Special delivery

First I want to thank everyone who shared their opinions in our dresser poll - we did decide on #3, the Jenny Lind dresser. It was delivered yesterday, as was our swivel glider.

Here's a photo of the dresser in Nora's room (needs a little accessorizing):

and here's the glider (needs a pretty pillow... and maybe a bit of ironing):

Despite my insistence that I would not gender stereotype my child, I realize that Nora's room has become quite girly. I suppose I should get some toy trucks now.

Dresser indecision!!

The dresser that we were rebuilding/refinishing for Nora's room has been a comedy of errors. Long story short - the drawers don't fit right and Rob is not too keen on re-rebuilding them, so I'm dresser shopping. I'd really like one in green milk paint, but those are all really expensive, so my finalists are all antique white like the crib.

As a refresher, this is Nora's crib (a very old picture):
The three dressers I'm currently considering are:

(1) Madeline - Chest of drawers matching Nora's crib. This is 45"wide, 20"deep, 43.5"high - the largest of the three. I can make it fit, but you should know that Nora's room is more cozy and charming than huge.

Pros: matches crib, provides a good amount of storage

Cons: largest of the three options, most expensive

(2) Berkeley - Chest of drawers from the same store as Nora's crib, but in a different style. Size of this one iz 38.5" wide, 18" deep, 32" high.

Pros: paint color likely matches crib, smaller size that would work well next to the chair

Cons: least storage of the three

(3) Jenny Lind - Chest of drawers from different store than the crib. This one measures 37" wide, 18.5" deep, 34" high.

Pros: Traditional style could be repainted and used pretty much anywhere, smaller size that will work well next to the chair, deeper drawers, optional accessory top available

Cons: paint may not be exact match to crib (although both are described as antique white so I think it will be close)

I like #1 and #3 better than #2, but I'm having a hard time deciding between those two. I like #3 a lot and it is the truer match to my personal style, but #1 matches her crib.

Thanks for your input! This poll closed on 1/26/08 - results are shown below:

P.S. I ordered dresser #3 (which is the 3-drawer Jenny Lind dresser with accessory top from Land of Nod).

Attention artsy and creative people! Your help is needed!

You might remember my toy box project. Like all my projects, progress has been slow ... but I do have a couple of coats of paint on it and a cushion made (making the cushion, by the way, was far more difficult than I'd expected). Here's what it looks like right now. Sorry to make you look at our messy garage, but that's where it is at the moment.

You can't tell in the picture, but the toy box has some dings in it. Dings that are more obvious now that it's painted white. It doesn't really bother me that it has dings, but I wonder if it could look better.

Tell me. What would you do with this? Paint the spindles a different color? Paint something on the front of the toy box (I was thinking maybe the word "play")? Leave it as it is?

I do want to quickly show you the inside - it's my favorite part. For some reason, lime green just makes me happy.

A fun, productive afternoon

Rob and I went to check out Peapods, the natural baby store this afternoon. I wanted to look at the g diapers and Ergo baby carriers in person and I knew they had both. The jury is still out on the diapers, but I did get an Ergo! Ours is the black with camel lining. Ergo doesn't make carriers in a ton of colors or patterns like Mei Tais, but I've talked to a few people who have them and read the reviews on TheBabyWearer.com and they seem to be the most universally liked of all carriers. Hopefully it works for us.

On our way home, we stopped at JoAnn Etc. so I could pick up some fabric swatches for the cushion I'm making for Nora's toy box. Honestly I expected to find a few possibilities, bring home swatches, reject them all and repeat the process about four more times. Instead I found fabric and it was on clearance for $2/yard! The pink will be the cushion and the green and pink stripe will be used for piping. I love the funky, bright retro print. It gets better every time I look at it. It's even got butterflies (the green things).

My new project

This is my toy box - my brother built it for me when he was about 14 years old (Pretty good for a middle school shop project, huh? I couldn't build that now!). After I went away to college, it went to my nephew, P, and has been in my my brother's basement since P outgrew it. Two weeks ago it came home with us for Nora.

