CasaCullen

Oh, Baby: Nursery Decor DIY Under $50 - Using an Old Chandelier as a Nursery Mobile (Part 1)

Remember way back when, when we scored some freebie and garage sale finds HERE? Well we're putting this piece to good use as a mobile-like option above our little man's changing table. If you look closely, it's actually missing one of the five pieces of glass, which is perfect, because we would've removed the glass anyway. It's from IKEA and we were contemplating putting it in our master toilet (HERE) but decided against it once we wanted to make it into a mobile.

We were looking at a host of utilitarian looking mobiles and couldn't find exactly what we were envisioning. We knew we wanted something interactive, just like our metallic display board HERE. Walt like THIS one and I loved THIS one, but neither was screaming buy me so we sat tight. We were out in the garage and I can't remember who (most likely Walt) had the genius idea of using this old chandelier as a type of mobile. Then my Mom and Walt even agreed that we could turn it upside down and wow, that opened a whole new can of worms.

Once Walt removed the wiring and glass covers, we decided we wanted to hang it, as is, as we have other plans up our sleeves in the near future. Read on to see how we hung it on the ceiling (super, duper securely as we don't want any baby smooshing mobile changing table drama) and some of our ideas for mobilizing it too! Walt removed removed the wiring and chain-link cord and we got down to business hanging that sucker.

Trying to line it up in the center and decide how far out we wanted it from the curtains. It was actually harder than it looked. Why? We had to make sure it looked centered above the changing table (yep, we're using an old desk we scored HERE for free, but more on that in another post) while also being functional with the opening/closing of our curtain panels. It was the perfect size and would work beautifully, SCORE!

Walt already had a screw anchor with eyelet in his bag of tricks and I purchased some of these hanging hooks from my recent trip to IKEA when my parents came to visit. Combining the two was the perfect way to hang our makeshift chandelier mobile above the mister man's changing table. Walt used an electric stud finder (haha, the name of that device always makes me laugh) to locate the stud and it just happened to be in the center of the window. The DIY gods were on our side with this one. He pre-drilled a hole and then screwed that puppy right in...easy peasy!

Using his manly brute force to screw it in.

Done!

Using a set of pliers to bend the s-hook from IKEA so that it would close a little bit tighter. He was thinking ahead because he didn't want any chandelier mobile shenanigans falling from the ceiling, on his DIY watch.

Eyelet with s-hook attached...and we're ready for the chandelier mobile.

Seriously, he does look all cute and proud, doesn't he? Ahhhhh, I way love it. It looks great up there!

Umm, yeah, worst...design...picture...ever. What can I say, we're keepin' it real! This was pre-hemming of the curtain panels (more on that HERE) and the addition of the roller shade too. You can also see that the changing table has become ground zero for all of Walt's tools while we work on the nursery. But at least you can get the idea of how it looks, hanging in front of the window and above the table. We made sure we wouldn't bonk our head at all while bending down to change lil' man's bottom...it's the perfect height and we're smitten.

Whoops, I had to remind Walt to remove the stickers and light bulbs...we won't be needing those. So as for our ideas on how to mobilize this old chandelier for mega baby viewing pleasure...here's some of the things we're throwing around. Please feel free to share any genius thoughts in the comment section too!

- spray paint it a brighter, vibrant color

- place mini world globes on each pedestal

- incorporate planes/rocket ships

- hang felt animals from each arm

- create some sort of ribbony goodness like Lindsay did HERE

 - layer hanging shells or capiz for a more natural look

- wrap it in twigs/sticks to create something that looks like a nest with birds

- place mason jars on top filled with a collection of something

- spray paint hot wheels cars and attach them

- do something with vintage neckties

So yeah, we obviously have some more brainstorming and research to do in order to figure out a game plan for this freebie, fun and whimsical chandelier mobile. We just want something to grab little bubs attention while we change him so whether or not that's a hanging addition or a colorful addition, we still haven't decided. Suggest away, we'd love to hear from you.

Also, another thing we've tackled recently is Scotch Guarding the glider. I know, I know...it's like spraying chemical laden nastiness all over our glider but I just wanted it to stay pseudo-clean. Believe me, that sucker has been off-gassing in our detached garage for weeks because I surely don't want it up in the nursery yet. Hopefully, it protects the upholstery and we'll have this glider for years.

I literally ran my preggo butt out there, snapped the quickest picture and ran back in. That junk is so toxic that I didn't even want to be around it for a hot second. Maybe I should have researched greener options for us. Oh well, you can't win em all...right?

Make sure to check out all of our posts that are all about baby...HERE!

Oh, Baby: Nursery Decor DIY Under $50 - How to Inexpensively Organize a Child's Closet (Part 1)

Nursery Week is in full swing over here at CasaCullen and on deck today is our budget closet organization ideas. Walt said, I quote, "I love his closet, that is one cool little closet!" We are both suckers for being super organized so we knew we wanted this space to reflect our addiction, ha! I know it may not look like much right now but having a separate space for each of his items and knowing where the next size clothing is will alleviate any stress later.

Also, I have so many awesome friends who have told me their sob stories about pulling out a box of 0-3 month clothes when their wee one was already 6 months. Yep, they never even got to wear an entire box of new clothes. I knew I didn't want that to happen so I wanted to know where each size change was located so we didn't miss a beat of dressing up our lil' dude.

Read on to hear how to managed to organize his closet well under $50 and notice this is only Part 1. We have some seriously great DIY ideas up our sleeve for a later post, so stay tuned and keep your eyes peeled for that.

PS - Gotta love that adorable little growth chart on the right...a nursery/shower gift from our friends, The Riley Family.

Just to remind you, here is what his closet looked like pre-makeover. White, primed, ceiling scraped...but really BORING!

