Doak's Baby Showers

   Richmond Shower

The Richmond baby shower was at my home but hosted by great friends, Johnna Sheets and Cameron Poindexter.
The decor stemmed from Doak's nursery with the colors and birds but had a slight carnival theme as well with flags and a photo booth!

note: The tissue paper pom poms are so cute and add so much color!
Here is a link on how to make them yourself:
    Tissue Paper Pom Poms      

Johnna made these flag streamers that hung from the torches on the back deck. The fabric was leftover from the quilt she made. Check it out: Doak's Quilt

The Photo Booth was a HUGE hit! Loved this little sign so much I hung it in Doak's nursery after the party. 

Johnna and her hubby Dan set up an area with fabric and decor for people to come and get there photo taken. Props like, hula hoops, pin wheels and bubbles were also used to create goofy and priceless pics.  

Red Sangria and Vanilla cupcakes with vanilla icing!
Flag theme continued. 

Pretty!

I stamped this frame with Doak's initials and asked, "Please give the soon to be parents any advice on their new chapter... adventure." I thought it would be great to read years from now. 

Advise from friends. : )

I attached these tags on the party favors with a bird stamp and message on the opposite side. I loved all of the different patterns and colors... again, staying with the nursery color theme. I used tootsie pops, tootsie rolls (chocolate, orange, lime and vanilla), and candy dots for the favors.

tip: Always check out Michael Arts and Crafts dollar section, usually in the aisle right before you check out. I bought these tags and matching "Thank You" cards for super cheap.
12 tags for $1. 6 cards for $1.  

Thank you cards matched the tags on the candy favors and a orange bird stamp to finalize the letter. 

Cute shower gifts and cards!

Love these natural wood blocks Carly found on Etsy!

Love this detail from a blanket made from my very talented friend, Brandye. 

Kitty plaques and flag card from Johnna and Dan. So cute!

Pittsburgh Shower

The Pittsburgh shower was at my parents home and was hosted by my mom, sisters and sister-in-laws. It had been raining the entire week before but thankfully it was a beautiful day.

I brought the decor and photo booth props from the Richmond shower back to the 'burgh because they were so cute and it was such a great way to capture family and friends. Good times!

note: Top photos: My mom, sisters (minus Meg's), nieces and I.
Bottom photo: Der's Aunt Ginny with her girls Cameron and Landin and I. 

For this April shower I used different favors to go with a different theme. "April Flowers bring May Flowers." 
I gave everyone wildflower seeds in little white tins.  


note: I got the tins from the dollar store in the wedding section. Yes, the dollar store has a wedding section, haha.
6 tins for $1 

I found really colorful floral cards from, again, Michael's dollar section and wrote a message inside, "April Flowers bring May Flowers and Baby Doak in June!
Doak was born June 7th.

note: I couldn't find the tags similar to the ones from the first shower so I cut the printed cards into small tags and hole punched the end to attach the note to the tin with raffia.
I used the extra cards for the thank you letters. I have no idea if anyone remembers the connection but I think its a cute way to keep everything connected to the theme. 

Jenny, in the yellow dress, made this beautiful blanket for Doak. That makes #3 in the handmade blanket department.
 Lucky boy! 

My sisters set up a craft table for the little ones, and some adults (me), to create a scrapbook for Doak. Cameron, in photo, made a bunch of great pages and wrote really sweet messages for Doak to read when he gets older. 

The craft table also had a bunch of onesies with markers, paint, stencils, etc., for everyone to decorate. 


note: Morgan and Abbey, my nieces, had a blast and did a great job creating new clothes for their soon to be cousin.

Attempting the acrylic spray paint and stencils... not bad. 
Wow, my hands are swollen! 

They turned out really cute and it was a great way to keep the younger crowd entertained.

side note: 

I wanted to dress Doak up and show you guys some of the creative, some handmade, gifts he got from his showers.
His "King of the Crib" onesie from Ana goes perfect with his lions mane crochet hat Carly got from Etsy. 

