Artsy: Liam's Nursery

I spent my spring break this year in Atlanta helping my sister decorate the nursery for her little boy, born May 30th, Liam Brooks Wood.

Jen fell in love with this bedding from Dwell Studio, so this is where we got the theme and color scheme for the nursery.  Jen and husband Noah picked the paint colors and installed a chair rail before I got there. Here are some of the projects that we did:

Project 1: Mobile Branch

We took a branch from Jen's wedding centerpieces seen here with origami birds on them.

A bunch of felt (made from recycled water bottles, very eco-friendly) and some cute owls made by my mom and niece, Avery, and this is what we came up with.  Sorry I don't have a close-up, these are the only pictures I have right now.

Project #2: Baby's Name
We purchased white letters at Hobby Lobby and toyed around with designs to decorate them.  We actually used the left-over felt to make little polka-dots of different sizes and added them after using painters tape to add green stripes.  Here is a close-up:

Project #3: Tree Wall Decal
After seeing a bunch of really cute wall decals on Etsy for like $150, I decided not to buy one.  I wasn't even going to put anything on the closet doors but I had a last minute flash of creative genius where I bought 2 rolls of contact paper (one wood grain and the other white) for $6 a piece.  I painted green leaves on the white contact paper and cut them out.  I used two shades of green so it gave the leaves a cool Eric Carle (children's author, illustrator) effect.  Basically, I had an Edward Scissorhands moment and started cutting in a flurry, cutting out branches and sticking them to the closet doors.  The wood grain contact paper is actually really neat looking as the branches and trunk of the tree.  The closet doors slide on a track so I cut the branches to keep the doors mobile.

Project #4: Changing table/ dresser
This one was all Jen and Noah.  They took an old dresser that used to be my grandma's, sanded it and painted it white. (I don't have a before picture), added an Ikea shelf and some boxes for the diapers and things, and a changing pad, and voila: changing area! (Cute owls, courtesy of Jen's friend Katie, were made for the shower.)

Project #5: Reading and Snuggling Area
Jen covered an old recliner from Noah's bachelor pad days with a brown slip cover from Bed-Bath and Beyond.  The book shelves are Ikea spice racks that were $4 each (there are 4 in all).  The book titles facing forward are actually more enticing to children and make for some cute all art.  He will need more book pace when he gets older but this is okay for now.  Sorry the picture is blurry.  I will try to get a close-up of the bookshelf next time I am down there.

Project #6: Artwork
The students from my 3rd grade class made owls and I painted a canvas blue, added a branch, and I stuck the owls onto the painting with modge podge.  The quote is from a book called "The Little White Owl" which is the inspiration for the owl art.  I will try to get a better picture of this too.

There are a few other projects too, like the little owls I painted to match the bedding, but I may add those at a later date.

So there is the nursery!  So cute!  I am sure Liam and Mommy will love it.  Here is the little bundle of joy!  He hasn't seen his room yet, as he is only a day old and still isn't home from the hospital yet.