Remember when we got a lil' goofy right HERE and kept this full length mirror from previous owners? Yeah, that's another pre-madeover closet peek.

Remember back in the master bedroom makeover days HERE when we scored 9 gallons of no-VOC paint for $10 a pop? Well, we've had cans of paint laying around int he garage since then so we figured it was high time we put it to good use. Our only problem? The color just wasn't what we were looking for. Plus, Home Depot no longer sells/carries Freshaire brand eco-paint...double ugh! What to do?

When we popped into Home Depot to check out sheet metal for our magnetic frame project HERE, we of course trekked it over to the paint department to check out their current oops paint selection. Hmm, no color was grabbing our eye. We decided on a khaki shade for his closet and knew we wanted it to be subtle and not too dark, since there is no closet light (thanks for that tip, Mom!)

Well, I happened to ask the Home Depot paint lady if they had tint kits and I explained our dilema with our Freshaire paint. She was great and told me to just bring in a gallon and they'd try to tint it darker to suit our needs. We have two extra gallons of Solemn Stone (the ice blue color we used in our master HERE) so I trucked it back in there with one of them and opted for Behr's Riviera Beach above. Loved the shade and hoped/prayed it wasn't too dark for his little closet.

Thank you to Home Depot, once again, for hooking us up and being a great store to shop in. We love us some HD! Moving on...

The Freshaire paint...freshly tinted!

Walt hollered at me downstairs to come check out the color. He tackled it after a long week of work on a Friday night (yep, he earned some serious 'good hubby' points for that one) and we decided we were totally smitten. He has a steady hand so he decided to just cut it in, by hand, without any painter's tape. Yeah, I've deemed him, MAD PAINTING SKILLS MAH GILLZ!

Drying paint...I'm in total lurve. How is it that paint can make you so happy? No really, paint is the best mood lifter, amazed me.

Finished product and I'm totally digging how well it works with our slate blue walls.

And while we were shopping with my parents at the San Marcos outlets (more on their recent visit HERE) we totally scored this Restoration Hardware crib skirt for $12.99! Ummm, yeah...we are such outlet mall deal finders! We love the navy blue stitching and it really does match/compliment his glider (HERE) and now our new closet color. We don't like matchy-matchy but we think khaki accents are subtle and neutral so it does work to match, in this case.

One thing we actually had to search high and low for was this hanging second bar for his closet. I searched online for about an hour and then we looked at Bed, Bath and Beyond and Walmart. We should've know our design/organizing guru, Michael Graves, would have it. Two points, Tar-jay!

What a waste of space to only have one bar in a lil' ones closet because their clothes are oh so teenie tiny. We knew we wanted an option like this and although Walt was considered DIY'ing it, I told him I didn't want a second bar in there indefinitely so a removable option was what I was after. I think we scored this for $8 and it was the perfect addition!

Putting it together! So the black baskets are a Dollar Tree find. Love me some Dollar Tree for little baskets (more on that HERE in our master linen closet rehaul for under $6) and aluminum foil. If you're a dollar store lover, you'll want to check out THIS article too. Savvy consumers unite! Ok, back to the post and off my soapbox. The green sweater organizer was a Bed, Bath and Beyond find for $8 and the shoe rack we already owned.

We scored the bins from Bed, Bath and Beyond too and they're almost the same bright green shade as our bins from Crate & Barrel on the low bookshelf HERE. These were on super sale for BBB's back to school week for $7 a piece so we snatched up three of them. We also purchased some baby hangers from Walmart for $1.50 for a pack of 10 but were pleasantly surprised to see Target had the same item for $1.12 too. We're a bigger fan of Target so we'll be purchasing future additional baby hangers from there.

Mom, you rock! When Walt and I were at one of our baby classes (ie: childbirth, breast feeding and infant care) while my parents were visiting...my awesome Mom organized all of lil' man's clothing for us. You already saw how he was showered poured on HERE so we had some serious items to root through. I couldn't believe when we got home and she had it all organized for us. Yep, I come by my obsession naturally, ha!

So now I have all his little clothes organized. In the sweater organizer each black basket holds his newborn clothing. The baskets are broken up like this: footie pjs, short sleeved onesies, long sleeve onesies, pants, etc. It'll be super easy to just grab a basket and pull out whatever item I need.

We opted for a dresser-free nursery to cut on costs and use an old desk as his changing table (more on that later) so we knew we needed an organized closet to keep our sanity. We plan to keep all his diapering and swaddling stuff in the changing/desk drawers.

The big green bins above actually house his coming wardrobe after his growth spurts. And his two pairs of shoes, binkies/holders and numerous sweet little hats are in the shoe holder on the right.

And I couldn't end this post without sharing the back of his nursery door and these sweet little pieces. His first hooded back towel (from my parents) and a great froggie robe (gifted to us from an amazing friend) and those awesome $1 letters that we told you about HERE.

TOTAL COST of this closet organization system = $48!

So tell me, do you have any tricks of the trade as far as kiddo closet organization goes? Maybe all of you Mommy readers out there are laughing at my setup, knowing it won't work for long. Or maybe you're thinking it's rather ingenious? I guess I won't know until we're in the thick of it all when he gets here. But one thing is for sure, if we do end up opting for another system, I'll be sure to share our failures with you too so you can learn from our mistakes. For now, we're smitten with his adorable organized set up but remember, stay tuned, we have a couple more great tricks up our sleeve that are sure to impress!

Oh, Baby: Nursery Decor DIY - How to Make a Magnetic Display Frame Out of Sheet Metal

And we're back with another DIY nursery project for our little man's room. We knew that we wanted an interactive space where we could hang the newest family photos, display cards, show off his baby art (which you know we're suckers for right HERE) or write sweet love notes to our little man too. Obviously right now we're smitten at the though of displaying all his little baby friends. Look at all his cutie mc cutie pants lil' buds, love it!

