Monday, July 25, 2011

Super Thrifty Girlie Butterfly Nursery

My friend asked for only three things in her nursery.

Pink. Brown. Lots of Butterflies.

I was happy to step in and share my love of thrifting and decorating on the cheap to help her pull this nursery together for her first baby girl.


nursery view

A friend gave her the crib and the changing table/dresser, and everything else we scrounged, were given, bought on clearance, from thrift shops or garage sales, or made on a budget of $150. Seriously, $150!


espresso crib and baby quilt

She doesn't use lots of crib bedding, so just a cute pink sheet and this strippy, scrappy, frayed edge crib quilt I made from scraps and 1/4 yd pieces was all it took to get the crib ready.


butterfly crib quilt

The crib quilt features a green satin ruffle and an appliqued butterfly whirling around with a nuclear green trail showing where she's been :) {please excuse the horrible photo quality- my camera battery died so I resorted to my phone.} The green is actually a cute lime.

window treatment

The inspiration for the window treatment came from this photo that I repinned from the Nester's board/stream/pinnage (still learning pinterest, but oh my me it's awesome).

Source: None via Morgan on Pinterest



I used a thrifted sheet to line the window treatment and then devoted an evening to ripping a trillion strips of fabric (from my nearly boundless fabric stash) and mummifying myself in the random, persistent strings left behind from the fracas. This was nearly "no sew", but definitely time consuming. I really, really like the result, though.

strippy lusciousness

Lots of strippy, frayed, knotted goodness. The rod was $2 at the thrift shop and the brackets were .50 each at a garage sale.


window treatment




We also tissue paper puff/pom/pompom/flower 'ed ourselves silly for lots of drama.


pom poms


Doesn't the green one look like Tinkerbell's skirt?


mobil and tissue poms


Anywho- if you're looking for a cheap way to add some visual impact, these pom poms really do the trick. I love them!


mobil and tissue poms


We added in some pink paper lanterns from the Martha Stewart line at Joann Fabrics(clearanced to $8), some butterfly cutouts (cut by hand from scrapbook paper with the use of a stencil), and a mobil crafted from a hula hoop and fabric strips made by another friend.

aqua shabby dresser

We sanded the original natural colored finish of this pine dresser down and had originally planned to stain it to match the crib but:

1. couldn't afford to buy stain to match and didn't have any on hand.
2. realized that the grain/quality of the wood wasn't able to be preserved due to our strict time limits.

So, we gave it two creamy coats of paint, then dry brushed it with aqua and spray painted the knobs and bun feet with ORB spray paint. The top of the /changing table folds open to create a flat surface to change diapers, so we left that cream (satin finished) for easy clean up and contrast.


reading/play nook


The very top of the dresser detaches while you're using it as a changing table and then later you can add it back on for a dresser/bookshelf set up. We used the shelving over here to create a reading nook/play area. I layered mats (super clearance price at Joann, I think like $4 each) for color and softness.


pearly metallic glazed wall treatment


We glazed the focal wall with pearly metallic and went nuts adding butterfly cutouts adhered with teacher's tack.


glazed wall


Now, all she needs is the perfect, vintage rocking chair that we are scouring Craigslist for...and her whimsical girlie nursery will be ready for the new arrival.





I'm hoping to snag this one from CL for $25.


Congrats, sweet friend! Thank you for letting me "live" at your house for three days while we worked on this project together. I'm looking forward to seeing that sweet baby girl!





Linking up to:




HOG



The Handmade Home

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Sewing for Anika


Hi Friends! Several of you have mentioned getting together to sew, or taking sewing lessons in a group. What if we got together to do that, and at the same time...each gave $20 towards bringing an angel home to her family?

Precious Anika
is 2 1/2, and waiting for her family to bring her home. Why hasn't someone already scooped this angel baby up? Probably due to the expense of adoption and/or the fear of HIV. Go here to get the facts on living with HIV.

God is moving through my friend Lovelyn and her dedication to the least of these, He's working a miracle- and I believe that He can and will provide $30,000 in the month of May through 1500 people like us giving just $20 each!

Will you come to my sewing-lesson-party-fundraiser? We'll get together on May 12 at 6:30 pm. Reply either on Facebook or here in the comments if you will! Oh, and bring a friend!

Also- consider hosting a fundraiser party of your own if you can't come to this one. Let's be a part of something amazing!