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Wednesday, September 14, 2011

The nursery

Not that you would know it from the lack of posts on this blog, but I've actually been a sewing maniac the past few months. I've even nicknamed my sewing room Amber's Sweatshop. Unfortunately, life has been hectic and I haven't carved out time to actually post about the projects here. Who knows if I'll ever really catch up, but hey, I'm going to at least try to get a few things posted.

Waaay back when we first told our parents that I was pregnant, my mom and I were chatting and she mentioned that I should sew stuff for the baby's room. I immediately shut her down, saying that just sounded like a ridiculous amount of work for something that I could easily buy, etc.

I mean, we all know how this ends, right?

I looked for weeks for a gender neutral set that I liked, but nothing. The stuff that I thought was priced right didn't appeal to me and the stuff that I thought would be cute was so stupid expensive that it just made me angry.

So yeah. After trolling a few online fabric shops and picking up a fairly classic pattern for a crib skirt, I started putting together a plan to make a lot of the stuff myself. Let's just say my mom has been quite good at not gloating too much. :P

The baby room overlooks the backyard, which features a lot of blues and greens. That plus my recent obsession with orange formed the color scheme for the room. I found a Kaufman fabric that featured the colors I liked and felt a bit retro. I matched it up with a solid orange and an embossed aqua print for the crib skirt. I was able to find solid aqua and orange coordinates from Carousel Designs so that I wouldn't have to tackle sewing drapes or crib sheets. I also knew I didn't want a traditional bumper due to SIDS concerns, however, I saw a great tutorial for adding a little umph to a breathable bumper, which helped to tie the whole set together. Lastly, my friend sewed an adorable blanket for one of my showers, which fits the room perfectly.

After getting the crib finished, my sewing projects weren't done yet. I also whipped up two minky changing pad covers, two cotton/minky boppy covers, 2 stroller blankets, a 6 pack of burp cloths and coordinating size dividers for the closet. I found some adorable prints for the wall from Children Inspire Design by way of Zulily and metallic frames in aqua, orange and lime. Jim's cousin also designed two ridiculously cute prints for the room that we were able to use as well. A slew of fabric bins from Target in aqua and lime are being used to store all of the baby stuff. Lastly, we added a whimsical animal rug that helps to pad the hardwood floor and continues the defacto animal theme we have going on in addition to the color scheme. Oh, and I have a really comfy neutral glider in the corner.

But, enough talk. Pictures, yes?





Changing Pad Covers

Boppy Covers

Stroller Blankets

Burp Cloths and Closet dividers

It was all a ton of work, but I'm so happy with the way it came out. I find myself making up excuses to hang out in there and I know that I'll enjoy hanging out in the room once our little guy arrives. I can firmly say though, that if I never have to sew another crib skirt, it will be too soon. ;) That sucker was such a pain in the arse to sew and while I love the finished product, I have no desire to ever make another. Home dec sewing is really not my thing, I'm much more of a garment sewing kind of gal.

22 comments:

  1. Yes that sure looks like a lot of work, but the end result is beautiful and a little bit different to your typical nursery.

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  2. Your nursery looks fantastic, well done! It looks like a crazy amount of work but it's so important that your happy with your baby's nursery! Gorgeous!

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  3. It looks amazing! Your hard work really paid off. You got so much done!

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  4. Wow, you have been busy! The nursery looks great. Can you tell me more about how you made the closet dividers? Those are really cool!

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  5. You certainly did a lot of work. The nursery looks fantastic! No wonder you want to hang out in there. I'm looking forward to news / pictures of the little one.

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  6. It's all so adorable! I did the same thing with my first, only that was when crib bumpers weren't a no-no and I made a padded one of those, too. With really large piping. So I feel your pain about home-dec sewing being a pain and not all that fun. Anyway, great job on everything! I especially love how the rug pulls it all together.

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  7. What a beautiful nursery! You did an awesome job and I'm in awe of the fact that you sewed so much of it. I had 3 children and never sewed a nursery for any of them. Glad you checked in with us...I was starting to wonder about you and if the baby had been born yet!

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  8. I am slipcovering a sofa for our new home right now; it's crazy, but why pay someone else to do it when I have the sewing skills. It's a lot of work, but, like you, I am getting a tremendous sense of satisfaction from it.

    I am so impressed by the work you did in the baby's room. The changing pad, the quilt, the closet separators -that's a lot of work! It's a really lovely space.

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  9. awww, it looks fabulous! we had the breathable bumpers too and the only gender neutral they had waaay back in 2007 was yellow gingham. blah.

    you should submit it to ohdeedoh.com. :)

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  10. That is such a lovely nursery for your little guy to come home to! All your hard work is obvious and totally worth it! Good job Mom!

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  11. This is such a lovely nursery! It will be awesome to be surrounded by all these lovely touches when you are holding your child in your arms. You did great! Best wishes for you during the rest of your pregnancy!

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  12. Aww, I love it! I didn't sew for my daughter's nursery but I did once we transformed it into a big girl's room around age 3. Then I went all out. And then I went on sewing hiatus until both my kids hit their teens.

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  13. Soooo cute! I love the theme and bright colors!

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  14. You are amazing! Love all the colors!

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  15. the nursery is even better IRL. so awesome.

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  16. You are so on top of things it is ridiculous. The room looks beyond fabby.

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  17. It looks awesome! I didn't sew when we had our first born...we painted his room a mustard colour from the "miss-matched paint rack" at the hardware store; the crib was a hand-me-down, his change table was just the top of his dresser (that lasted only a few months as he was quickly too heavy to lift that high); and we had a futon too, but it couldn't be opened flat and wouldn't you know, LOL, he wanted to co-sleep! Nothing memorable in his room at all :(
    I don't see any slings (ring sling, mei tai, etc) in your sewing collection. Some of those fabrics would be awesome for babywearing gear.
    Hope the rest of your pregnancy is wonderful!

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  18. This is the classiest nursery I've ever seen A. Seriously gorgeous. Great job!

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  19. Your hard work definitely paid off. I hope you're feeling as well as can be expected.

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  20. Love this! I'm amazed at all the sewing, and it looks really good too! Congrats! You're new baby will have such a lovely room to come to!

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