The nursery

Well, I struggled with a nursery vision this time. As my big boys {weird that Jack is now "big"} are now sharing a room, I still needed to use my nursery bedding for Jack (it actually coordinates with Ryans, which is great as the window treatment is still up in there). I chose fabric twice and by the time I went to purchase it was sold out until late May--which I took as a clear sign from the Lord to a) scale back what I was planning to sew (everything) and b) choose new fabric. :)

So, back to the drawing board I went, again. I had in my head I wanted to use predominately navy, which is surprisingly hard to find in cute fabrics/nursery stuff. Well, for some reason, as I searched Pottery Barn Kids for the umpteenth time I found a new bumper I'd not seen before. And, bonus, it was on sale--$54 shipped! Done. My mom gave me the cute navy and white polka dot sheets for my shower, and my vision was reborn.

I bought navy minky to make a diaper changing pad cover. Love the softness for his little body. :) The french board was a re-purpose job from Ryan's big boy room (see it HERE). The other two are being used for Jack and Ryan. I recovered the glider and ottoman with a navy fabric with white polka dots that looks identical to the PBK sheets my parents' gave us. 

Still standing in the doorway. I bought cheap white drapes from Target ($9.99 each!) and added a 4 inch border of the navy/white polka dot to the sides and bottom. Love it. 

Here is the bumper and sheet that sparked the whole thing. I made the box pleat bed skirt from a simple white pique and added the same 4 inch border of the polka dot. The letters I just painted navy and added white dots to. And yes, Chris hung them the day before Mark was born. :) Then I took them down and hid them until we came home from the hospital. I'm a sneaky one like that. Lol. 

All in all, I am very happy with the room. It is quite a soothing place to sit, rock and nurse (which is super as I spend an awful lot of time doing those things right now.). :)

Gender Reveal Party

(obviously, not mine, I threw it).

Anyhoo.

My bestie, Leigh-Ann, is having a planned C-section, so to give some excitement to the pregnancy and something special for this baby, she opted for a gender reveal shower. So, I've known for weeks the gender of her baby (and to be honest, it was fun knowing when even her mom didn't know--ha!). The invites were green diapers with brown teddy bear pins, so the reveal diaper shower was set. To reveal the surprise I decided to try my hand at cake bites. It was a perfect idea (and they are to.die.for.). I thought as an added bonus it would save me some time from making a cake and decorating it. I was sorely mistaken on that note, but I'm still glad I made them (and that I am talking about them this much, am a bit proud of them too.).

Shower hostesses and Leigh-Ann:







The table of yummies:



The cake bites:



The grandma's took the first bite as everyone watched....



And, it's a.....



GIRL! Sweet Sadie Frances, coming sometime in June. We are already praying for you precious girl!

The cute chocolate teddy bear lollipop party favors I made:

Ode to mod podge

Oh mod podge, how I love thee. You make those of us untalented in the craft arena able to fake it a bit.

My original thought was to paint some art for the kids' walls. Then I realized it would have looked horrible and I would have thrown it away. So I started thinking. I love fabric. I can cut in a straight line (especially if I have something straight or circular by which I can trace said line) and I can paint (when it's a clear substance, that is). Enter my brilliant idea, mod podge and fabric on canvas.

I feel so Martha Stewart.

Anna-Kate's wall art:



Ryan's wall art (special sneak-peek, his room reveal isn't quite ready yet. Also, ps, the white part will go away, it's like glue, goes on white, dries clear. Foolproof.):



Not too bad, it could be better, but I'm not complaining! Start to finish for both kids art: $12. Can't beat that with a stick.

Ashley's shower

I threw a shower for Ashley, a good friend of mine this morning with another friend in the neighborhood. We love the people in our neighborhood--a lot of good friends and all you could wish for as far as "good neighbors" goes.

N-E-Ways.

The cake--I thought it turned out pretty cute. I was going for the letters to look like the old school wooden blocks. (and ps, the baby is going to be named Wilson). :)



The fruit:



Not pictured (aka, not aesthetically pleasing, but equally delicious) white chocolates I molded into baby booties and pacis, egg and sausage casserole (shout out to April for the recipe a million years ago!) and a delicious apple coffee cake that pained my soul. It has been a while since I made it so I had forgotten that though the directions says 20-25 minutes to cook, it is a good solid 50 minutes until done. Urgh. Thankfully, Stephanie took care of the ice, drinks (yummy mimosas, juices, coffee with fun creamer and cokes), cute party favors, decorations, paper products, and way back when, invitations! So nice to have help.

Diaper cake made by my friend Heather--isn't it cute?



Ashley (obviously, the mom-to-be. Side note, her daughter Annie is one of Anna-Kate's good friends), who is on 100% bedrest with her mom.



One of the burp cloths I made for Ashley. I know it isn't the greatest picture, but I think it's super cute.


We had a lot of fun!