DIY

Purple Watercolor Nursery with a Splash of Vintage – Purple, Blue, and Teal

July 24, 2019 by Kristeen Filed Under: Baby, DIY 1 Comment

I’ve dreamed of having a little girl nursery since I was a little girl myself. In my dreams the nursery never really had a shape or design. It was just a room with a baby girl in it. In my head, it did have a color – purple. When I started the nursery the only thing set in stone was that it had to be purple. If you know me, that is no surprise (I love the color purple).

When I was designing my son’s nursery, I feel like all the pieces just feel into place – the theme, the furniture, everything. This nursery was a little more difficult. I’m not sure why, but it just was. When I finally settled on a theme it ended up being a purple watercolor theme with a splash of vintage.

Well, to be honest the vintage with an after thought. The theme was just purple water color to start. Then I added in the vintage after making the baby quilt. Before my son arrived, I went to Texas to visit my aunt who is an amazing quilter and we made my son an adorable baby quilt. I just knew I had to do the same before baby number two arrived. I didn’t have a clear vision for the quilt for my daughter going into the process. However, I found myself drawn to all these vintage-like fabrics. So we used those to make the baby quilt. I helped my aunt with the quilt, but lets be honest, she was the mastermind behind it all and deserves all the credit. It turned out amazing! And this is how my nursery theme went from water color to vintage watercolor.

My aunt also made me a beautiful wall hang that matches the quilt. It’s stunning – just look at all the quilting detail she did on it and she did it all by hand! Right now I’m using it in the pictures as the coffee table decor and it fits perfectly! However, the back wall of the nursery is blank and I’m going to hang it on that wall but I need some additional decor to balance the piece a bit. So this part of the nursery is still a work in progress.

Something else that I was really drawn to was mixing the colors purple, blue, and teal together. This isn’t something I have seen a ton of in nurseries. However, I didn’t let that stop me! I searched high and low for sheets with those colors in it. However, I just couldn’t find them! But I did find these adorable purple watercolor sheets I adored. I just found other ways to pull in the colors that I was looking for.

I’m not huge on decorating. I appreciate nicely decorated things but I don’t love decorating. So I wanted a space that grew with my little girl. I didn’t want anything that screamed baby – think pastel pink bunnies. So I hope that everything will grow as our baby grows. The furniture is all high quality and sophisticated. The colors and decor is something you could not only find in a nursery but I think it will also be appropriate in an older girl’s room too. If my little lady wants to redecorate she totally can. However, with the neutral color furniture just about anything will match. Let’s just hope she doesn’t hate the color purple or mama might shed a few tears if she has to re-paint the room.

Here is the mood board that I used to start the nursery planning…

And here is what that translated to…

I love how the nursery turned out and baby Brynn fits perfectly in it even if she isn’t sleeping in her room yet.

Product List

Sheets – Little Birdie Ink on Etsy

Felt Mobile – Love April and May on Etsy Seriously – how cute is this mobile?!

Furniture (minus the crib and rocker) – Smart Stuff by Universal Furniture the Serendipity Line

Crib – Monarch Hill Hawken 3-in-1 Convertible Crib we found it on Wayfair

Nursery rocker – Wingback Convertible Rocker by Pottery Barn Kids This was from Jack’s nursery

Vases – These were a fun DIY project. I just painted glass jars with this chalk paint.

Large canvas behind crib – I made this design and had it printed on a large canvas

Watercolor paintings behind dresser – Outside In Art Studio on Etsy

Baby quilt – Made by my Aunt Mary Ann

Footstool for rocker – Target (also from Jack’s room)

Giant stuffed bear – Costco (gift from my Mom)

Curtains – Target

Star & Moon Themed Boy’s Nursery – Grey, Navy Blue, Gold and Tan Nursery

September 11, 2016 by Kristeen Filed Under: DIY, Home, Parenting 5 Comments

As soon as we found out that we were having a little boy I started to plan his nursery. I’ve never been big on interior design/decorating. However, the impending arrival of our little guy seemed like a good excuse to start decorating. After all he needed a room as adorable as he surely would be.

I didn’t want anything too cutsie or baby (think baby blue). I wanted the room to be able to grow with him as he grew. My husband wanted a sports themed room, but I nixed that real quick. He has the rest of his life to be surrounded by sports. I wanted something a little cuter then baseballs everywhere (however there are still a few Butler Basketball items that made it into the room)!

