We have a wonderful friend named Michelle who has blessed us beyond belief. God has gifted her with not only the talent, but the time and resources to sew and quilt...and she wanted to bless us! The two of us went to MaryJo's Fabric in Gastonia, NC (near Charlotte) and had an awesome time picking out Ella's nursery decor. We landed on this chocolate polka-dotted pattern and found some great (and super affordable) fabrics to match...and Michelle went to work! She made the bumpers, the crib sheets, the dust ruffle, the window treatment, the diaper stacker, and a beautiful quilt (which is not in the picture because I have been using it for myself...er...'breaking it in'.) Thank you, Michelle! You are such a God-send!
The other parts of the room are also special....the crib was actually my crib when I was a baby. It has my teeth marks on it from where I would gnaw on the edge. It's a beautiful hardwood with a walnut finish, and quite frankly, they just don't make them like they used to. My parents kept it in great condition and my dad cleaned it up before they delivered it. Brandon did all the research for the safety standards (we'll need to take those cornerposts off when she gets bigger) and bought new hardware...he put it together and we are pretty proud of it.
The changing tables are actually Brandon's old night stands that we inherited from the family. Though they endured two boys in the home and weren't in the best condition, when we sanded them down we found them to be made of beautiful wood as well. Brandon stained them to match the crib and worked vigorously on getting them just right. We still need to pick out the hardware for the drawers, but they're functional and beautiful for now!I made the frames seen above (if you'd like a custom frame made, email me!) The first one has a verse from Psalm 139 in it, and the second one is from Jeremiah 1. Also notice Ella's ultrasound pic on the changing table. We can't wait to get REAL pictures of her soon! We've got a couple of empty picture frames waiting for the right shot to go in there!
Finally, we found this glider/ottomon set at Walmart after looking all over for one. I couldn't believe how much they want to charge for these things! It was close to a mortgage payment for some of them! But we just needed something that would work at this point, and found this one to be pretty comfy, neutral enough to go with the decor, made of hardwood (which Brandon wants to sand down and refinish--I think I've created a monster), and--the best part--ON SALE and managable for our budget! So unless we get bum-cramps while rocking Ella back to sleep, we'll be happy with this.
So...now all we're doing is waiting for her to arrive! If she knew how adorable her nursery is, she would surely rather be out enjoying it instead of in my belly still! We're still 5 days out from the due date, so I'm waiting to give her the eviction notice a little longer!