At first we were throwing around the idea of a clothesline or even THIS great mobile. None of these options were exactly the look I was hoping for. Well, one day I actually had the genius idea of framing something magnetic. Walt and I discussed our options and headed to our local Lowe's and Home Depot to compare prices. Read on to find out how we scored and deal and the DIY on this super easy project too.

So here's a shot from our dining room (you can see that intense makeover HERE) and you can see that massive framed painting above our extremely NOT baby-proofed serving-ware shelf. I scored this massive piece of art from Goodwill shortly after we moved here. I saw it with a $24.99 price tag on it and I knew that the frame alone was worth so much more than that.

So I snatched it up and Walt was rolling his eyes (because he thought the painting was ugly, which I kind of liked) because it wasn't something we 'needed' at the time and our budget was tight. Well, we were standing in line and three different women were oohing and aahing at my score. Yeah, he saw the light after that. 

So using that frame, we removed the painting and got to work. The frame was that perfect flair of Victorian fancy for his room that we needed. It's pretty modern in there so this was that statement piece that balanced everything out. We've saved the painting, don't you worry about that, and I promised Walt I would hang it in his office for him, ha! Moving on...

The necessities: a piece of sheet metal from your local hardware store (more on that below) and some cardboard backing for the frame. Also, a staple gun to secure it all in the frame. 

Here's the frame in all it's gorgeous glory. It really is such a cool, cool frame. 

So, here's where we get frugal/smart. We first checked out the sheet metal at Lowe's when my parents were visiting HERE. For the size we needed (24"x36") they were $26.99 a sheet. Yowza! That was totally way more than I expected. So we held off for the time being. But we did do a test with some magnets and I loved how magnetic it was...so I was sold on this option for this project.

Fast forward a few weeks and we're running a massive amount of nursery errands. We popped into Home Depot and checked out their price...$19.99 for the same exact thing. Umm, awesome! So we pulled all four sheets out and started scanning the best 'looking' sheet. We noticed all four had this bent edge. I called over the Home Depot guy and proceeded to chat.

Mo: "Scuse me sir, the ends of all four of these are bent...do you know if there are anymore in the back?"

HD Guy: "No ma'am, there aren't. Everything we have is on the floor."

Mo: Sad face. "Is there any discount for merchandise that's damaged?"

HD Guy: "Absolutely. How does...$15 sound to you?"

Mo: Happy face! "Great! We'll take it!"

So he wrote out our little price change ticket and I literally skipped to the front of the store. If we would've been over eager a week before that and purchased the sheet from Lowe's we would've been a) totally ripped off and b) not a smart consumer. It really does payoff to price check competitors so we were proud of our patience, which isn't what I'm really known for, ha!

Walt is using his pliers to straighten out the up-turned edge.

Adding the cardboard backing so there would be a flat surface against the wall. We didn't want to have this pucker effect every time we tried to tug a magnet off the tin. I wanted to make sure it was strong, durable and flush with the wall. The cardboard backing did the trick. 

First try, Walt was opting for hammering little nails in place to hold it all in. He realized quickly that this was a no-go. I think he just wanted to make sure to not split the frame with the staple gun. After this option was obviously not working...I told him to just go for it with the staple gun. Success!

Ummm, speedy mc speedster. I'm lucky I even got a picture of this (almost had to do a re-created one) because by the time I came back in the tv room after one minute, he had the entire thing stapled and ready to hang. 

Upon closer inspection, he decided to secure the staples better by hammering them as flat as he could to create a really tight backing. 

Voila...awesomeness! We even threw a few of our fridge magnets on there for good measure! We were pumped, to say the least. Such an easy project that turned great!

Closer view.

Here it is hanging in all it's magnetic glory! Right above his sweet lil' DIY bookshelf (info on how to make that right HERE) and I think I'm so in love. Is it possible to crush on a DIY project? Oh, I'm so there! We have now deemed this his 'interactive' nursery wall.

 So I was always imagining some sort of hook system and when we spied these at Michael's, we knew they were perfect. One caveat? They were $3.99 a pack, ugh! Way more than I wanted to spend. Well I get Michael's emailed coupons and they're Columbus Day sale this past weekend had us hopping in the car to grab these all at 40-50% off. I think they would've been originally around $22 and we got them for around $14 for all five packages of magnets. It pays to use coupons!

So here's the close up of said magnets, hard at work. Look at all those sweet angel baby faces...blessed lil' future buds of our sweet boy. 

Here's the finished product which I drool over. I mean, how freakin' adorable will it be to hang his little baby art work or even do a rotating display of our recent pics from fun family adventures. Truthfully, I'm excited that it will actually MAKE ME print my pics and not just 'collect' them in Facebook albums to share. 

As for that big red pouf...you know there's a deal story behind it. So I've been lusting after said pouf from World Market HERE for months. I'd checked it out about 3 times at our local store but never bit the bullet and just purchased it. Well there was quite the surprise in my inbox on my birthday with a $10 coupon from World Market, cha-ching!

Wait, it gets better. A week later I got another email about their 25% off everything friends/family Columbus Day sale so we added it onto our errands list. I knew I wanted to run it by Walt (he really has a great eye and has opinions about our decor) because I knew he'd either love/hate the idea. Ummm, he LOVED IT! So we picked up this $69.99 pouf for $45 by using both coupons. Suh-weet!

So that's it for today, readers. We still have more DIY projects to share. How are you liking Nursery Week so far? Are you inspired by any of our projects? Have you tackled any amazing DIY stuff lately?