After lots of contemplation I finally settled on a star themed nursery. I fell in love with the nursery furniture first. The furniture has exposed slightly rustic wood with creamy white trim. It’s beautiful! It will also grow with our little guy as he grows. It will turn into a toddler bed and a full size bead headboard. I think it has a very mature look to it that it doesn’t look like it belongs just in a baby’s room too.

One of my other favorite things in the room is the star quilt. I actually planned a special trip to Texas to spend some time with my aunt who is a quilter. We spent a long weekend quilting this perfect item for our little guy’s nursery. I learned a new craft and got to spend some time with family. The quilt will always remind me of that trip.

Another special item in the nursery is a framed letter and candy dish. Our little guy’s name is Jack. He is named after his Dad’s grandpa. The candy dish was used by our Jack’s late great Great Grandfather. The candy in the candy dish is something like 30 years old (don’t eat it!). The letter next to the dish is a touching story that explains the story of the dish.

Hanging on the wall to the left of the crib is a large canvas print of our little guy. This was a newborn picture that I took myself (I’m a newborn photographer). I hope to take a picture later on to put to the left of his crib/bed when he gets a little older.

The furniture started the color scheme for the room with cream and browns/tans. Then I added navy blue and grey. Here is my initial idea board for the nursery. I think in the end the board was spot on!

Once I had the idea board it all came together from there. Here is the finished product for Jack’s star and moon themed nursery!

There were lots of amazing product that went into this beautiful nursery. I’ll do my best at listing them below.

Paint Color – Repose Gray by Sherwin Williams
Nursery furniture – #MyRoom Convertible crib, dresser/changing table, and bookcase
Nursery rocker – Wingback Convertible Rocker by Pottery Barn Kids
Sheets – aden + anais – Not only are these sheets adorable they they are also so soft!!
Small mobile over rocker – MooBoo Creations on Etsy – This was an adorable addition to the nursery. This shop also has some really cute felted garlands too!!
Canvas “I Love You More Then All The Stars in the Sky” – Invited by Audriana Etsy Shop I had to print the canvas myself, but Audriana’s design was one of the inspirations for the whole room!
Large mobile over crib – Bubly Moon on Etsy – I think this is my favorite item in the nursery!! So cute.
Wood letters that spell Jack on top of bookcase – Summer Design Shop on Etsy
Star Hanging Picture Display – Pottery Barn Kids As our little guy grows we can also hang his artwork on the cable too.
Stack-able storage to the left of the changing table – Target
Footstool for rocker – Target
Blue and white toy baskets – Target
Giant stuffed bear – Costco (gift from my Mom)
Sweet Dreams Little One Painted Wood Sign – Field and Forest Designs on Etsy
Star Quilt and Star Pillow – I made these items
Star garland around window – DIY project made my me
Small wooden rocker – Family heirloom piece. This belonged to my husband as a child.

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Fixing the Wifi Problems in a Large Home – eero to the Rescue

May 29, 2016 by Kristeen Filed Under: DIY, Home Leave a Comment

Life before eero

In April of 2015 we moved into our new house and were pretty naive to think that our technology that we used in our 2000 square foot three story townhouse would suffice for our three story 5,600 square foot home. We installed the router that we had been using for years at the townhouse which was an Apple Timecapsule. We started noticing issues almost immediately. At the townhouse the router was located on the middle level in the very center of the building but at the new house the router has to be poorly positioned in the closet of one of the upstairs bedrooms. It also didn’t help that our home office is located in the basement. We started to routinely head upstairs to reset the modem and the router. We’d have company over and the wifi would crash. I’d be uploading hi-res pictures for my photography business and everything would come to a screeching halt. The old router that work perfectly fine when perfectly positioned in a smaller house was not going to cut it for our new home and my business.

I put my husband to work to find us a solution. Being a software engineer and a pretty big techie I thought he’d be able to handle the situation with ease. After a little bit of research he bought and installed a new top of the line router, D-Link AC3200, which was supposed to end all our wifi nightmares. The router definitely performed better than the Apple Timecapsule but we still found ourselves heading upstairs to reset the modem and router. We were pretty frustrated considering the cost of the new equipment. Unfortunately for us we had not found out about eero yet so we tried to put some Apple Expresses into our Wifi network to extend the signal. These actually ended up being pretty difficult to configure and created some odd issues where some of our devices would fail to connect to the network even with the correct credentials, we ended up having to return the devices because they ended up causing us even more headaches.