As I'm taking these pics Der says in the background... "he's not going to like these ones when he grows up." Haha! 

Carly also found these great green and black toile fabric slippers from Etsy...
so cute!

Here are the gorgeous crochet blankets laid out for Doak to learn to crawl and nap.
I have such thoughtful, creative and talented people in my life... I am so thankful.

note: Mutlicolored by Jenny Cornman: Check out her Etsy shop!
Multi blue by Brandye Jefferson

The little details. perfection.


Have a good one!
Melis

Doak's Nursery~ Before and Afters

I started Doak's Nursery last February... so that makes me 6 months pregnant in this photo. I was full of energy and ready to put my ideas into action. Here are some before and after photos of the room and some of the projects done for the space. 

Before we found out we were expecting the space was used as a generic guestroom. There wasn't much to it because I knew that soon it was going to be a nursery! 

I used Valspar paint from Lowes.
Valspar has a zero VOC line of 
paint, which is ideal for pregnancy.
Color: Stormy Cove

Cleared out the furniture and ready to paint! 

I knew before I had any idea of what the sex of the baby was that this tree decal was going to be apart of the nursery regardless. It is 7 feet tall! 
I bought it from Dali Decals. They have an amazing selection of decals that are affordable, although the price went up on this one. Tall Trees with Leaves Blowing in the Wind.

tip: The decal is hung in multiple pieces because of its large size. 
Here is a video on how to install:
Tree Decal Installation
You should definitely watch... it was so helpful!

Voila!

Detail
and bella, again!

You get to choose a color for the tree stump/branches and 2 accent colors for the leaves.
I used Stump/branches: Dark Bown
Accent Leaves: Matte Orange and Matte Olive

tip: They offer a great Pantone Color Chart that you can order for $2 before picking the perfect colors. 

I also loved the Flying Birds Decal as well and thought it would be cool to have them intertwined. This decal was super cheap... a set of 30 birds for $29!

note: The theme of the nursery is, The Calm Before the Storm. The look I wanted was accomplished with a dusty blue colored sky, leaves blowing off the branches and the birds flying into the distance, before the storm comes, on the painted ceiling. 

Here are a bunch of discontinued fabric samples that I knew I wanted to make a quilt out of but Johnna Sheets took over the project and wanted to make it as a gift for the baby. It was such a relief considering she can sew and I can't.
 She is amazing! 

First we picked all of the samples I wanted to use and laid them out to make sure the patterns all worked together. 

Detail
Johnna went to Joann Fabrics to get a fleece backing fabric and stuffed it with cotton batting to create a super soft and gorgeous quilt. 

SO BEAUTIFUL! 
Such a special gift... Doak will have this for the rest of his life and maybe pass it down to his little one some day. 

More discontinued and extra fabrics to create toss pillows! 

After a sewing lesson from Johnna, on my own sewing machine, we made these! Haha, I need to start sewing more.

These pillows are on the futon in the babies room. They look great! 

Here I hung discontinued fab samples to frame Doak's initials hooks. There were thin silver rods that hung the samples on the rack. I kept them so it would be an easy and decorative way to hang them. 



side note:




Johnna and I worked day and night to get the nursery painted. Actually we were pleasantly surprised how fast it took... about 4 hours. We listened to an old school playlist and "rocked" it out... literally. Good times!


Have a good one!
Melis

Doak's Nursery

Sleepy baby
I am continuing Tuesdays post "Orange Rocker" with a complete look at Doak's nursery and decided to dedicate the next couple posts to him since he turns 4 months old today! 
He has inspired me to be super creative while staying on a budget. Between the details in his room and his baby showers there were a ton of great DIY ideas that I would be glad share.   

Color scheme
Wall Color: Stormy Cove-Valspar
Fitting for the theme, "Calm Before the Storm."
Accent colors: Chocolate, orange and avocado.

