I Guess I'll Have to Do It Myself

Trying to shop for the items that you see your clearly in your mind, yet seem to not exist in real life, is really exhausting. So often I have a vision in my head about how something should look, and I'll have very specific ideas about items that I think must surely be available somewhere, only to find that what is in my mind is nowhere to be found-not in store, or on the expansive www. This of course leaves me feeling really frustrated, and also wishing that I had enough money to just go ahead and get what I want made custom. Maybe I'm watching too much Design Inc. It costs a lot of money to get things the way you want them.

My main frustration has been with the nursery, and trying to find the pieces I envision to make it perfect. Try to find the right colour of dust ruffle, in a contemporary yet classic pattern. Or the right picture to hang on the wall that is fun and quirky, but not overly baby. It's draining, and takes a lot of work, which is why I have decided to just throw in the towel and attempt to customize Baby J's nursery as much as I can with DIY projects. (yay!)

So yesterday, after a long shopping trip, I had a few ideas, and today I tackled some of my many planned DIY projects.

My first project originated from and idea I had in my head: spelling out Jacob in different coloured block letters behind the crib, suspended from satin ribbons. I have seen this done many times before, but wouldn't you know, the craft store didn't have all of the letters I needed. So instead I compromised (glad I did, because who wants to be like everyone else anyway?) and I found a plain white J, painted it to match our colours, and added a cute little dino detail to make it my own. Instead of hanging it on the wall, I mounted it on the nursery door. So cute, no?

For my second project, I knew I wanted to incorporate Dr. Seuss in the room somehow. While I still have an idea using a quotation from Oh The Places You'll Go, I decided to pick up a used copy of Dr. Seuss's ABC, slice out the J pages and frame them. (Gasp! I've destroyed a book. It wasn't as hard to do as I thought it would be-probably because it was only 5 bucks, but it still stabbed at my heart a little.) Anyway, I think the result is really cute, and again, it's personalized for our little man.

For my last project of the day, I wanted to make something to hand over the crib that was unique and that incorporated all of the colours I want to use in the bedding (a whole other nightmare). What I settled on was a painted canvas in blues and greens. It only took me about 15 minutes to do and when you look at it, it almost looks like a flower is coming out of the bottom corner ( at least I hope it does since that's what I was going for). I think it looks really sharp and I know that once the crib is in place and it is hung, it will go great with the finished room and give it a contemporary touch.

Future DIY projects on deck: Painting some raw wood shelves in blue, then green and sanding them for an old world feel; sewing a crib skirt and valence; painting 2 more canvases using more Dr. Seuss. I'm sure to have enough to keep me busy once I start my maternity leave on the 11th! Only 39 days to go!!