After spending hundreds of dollars trying to create a solid Wifi network for our home and home business we started to feel like we were either going to have to live with poor Wifi or hire someone to come out and professionally install some kind of solution. My husband then stumbled upon eero.com and we started debating spending additional money to solve our problem. We decided to give eero a try**.

About eero

In case you haven’t heard of eero. It’s a wifi system (basically a system of routers). The system links together through out your house. The whole system is super easy to set up. Check out eero’s video for a more detailed explanation.

Life After eero

When the package of our three eeros showed up my husband said “we are probably going be returning theses”. My husband and I opened the box and were a little discouraged when it read that it was recommended to have 1 eero for every 1000 square feet of your house, so we are about 2 and half eeros short of what is recommended. But we really didn’t have anything to lose so we began our installation. I can honestly say it was the easiest router I have ever had to install. All you really have to do is plug it in and pull up the iPhone app. There are not very many options during the router setup so things do not get very complicated. One down side to the eero is that there are only two ethernet ports so we had to buy a switch, TP-Link TL-SG1008D, to handle our SmartThings hub, Philips Hue hub, and DirecTv home system. It literally only took 30 minutes to install all three eeros and reconnect all our additional hubs. The only hiccup was reconfiguring our Sonos speaker systems which pretty much required us setting up each speaker like it was the first time connected to the network. This was definitely no fault to eero and may actually been solved easily if we owned a Sonos Boost.

After two weeks of use we have not had to go upstairs once to restart a router or the modem. The wifi has not gone down a single time. I had my husband walk around the house and our yard to test the signal strength of our new Wifi. It was not surprising to us that it worked well in the areas that we are in the most but it failed to perform well in some corners of our house and our yard based on the initial recommendation of one eero for every 1000 square feet. We have little doubt that if we had two or three more that it would work well in all corners of the house and that my husband might actually be able to listen to internet radio over the network while mowing the lawn.

eero Review Recap

Overall I would definitely recommend this product to anyone who is either tired of the complicated options of setting up a home network or for someone who is struggling with Wifi signal in a large space. If have tried a different router with no luck this is a great option for more compliated setups or larger homes. The only downside to this product that we saw is that there is a very limited number of ethernet ports (2) but this problem can be easily fixed by purchasing a switch (in our case we bought the TP-Link TL-SG1008D for $25). Besides that the only other negative we saw is that you have to purchase one unit for every 1000 sq feet you want to cover. This can get a little costly, but for us this investment is well worth the cost.

**Disclamer: eero provided us a 3-pack unit for this review. That being said this review is an honest and fair evaluation of the product.

3 Tips To Throwing A Successful Favorite Things Party

April 7, 2016 by Megan Filed Under: DIY, Party 4 Comments

I’ve wanted to host a Favorite Things Party ever since I learned about it a couple of years ago. It’s a party where everyone brings one of their favorite items at a certain price, and brings multiples of the item to share with everyone at the party. I envisioned the party in February, when the weather is dreary, the days are short and the theme of the month is hearts. So, this February I finally threw the party and it could not have been more fun!

Since it was my first time throwing a party of its kind and I’ve had years to think about this, here are the party plans that made it a hit:

Invites – I wanted to keep it small since it was my first time hosting this type of party and I wasn’t sure how it would all work. But, I knew I definitely wanted paper invites to send in the mail. I love paper invitations – I love sending and receiving them! I think they are a great way to set the tone (and build excitement) for the party. Plus, who doesn’t love receiving something in the mail that isn’t a bill! I love Paperless Post for sending e-invitations because they are unique and great designs. I was so excited when I learned you can now make paper invitations from their great selection. I found the cutest design (with a little heart) and added details/instructions for the party on the additional card that was typically used for the Response Card. It was super easy to create it exactly how I wanted! I was so excited when they arrived in the mail in an elegant box. I loved how they turned out…and my guests did too!