I'm going to paint the outside a vanilla white to match Nora's crib and the inside will be bright lime green. Tonight I need to find some new hardware online - new hinges and an easy close mechanism to keep fingers from getting smashed. I also ordered some foam to make a pad for the top (fabric tbd). Nora's room isn't graced with a window seat, so I thought this would be a nice proxy for that - a little place where she can sit with a book.

Dilettante

dil·et·tante

1. a person who takes up an art, activity, or subject merely for amusement, esp. in a desultory or superficial way; dabbler. 2. a lover of an art or science, esp. of a fine art. –adjective 3. of or pertaining to dilettantes.

My friend B called me that once and truth-be-told I am a bit of a dabbler. I'm really good at starting projects and throwing myself wholeheartedly into the effort... at the beginning. I'm not so good at finishing things because I lose interest, or more accurately get distracted by something new.

As much as I've come to love sewing, staying on-task with Nora's one hundred good wishes quilt (OHGWQ) has been a challenge for me. I am determined to have the quilt top finished before we go up North in September, though. Really what's keeping me going is the burning desire to start on Nora's crib quilt and I know that Rob will never let me hear the end of it if I start another project before finishing the OHGWQ!

Here's the inspiration to move forward (this is the fabric for Nora's crib quilt, I bought it last weekend):

I think it is going to be so cute and I love the fabric! I'm a little intimidated by all the applique, though. I keep trying to machine applique, and I'm not sure that I like the results. Probably I will go back to hand (needle-turn) applique.

Shopping withdrawal

It feels like I haven't bought anything for Nora in forever. I was in Newport - a beautiful town with great kids' shops - the last few days and I bought nothing. Well, I bought some candy, but nothing for Nora. I was starting to think I was sick or without hope or something.

Then, this morning, when I went to the cafeteria at work to get a coffee and chat with my friend Z, I noticed that the gift shop had a 50% off sale table out front. We have a pretty nice little gift shop at work. Anyway, the cutest little snail nightlight caught my eye. $4.75!! I love him. He lives in Nora's room now.

The start to a productive year

The new year is off to a productive start at our house. Today I not only finished cutting 848 1-1/2" and 121 2-1/2" background squares for Nora's quilt, but I also finished her butterfly bookends.

I'm not sure I ever mentioned it here, but several months ago I purchased unfinished wood butterfly bookends for Nora's room. I couldn't find anything pre-finished that I really liked, so I decided that I would paint something to match her bug art and wall letters. It took a couple of trys, but I finally have something that I can live with.

Now I know exactly where China is

I am approaching my 5-year anniversary at my job and as a reward I got to choose a "gift" from the recognition catalog. Although this is far longer than I've ever worked anyplace, it isn't all that long in the eyes of my employer. I say this to set expectations around the items in the 5-year catalog. There were watches and crystal bowls and framed prints - all of which I assumed would somehow be branded with the company logo. So I searched looking for something useful that wouldn't look too creepy with a big 'ol logo on it, eventually I found this globe that I think will be a great addition for Nora's playroom.

It came in the mail today and the best part is that the logo is on a little plaque that I get to apply myself (or not). So Nora gets a globe and it doesn't even have to say G****** on it! To my company - I think you are the best; I admire your work and love my job. However, I really don't want your logo on my globe. Sorry about that. I'll stick it to a frame on my desk instead.

A Shopping Coup!

When shopping on the web, always always visit the clearance section. If you don't think it will pay off, check this out!

I found this at Land of Nod. It was originally $249 on sale for $39 and is just the right color for Nora's room! It even fits in with the other bug stuff. I ordered it on Sunday and it was waiting on the porch when we got home today.

To make the day even better, I stopped at Creative Kidstuff on my way home from work and they were having a big sale - I got this great doggy pull toy for 75% off, a musical flower for 60% off and gorgeous building blocks for 50% off!

Mostly, though, I'm thrilled about the rug. I don't think I've ever found such a bargain before!