Oh, Baby: Nursery Decor DIY - How to Make Floating Bookshelves from Leftover Trim

Look at these, look at these! Oh my gosh, we're so in love! I think we actually just stood there, in silence and stared at the trio for about ten minutes. We recently mentioned our love of DIY'ing our nursery bookshelves HERE but we weren't sure which design route we wanted to take. We spent hours looking over pics online and just couldn't decide which shelf design would be the most functional and inexpensive to create. Once Walt realized we actually had all the supplies to create this style of floating shelf, we were sold.

Also, I just have to brag a bit. I'm so proud of Walt and all his hard work on the nursery, he's been such a champ. Like I mentioned this weekend to our Facebook fans HERE, he's been in there and doing different projects (non-stop) and didn't even say a peep about missing all the football games this weekend. I mean, he didn't miss all the games...he'd totally come downstairs from time to time and check the scores, grab a snack and take a break. But I just have to put it out there, I'm very thankful for a husband that is so willing to help and do and DIY and create. It makes this Momma's heart very, very happy.

Ok, onto the tutorial for these floating bookshelves made from leftover trim and particle board. So the grand total for this project = $0! Yeah, I like that price tag, a lot! Read on for the tutorial and check out some more pics of the shelves too.

First up, deciding how wide we want the shelves on the table saw. We kept going back and forth between three or four inches. Finally we settled on four inches so Walt's setting it at four and we'll get cutting. 

First cut of particle board - DONE! Obviously, this here preggers had to hold the other side as it went through the table saw's blade so there are no action shots of the cutting process. Ya know how it is at CC, safety first!

Three shelves are cut!

And while we were in our DIY interim and Walt was getting out the circular saw for the trim cutting, our neighbor popped by and asked (get this) if we wanted a jogging stroller and bike trailer. Ummm, yeah! So I walked down the block with her and she had everything ready for us. They're kids are older and she said it was just sitting in the garage and they were going to put it all out on the curb as a freebie. She had seen me (and the bump) walking and knew she wanted to offer the goods to us. HOW SWEET? Seriously, we're still smitten and Walt said he has no qualms pushing the bubs in a bright purple stroller. Love this...such a blessing! Ok, back to work.

Using the circular saw to cut the trim for the shelf edges. We have trim coming out the wazoo. Why? Walt found a big bundle of it up in our garage attic from the previous owners/builder. SCORE! We've put some of it to good use already (home office art wall, HERE) and knew this would be the perfect surrounding for our floating bookshelf project. Plus, we love the price tag - FREE!

Trim has been cut, all six edges and fronts of our shelves.

Now it's time to use the ol' nail gun and put those shelves together!

Walt (with my help, of course) was able to nail all three boards on the three sides of our floating shelves. 

Here's the first completed shelf.

Don't fret, nothing a little caulk can't fix! But it was amazing how once we got to our third shelf completed, it looked so much more professional and needed almost no caulk compared to this first shelf, above. 

Umm, kinda shocking and kind of amazing, all at once. We have a countdown going at CC on our kitchen chalkboard. It surely puts things in perspective and reminds us that it's only a matter of time before he'll be here. (More info on this chalkboard project - HERE!)

Taking some time to sand down the shelves and punching in the nails to create a flat finished surface. 

Walt also painted the inside of the shelves a clean coat of white. If you take a look above you'll see the inside of the trim was still the wood showing. 

Time to add those shelves to the wall. Using L brackets, Walt found the studs in the wall and secured the brackets in place.

Close up of L bracket.

And a close up of the caulked and distressed shelf corner. We wanted them to be a bit 'shabby chic' and not so perfect looking. A lil' boy is sure to destroy any white element in a room so we opted for a weathered look instead of crisp white. 

After hanging the first shelf (attaching the bottom of the shelf to the L bracket) we then had to decide how far up the wall we wanted the second and third shelves to go. We opted for 14" between each shelf. Why? It was only two inches taller than our tallest (currently owned) baby book, the yellow Mother Goose goodness in the pic. Yeah, we keep it high tech around these parts, ha!

Shelves on the wall! Love, love! Walt was all skittish about seeing the L brackets but I could care less. The books will totally cover them up and I was more concerned about durability and sturdiness. You know, once lil' bubs starts pulling up we might need to revisit this system and make it more secure. We obviously opted for such low shelving so this could be HIS AREA! I really hate when I see these massively huge bookshelves in a nursery with the books way up high. Really? How much not fun is that!

Close up of the hanging shelves, obviously pre-vacuuming since you can clearly see all the remnants on the second shelf from Walt's handy hanging work.

Here they are, in all their glory! Oh what's that? Are you saying you spy two dog booties?

That's right...we couldn't resist these two at IKEA and knew we had to add them as a hanging element on the back of his closet doors. We plan to grab two more for hanging stuff at his level on the door too!

Walt gave me the honor of adding the first book to the shelf, awwww!

And then, like an Irish hurricane, he swooped in and finished it off. Very particular and placing each book with skill...I like that my man even has an eye for design and organization when showcasing our baby book collection.

And I love, love the side view too!

Oh, Baby: Nursery Decor - DIY Felt Animal Tutorials

We're contemplating making our own felt animals for some wall art/DIY mobile options in the little man's nursery. Yes, you read that correctly, we're going to tackle it together. The first of many (I'm sure) family art projects. There is something so adorable about little felt animals, I seriously just can't get enough! We have some exciting things to unveil with these lil' furry creatures so wish us luck in completing these with ease. Check out some of the great (free) tutorials I found online and also make sure to check out Etsy for all sorts of great felt animal patterns too...if this is also, your thang!

