Craft Dreams and Pinterest

Have you ever had a craft dream?  I am not always sure if I am completely asleep when I have these dreams but when I wake up I get this insane urge to craft... immediately.  And if I don't do it immediately it's as if I have this itch that just won't go away.

Well, a few nights ago, I had this dream that I turned my laundry room sliding door into a huge chalkboard!  It drove me CRAZY, but I had to wait a week to do it... you know, a little thing called LIFE got in the way of my crafting.

Perhaps I have these dreams thanks to late nights spent perusing Pinterest boards... perhaps...

Just a few coats of chalkboard paint found at the local hardware store.

I can't take credit for dreaming these next two up on my own.  I definitely found these on Pinterest...

A place for a family of 5 to place our used cups so we don't go through so many throughout the day.
A scrap of 1x6 board, drawer handles and coasters.
I first painted the board black, then painted it sea grass,
then lightly sanded the board to expose some of the black paint.

Our new prayer board.
"Pour out your heart like water
    in the presence of the Lord. 
Lift up your hands to him
    for the lives of your children..."
Lamentations 2:19
I saw this on Pinterest a while back.  My sister had actually given me a few of these frames and I decided that since I was already crafting, may as well finally do this project, especially since I already had the paper and letters as well.

Speaking of Pinterest, please follow Kidspired Creations @ kidspiredcre8!  And feel free to pin any pictures on my website... just make sure it is linking back here!  Thank you!!!

June Bug

Baby Jeremiah will be making his world debut this June and what better nursery for this little June Bug than a bug-themed room?  I have fallen in LOVE with this Cute as a Bug bedding set by Kidsline!  I love the vibrant colors and all of the adorable bugs!  


Jeremiah's parents came to me with an idea for a painting to hang in his room with the perfect Bible verse from the book of Jeremiah.  How perfect?

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  Jeremiah 29:11

They also found the perfect storage solution for his nursery and handed it to me to see if I could do anything with it.   Um... of course!  

I cannot WAIT to see how everything looks in his completed nursery! 

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!!!


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

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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...

"The Flute Keeper"

When I first blogged about Abby's nursery, I mentioned the "enchanted nursery" theme that was modeled after an unpublished book...

I love this book!  Two thumbs up!

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!

Wait no more, folks!  An electronic version of The Flute Keeper, Book 1 of The Flute Keeper Saga, is now available on Amazon!  Author Ashley Setzer has created a magical realm of Fay and Slaugh, pixies and hobgoblins, giants, dryads and one half-human who must save the world from evil powers.  Kristen, Ashley and I will be bringing Faylinn to life in Abby's nursery and we hope to make it as magical and beautiful as it is written in Ashley's books!

So, I'm going to be a first-time aunt ANY DAY NOW (c'mon Abby, we're all waiting for you)!  I am so excited!  We are driving up to Oklahoma this weekend and I will be adding the finishing touches to the nursery... and by finishing touches, I mean painting a giant tree in the corner of the room.  For now I'm doing some last minute projects that will add the perfect touch to the nursery.

I made a surprise painting for the nursery that Kristen will get to see when we arrive in Oklahoma!  The symbol on this picture is the symbol of "Ivywild" the royal city of "Faylinn," home of the "Fay."  (I'm telling you, you have to read this book!)  Anyway, so this is the symbol of the royal city as seen on the "Pyxis Charm," a magical, teleportation, compass-type thing.

I brought in the dragonflies to tie in Abby's bedding (shown in my previous post).  I used the glitter glue (also used below) to make Ivywild shimmery, and more magical!  I also tied in all of the other colors that I have used in Abby's room so far.  Some green here, some pink there, some blue here... and this painting ties it all in!

After I painted it I realized it kind of looks like a sky at sunset and the grass that the castle is sitting on... or maybe that's just me... but it was totally an accident.

I just finished this light switch cover for Abby's nursery!  The coolest thing about this light switch is that the "moon flies" GLOW IN THE DARK AND SPARKLE!!! 

I didn't know if it existed, but I looked for it anyway... glow in the dark paint!  On the bottle it says that you can mix it with regular acrylic (light colored) paints, so that's just what I did!  I also used glitter glue to make the eyes and highlight the wings, making a perfect addition to the enchanted nursery theme!

So, what is a "moon fly?"  I turned my question to Ashley Setzer, author of The Flute Keeper Saga who said, "It's just your average cute little bug-eyed critter with a huge glowing abdomen."  They are used frequently throughout the series to light the way in the dark and I thought they would be perfect to paint on a light switch... get it?  And then on top of that, they glow in the dark... sweet!

"Forever yours"

For more pictures of Abby's "Faylinn-inspired" nursery accessories, go HERE!

Go Team!

I live in a house divided!  I was born and raised a Louisiana State University Tiger, and my husband a University of Oklahoma Sooner.  Sure, our teams don't cross paths much (except for that amazing 2003 National Championship game when the Tigers beat the Sooners 21-14 at the New Orleans Superdome... not that I keep track), but there is a definite battle over the remote during football season.

In fact, before the boys were even born we "argued" over which team our sons would prefer.  We also "argued" over the theme for our oldest's first birthday... LSU or OU theme?  We settled with a swimming pool theme since it was a swimming party (I know... clever, right?)

If you are a sports fan, please check out my Team Sports Decor below!  Just because I only have a few teams painted, doesn't mean I can't paint your favorite team (unless you're an Alabama fan.................. just joking!!!... kind of).

Bulletin Boards:

Picture Frames:

Coat Racks:

Growth Charts:

 

Random items such as oars:

 

Or, if you are fan of sports in general, here is some generic sports decor to go with any team!

**Growth charts and some sized bulletin boards are only sold locally in Southern Louisiana or Central Oklahoma because of the expense of packaging and shipping.  Contact Casey at kidspiredcreations@gmail.com if you live in the area and would like to purchase one!