Thursday, January 13, 2011

Baby Aisley's Nursery

Eccentric. Eclectic. Random. Classic. Modern. These are all words that describe my taste. You can take a look into my closet, around my house and see that there really isn't a theme, but made up of things I like. Since I have such a wide range of likes and dislikes when it comes to decorating, I knew that I wouldn't be able to buy a "bed-in-a-bag" nursery.

I looked. And looked. And looked some more. Either everything had flowers and bows and was drowning in pink or it had animals all over it. Don't get me wrong. I love animals. I just didn't want a zoo in my little one's room. Also, almost every bedding selection had pastels in it. Barf. I wanted this room to be cheery. A happy place. Not a place that reminded me of pink fluffy unicorns.

I love birds, especially owls. No, I will never own a bird. They are kind of gross as pets, but they are beautiful. My great grandmother had doves that she kept in the backyard in an big, elaborate cage. Duke and Duchess were awesome. When we lived with her, I would be in charge of helping her take care of them. I thought they were elegant. I love the sound of doves cooing.

Anyways, so I decided on an aviary theme for the nursery. However, I didn't want birds on the bedding, curtains, etc. Enough is too much. Also, now for safety reasons, you are not supposed to use a bumper *ever*, a comforter or a mobile. So you are pretty much spending $160+ on a crib sheet and a bed skirt. I decided to make my own bed skirt and curtains. The fabric cost me $50 at Fabric Factory. I am using crib sheets that are sold separately and the quilt was given to me. It is strictly for decoration purposes right now, but something she can enjoy later on.

My talented mother crocheted all of the items you see on the mobile hanging in the corner. Once everything was crocheted I was tasked with finding a way to put it all together. I used fishing line, twig wreath, sticks and some random decorative twigs and eyelash yarn.
Chris' aunt Debi painted the tree *in about an hour*.  My sister painted the bottom half of the room the beautiful blue. It was formerly maroon. Pretty, but too dark for a baby's room.
I chose a rocker recliner instead of a glider. Advantages in my opinion: no foot stool that permanently stays out and in the way. Extra cushion for those long feedings. