His personal gallery...

Frames, pictures and school art projects make a wonderful little gallery for Brase's viewing pleasure.  We will change out the subject matter as he grows.

A photo of Brase's family sits bedside.

This shots is for Mark at Our Simple Lives .

What a MESS!

A place to hang his hat...

Disco Nap Ball

Yes... it is a real disco ball!

Mirror mirror on the wall...

Shooting for the stars!

My favorite part... scented drawer liners!

2 fairies watching over Brase.

(Only I can say that!)

Does a caged bird sing?

Brase doesn't sing but he is learning to pick up his toys!

Mr. Frog weds Mr. Duck.

We embrace diverse families!

Little friends gather everywhere.

The Book Nook

We have a reader on our hands!

Papi's whimsical artwork in oil.

A good Catholic boy.

Bedtime Training

Brase is on the floor for 2 weeks

After a little practice, Brase will move to the lower bed.

Brase will graduate to the big bed with rails in a month or more.

Krafty Korner: Diaper Genie Cover

We are finishing up many household projects as our due date nears. We whipped up a Diaper Genie cover in one hour with fabric remnants. We saw an exact copy online but were not willing to pay 60 bucks! This is an easy project that anyone can accomplish with a little time and basic sewing skills.

A room full of imagination!

I am not an artist but whatever I tackle I have fun doing. We had a big blank space in our nursery that needed something colorful. A little paint, time and imagination led to this project. We hope it gives our little one some creative inspiration.

We got a crib!

After months of works and many sewing projects our nursery is complete! Well... almost completed aside from the mural that will be added tomorrow. We purchased a crib and dressed it with our personalized bedding. We are ready for our little one.

Nursery Time... Changing Table

One of our readers recently inquired about the changing table in our nursery. Here is the info...

We wanted a chest that would transition with the room as our child grows. We looked at a dozen matching cribs and dressers. We found nursery furniture to be pricey and inferior in quality. We chose this chest for it's height, storage capacity and solid wood craftsmanship. The entire piece is made of fruit wood and mahogany. Other great features include bow front design, dovetailed drawers, inlaid wood boarders and distressed brass hardware.

The chest has great potential to be used throughout our home at a later date. The Classic style would fit into any room and mix well with antiques or modern decor. It looks like a authentic English antique but comes without the hefty price tag. We purchased it at a local furniture retailer and spent $760.00 with retail tax. I have listed an online retailer's link below for interested viewers. The online retailer's price is a little more than we paid. You might want to shop your market area for a better deal.

As we always say... think outside of the box!

Universal Furniture Company
http //www.furniturefind.com/Universal-Furniture-518360-UNI2111.html
Item: Kentwood Bunching Bachelor's Chest
Weight: 161 lbs
Dimensions: 37" H x 40" W x 21" D

Nursery Lamps

Lamp Shade Face Lift

Project Materials:
Ribbon
Cloth Tape Measure
Lead Pencil
Fine Blade Craft Knife
Ice Pick

Project Tip:
The last two holes need to be 1/4 or 1/8 of an inch apart. This is where the bow will be tied.










Project Directions:
We pulled a couple of matching lamps out of storage for the nursery. The basic linen shades were very blah. They were great lamps in our other home but our nursery needed a little more color and pizazz.

We accomplished this quick makeover by marking equal spaces around the bottom circumference of the lamp. We then cut a tiny X over each of the markings with an fine blade craft knife. To finish, we stuck an ice pick thought the tiny Xs making holes. Finally, we ran medium weight cotton ribbon through the openings and finished with a simple bow. It gave the lamps an entirely different look.

Krafty Korner: Crib/Changing Pad

Everyone needs pads for their bassinet, crib and changing table. We took 6 basic 18x27 inch quilted waterproof pads and customized them with fabric and bias ribbon. We coordinated the colors with crib bedding and bib/burp sets. This project took little effort and a few dollars to complete.

Krafty Korner: Diaper Stacker

This is another little project we completed for our little one. We purchased a Babies-R-Us diaper stacker and returned it after taking detailed measurements. The pattern was cut out of brown paper bags and creative engineering pulled it together. Actually, we were impressed with the results because the construction was more difficult than we originally anticipated. Total cost was $6.00 and the fabric matches our baby bedding. Contact us if you want detailed project instructions.

Making Room for Baby... Kid's Closets

We wanted to design a nursery closet that did not require a master carpenter or spending thousands of dollars. We did not need to reinvent the wheel but needed a few closet accessories. We doubled hanging space with little effort and a $15.00 budget. Keep in mind, this is temporary fix and our child will outgrow this design in a few years. These double hung rods will accommodate 85 infant or toddler outfits. FYI... we added children's wooden hangers from The Container Store for a custom look. http://www.containerstore.com/
The materials needed are below.

Materials and Tools:

1 Wood Dowel/Closet Rod (no longer than three feet)

8 Eye Hooks (medium weight)

6 ft. of Interlocking Chain (medium weight)

Sandpaper

Handsaw

Needle Nose Pliers

Wire Cutter (heavy duty)

Carpenter's Level

Project Details:

*Chain Spacing: (Top 3 inches) (Bottom 28 inches)

On another note...
John at Gay Dads in Munchkinland has ask readers to participate in an online research project. He wants to see how far this little fortune cookie can travel. All you have to do is attach it to the bottom of your next blog post. It's that simple! In addition, check out his great blog at: http://gaydadsinmunchkinland.blogspot.com/.

All John asks, if you participate, is to write a comment for tracking purposes. Here are his directions: Put the mouse over the fortune cookie and click save as and it will go into your pictures. When you post to your blog click on the add picture symbol to transpose the image. The fortune cookie should appear in the text screen. The image will initially appear as scrambled letters and numbers. When you click your mouse the picture should pop into view. If anyone has trouble, just let John know.

So let’s see how far this little fortune cookie can go! Copy, paste and watch to See where it ends up. It starts here...GO!