Pom Poms and such

Today is the LAST day of April. And my April baby is not here. All along, I've thought that I was having a baby in April and now it's clear that her birthday will be in May. I'm not sure why it matters, but I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around that one. But, anyway...

As promised, I am posting some pictures and a few words on the last little design details that I was able to get accomplished in the baby's room — since I acquired all kinds of extra time that I hadn't planned on.

The first is actually something I had nothing to do with. A very lovely, very talented, and very generous woman with whom I am acquainted through a Bible study group at church offered to paint what she called a "baby name mural" on one of the walls in the nursery. It was her gift to me (and all the other expectant mommas) at a group baby shower held a few weeks back. But, since I already have plans to affix a vinyl print of the baby's name on the round mirror above the changing table (you can read more about that and the rest of what we did in the nursery here), I didn't feel like we needed to also have her name painted on the adjacent wall. (Not to mention the fact that she doesn't officially have a name yet. We have it narrowed down to two and are waiting to meet her — as we did with Owen — before we decide on one.) So, instead, I searched around on Pinterest for other interesting images that might work in the sad, empty wall space above the crib. After a quick consult with Davella (she's pictured below) to address size, space, and color issues, here is the finished product.

How sweet is that, right? The phrase printed on the larger bird, "I carry your heart in my heart," is a spin off of the E.E. Cummings poem, "i carry your heart with me." Here is the artwork shown to scale above the crib.

And, of course, here is the lovely artist herself, Davella Santiago.

Based on this original artwork found on Pinterest (via Etsy), I couldn't be more pleased with it. It is so sweet and whimsical, which is the vibe I was going for in this room. And the colors are absolutely perfect! Way to go, Davella! I just love it!

See that odd, pink, poufy, ball-type object resting in the crib in the picture above? That brings me to the other project that I'm proud to say was completed before baby's arrival. Inspired by this idea (also found on Pinterest), here are the "pom poms" hung above the glider.

I would encourage you to click on this direct link to the tutorial where these came from for more detailed instructions, but basically, these were made using three paper lanterns (which can be found at any party supply store) and a ton of inexpensive fabric. I guess I also used scissors and a hot glue gun, too, if you're keeping track of my supply list.

I couldn't find the exact size lanterns that the tutorial describes — these are actually much bigger, which I kind of like for the size of this room — so I just increased my fabric yardage accordingly. My lanterns were 8, 10, and 12 inches in diameter, so I purchased 3, 3 1/2, and almost 5 yards of corresponding fabric. (At $2.99/yard in fabric and $5 for the lanterns, this little project came out a bit on the high end at just over $40.)

Basically, I made a 4-inch circle template for the two smaller lanterns (I went with 4 1/2 inch circles for the largest one) and then traced and cut out a bazillion circles in all of the fabric. Then, I folded each circle in half, secured it closed with a dot of hot glue, folded it in half again (making a triangular shape) and affixed it to the lanterns (in alternating directions) with another dot of hot glue. I didn't do exact counts each time, but I would say I probably used between 250-350 circles for each pom pom. It was time consuming, but mindless, so I was able to complete the project in a few evenings while parked in front of the TV. Again, for the full details on how to do this simple project, click on over here.

Unfortunately, my camera doesn't take the gorgeous pictures that I dream of. And I've kind of been waiting for another sunny day to take advantage of better lighting. But this is April after all, and so the somewhat dark images you see here are the best I could do, I'm afraid. I assure you, though, that in person this room is really light and airy and exactly as I had hoped. I just can't wait to get that little peanut in there soon!