Showing posts with label baby. Show all posts
Showing posts with label baby. Show all posts

Friday, September 3, 2010

sage's diy nursery

Finally, I present to you Sage's nursery! Remember way back in January when I featured my old office and how it was to be transformed into a baby nursery? And then in March when I was trying to decide if I should paint the walls pink or taupe? Well the nursery has been done for a while but this busy, sleepy mommy just hadn't gotten around to taking some good photos. But now I'm excited to share it with you! Since we were on a pretty tight budget, many of the elements were DIY - which actually made it a really fun and satisfying project.

As you may have noticed, the walls are neither pink or taupe! We decided to go with a really pale yellowy-beige colour that looks like filtered sunlight - Benjamin Moore's Almond Bisque (CC-280) which is really warm and lovely. And just as I was going to add the Dwell Studio bedding into the crib, I spied the cutest little turquoise dresser on Craigslist {scroll down to see it below}. And that cute little dresser, my friends, changed my entire design plan! I said bye bye to the pink accents, and instead went with a turquoise and yellow colour scheme! Or 'goldenrod and robin's egg' if you want to be all Martha and fancy!

In deciding not to use the bedding I originally bought, I instead made my own crib skirt with this fabric from Tonic Living that inspired me at the beginning of the design process here! I didn't actually make the blanket and crib sheet though - they are from Pongo Baby. But I did paint the owl and framed it with an IKEA Ribba frame.

Last year we babysat at a friend's house and they had the most comfortable, cushy glider ever! I swore that I would get the same one, and so we did! That was our only splurge in this room and it was a good one. Many an hour have been spent in that chair already, rocking and nursing the babe.

I created the 'You Are My Sunshine' print to add some colour to the shelf, and it's now available in my Etsy shop. The doll was sewn by my great grandmother! And the little dress is something I made a few years ago - I just mounted it onto a canvas.


The chandelier was on sale from Canadian Tire for $50 - down from $80. Woohoo! But it was gray with pink crystals, so I spray painted it yellow and found these clear crystals on clearance from Rona {don't use Valspar spray paint by the way...they have nice colours but the paint itself is suck
y...doesn't stick well and is slow to dry}.

Another detail in the room that I love is this little owl light switch cover from Anthropologie. I have a little bit of an owl theme going on, and thought this was an adorable touch.

The lamp and side table were cheapy cheapies from HomeSense, and the flower pot was an old one that I spray painted blue to match the decor. By the way - HomeSense has THE BEST lamp selections lately! Lots of funky shapes and colours. The plant is, believe it or not, a cutting from a plant that was in my own baby nursery - yes, the plant is still alive and kicking. And I decided to give the side table a bit of a sprucing, and so painted a chevron pattern on top for fun using this tutorial.

For artwork in the room, my sister bought me this awesome wooden laser cut alphabet from my former One of a Kind Show neighbours, Arounna and John of Bookhou. It's gorgeous! But the colour of the wood blended so perfectly into the wall colour that you literally couldn't see it. I decided to cover a canvas with burlap, and mount the alphabet on top to make it stand out. And my favourite piece in the room is a collage from my friend Céleste Gagnon, a children's book illustrator. It is so delicate and beautiful and so perfect for the nursery - I love to stare at it!

Here she is - the little turquoise dresser from Craigslist that changed the original plan for the room! We use it as a change table too. Above I 'framed' fabric scraps using embroidery hoops - cheap and easy. Sage loves to stare at the colours and patterns when I change her!

BEFORE

AFTER

Voila - the nursery! It's hard to believe it was once my office. But we love it and I hope you like it too :)

Friday, March 26, 2010

baby bloomer bump update + maternity clothes survival guide

Here we are already...another Baby Bloomer update! I'm six months this week. My 'crumb-catcher' is growing daily, and I keep asking myself: "How can I possibly get any bigger?"...only to get replies of "Just wait..."!

A while ago I posted about my quest to stay stylish while preggers on a budget, and I just wanted to follow up as I have become a bit of an expert since then. For those of you soon-to-be yummy mummies in the Toronto area, here is what I have found!

Maternity Clothes Survival Guide
I didn't really want to spend too much money on a maternity wardrobe, but I still wanted to look nice! I would recommend looking in your closet to see what you already have, as I've been able to use a lot of pre-peanut clothes - dresses that either have an empire waist, or are made of stretchy material. Long tank tops and t-shirts are great and I can't recommend leggings enough! So good to wear with dresses, tunics and long sweaters and very comfy too. Don't forget to pair them with boots! Boots always make an outfit look good. Or else, in the summer, a nice pair of flats would do quite well.

