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... :)

2 Months Until Everly

I've moved, had a baby shower, and passed the 32-weeks-pregnant mark since I last wrote. We've decided to name our little girl Sandra Everly Hodge. We've been to parenting classes, decorated the nursery, and settled into a new place. Thanksgiving has come and gone, leaving only Christmas and New Year's between us and our baby! February 1st is my due date and is now just two months away!

Thanksgiving in Lenoir City, Tennessee...

Posing with props

Mamaw Rose worked hard to make Thanksgiving special, as she always does.

 Lucy helped... :)

Josh, getting some practice by holding my baby cousin, Ezra, at my baby shower. He's a natural.

Everly's closet is getting full already! Thanks to some awesome family members, we've gotten TONS of cute clothes for the baby! I'm starting to think that my unborn child has more to wear than I do. Some things we bought along the way, but we really lucked out having some awesome hand-me-downs.

My little cousin, Aven (the ADORABLE little girl pictured above), had outgrown shoes and clothes that her mom and grandma generously gave for little Everly. I had SO MUCH FUN sorting through all this!

We've been lucky to have so much support from family. They all pitched in to help us move and get settled in. It's awesome to have people be excited for the good things that happen in your life. Everly is getting an awesome family and I can't wait to be her mom! 

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!

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! 

My Biggest Move - Mommy In The Making

Yesterday was my last day at CVS. I've worked as a pharmacy technician since April.
Having never worked in a pharmacy prior to this experience, I learned a LOT!!

I have great respect for those who do and tremendous admiration for the amazing coworkers I got to know! I'm grateful to have met some awesome people!

These are the cupcakes my coworkers got for my birthday. Even though I tried to keep it a secret, they surprised me with some tasty treats at work. Not pictured here are the Hello Kitty cupcakes. Being pregnant gave me a great excuse to sample both kinds!

 Okay, so Jamie is AWESOME. She's the pharmacist in charge and she also happens to be an incredibly sweet person! Probably the best multi-tasker I've ever seen, she somehow found time to go shopping for my baby. This gift totally blew me away! She perfectly matched our nursery jungle animal/safari theme, too! Before my last day, this cute lil' basket was waiting for me in the pharmacy. THANK YOU doesn't seem like enough. There are some people who you meet and never forget. Jamie's one of those people.

Unwrapping all the goodies! There's something so exciting about baby gifts. This basket idea is definitely Pinterest-worthy! Super creative and thoughtful for a great baby shower present, isn't it?

Saying goodbye to coworkers who became my friends over these last months was strange. I was lucky to end up with the nicest people who took the time to teach me the ins and outs of daily life in a pharmacy.

Now, at six months pregnant, we're moving in a month.

Transitions like this tend to make me nervous. I like to know what's coming next.

I get nervous when the future seems uncertain.
I'm getting better at facing the unknown without completely freaking out. Isn't that what moms are supposed to do?

I'm still a newbie.
More accurately put, I'm a new mom-to-be-newbie.

Today is my first day without CVS.
It's time to get ready for our big move! 

I have packed one box so far...

One box will lead to more boxes just as one job has lead to another.

From social work to being a licensed pharmacy technician, I now find myself assuming a new role.

Becoming a mother will be my greatest accomplishment...

It's my biggest move yet and I couldn't be more EXCITED!!

:)