There was really no rhyme or reason, I pretty much just laid it out until if looked right and then glued it down. I will say that it took me a good hour to get it to a point where I liked the color variation and that was for a pretty small 8x10. I cannot imagine how long a large piece might take! 

So far everything was progressing well, so it was high time for something to go wrong. And it came in the form of the glass from the smaller frame that was to hold the paint swatch art breaking. I was excited to see it all finished that I did not remove all of the staples from the frame that you see in the picture above and when I put the glass back in after painting it the staple broke off several chunks of glass. I had no clue how to remedy this and with my shower quickly approaching I just wanted things to be finished and easy. Suddenly the solution occurred to me... I could put the matting on the outside and place the glass behind the mat. Thankfully, it worked! 

I then placed all of my now finished pieces on the floor in front of the wall. Now how do I figure out the design and placement? I grabbed several sheets of scrap paper and some tape. I made the paper the same size as each of the pieces and then started placing them on the wall. This was great as it allowed me to easily move them around and it made it super easy for my hubby to hang them once I got it right. He literally just hung each piece where the paper was and was done in less than 5 minutes!

And here is what it looked like when she first came home...

And in just a few short months, we have already made some changes. Here is what it looks like today... 

Obviously, I replaced the M with an F. I also decided to add a clock which is one of the nicest things to have in a nursery. I can easily peak at it to see how long she has been sleeping or eating and the gentle ticking of it is so relaxing! The best part? The clock was less than $5 at Target and with a quick coat of Champagne it fits in perfectly!

Linking up at Paint it Challenge!