Jungle Nursery Theme- Making Nursery Animal Art - DIY Art Inspiration

We've chosen a jungle theme for the nursery. 

Drawing animal art for the walls has kept me busy! 

     Not sure yet which of the many sketches and paintings I'll end up using, but  

here's what first inspired it all...

Starting with the bedding set, "Treetop Buddies", I based most of my drawings on the cute lil' creatures you see here. 

The wall decal was an item I also wanted to match with my DIY doodles so I used this picture (above) as a reference throughout the crafting process.

Doodle #1: I drew this elephant by using the iPad Paper app. Doesn't look exactly like the elephant from the nursery bedding, but I like the end result. I added my name to this one and the others that match. Because..., well... I'm kinda proud of these! :) 

Doodle #2: Again, this giraffe was created with the same app as the elephant. It took some time coloring in the lines and erasing was frequent. Still, happy with the result and think he matches the original one on the bedspread quite well.

I made several other animals with the app, basing all of them on the bedding and wall decal for the nursery. Lots of different creations to choose from but it's coming along nicely. 

This elephant 

is based on one that I saw for sale on Etsy, 

mixed with a stock image I found on Google. 

(Online inspiration helped a lot for my above doodle!)  

Drawn with markers and sponge painted, this little guy was fun to make! 

I liked the original designs, but wanted more color than the two images I'd seen so  

I DIY'd my own. 

 I've always loved this quote from Shakespeare. Having a little girl is going to be so much fun! I wanted something empowering for our little one so I sketched this up to get an idea for wall art. Not sure if I want to transfer it to canvas or if the arrow matches the overall theme, but I definitely want this quote somewhere in our nursery!

 To make a masterpiece, 

one must first 

make a MESS...

 I used everything from Sharpie's to colored pencils and iPad apps to 

make a variety of wall art  for our little girl. 

Not all of these will be used, but I had to visualize different styles to choose the ones I liked best. Experimenting by trial and error is my favorite way to do crafty projects!

Paint was also involved. 

I bought a set of acrylics from Michael's to make these next two characters...

EASY SKETCHES WITH SHARPIES... 

I found a stock image of an embroidered elephant and I liked the use of negative space. Grabbed a black sharpie and sketched out the outlines to make a cool looking elephant head. Probably won't use this one for the nursery since the animals are babies, but still a look I like.

A matching zebra head, inspired by another stock photo from Google. Drawing with markers has always been one of my favorite ways to make projects like this one. Painting this on canvas would be a good idea with this one, I think. Still, I prefer drawing on paper first to get a little practice. 

More sharpie fun with some coloring pencils to make a more age-appropriate zebra that goes with our theme! Since I won't end up using all of these, I hated for them to go to waste. Hope maybe a few of these inspire anybody else out there who wants to make their own wall art to match a jungle theme nursery!

Can't wait to frame, canvas, and hang up my favorites here soon! 

I've always loved a jungle themed nursery but there's something even more awesome about making the special crafty lil' extras for your child! 

Pictures of Cheekwood in August 2014

Keep Smilin, Keep Shinin - A Photo Idea in Nashville - Perfect Place for Pictures

KEEP SMILIN', KEEP SHININ'

There's a building in Nashville I've been wanting to use as a photo background for a while. You can't miss it when you jump on 40 from Briley Parkway. I have no idea who painted this building, but I give he/she/they props for the hippie-artistry that beautifies my drive from Nashville to Murfreesboro. Not too long ago, the hubster and I stopped for a quick photo session near what I call the "Love" shack building. (see above n' keep scrollin'...)

The photo above is as good as it got, as far as our photo attempts went that day. Only equipped with my iPad, the morning sun's glare made it difficult to capture the idea I'd been envisioning for a specifically planned capture. 

Ever tried to take a picture of yourself with an iPad? Next time you do it, add major sunshine and another person to really complicate your selfie mission. 

The idea I wanted was center the "Love" lettering in the photo, with Josh on one side and me on the other. In my 'imagine-if-we-dream', we would lean in for a kiss and the "Love" letters would be perfectly placed below the smooch. 

Riiiiiight....

Obviously, I was a bit too ambitious for the equipment I'd brought with me that day. 

My Nikon and a tripod (see Christmas wish list) may have produced something better than the iPad snapshots we took as we tried to accomplish the photo goal I wanted, but- 

I like the candidness of what we did manage to shoot that day...

First, I'll need to take a couple test shots. Wow, that's bright. I can't even see the screen, Josh. Hmmm... Here I am, taking this idea very seriously as I try to figure out where we needed to stand for this little photo session. Not angry, just focused... and beginning to realize that this idea would be harder to execute than expected. 

Again, we were using an iPad. We couldn't see what we were actually getting on the camera since the sun was so bright. If we could've, we would have realized we needed longer arms to get more than 1/2 faces in our pose!

Yeah, that's not gonna work either. Stepping back only increased the sun's pic-ruining power. See the building, though? One of my favorite little murals in Nashville. I wish I knew more about it! (Will research later...)Anyway, I started to lose hope that we'd get a decent couple pic at this point during our iPad photo-journey. 

Still, we tried different things to make it happen. Josh is taller, so we reasoned that he should hold the iPad up to get a better picture. Still, no dice. Longer arms don't mean better pics, apparently. Better cameras do. :)

 Too bright, too dark, to sun-beamy, too... one-person-not-in-the-picture-y...

If only I were looking at the camera. Alas, my mission seemed doomed to fail. Until...

Not exactly what I had in mind, but a decent attempt at my overall concept. The 'Love' part is in the shot and so are our faces... all of our whole faces, this time. A semi-success, if I do say so myself. 

Next time, I'm taking the Nikon. 'Til, then... why don't you and your fancy cameras get out there and give this one a try? It's easy to park near this Nashville-based photo background, which is right off Charlotte Avenue. You've seen it. If you haven't thought about taking pics in front of this building, you have now. :) You're welcome, friends. 

Keep Smilin, Keep Shinin. Keep finding photo ideas near you that are perfect for pictures. Just keep in mind that whether or not your pictures are perfect will depend on your idea...and your camera. :)

For more thoughts on this Nashville mural, click below...

A before mural from another blogger

Another photo idea for this mural

* I'D LOVE TO KNOW WHO PAINTED THIS! * :)