In addition to using what already existed in my closet, I did get quite a few maternity basics:
jeans, some shirts and dresses as I've had a few fancy functions in the past little while. Here are some of my recommendations!

Some stores I've had luck with:
Thyme Maternity - They are ok, but I found their sizing doesn't fit me that well. I got a nice shirt there though.
Motherhood Maternity - Same as above; I got a simple black dress there but the sizes don't fit me too well for some reason.
H+M - I got some jeans there and some shirts. Their maternity section is pretty teeny, and you really have to go on a bit of a treasure hunt! But definitely reasonable in price.
Old Navy - Their maternity section is piddly, but with the advice of a friend, I found that their 'regular' line of clothing is roomy enough for a blossoming belly. Check out their sale racks for long shirts and dresses.
Bella Band (www.ingridandisabel.com) - I got one of these hoping I could just wear some of my older pants or jeans and 'close' them with the band. However I soon realized that my old pants didn't make it very far up my new heftier thighs and hips! I use it now to cover my belly if some of my old t-shirts or tank tops are too short! They can be purchased online, or at pretty much any maternity or baby store.
Bella Mom Maternity (www.bellamom.ca) - In the plaza just outside Vaughan Mills Mall, this store has some beautiful clothes! A bit out of my price range, however I did get a dress there for a wedding. They have designer jeans there too like Paige jeans, and Habituals that apparently you can wear post-peanut! I would recommend checking them out.
My Bump Maternity (www.mybumpmaternity.com) - Located in the Beaches, this store is much like the store above, a lot of really nice things! I got a light summer dress there.

Other stores that I haven't shopped at, but sound pretty good:
Belly (www.bellymaternity.ca) - This is in my old neighbourhood of Mount Pleasant, between Eglinton and Davisville. And I will admit that way before I was pregs, I would visit this store as it always had very cool clothes in the window. Not really in the 'economical' range, they carry high-end designer labels like Diane von Furstenberg, if you need some fancies.
Evy Mama (www.evymama.ca) - I haven't been there but it looks good!
Target (www.target.com) - I haven't made it down to Buffalo to check it out, but apparently they have a pretty good line of stylish maternity wear, and no doubt very affordable.

Some online stores:
There are tons of online stores out there, and I have to admit that I haven't bought anything online yet. But here are a couple that have been recommended, or that I have found:

A Pea in the Pod (www.apeainthepod.com)
Haute Mama (www.hautemama.ca)
Euphoria Maternity (www.euphoriamaternity.com)

I hope this helps! If you have any other suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments section. Have a wonderful weekend!

Friday, March 12, 2010

the baby nursery...part deux


A few weeks ago I was reading the blog of a fellow designer who also happens to be having a baby about a month before me. And she seemed to be spazzing out about decorating her nursery, unable to choose fabrics and patterns, colours and furniture. I remember thinking that she really needed to chill out! It's a baby's nursery...this should be fun!

Well, guess who is the spaz now?! I find myself in a similar boat suddenly, for some reason unable to make any decisions as to what colour or style my little pixie's nursery should be. It's gotta be the hormones, right? Or else the perfectionism of first-time parents who actually have the time to mull over hundreds of paint chips and to pour over nursery inspiration pics for hours.

I had the chance to buy the above beautiful Dwell Studio crib bedding at a VERY discounted rate, so at least it is something to start with! And as much as I was trying to avoid pink on the walls, it does look pretty darn good in these photos. I think yellow for the walls will be too much, but I could change my mind tomorrow. And the other option might be a light taupey-gray on the walls, which would provide a more neutral backdrop and also pick up some of the browns in the fabric. So here is my question...is pink for a baby girl's room too cliche? Or is it so avoided now that it is original? I would use a soft, light pink, rather than a harsh, bright one. Is light taupey-gray too drab for a baby's room, or would it be relaxing? Ahhhh! Too many options...would love your opinion!

Here are some other inspiration pics that make use of both colours. Thanks Bloomies!

option one: pink walls with yellow and brown accents


option two: taupey-gray walls with pink {and in my case, some yellow} accents


Wednesday, February 3, 2010

my baby bloomer bump


Maybe it's because pregnancy is calculated in weeks, but time seems to be flying by and my baby bloomer bump is cooking along! Although I'm not sure if I officially look pregnant to the outside world yet, or if strangers just think I've eaten too many cookies.

P. and I decided to document my development each month in photos and this is my belly so far. It's probably my last week for squeezing into this blue dress before buttons start flying! Any maternity store suggestions in Toronto or online would be more than welcome :).