The Enchanted Nursery

UPDATE to the UPDATE:  ABIGAIL HAS ARRIVED!  We left Oklahoma on Monday and she arrived less than 48 hours later.  Figures.  But thanks to modern technology, we have been able to Skype with her on both days of her existence so far!  She is so cute and snuggly and I cannot WAIT until July 4th weekend so we can get as many snuggles in as possible!!!


* * * * *

UPDATE:  Still no baby, but the nursery is finished!!!  Scroll below to see the finished product!!!

* * * * *

Tick...tock...tick...tock... Less than 5 weeks until the arrival of my niece, Abigail!  Aunt Casey is just so excited... and lots of cuteness comes from Aunt Casey's excitement!

My sister-in-law Kristen's best friend has written an amazing 5-book fantasy series that is set in a beautiful enchanted forest-type place.  Though this series is unpublished, I have had the privilege of reading it and it is now at the top of my favorites!  Since first reading the books, Kristen has dreamed of making this fantasy-world a reality in her baby's nursery!

I will be helping her create this "Enchanted Nursery" and I will share the details on my blog.  I will also share how I made or altered some of my special finds so that you can get inspired to create your own!  Kristen and her husband Darin are in the process of building a new house, so it will be a long process before we can get to the fun part of painting the nursery, but here's a sneek peek of all of the fun that I have been busy creating!

Thumbprint Tree for Abby's Baby Shower

 At the baby shower, guests will use a green ink pad to stamp their thumbprint in the tree branches to create "leaves" and then write their names with a black pen inside the thumbprint.

Baby Doll Cradle

I found this cradle at a consignment sale and just couldn't pass it up!  For just $14 it is in mint condition!  

I bought curly Q letters from Hobby Lobby and with a little bit of pastel paint and some wood glue, they look like they were made for the cradle!

Be careful, because these letters are very brittle.  I actually broke the lowercase 'a' and had to glue it back together before gluing it to the cradle.  Shhh don't tell Kristen.

Wall Letters

 I found this super fun "Moss Cloth" at Hobby Lobby.  It is sold in sheets, backed by paper, and is flattened to make it super easy to glue onto letters. This definitely inspired the "enchanted forest" letters for Abigail.  I turned the moss paper-side up and put the letters face-down on the paper.  I then traced the letters so I could cut out the perfect shape of the letter.  I then used wood glue to glue the paper backing to the front of the letter and painted around it.  

On the same aisle as the moss, I found these butterflies and bumble bees that are connected to a thin wire. The wire made it really easy to stick them into the moss.  For the B, G and L, I removed the wire and used wood glue to glue the insect down.

 Bedding:

Kristen wanted bedding that coordinates with the nursery, not a nursery that coordinates with the bedding.  The difference?  Some people choose the bedroom theme based on what the bedding looks like, and with all of the adorable bedding choices out there, it's super easy to do that!  Kristen, however, wanted an enchanted forest theme, but wanted a more simple bedding that would just look good inside of the enchanted forest.  She didn't want all the focus of the nursery to be on the bedding.

 I found this adorable, yet simple, Green Dragonfly Dreams bedding by JoJo Designs, that will coordinate PERFECTLY with all of the pastels in the room, is the PERFECT shade of green to coordinate with Kristen's favorite pink and beige tones, and will add a cute touch to the room without drawing the eye straight to the crib.  Sweet, sophisticated, simple and special, indeed.

Decorative Hooks

When I see something cute that I think would look super awesome in the nursery, I take a picture with my phone and text it to Kristen.  She then texts me with a "yes" or "no"... and I can usually tell by the number of exclamation points how much she really likes it.  These mushroom hooks got an, "I love it!!!" within seconds.  

You may recognize these same curly Q letters from the cradle above.  I decided to put Abby's initials on these since she'll have her full name in various places around the room.  

Mobile

My mother-in-law made a mobile out of flowers, butterflies, and glittery pearls and hung them from the center of the room.

Framed Art

The thumbprint tree and "Ivywild" (see my post about The Flute Keeper)

 

Lighting

This lamp has been in the family for years and it has a new place in Abby's nursery.

"Moon Flies" from the book, The Flute Keeper

Wall Art

Darin wanted a duck, so I made him "enchanted ducks."

Kristen and Abby ducks

The finished tree.

"Forever Yours."

The Reveal...