A Nursery That's Over the Moon

As promised today I'm going to reveal Tiny Falcon #2's Nursery. And since we've been telling everyone else I can finally tell you as well- We're going to name him Sawyer! He'll be here in about 2 weeks if all goes as planned.


His nursery has been pretty much ready for a while now. The reason I hadn't shown it yet is because I have been tirelessly searching for the curtains that match his bedding. They much have gotten lost in the move because they haven't turned up along with a few other things that Con-Man used as a baby. You can read more about my inspiration for the room here.


Anyway- without further adieu here's Sawyer's Moon and Star Nursery:

The theme for the room came from the saying "I love you to the moon and back." I used Con-Man's old bedding that my mom and I made which luckily matched the paint color that was already in the room. I had trouble finding stars and other accessories to match the color scheme so I broke out the spray paint and made it work.

I found a dresser at the thrift store that we are using as a changing table; The changing table we had for Con-Man is now our entertainment center. Reused the old rocker from Con-Man's room and a friend gave me the penants hanging on the shelf. The shelf is just a piece of wood leftover from other projects and the baskets are garden baskets we had on hand that I spray painted.

And again a few things leftover from Con-Man's nursery; the pictures I painted and the shelving unit. 

It's simple and sweet, just the way I like it. I feel like I had a lot more stuff in Con-Man's room. I remember the shelf being full and needed extra storage so we got an old chest. I guess a lot of the things that were in Con's room before we are currently using. 

Either way all this room needs now is a baby!! Come on July 28th!

Reclaimed Wine Barrel Stopper Coat Rack

Phew! Say that title 3 times fast- Reclaimed Wine Barrel Stopper Coat Rack, Reclaimed Wine Barrel Stopper Coat Rack, Reclaimed Wine Barealekfja andivaowjtlajldj 


Ugh I give up. Seriously I wasn't sure what else to title this besides the obvious so there it is. And, you may be thinking- "Geez how many coat racks does this girl need?" Truth: I sell most of this stuff in a little store here in Town- Dora Lou's Place. If you're ever in Altus, OK come check it out!


Anyway I found these guys while we were in California a few weeks ago. While the Hubs was off wine tasting my preggo self and and the Con-Man hung out outside. That's when I happened upon these wine barrel stoppers:

I asked someone who worked at the winery if I could have a few. Maybe he felt sorry for me in my pregnant state because he said "Sure take a few." Mmmm- Ok! (See you can have fun wine tasting while preggo.)

I have a few ideas for them, coat rack is the first up! Check it out!

I started by sanding them down just a little. I like the rough look; I mainly did this to smooth out any splintery edges and get any excess dust off.

Then I went to the hardware store and bought some 2" Dowel Screws. I figured this was a good length to securely fasten my stopper to the wood and leave some room for the decorative metal rod.

Then I kind of eye- balled the depth for the pilot hole. I needed something deep enough to secure the dowel into both the stopper and the wood backing and leave room for the metal rod. I used painters tape to mark my drill depth and used a drill bit slightly smaller than my dowel and drilled away. 

 I centered my pilot hole on the stoppers and measured out equal distance on my wood backing.

The next step was painting and sealing. Then I screwed my dowels into my pilot holes.

The next part was a bit tricky. I wanted a decorative metal surround to go in between the wood backing and the stopper. I checked out our local hardware store for metal piping and rods. It seems like if metal rods are going to be hollow the smallest they come is 1.5" thick- to big. Anything smaller was solid. 

I thought I had hit a wall. But  a trip to my local Walmart saved the day. Curtain rods! Of course! They are thin and hollow- yay! I bought the smallest tension rod I could find and it was only $2. Score!

I cut it down to the size I needed. This took a bit of guess work; my first measurement of 1" was to long. Second attempt was 3/4" and that seemed to work fine. I measured the rest out and cut them down to size with my scroll saw.

(Bad picture of me working in the garage)

Finally I screwed on my stoppers~

And the final product:

What did you work on this weekend? Did everyone have a happy Mother's Day?