DIY Felt Animal Tutorials:

Penguin - info HERE

Little brown bear - info HERE

Angry Birds - info HERE

Monster - info HERE

Farm Animals - info HERE

Birdie - info HERE

Turtle - info HERE

Bunnies - info HERE

Chick - info HERE

Mini felt animals - info HERE

Puppets - info HERE

 

Bird in a cage - info HERE

Before and After: DIY Nursery Progress - Decorating and Organizing!

We've put in some serious hours in the nursery progress department recently. My parents recently came into town and per the usual, the days flew by. My Mom was here to attend my shower (which rocked) and my Dad decided to come along for the ride too, awesome! My parents were also game for helping us with anything we needed. What was on our to-do list this week? Nursery progress! So we all pushed back our shirt sleeves, did some serious shopping trips and got to work. Here's where we are now!

PS - I obviously need to clean the lens on my point and shoot. Please excuse all the small white dots all over these pics...heading to clean it asap!

Recent Nursery Decor Purchases:

IKEA

6 white frames (will go above green bin bookshelf)

Blue glider throw

Grey pillow in glider

Sheepskin throw for ottoman

Fabric covering for large canvas/art over crib

Window panels/curtains

Floor rug

Organizational baskets on either side of changing table

Large stainless laundry basket (between crib and desk/changing table)

Bed, Bath and Beyond

Two black storage ottomans (look below, my Mom is sitting on them)

Closet organization system (more on that in a later post)

Crate & Barrel Outlet

Green bins for low lying bookshelf

Pottery Barn Outlet

Organic crib sheets

Restoration Hardware Outlet

Crib skirt

Yes, we have a billion unfinished projects in each of these pics (more on that later) but let me remind you with some before pics of just how far we've come in only a few short days. When we last chatted HERE, the room was looking about like this:

After the paint totally dried from our chevron projects, Walt moved some of his furniture from our garage up to his room which was totally exciting! It was nice to finally see furniture in his lil' man space and just imagine where we'd go from here!

You already know that massive deal we got on our Restoration Hardware crib HERE, but I'll take some time to explain some of the other pieces too. Starting from the top picture, you see a low lying bookshelf that will totally be a perfect height for our little man. HERE'S the info on the low lying shelf and I think we paid about $3 for it. The floor lamp and desk were freebies that we mentioned HERE from our bulk pickup roundup in our neighborhood.

What else? That sweet wooden stool underneath our desk/changing table was actually given to us for free from the guy we bought Walt's bankers chair from...score! More on Walt's before/after bankers chair post HERE. As for that massive painting above his crib, that was from our own personal collection and used to hang on the wall in my home office HERE.

The glider we scored (brand new) on Craigslist for $200. It was listed for $250 and when we saw it, we knew we wanted it. I brought only $200 in cash with me, knowing that was our budget for our glider. It's the Little Castle Cottage SS Glider that retails for about $650, just for the glider...woah! Add $200 for the ottoman and we're way out of our budget. So we were happy to spy it on Craigslist (it was brand new because a home stager used it) and even offer $200 and have the furniture warehouse accept our offer. SCORE...a $950 brand new glider for $200, yes please!

So moving along, I'll be sure to tell you what grand plans we have for many of these pieces as we progress with the nursery. Oh and as for those plastic black bins on the low lying bookshelf...we were just trying to figure out what size basket/organizational component we wanted. Well, one trip to Crate & Barrel Outlet and we found those great bright green bins that will be much more durable than most baskets.

So my parents are awesome DIY doers just like us. You've seen them tackle their tiled kitchen back-splash HERE and they're always doing some new home project that always impresses us. It was awesome to have their help but the one thing I learned quickly was that my Dad and Walt are so efficient and work so quickly that I barely got a picture snapped. Note to self: make them slow down next time so I can have an accurate tutorial, ha! Read on to take a peek at some of the DIY projects my parents helped us tackle in 72 hours.

Creating the Perfect Fit for His Bright Green Bin/Low Lying Shelf:

When we first put all lil' bubs green C&B bins onto his shelf, it wasn't a perfect fit. Boo hoo is right because we thought we measured perfectly but we forgot that there was some overhang where the piece connected at the hinges. My Dad and Walt quickly realized they could cut off the ends of the middle shelf that hangs over (look at the image above, you'll see) and then the big bins would be a perfectly tight fit. They took the shelf apart, cut off the ends, used some nail glue to reattach/fix one of the braces and voila, we have a perfectly fitted and almost custom looking toy bin shelf for our lil' man!

Taking the shelf apart!

Bins and stuff everywhere!

The ends have been cut off for a super close fit...fingers crossed!

Using wood glue and nails to make sure one of the braces is solid.

Tah-dah! So proud of the after, it looks WORLDS better!

Repainting the Floor Lamp:

Annnnnnd, my Mom is the cutest, ha! The bright blue floor lamp just wasn't doing it for me/for us. We had some silver spray paint in the garage so my Mom volunteered to give that piece a new coat. Oh my gosh, it's so amazing what a new color palette did for the lamp. It no longer screamed BLUE, but blended in beautifully with the other decor.

Hanging Curtains:

My Dad and Walt also hung our curtain hardware which is always a huge help. I hate the job of being his assistant (even though he's really good to me) so it was awesome to show them where it should hang and literally come back minutes later with a perfectly hung curtain rod. LOVE IT! We put on our new IKEA curtains and the room really was starting to come together at that point.

And of course, no post would be complete without showing how much lovin' our lil' hairy angel gets from her Mimi and Papa. There is no deficit of puppy kisses when this duo is around, they love our furry baby.

PS - Also check out the side of our changing table/desk now. Walt and my Dad added these awesome and industrial looking organizational baskets that I grabbed at IKEA to each side. Oh how I love to be organized!

So are you wondering what's left to do on our to-do list? Well, here's an idea of where we're at and what we need to get done in the next week/this weekend:

1 - Hang the six IKEA white frames above the low lying book shelf with bright green bins.

