What's this? Another post about decorating the baby's room? I did say I'd become a bit obsessed. I promise this won't be all I post about. I wanted to share a couple of little projects I've been working on. I found a childrens table and chairs set at the opshop a week or two ago for $10 with the hope of sprucing them up.

See 'before'...



And after...



C and I brought them home, sanded them back by hand (they were actually real wood!), primed them and painted them within 24 hours. The legs are a white gloss and the purple and green is some acrylic house paint I had left over. I'd like to give them a coat of clear gloss over the top to make them a bit hardier. If the before photo is anything to go by, kids are rough with their furniture! I'm not sure if they're totally done yet, I was considering adding some dots or something to make it a bit less matchy-matchy with the other things in the room. I should also point out that I am aware that the baby won't be using these for quite a long time yet, ha.



After seeing this really cute print (and deciding that it was out of my price range - and not knowing how to check-out on the German site) I decided to track down a hi-resolution photograph of the moon to get printed into a poster. I found an image that was free to use for non-commercial use, popped it into Photoshop and gave it poster dimensions. I thought about adding some fun things to it in Photoshop, but I think it's so beautiful as it is. I took the file to Officeworks and they printed it in black and white onto matte A1 sized paper for about $5. Here's a link to the photo I used if you'd like to get your own moon printed.




I've also been making some hand-stamped fabric to make cushions. I added a fabric fixative to acrylic paint, cut some little circle, triangle and raindrop shaped stamps out of lino and stamped onto some fat flats from Spotlight. Fabric fixative is pretty great because it means you don't have to buy expensive fabric paint in all the colours you want - you just mix it with your acrylic paint and then iron the fabric once it has dried and it won't chip/wash out.



I painted this old print frame to turn it into a blackboard with some green blackboard paint I'd had in an unopened tub for ages (I think green blackboard paint is under-appreciated!).




I have been toying with the idea of making my own alphabet flash cards and am trying to better my skills using paths in Photoshop (I'm sure this task would be simpler if I had experience with Illustrator). I'm sure it will take me until the baby is born to make all 26, but it's a fun learning experience. I'd like to  print them onto card, laminate them and peg them up on string in the room when they're done. Here are two I was working on late one night last week.



Some other things on my nursery DIY to-do list:
+ Making a rainbow felt ball rug (A massive undertaking! I've been wet felting ball after ball of roving late at night while I watch Twin Peaks the last few nights)
+ Sewing cloud shaped cushions from the printed fabric I made.
+ Making little embroideries to go inside frames I've painted (I'm halfway through one).
+ Painting a set of white drawers that will become a change table (considering one colour for each drawer).

I've been spending a lot of time in the baby's room lately arranging things and working on little projects and have been finding Pinterest a great source of inspiration. There are so many fun, practical DIYs and colourful arrangements. I am not really a fan of themed nurseries, I think they can look kind of tacky and don't necessarily take into account the ongoing tastes of the person who will be living in the room. I much prefer nice combinations of textures and colours and patterns - things that can adapt with time. My aim is to create a comfortable space that is practical, easy to change around (to suit the age and tastes of my child), with lots of storage and fun bits of colour. Where I (frustratingly) couldn't find the original source to some of the images below I've linked back to the pin.


+ a + b + c + d


+ e + f + g + h


+ i + j + k + l


+ m + n + o + p

+ A very sketchy artists impression of my house.

+ The lovely view across the city, out to the water and hills. I especially like watching the weather come in slowly over the city. It's a shame being so far up the hill hinders bicycle riding, but it sure is pretty from up here.
+ Its cute, green, leafy exterior.
+ The way that it always feels like it's air conditioned even on the hottest days.
+ Having so much room - room enough for a nursery and a spare room and a dining table and a big kitchen and an office, dreamy!
+ The big lead light window above my desk.
+ Shiny wooden floors that are good for sliding around on in socks (don't worry, I'm not doing any of that while in my current condition!).
+ Lovely natural light (skylights!).
+ Having a big comfy bathtub.
+ Its proximity to the city - a five minute walk to the park, the shops & the CBD (it feels funny saying that Launceston has one of those - it's so little!).
+ The verandah out front which houses our second couch - a nice spot for afternoon reading while watching over the city - when my grandma stayed with us, she spent a lot of time sitting on it in the sunshine reading her newspaper with one of our cats beside her and we'd hear her asking "what do you think, puss?".
+ The fact that sometimes people walking by stop and take its picture.

What are your favourite things about your abode?

I am beginning to enjoy this putting-a-bit-of-effort-into-my-appearance thing again. I think I've moved into the territory of treating this big belly of mine as a kind of accessory, rather than something that makes all of my clothes look ill-fitting. Last week we had a check-up and baby boy was measuring a week bigger than his 25 week estimation, so I hope that means I'm feeding him well and that he might pay us a visit a little earlier than planned.

I am still spending most of my time immersed in nursery decor planning and DIYs and eBay and Gumtree and second hand shops. It's bringing me equal amounts of joy and anxiousness - I still need to buy a capsule, cloth nappies, clothing and some other odds and ends, but most of the main bits have been collected. I finish up at work at the end of next month and have decided to take a full 52 weeks of leave (4 weeks of annual leave, then 18 weeks of paid leave and the rest unpaid). I mostly do the midnight closing shifts and I don't spend too much time serving customers any more, just doing the jobs and cleaning up before we close, but I'm starting to get really worn out. Restocking the drinks fridge each night is my workout for the day. I know a lot of women work right up until their due date (even in jobs like mine where you're on your feet all day) but I decided that taking two months off before my due date would be my treat to myself. I'm hoping to spend it opshopping, crafting, nesting, going for fun little drives and relaxing (and getting enough sleep to last me for the next year or two).





+ shoes: melissa
+ skirt & shirt: kmart
+ tights: sussan
+ cardigan: nanna's
+ badge: i can't remember! somebody sent it to me. was it you?!

Speaking of Nanna's - the ladies from favourite little local vintage clothes and coffee shop are selling their lovely shop after two successful years (Laura is in the baby growing club too). If I wasn't full of baby myself I'd love to give it a go, but I really hope somebody snaps it up and treats it as well as Laura and Lucy have. Anyone feel like moving to Tasmania and running a gorgeous little vintage shop?!