Bed Sheets- the Most Versatile Household Item?

I love using materials for purposes other than what they were intended for; being green, recycling, that whole thing. One of the most versatile household materials in my opinion is sheet fabric. I love using sheets for things other than bedding. Sheets are great because you can get a lot of fabric for cheap, they come in tons of different patterns, and they are easy to work with (if your lucky you can reuse the factory seam = less sewing!)

I thought I'd do a little round up of fun projects using bedsheets:

1. Curtains! The length is usually spot on, not a lot of sewing involved, lots of fun patterns! I used sheets for curtains in my home as well.

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2. Duvet Cover. Hey why not? They are about the same size as a duvet and way less expensive! Martha Stewart shows us how! Thanks Martha~

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3. Basket Liners. I saw this tutorial and thought old sheets could be used to make these- so cute!

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4. Bunting. These are so easy to make! If you have some old sheet laying around or see some at the thrift store this is the perfect project for them.

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5. A Fun Skirt. Funky old sheets at the thrift store turned into a bold skirt!

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6. Whimsicle Shower Curtain. Price of fancy shower curtains getting you down? How about making your own!

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7. Braided Rug. Got a lot of sheets (and time on your hands)? How about making your own rug out of old sheets.

8. Embellishments. Want to spruce up your current bed linens (or anything for that matter)? Why not cut up some old sheets and give them a new life?

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9. Pajama Pants. You can make PJ's to match your bedding!

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10. And last but certainly not the least; the ever popular Toga out of a sheet. Would not have made it through my college days without this. ;)

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Another thing I like to use sheets for is art canvases. I buy white ones at the thrift store, use some Gesso or white paint and paint away! I made these paintings for Con-Man's Nursery when he was a tiny baby:

So there you have it- will you think twice about passing up old sheets at the thrift store? And what really got me started thinking of this post is this sneak peak of an upcoming project:

It's something I'm making for Con-Man's room! Any guesses at to what it's going to be?

What's the most creative thing you've used sheets for?

Furniture Road Kill

While driving around town the other day I saw this group of furniture sitting by a dumpster outside a self storage facility:

Obviously someone was cleaning out their storage locker and didn't see the potential these pieces have.

With a new coat of paint and some new upholstery this chair could be so cute!

When I first drove by there was a larger dresser that went with this side table, but by the time I had turned around another lady was loading it into her car. Apparently I was not the only one who saw treasure instead of trash on the side of the road that day. With some paint and cleaning this side table can look like new.

This table needs some work, possible a new top. But the legs and side detailing will make it worth it in the end.

The hubs hasn't noticed these finds yet, I stuck them in the back shed. I wonder what he'll think? Anyway I've got some work to do!!

Do you keep you eye out for Furniture Road Kill?

Easy Update: Jewelry for Your Furniture

I have an old dresser that was given to us by my grandmother- inlaw. She graciously gave it to us when we got married and had zero furniture. It's so old and cool! It lives in our living room and houses our DVD's.

The wood is beautiful and in great shape.

It has a marble top.

Check out that dovetail joinery!

I really love it. But I felt bad for it because when she gave it to us it was missing a drawer pull. And during our last move another one fell off. Despite glueing it back on it has fallen off once again.

So I thought I'd give our dresser a little TLC with a simple update- some new Drawer Pulls! Of course this was an excuse to make the trek over Fancy Drawer Pull Heaven (AKA Anthropologie).

There are a ton of awesome drawer pulls there! I spent some time sorting through them trying to decide which color and style to go with. And trying to not fall in love with the $8 or even $12 (!>@#!) ones.

Green to match the curtains?

Blue to match the accent color in my new rug?

A mix of both?

I finally decided on these guys. They are kind of antique-y looking like my old dresser and had both the colors I was looking for.

I  unscrewed the old ones and put the new ones on. Quick, easy, and I think it looks great!

Hooray for easy updates! Have you done a quick update that makes a big difference?