2 - Add either shelves or a side table option to the left hand side of the glider/ottoman.

3 - Purchase this awesome cow print from IKEA when they get their new truck-load in next week.

4 - Iron/wrap/secure (maybe staple) the brown and cream IKEA fabric around large canvas that sits above the crib...can't wait to see that done! That'll be a quickie!

5 - Hem the bottom of the IKEA curtain panels.

6 - Add some sort of black out shade.

Phew, I'm tired after just reading this! We'll keep you posted on the progress and we know this is a rough update as so much is still unfinished, but we want to remind you that not everything is picture perfect over here at CasaCullen. We like to share the in-between phases too before we unveil the final pics. Truly, I think this is going to be such a work in progress that we'll be updating his nursery for years to come. Stay tuned and leave a comment on any great hints/tricks you have for nursery decor ideas, etc!

Oh, Baby: Nursery Decor - DIY Children's Bookshelf Ideas

We're throwing around the idea of DIY'ing our lil' Bub's bookshelf in his nursery. After scouring the internet for ideas and inspiration, here are some great pictures I've pulled for us to reference. I love the idea of a full wall, but I'm not sure we'd have enough books to fill it, so maybe I'll save that idea for a future playroom.

The most important aspect about this piece of furniture to us is that the books are accessible for the little man. We don't want him to have an adult sized (height) bookshelf. We want something that's at his eye level. Also, a place where he can plop down and read to himself so we're thinking a few floor pillows or a poof too. Let the search begin. We're going to try (t...r...y) to have his nursery done by the end of October so we have a busy month coming up!

Images from HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE

Before and After: DIY Nursery - How to Paint Crisp Stripes (in our case, Chevron Stripes) on a Textured Wall

We had a big DIY weekend over Labor Day and can't wait to share our nursery progress. We got so much done and I mean, SO MUCH! We actually even got some furniture moved in but that's for a later post. This week we're focusing in on the stripes we painted with crisp precision on baby boy's accent wall. We first mentioned our love of wallpapered accent walls HERE but later scratched that idea. Then we honed in on awesome grey stripes for his accent wall HERE.

Now we just had to figure out the best process to get those grey chevron stripes done. I'm not the type that's all about, jumping in head first, without researching. Actually, we might as well call me a research whore. I love researching...weirdo, I know. I actually googled the process for about an hour while Walt got all the paint and room primed and ready for takeoff. The most promising link I found was from a fellow Austinite, Lindsay, HERE. And the more I looked up the process of painting crisp stripes, the more I have to tell you this is the ONLY WAY TO GO! Do this process and you're sure to have amazing lines and very little paint bleed-through, no matter the color combo. Read on for more on the process!

First up, drawing out our options. While I googled the 'how to' part of the project, Walt got down to business sketching out some options. 

Here's the winning trio...then we chatted and voted. We both decided we loved the look of the bigger/bold chevrons (bottom pic) because you do see the smaller chevrons all over the place. We know we'll use the smaller scale somewhere else in his nursery as an added accent so big and bold was the winner.

This is with measurements and all drawn out. Walt measured the height (94") and length (133 1/4") of the accent wall and broke it into 6 columns and 4 rows. Each rectangle measured 23 1/2" height x 22 1/2" width. At first we were aiming for perfect squares but once we saw how much even rectangles (that were pretty close to square measurements) were going to work, we went with breaking the wall up evenly so we didn't have any continuation of chevrons on either side. Still following? Congrats.

Measuring out the four rows and marking every 23 1/2" with chalk.

23 1/2" x 2 = 47! You didn't know you were gonna get a math lesson today, did ya?

Trusty chalk marker...I remember when I was young and my Dad would let me snap the chalk line. Seriously, I'm like a pro. Even Walt was astounded at how taut I kept the line and what a good snapper I was. 

Here's the wall with the chalk line grid all laid out. Why did we do this? So we would be able to see where to lay out our stripes, of course. 

Laying out the chevrons in each grid. We referenced the picture a few times but once you get the hang of it, you can pretty much rock and roll. But make sure to mark off which stripes you're going to paint because you want those corners and lines to be where the tape is perfectly straight (aka: you don't want a ripped painter's tape edge hanging out) for that crisp, clean finish.

*Also, on the side of the tape where you'll be painting, make sure to RUN YOUR FINGER all along the tape to get it in all the grooves. This is really important...and use your fingers, not a tool!

So here's where the process gets technical. Before you even THINK ABOUT painting your second color stripe, make sure to paint all along the painter's tape in the original color. Why? You're actually filling in any holes, grooves with the same color paint so give yourself a really clean edge. Here, we'll show you a closer look.

Walt painting all along the painter's tape in order to get in all those grooves under the painter's tape edge. Once you add that base coat along the tape, let it dry completely. You want it to sink in and seal that line. 

One more close up and remember to check out Lindsay's awesome tutorial HERE that really helped us out.

Next up is the fun stuff...mixing the grey accent stripe color. Using some old light blue paint we have plus our original grey shade, we added just a dollop of white into the grey. Once mixed up...

Walt used his finger and painted a little sample on the wall and we let it dry for 30 minutes before deciding. We actually thought it was a little too light so we added a bit more grey and just went with that final shade, without doing another test! Yep, and that's about as wild as things get around CasaCullen during a crazy Labor Day weekend, ha! 

Painting on the accent stripe after that first coat of textured paint along the edge of the painter's tape had dried. Walt literally painted this much and we were already oooohing and aaaaahing and loving what we saw!

Here's the wall completely painted and now it's time to remove the tape. You do NOT want your paint to completely dry. I think Walt did two coats of paint for the lighter stripes and then we let it set for a little over an hour before removing the tape. SERIOUSLY, DO NOT LET THE PAINT DRY! Remove that painter's tape before then.