Click here for details about the Orange Rocker

  

This little bird was made from the extra discontinued fabric samples used for the quilt in the pic below. Both were a gift made by Johnna... so amazing!

The carpet samples below are perfect for functional art. They add tons of color and texture for the baby to touch and feel.   

Bella hanging out on a Target area rug. The colors are perfect and I found it in clearance for $30!

Large DIY mirror for super cheap! $12 total

tip: I hung nine mirror tiles and added round natural wood discs to each corner to complete the look. The dresser, tables and futon are natural colored wood so this was a great way to tie it all together. 

I absolutely LOVE the wall decals from Dali Decals. The tree was the first idea for the room. Everything else just grew from there.
I mixed two different decals to get this look. I used the tree decal with the birds flying to create a windy storm effect.

The nursery is a great place to display our Jack poster that we got at his concert... tix were a birthday gift from Der. : )

note: Photo booth sign was used at Doak's baby shower. I will definitely post photos of the baby shower as well... DIY decorations and really cute ideas from the party planner, Johnna Sheets.

 Pillows on IKEA futon: Giraffe print pillows made with discontinued fabric samples. Circle pillows made with fabrics left over from a design job.

note: Kitty plaques below were made by Johnna and Dan Sheets. They are so cute and are a perfect way to bring our kitties, Bebe, Bella, and Ben, into the decor. 

I used three birch colored LACK side tables from IKEA for only $10 each. I placed storage bins underneath for books and toys. I liked the table idea instead of a bookshelf because he can use them to play on and the will eventually become his nightstand on either side of his full size bed.

note: His crib turns into a full headboard and footboard. Always thinking about function for the future. 

 Discontinued fabric
samples worked out
 perfect for
wall art, pillows and a gorgeous
quilt.

I used wood hooks with his initials, Doak Walker Molitor, for his hat collection. Found them at Michael's in the dollar section!

                                                                                

FILLSTA Lighting fixture from IKEA
LOVE the bird decals on the ceiling

I used the 6 drawer Malm Dresser from IKEA and added a changing cushion instead of getting a changing table so that he can use it throughout his teens.

note: Doak is crazy about the carpet samples above, as you can see, so changing his diaper is simple because there is something to grab his attention. 

I use a $12 laundry drying rod to hold his cloth diapers. They are conveniently placed next to the "changing table" and add a bit of color.


Best part: We are saving money, saving some room in the landfills and he looks adorable in them.

                        side note: 

 In this photo I was 8 months pregnant and SO ready to meet him!

 I can not believe he is 4 months old already. He is growing and learning so fast. I am always entertained by him especially when he laughs. He thinks I'm hilarious... he'll realize the truth soon enough. I am so in love.

Have a good one!
Melis

 p.s.

Babies up! : )

Orange Rocker

Doak's nursery would not be complete without this orange rocker! It was given to me, originally in a medium wood color, by great friends for my baby shower. I painted it last March and just notice this similar, very expensive, orange chair below on Anthro's website. 


Anthropologie $1098

1st coat: Spray paint PRIMER

tip: Instead of sanding down the entire chair I used a spray paint primer. It was the perfect way to prepare the wood for better adhesion and durability.

note: It was so fast and effective. I used a primer with a grey tint since I was applying a color instead of white.

                                                                              

2nd coat: Rest-Oleum SPRAY PAINT

note: In only two easy steps this tradition rocking chair is transformed into a modern baby rocker! 

I added a lime green cushion for comfort. I absolutely LOVE this chair and so does Der, especially when rocking our little one to sleep... it's the sweetest thing.

note: I'll put photos of the rest of the nursery up soon... it was such a fun project and so many ideas were done super cheap! 



side note:

This was the original rocker given to me at Doak's baby shower last March.
Thanks Phil and Rick!!!

note: a ducky towel was also attached...

and here is Doaky in his ducky. : )

Have a good one!

 Melis