Décor – I’m not big into Valentine’s Day, but I thought hearts were the perfect accent to a Favorite Things Party. Since the party was in February, there was no shortage of hearts to be found. Lately, I’ve really been loving gold and pink, so my décor focused around gold, pink and hearts! I found most of my party décor from Hobby Lobby, World Market, Michaels, Target and Paper Source. I created a cute banner for the table where everyone displayed their Favorite Things (banner from Target and added gold letters from Hobby Lobby). I knew I wanted some dimension and interesting ways for everyone to display their Favorite Things, so I pulled together some pieces of woods on top of coffee cups to create displays. With some fresh flowers, the Favorite Things table was a great display for everyone’s favorite finds. The wall art above my couch is typically white frames without anything in them. Occasionally, I will add decoration to the frames depending on the holiday. It was the perfect space to bring the heart theme into the living room! I made the displays from materials found at Hobby Lobby (letters), World Market (tin heart), Target (pink tags and ribbon), and Paper Source (glass hearts).

Favorite Things – There are a couple of different ways you can do this. After seeing comments from other people who hosted this type of party, I decided that $10 was the max per item and each guest was instructed to bring 3 of that item. We then put numbers into a bowl (3 each of the same number) and then each person drew a number from a separate bowl. That number was the order in which you described your favorite thing and then drew 3 numbers (each had to be different number and could not be their own). With 8 people, this didn’t work exactly how I wanted because at the end one person was left with 3 of the same thing and we had to do our own exchange. The other way you can do it is have 3 rounds where everyone selects their own items that they want. You do this 3 different times. I envisioned this works better for bigger groups. Regardless, we had great Favorite Things and it was fun to hear why each girl chose that item. Some of the Favorite Things included:

Rifle Paper Co. Notebooks (set of 3)
Cupcakes from a lesser known cupcake shop in town – Confectionnaires
$5 Starbucks Gift Card with travel coffee mug
Homemade banners
Perfume samples from Ambre a locally made perfume
Rachael Ray’s Bench Scrape Kitchen Shovel and Sharpie

I wanted each guest to have a cute bag to put their new things in, so I found these cute gold polka-dot canvas bags from Hobby Lobby and added some embellishments with a tag with their initial, tassel and an arrow. They turned out great and was a nice surprise for my guests!

The party was so much fun! I am already planning one for next year and hope to have an annual party. Because who doesn’t love a reason to get together with your girlfriends and get great gifts that may be your new favorite thing!

Do you have any tips, tricks, or ideas for a favorite things party that isn’t listed above? If so, I would love to hear about it!! Leave a comment below and let me know. I would love some additional ideas for next year’s party.

Gift Idea for Coworkers on Last Day of Work – Free Printable

March 27, 2016 by Kristeen Filed Under: DIY Leave a Comment

I’ve been in transition for a long time when it comes to my day job. For 6 years I worked a full time day job while also doing consulting, running a photography business, and an Etsy shop. I lead a busy life but I’ve always liked it that way and it’s nice having multiple incomes while doing things you enjoy!

About 9 months ago my husband and I found out we were pregnant – yay! I knew I couldn’t do all the things listed above while also properly taking care of a baby. So, I planned my exit from my day job. At this point I was only working there part time (20 hours a week) in anticipation for this transition. The decision to leave wasn’t a hard one but I was leaving a lot of people who I enjoyed working with. I wanted to leave on a positive note and show my appreciation to these people for their friendships and support over the years.

So being the crafty baker that I am I decided to make them cookie packets. They included 3 of my favorite peanut butter cookies (I’ll have to blog the recipe at a later date) in a pretty package with ribbon and a fun tag. Here they are…

They aren’t anything crazy fancy nor did this project take a ton of time or money. However, my coworkers very much appreciated the gift and the gesture on my last day in the office.

FREE PRINTABLE:
So if you are leaving your job and want to do something nice for your coworkers feel free to use this idea. I’ve provided the tags as a free download in both .PSD (Photoshop) and .jpg formats. If you use the .jpg format you will have to write in your own name. If you use the .PSD version you should just be able to edit the text and write in your own name.