The first section of removed painter's tape (bottom chevron) and we are literally freakin' out! Just staring and Walt kept saying, 'Holy crap, that turned out really good!' I, of course, just kept saying, 'Wow, oh wow! Wow, holy wow!' Yeah, I'm sure we both sounded like we were brain dead idiots...but we were excited, ha!

As for those pesky blue chalk stripes...we didn't want to wipe them off until the paint was dry. So yes, they're annoying for picture purposes but we were smart and let them sit there until everything was dry. I didn't want to get over eager and have blue chalk all in lil' Bubs grey chevrons.

Uh oh, a glitch in the process. When tearing off the painter's tape, Walt did get a bit over eager, I will admit. He was on such a roll them BAM, he ripped off some of the paint. Of course I heard his groan all the way downstairs and it really wasn't even that big of a deal. Nothing a little paint can't fix.

So here he is, filling in those few little spots where the painter's tape ripped off some of the dryer paint. See, imagine if we had let the paint totally dry? That would've been trouble!

A close up of that process. Once it dried, you totally couldn't even tell at all!

Oh and here's the iPhone pic that I sent to my parents and siblings. We've actually gotten emails asking for preggo pics so I figured I'd share this one! We really really excited about the chevron stripes so we had to share a pic with the fam. They were pumped...and you know, when you're fam you get sneak peeks! Click HERE for more preggo pics over on my fashion/beauty blog. I tell you what Mommas, dressing the bump is surely fun but not nearly as easy as I'd imagined it would be. I have a whole new respect...WHOLE...NEW!

Walt used a damp sponge (note, it's damp, not dripping in water) to slowly work out those bright blue chalk lines. This has actually been a huge pain in the booty, we have to admit. We've done this process twice now and we can still faintly see the chalk lines. We'll give it one more go tonight and we're sure that'll do the trick.

I guess we just wanted a finished product once the tape was pulled, but we wouldn't do it any other way. I do think you should think twice and maybe even just graph it out with small pencil marks if you're using a light colored wall. We're sure those blue chalk lines would be horribly hard to remove on a white wall. 

So here's where we were with the after! We love how the colors are all similarly muted and subtle too. But the design is super bold and the room is really moody and inviting. It already feels like a nice little cocoon up there!

And here's looking the other way, toward little man's closet. We have so much to do...SO MUCH! We actually sat down after completing this phase and talked through our to-do list for the nursery. We agreed on so many additions and also things that would be 'great' to also add, but aren't a must. We have some great ideas (and numerous DIY projects) in store for your reading pleasure, so get excited!

Want to see more from our nursery progress? HERE'S a post showing it as our previous guest room, HERE'S the first post about scraping the popcorn off the ceiling, HERE'S where we started painting the slate blue shade and HERE'S our easy trick on getting those baseboards stark white. Can't wait to share the furniture updates and our growing to-do list too!

PS - 1,535 words and 22 pictures later...umm yeah, if you've read this far then please pat yourselves on the back, for us! You're an amazing reader, indeed!

Oh, Baby: Nursery Decor - Some of Our Favorite Lil' People Digs Ever!

Ok, I'll admit it. We still don't really have a nursery 'plan' per say. Is that horrible? Did/do you have a plan? We're kinda just flying blind over here. Or maybe we're flying by the seat of our pants! We don't have an agenda really or any other pieces picked out. One word: slackers! But, all of that is about to change.

This holiday weekend, while you're enjoying barbecues and pool time, we'll be putting our time to good use and finally finishing that accent wall (HERE) and also moving some of his furniture into the space. Actually, let me rephrase, Walt will be finishing the accent wall and moving furniture in. Neither of those tasks are preggo-friendly. I think then it'll be so much easier to conceptualize what pieces we still need and what areas we'll add some DIY flair. Well, maybe I'll be flair-fabulous...Walt on the other hand, would roll his eyes at that statement, ha!

I will be having a pool lunch date with a girlfriend and heading to a local Austin kiddo store to look at all my cloth diaper options. I'm a touchy/feely kinda girl so I need to inspect those lil' FuzziBuns and BumGenius' up close before I make a branding decision for lil' Bubba's bootie. Enjoy the pics, these nurseries are insanely cute! Also...have a safe/wonderful holiday weekend and we'll be back and bloggin' on Tuesday.

Images from HERE

Oh, Baby: Shopping for Nursery Decor - How to Snag an Affordable Restoration Hardware Crib

Just for the record, I'm still in shock. If you follow us over on Facebook, you already privy to the scoop! Why? We bought a crib! A crib for a baby. A crib that rocks! A crib that was only a few dollars outside of our budget. A crib from a store whose baby merchandise we can only ogle at but truly not afford. Yep, it was a good day last Sunday. We scored a huge find and we can't wait to share our process with you.

First of all, we haven't even looked at the first crib. I've gotten numerous amazing emails from dozens of girlfriends with crib suggestions and brands they own and liked. Many told me to 100% consider spending a wee bit more on a conversion crib. I wasn't aware how much these suckers even 'convert' until we stepped foot into the Restoration Hardware Outlet in San Marcos, Texas...about 40 minutes south of Austin.

When we first arrived to the outlet mall, we hit up our favorites and were mainly trucking it down there to survey the goods. We weren't going to 'buy' but just check out our options for decor and baby goods at these three outlets: Crate & Barrel, Pottery Barn/West Elm/PB Kids & Restoration Hardware. We hit up the first two outlets and saw some things that piqued our interest. We packed a picnic lunch adn I wasn't feeling super great (tired, hot and bloated from walking so much) so it was great to sit down for about 30 minutes and re-charge. Next up and possibly our last stop, Restoration Hardware.