Finally - a place to put all those books!

Today we finished painting and installing the shelves Rob made for the niche in Nora's room. The paint is still drying and I have a bit of touch up to do on the wall, so they are sitting empty for now. But I said I'd update on Saturday and update I will!

We color-matched the paint on the trim, but chose an enamel for durability (probably needed if a wee one will be pulling her toys and books off them every day). I got satin which was the lowest sheen available in enamel and they still seem very shiny, especially in comparison to the very flat walls and trim. I hoping that I'm just sensitive to it because I've been looking at them so closely and that the difference will be less obvious once we get some of her stuff on the shelves.

Don't just sit there ... PAINT something!

For several months I've been admiring those pretty painted letters at places like Posh Tots and Pretty Personal Gifts, thinking about ordering, but never quite taking the plunge. Then the other day I went to JoAnn fabrics to get thread, and some plain wooden letters caught my eye. On a whim I decided to paint my own.

I wanted them to coordinate with the bug prints that I got a while back at Target. Remember the bug prints? That post is here. I'm no artist, but I think I got pretty close. I'm still trying to decide if I want to put bows on top of them like they do at Posh Tots. I like the look, but Rob won't let me put holes in the wall, so I'd have to figure out a way to hang them with Command adhesive and still have them look right.

While I've been making letters, Rob has been working on his own construction and painting project - shelves for Nora's room and our bathroom. We hope to have them finished and installed on Saturday, so stay tuned!

N is for Nora

After much frustration trying to make the ladybug doll bed quilt, I decided to take a break and work on something better suited to my skill level (beginner, very beginner). I got this idea from Kristen who cuts my hair. Kristen was a fine arts major and specializes in textiles - she weaves, she knits, she does it all and she's got great ideas. The last time I was in there she was telling me about a flannel blanket she made for her nephew with his initial on it. I thought that was a great idea and decided that I wanted to make one for Nora.

At the risk of sounding immodest, I think it's really cute. It's not done yet - I still need to do the backing and binding - but I'm really happy with the top. We won't talk about how long it took me to come up with just the right "N"!

More things for Nora's room

I found the prettiest paper lantern lights when I was out shopping today. I think they will look great in Nora's room. Hopefully they aren't too cheesy or too faux-Chinese. I bought them because I liked them, not because they were "Asian-inspired". It's funny, because if Nora weren't Chinese I wouldn't have thought twice about it.

Let the Sewing Commence!

I have an early birthday present - a new sewing machine! I am so excited, because this means that I can start on Nora's crib bedding and her one hundred good wishes quilt. Of course I need some practice first and my "How to use your sewing machine" classes don't start until June 22, so I'm inventing some smaller, low-impact projects to get some sewing experience.

Since my Mom and Dad are sending my old doll bed (which my Dad built for me when I was a little girl) for Nora, I decided that I would make some doll bedding that would match Nora's crib bedding. Nora's basic bedding - sheets and bedskirt - are Company Kids hot pink gingham and I found a lady bug quilt pattern (shown in second photo) that I plan to make for her in hot pink and apple green. The crib bedding will be a scaled-down and slightly modified version of that. The photo shows the ladybug bodies in progress in the five hot pink fabrics that I selected for the doll's quilt. I think it will be really cute. Of course I'll post a photo when it's finished.

P.S. If you are interested in the ladybug quilt pattern, it is "Ladybug, Ladybug..." by Teri Christopherson. I ordered it online from The Winding River Quilt Shop http://www.windingriverquiltshop.com/

Bargain Baby Art from Target!

It started off as an innocent paper-towel buying trip... but then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw THEM! The cutest framed bug prints for Nora's room. Aren't they so cute?

The Nursery

We are making slow progress on the Nursery compared to most of the folks I've met. We did finally get our act together enough to at least get a crib and some bedding. The walls in the room were already painted yellow in anticipation of it becoming the baby's room, so we didn't need to do any painting. I do sometimes think about the possibility of adding a mural, though (big dreams for someone who has done so little decorating!!)