The nursery.

I finally feel like we are pretty much done with the nursery-minus a few last minute items like hanging up some maternity pictures, and putting her name over the crib {we could do this but haven't yet so we wouldn't reveal her name}. If you remember back to my bedding post, we started decorating before we knew the sex of the baby-either way we wanted a gender neutral start, staying away from anything that could clearly be labeled "girl" or "boy." We we wanted colors that were bright, happy and stimulating for baby. I'm a fan of funky, fun prints and nothing that is too "adult" for the nursery. We went for a modern, clean look. Ultimately we decided on a tealish blue, yellow and white for our color scheme. We tried to be as thrifty as we could to stay inside our budget, so I'll post prices for the projects we did ourselves and the things we purchased {if I can remember!} In case you missed it here is her bedding that my Grandma, Mom and I made back in August.

We framed our two favorite 3d ultrasound pictures and hung them right as you walk in the door. You might not be able to tell but they are very small-about the size of a lightswitch plate. We found the frames for $1 at hobby lobby {love that place!} but Papa bought and spray painted them white for us.

Here is the crib side of her room. Our crib is the Ikea Gulliver. We were looking for a safe and simple, clean design, and we love that it transitions to a toddler bed as well. I forgot to take a close up picture of her animals in her crib, but below is a picture of her Waldorf doll that was handmade just for her! I made the owl in the corner of her crib and the lamb and elephant are a few of the handful of non-handmade items in her nursery. Eventually her name will be above her crib and next to the tree. I think I will make it out of fabric letters with the scraps we have left from other projects posted below.

The yellow table was purchased at Home Goods. I think it was around $50 but I can't remember, because it was the first baby item we purchased after deciding on our color scheme. I loved that it was wooden and had a unique carved bottom...and it was the perfect color! We were thinking we'd have to find something and paint it yellow, so this was just perfect. It was more than we wanted to spend but it would require less time and effort so it was totally worth it.
My Mom made her valance, and it was really bright when I took the images but here you can kind of see it's yellow with white polka dots on it and white lace running along the bottom. It was recommended that we order room darkening shades instead of blinds for her window so we are still waiting on those to come in, and they will be hidden up behind her valance when not is use.

The yellow blanket on her rocker was purchased from happupkin's shop on etsy. Loved working with her-and she gave us a great price {$25 and she also knit us a yellow baby hat to match!} Below is a close up of her shelves. The elephant and the whale are handmade and purchased from sewwhimsycreations on etsy-another favorite seller of mine. They were $7.50 each. The "A day at the Zoo" book is a book Papa owned when he was a little boy. It was also a favorite of my brother and I growing up and Bunny would read it to us all the time. The vintage Thumper and Dumbo figurines were purchased for us from an antique shop. We bought the wooden "baby" train in France this summer. You could spell out any name, but we didn't know the sex of baby yet and thought it was too adorable to pass up for $5.

This is the wall opposite her crib. The dresser is our steal of the nursery.

Back story: I have been a follower of Young House Love for years-before it was even called Young House Love {formerly known as This Young House}. So when I came across one of their nursery remodel projects a few months earlier, I fell in love-and found instant inspiration. So that led to our craiglist search of a 9 drawer dresser, and there she is. We found it on craiglist for $25. It was originally an old veneer dresser from the 60's. I e-mailed the current owner right away, and prayed that it had not been sold. Turns out it hadn't. We purchased it the very next day, sanded it, and painted it white. We are in love with it. Unfortunately, our veneer wasn't as thick as theirs, so we weren't able to sand it enough to re-stain it for a two tone look. But halfway through the project we decided an all white dresser would match the best anyways. I still remember thinking, they got such a great deal, there is no way we'll find anything close to that price and as similar as their look. I think we did pretty good. And since we'll be putting a changing pad on the top of it to use as her changing station, she'll still be able to use it as a regular dresser when she transitions from a baby to a young child. Best purchase so far!.
I created the mobile following this tutorial. I used a bunch of fabric scraps we had, plus some of the material left over from her bedding so that everything would match nicely. I'm happy with the way it turned out-and I made it for under $5. I painted the world map above the dresser. The original inspiration came from Janod. While in France this summer, I found and fell in love with a large magnetic wooden map at the cutest toy store in Chamonix. {side note, France has the most amazing, unique, and charming toy + baby stores. We would have gone broke had we known we were having a little girl while there.} Anyways-it was 50 euros. Way outside our budget and just way too large and heavy to carry home with us. I even wanted to purchase the French version so we could teach her a little culture and language from France. I have to admit I was a little heartbroken that we had to leave it behind. When we returned home I googled for hours trying to find somewhere-anywhere I could purchase it at home for my Christmas gift. I eventually found a place but the shipping was going to be outrageous to get it to the states so I decided it just wasn't worth the price {this map was darling in person, and educational as well}. So I settled for purchasing a canvas at 40% off at Michaels and painting my own map. Not as interactive as I would have hoped but this little girl is going to know her geography + culture none the less :) I think that project cost around $18.We ordered the tree online, and a friend {thanks Gen!!} sent us the pink bird for the perfect final touch. Here are some close-ups of the cutest little booties Jay's Mom sent us and her teething necklace. The silver plated antique tray I got at a thrift store for 50 cents. It has a nice, etched design on it. It polished up nicely! And below is her piggy bank. We purchased that at Marshall's for $7. The pink doily under it was purchased at a local craft show for $3.
I originally found some bunting on etsy that I really wanted to buy, but I think I'm a little too hands on to let someone else make it for my little girl. It looked too easy to make, plus I would be really picky with the fabrics and colors chosen to make it. So I went to Hancock fabrics and purchased a variety of fabric scrap and bias tape and made two strands of bunting. I thought we'd want to hang two up but decided one looked better, so we'll save the extra for some fun birthday decorations in the years to come. It was a fun project, and it added a nice touch of pink to complete her room. The project cost around $7 per strand.
That about ends our tour! Papa is making us a book bin to house her collection of stories for Christmas. At first he was going to make us two shelves that would hold books, much like these ones. But after some consideration, we decided it would be better to have something that was movable and not fixed to the wall in case we wanted to re-arrange furniture, etc. So he's making us a bin {it will be a long box with two sides and a rod across the top for carrying} and that will sit on the floor to the right of her dresser. I can't wait to see how it turns out, and I'll be sure to share a picture once we get it. Thanks for stopping by to take a peek at her nursery!