We walked in and I saw it, almost immediately. One of the most handsome (but still rather gender neutral) cribs I've ever laid eyes on. The Marlowe Conversion Crib was seriously smiling at me. Winking it's perfect handsome brown eyes and beckoning me to come over and take another look. Walt was carrying Zola and had wandered off into the baby section to check out bedding options. On the top of the crib sat a price tag that made my eyes bug out of my head. I took a triple take and then screamed 'Wallllllllt! Come over here!' 

(Sidenote: Walt loathes when I do this, ha! But I don't do it often. He thinks that people that are super loud in public or talk on their cell phone at ridiculous levels while shopping need to get a ticket! Yeah, his face was like, 'This better be important cause that was loud, woman!')

After the R.H. worker looked at me like I was crazy, Walt walked over and this is the conversation that took place. My Mom has always said to me that I shouldn't give all my secrets away but I really am hoping that reading our store will have our readers searching for their perfect big deal purchase. We would've shopped sale/consigned cribs for months before making a purchase, we just happened upon the perfect scenario on our first day of baby furniture shopping. Read on for the story!

Morgan: "Did you see this? Seriously, I think I'm shaking!"

Walt: "That's one good looking baby crib!"

Morgan: "I know, right? It's exactly what I've been imagining for our lilttle Bubba. Check out the price, are they for real?"

Walt: "Woah! Does that really say $315...down from $1049?"

Morgan: "Ummm, yeah...yeah it does. I'm seriously not leaving the side of this crib until I figure out why it's so low. Stay here, I'm going to grab that sale guy! Seriously, I'm shaking with excitement!"

I walked over and got Mike, our new favorite person. He was super helpful and informed us that this exact model was a floor model (and showed us some really small dings on the front left leg and on the back of the crib (which converts into a full size headboard (below) so you never will even see it!)

Then he pointed out the rather big dinger on the top of the front rail. Of course, we'd already spotted it but Walt informed me that a furniture pen and some TLC would make it perfect looking in no time. He was afraid there were other issues in addition to those dings. One quick google of 'how to fill in furniture dings' and THIS post has me thinking we're golden. Ok, so yeah, it's not perfect but who cares. After years of use, it's not ever going to be perfect anyway. (And rest assured, we'll have a follow-up DIY post on getting those dings smoothed out!)

 

Per my usual, I asked Mike if there was anything they could do for us further. I asked him if I could speak with the manager about a price reduction since we'd be happy to pay in full, in cash. (A little trick we learned through our FPU class HERE!) Bottom line to always remember, all they can say is no. So how did the conversation with R.H. Mike go...keep reading.

Morgan: "Mike, can we speak with your manager? We'd love to ask him if he can take another 10% off if we pay in full in cash."

Mike: "Actually, prices are set by corporate so there's no wiggle or negotiating room. I can say that if you go to the Outlet Center Management Office you can buy a coupon book for $7 that'll score you an additional 15% off any purchase in our store."

Morgan: "Oh my gosh, great info. So we have to guy buy a coupon book to score this deal?"

Walt: "Thanks for the pointer, Mike. I'd actually rather throw $7 your way for the discount than buy the book, hahaha!"

Mike: "You know what, I'll totally knock 15% off the price...that'll make the crib $267.75 plus tax. Don't worry about the book, it's dumb!"

Morgan: "Can I hug you?"

Mike: "Haha, sure!"

Walt: DYING LAUGHING AT ME!

So after Mike threw the deal our way, we told him to put a HOLD sign on the crib for one hour while we made some phone calls. First call, my parent's house. Hoping to find my Mom and have her google the crib and explain the conversion to me, my Dad answered. He informed me that my Mom was at an Open House (she's a realtor) but he'd help. Now let me just give my Dad a million gold stars for effort and help. Seriously, he was a champ...clutch hit in a sticky situation.

He was all over the internet for us. Googling the crib and telling us how it converted and even suggesting we ask the sales staff to show us on their computer/in the catalog how the crib converts (we did both later and it really helped us make the decision to buy!) He also went on Craigslist in Austin and scouted on similar conversion cribs and said we were getting a great deal for a NEW CRIB. He quoted prices around $180-$250 for used cribs that were from big box stores and maybe not even made of real wood.

Then there was a phone call to my sister whom I grabbed right as she was leaving with her daughter. She also ponied up to her laptop and totally sung the Marlowe crib praises. She has been telling me that the dimensions of a crib are super important, if you have the room (which we do!) She loves Minnie's huge crib and highly suggested getting the biggest crib we could find. She wishes she would've bought a conversion crib and even busted out her tape measurer to compare Minnie's crib dimensions to the Marlowe. The result? The Marlowe is 1" thinner in width, that's it! So that was another win for Marlowe!

Then Walt and I (I literally hate to make rash decisions for big purchases) hunkered down in THESE rockers, in the store and discussed. Our hour hold was almost up and we decided to go for it. Walt made one more sweeping look at all the pieces and bolts and screws and made sure everything was there. We bought it and I couldn't stop smiling. We scored this crib, with tax for $289.94!!! Surpassing our conversion crib budget of only $39.94...not too shabby!

 I think I'm still smiling. We celebrated with happy hour Sonic slushes on the way home and kept laughing at our luck. We venture out to 'look' but sometimes when we spy a deal like this, you just have to take advantage and go for it. We feel blessed that we have money set aside for purchases like this, as we've been diligent saves for Baby Boy Cullen. We still have a very, very long way to go and can't wait to share any other great (and frugal) purchasing ideas for amazing baby furniture with you in the near future. If you have any great pointers, please leave a comment below. We'd love to hear from you!

Want more info on our entire BABY ADVENTURE? Click HERE!