PROJECT DIRECTIONS:
Here is what you need for the project:

Cookies – 2 or 3 per bag will do
Clear Cellophane Treat Bags
Ribbon – I prefer cloth ribbon as it looks a little fancier but any will do
Gift Tags – see above to download the tags I created or feel free to use your own
Scissors
Hole punch

Making the gift pack is simple. Start by cutting out your gift tags and punching a hole in the top left of the tag. Put 2-3 cookies in a bag and tie with a ribbon. When adding the ribbon also tie on the tag using the hole you punched in the top left corner. You can finish off your package by adding a bow with the ribbon. Then distribute to coworkers on your last day!

DIY Newborn Swaddle Blanket Tutorial Made from Organic Muslin

August 22, 2015 by Kristeen Filed Under: DIY 1 Comment

Right now, this newborn swaddle blanket made from organic muslin cotton is my favorite baby shower gift to give my friends who are expecting. It is a somewhat simple and inexpensive gift that is very practical, useful, and personal.

What is muslin?

Typically when something is referred to as organic muslin it means that it’s made from 100% cotton and it’s made in a very loose weave. This helps keep baby warm but not too warm. The fabric is very breathable, which allows the swaddle to be used all year round and in most climates. Most muslin fabrics are very breathable, durable, and super soft!

Why use organic muslin?

A baby’s skin much more sensitive then the average adult. It’s also more porous and it can absorb chemicals more easily. An organic muslin fabric will be safe on baby’s skin and free of any harmful chemicals.

What type of fabric did I use?

The key to this blanket is the fabric that you use. I’ve see other tutorials that make the mistake of using a gauze like fabric. That type of fabric isn’t going to give you as high quality and durable of a blanket. The organic muslin that I used for this project is to die for! It’s super soft and breathable. It’s also not treated with any crazy chemicals so it’s safe to use with baby. If you want the exact fabric that I purchased you can find it here.

Here is what you will need to get started on your DIY Newborn Swaddle Blanket:

Sewing machine – preferably one with embroidery functionality. In this tutorial I’m using the Brother SE-400. You don’t have to have this exact machine, but that is that I’ll be using to explain how it’s made.
Organic Muslin Fabric – cut one piece 45×45 inches. If you prefer a smaller blanket you can use a different size. See my notes above on which type of fabric works best on this project.
Thread in your choice of color(s)
Straight pins
Scissors
Water soluble embroidery stabilizer
Embroidery hoop

Here is how you make this newborn swaddle blanket:

This step is optional. If you do not have an embroidery machine you can skip it. Start by using your embroider hoop, water soluble embroidery stabler, and embroidery machine to embroider your chosen phrase on the bottom right corner of the blanket. You will want the edge of the phrase to be about 4-5 inches from each side. You should be able to leave your bobbin color white while you use colored thread of your choice for your top machine color. When you choose an embroidery font you will want to choose something that is meant to be small – something that has a lower stitch count. This will help with bunching since the fabric is a very loose weave. You can make the phrase on the blanket whatever you like. However, I like to use “Baby + Baby’s Last Name”. I think this gives the blanket a nice personal touch.
Next, it’s time to give the edges a nice clean hem. Start by trimming all the edges of your fabric so everything has a fresh, straight, and even cut. Once cut, the fabric should measure about 45 inches by 45 inches.
Now it’s time to start pinning. To sew the edge of this blanket you are going to first fold edge in about one inch. Like this:
Then you are going to want to fold that fold in half. It should then be 4 pieces of fabric thick. Then you will put a pin though it to keep everything together. Here is what it will look like:
Once you get a whole edge pinned you can then sew it. You will want to sew with the pinned side facing down. So you will be sewing the front of the blanket. You will want your stitch to be as close to the inside edge of the fabric as possible. When I did the stitching I used a decorative stitch that comes on my sewing machine. The exact stitch I used was the number 40 stitch on my Brother SE-400. If your sewing machine doesn’t have fancy stitches like this one you can use a simple wide zigzag stitch.
Once you finish stitching the 1st side you just repeat steps 3-5 for each additional side. When you get to a corner you need to first trim the corner a tad on an angle and then fold it over just like the previous sides. When you sew the corners you will be sewing through 8 layers of fabric deep so be gentile on your machine. Here is what that looks like:
Once you sew up all your sides- your project is complete! You should probably give the blanket a quick wash before gifting it to the new baby!

I hope you enjoyed this DIY Newborn Swaddle Blanket Tutorial! Leave your comments and questions below. I can’t wait to hear how your blanket turns out.

Last updated by Kristeen at July 24, 2019.

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