Category Archives: bedrooms

A New (Seriously Homemade) Bulletin Board

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 Yesterday I shared with you the new work table I put in Parker’s nursery in attempt to make it more of a “big boy” room without changing the decor. 
Yes, I love the table, and so does he, but I felt like it was missing something. Hmmmm, what does this little table need? Well, there definitely needs to be something to cover that big blank space between the table and the hanging plaques. But what?
I’ve got it!

The little work table needs a bulletin board! 

Problem:
I’m not going to the store, what do I have laying around the house to create something resembling a bulletin board? 
Solution:
I went up to my attic and found this empty frame. The glass had broken a while back and I just knew I could use this frame for something! {I really do have some hoarding tendencies, I think. In this case, those tendencies worked in my favor.} Good thing I saved it! And for the bulletin board, well, I just bought a box of diapers this week and the box was still in the garage!
And I still had lots of fabric leftover from the window treatments and pillows I made for his room. 
Let’s get started, shall we?!
First I measured the frame and cut two pieces from the box to fit snuggly inside the frame. I wanted to use both fabrics, so I cut one large piece for the bottom portion and a smaller one for the section at the top. 
Then I used my stapler {yep, a regular old stapler} to attach the fabric, wrapping it tightly around the edges.
I crisscrossed white grosgrain ribbon across the bottom board and secured it using a small dab of hot glue where the ribbon met the edge of the board. This secured the ribbons in place so I could flip the board over and wrap the ribbon around the edge, again using hot glue to secure it.

Here is what it looked like after I glued the ribbon in place. Something was missing. I needed buttons. I didn’t have enough matching buttons, so off to Hobby Lobby I went. Sigh. . . 
The trip to the store was worth it. The buttons are a really nice accent. I secured them using the hot glue gun. Now into the frame the fabric-covered cardboard went.
But wait, since this is going on the distressed table, I decided to use a little distress ink so they match.
And, I really wanted to add his name, so I used my best bud Cricut to cut some letters out of white card stock and just Mod Podged them to the fabric. Easy as that. 
And now Parker has a lovely bulletin board to go along with his big boy work table. 
{I took this photo when the Mod Podge was still drying. The white film has dried clear}

Now he needs to make some big boy artwork to hang on it!
And since I love telling y’all how much little I spend on my projects, this one is easy. I spent about $2 on buttons. So there you have it folks, a bulletin board for 2 bucks! 

Little Changes for a "Big Boy"

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A little over a month ago I shared with you, in this post,  my second little man Parker’s nursery.

I absolutely love his room. In fact, it’s probably my favorite in the house. Unfortunately, Parker is 18 months old and quickly outgrowing this nursery! As beautiful as it is, it’s not exactly decorated for a “big boy.” But I’m not ready to change the decor yet! So I’m doing my best to add and change a few things around his room to make it a little more appropriate for his age with out having to sacrifice the decor. 

I started with this. . .
A cute little work table. Every growing kid needs a table or desk of some sort for reading, coloring, etc.
Before: 

  This little table was made out of an old bedside table my parents had in their house forever. My dad cut the legs down to make it a kid-size table for the playroom at their house. It was handed down to me last year and has been sitting in the attic. The chair is an antique, also given to me by my mom.
I used my handy-dandy mouse sander on the table to take off some paint {this table had layers of it}. I used it on the chair to rough it up to help the paint stick.  I rubbed wax from a candle along some of the corners and edges of areas that I wanted to look distressed.
I used a sponge roller to apply one coat of white semi-gloss paint. Then I did some more sanding for a distressed look. Actually I ended up sanding a lot more than I had planned on. My new tool is fun and I got a little carried away!
This is what they looked like after painting and distressing. I also added some distress ink to both pieces just to add a little extra “age.”
After:

And here it is! 
Perfect size for the little guy! Most important, I think he likes it!
Before                                                                               After

Nursery Knock-Offs

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So when I began searching for decor for Parker’s nursery I had this grand design planned out in my head but couldn’t find what I was looking for. I was very picky about the bedding. I didn’t want the typical boy themes: jungle, transportation, aviation, sailboats. Nothing against them. I just didn’t want them. So after hours and hours of sitting in bed on the internet at night, I finally found it! It was perfect.
And of course, it was expensive. Now with the first child, nothing can cost too much. But once you are on your second, reality kicks in and you start to “budget.” Or at least I did.
So anyways, I found this bedding from Carousel Designs.
I was determined that it would be mine (or his rather). Oh look at these adorable coordinating drapes.
But wait. . . $59 for ONE PANEL. Not even to complete one window, but 1/2 of a window. That’s $236 to decorate the windows in this nursery. Are you kidding me? No, I’m not doing it, no way!
And the pillows, something like $40 per pillow?!
No!

So I did my homework. First I searched Ebay to see if I could find any window treatments made with the fabric. No luck. However, i did find the fabric!

Both the toile and the stripe accent, and it was cheap!! I spent $80 on ebay for all the fabric to make the curtains and pillows and still had enough left over to make a lampshade cover and a Christmas tree skirt!
I am by no means a seamstress. I have had a sewing machine for about 10 years, and I love to use it, but I really can only do the basic, geometric shaped items. Pillows and curtains!
So I did. . .

The only difference (besides some not-so-perfect lines) was that I used ribbon to tie the panels to the rod instead of fabric.
          Theirs $246                                                            Mine less than $80

I was determined to have this nursery.
In then end I found a way to make it happen. The nursery turned out just as I had imagined.

The Bumper and bed skirt are from Carousel. I made the pillows (with the exception of the monogrammed pillow) and the mobile I bought on Ebay (cheap) and re-designed. I wish I had a before/after photo of that.
Parker’s black and white newborn photos now hang on each side of the initial “P.”
Also from Carousel, the diaper hanger ( I added the bow to the front) and the blanket hanging on the chair. I made the pillow, covered the lampshade on the tall dresser and made the mirror out of an old window. To see that tutorial, click here.
I love the way this nursery turned out. I saved boo-coos of money and I did it myself!

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