35 Weeks Pregnant - Pregnancy Projects in Progress!

At 35 weeks pregnant, you start to panic a little. There's so much you want to do! After making numerous to-do lists, we started knocking some projects out...

MATERNITY SHOTS & PREGNANCY PICS

I haven't done a great job taking maternity/belly pictures every week during my pregnancy. I've worked to do this more in my third trimester since changes seem so much more noticeable from week to week. Planning to use a few shots like these for a pregnancy photo album or baby book page.

* Captioning your maternity snapshots is an awesome way to keep track of where you are on your pregnancy journey. Here's my 35-weeks pic to the left. If you're like me, you're feeling a bit more forgetful anyway. By adding a week or month number to your photos, you keep from second guessing later.

* I LOVE Aviary for simple photo additions and edits like the one you see here. It's super easy to add texts, captions, filters, and stickers for keepsake memories and I've used it TONS throughout my pregnancy.

So, I was really good about getting some selfies this past week. Too bad that most of my first and second trimesters weren't so meticulously documented! I didn't feel much like taking pictures of my growing belly in the beginning...or now, for that matter. Someday, though, I'm sure I'll be glad to have these. Pregnancy doesn't last forever, after all...even though it sure seems like it in the third trimester!!







* Aviary strikes again for this simple snapshot - - - - - >

 PICTURES & PAINTING PROJECTS

Finishing up final touches for the nursery has been a priority this week. I'm loving how everything is coming together! Here we are, spraypainting some wooden frames that will complete the wall art for Baby Everly's room. Mom found the frames and Dad had a great idea for a 'painting box'. We used a closet hanger to hang the frame inside a cardboard box. This helped out a lot since it was rainy today and it's easy to cover all the corners and crannies with paint. 

Since I'm forbidden from spraypainting because of the fumes, Josh took the lead on this project...

We plan to use these hanging frames for the ultrasound pictures. Since those pictures aren't exactly 4x6, it took a while to find something compatible. I had searched at Michael's and Hobby Lobby before Mom found these at WalMart. Inexpensive (about $5.00 each) and easy to customize!






While we're waiting on the paint to dry, here's more of what's going on in Everly's nursery...
  

NURSERY KNICK-KNACKS & JUNGLE ANIMAL FUN

Leopard print curtains with giraffe print tie-backs? Youbetcha. :) Foregoing the all-pink girl themes, our jungle-ish nursery is looking awesome! The drawings I did have been matted and framed to add unique and handmade accents on my daughter's walls. Found some simple frames I liked at Hobby Lobby and caught them on sale for the holidays. (Score!) Anyway, I think the vibrant orange and patterned shades look so cute together!

Found this little Shakespeare sign at Burnett's Tea Room in Springfield, Tennessee. The size was perfect for what we wanted. I debated on hanging this on the wall, but decided to place it on the baby's dresser instead. Added a tiny, cute little monkey and viola! Several little beanie babies and stuffed animals have worked well as accents in Everly's room. 

A panda puppet, animal board book, and other small jungle creatures decorate Everly's shelf.

 The centerpiece on the shelf is another drawing I did for our little girl. I love how this whole ensemble looks together and am proud to have made a few little custom art pieces to display in her room.






Finally, all of my drawings are framed and ready for her arrival! 

Of course, there is still more to do in the final five weeks!



We're almost THERE!! Stay tuned... :)

Jungle Nursery - Deck The Walls!

Decorating a nursery for a little girl can be tricky. Trying to find a balance between the pink, girly decor and boyish, masculine stuff took some time. We went with a jungle theme, but I still wanted something a little different. In our baby's jungle, the animals live happily together in a quirky little tree. We started with the bedding and went from there. New curtains have been ordered that I expect to really spruce up the window. It's a jungle nursery in progress!

Our little girl is spoiled already. We've received some gifts that we're working to sort through to add some as decor pieces in the jungle. My sister got her niece-to-be the Simba and Lion King book and my mom gave the cute jungle book you see here. That tiny monkey was a toy that my sister and I had as kids. Not all of this will stay atop the dresser, but I've been mixing up odds and ends to see what looks I like.

I came up with several drawings that we plan to use as wall decor. Still, those walls needed something extra to really bring out the bright colors and cheery theme of the room. Luckily, I didn't have to draw again to create a focal point. A wall decal that compliments the bedspread would be perfect! Unwrapping the artwork was a little tricky, but definitely worth the extra effort! We wanted to see what the decal would look like before we put it on the wall, so we spent some time putting it all together before actually sticking it above the crib.

The picture on the wall decal box looks a little different than our cheerful animal tree. We wanted it that way, though. Turns out that putting it all together on the ground first was a good idea, after all. Then, we could measure certain parts of the piece to create a balanced look.

 Just getting started, but going well so far. I was nervous at first about sticking the decal to the wall, but it's easy to move if you make a mistake. It helps to have people who are tall. To me, just about everyone is tall. I'd need a step ladder to do the top of the tree. Luckily, I have a husband for that sort of thing!

THE MORE HELP YOU CAN GET, THE BETTER! It can be tough to spot spacing mistakes from an up close perspective. Having others stand back and guide you is a definite plus for this project!

 Mom and Dad helped us out with this project. I couldn't be happier with how it all turned out!






And now, the end result of this wall project...

ADORABLE!!! I mean, how freakin' cute is this? I LOVE IT!! Super easy to do and you can customize according to the space you're working with.

 We positioned the tree trunk so it appears to be growing out of the baby's crib. As a centerpiece, this made a great focal point on the wall.

Since I used the animals you see here to inspire some drawings, I can't wait to see what it will all look like together! Applying the wall decal gave us a great start with our theme and I can't wait to finish up soon! :)

 FOR MY NEXT PROJECT....

I've been playing around with a few framing ideas for the sketches I did, but we haven't hung them up just yet. I've gotten good feedback on the little elephant I drew! He's based off the bedding and wall decal character. Now, just have to figure out how I wanna frame him!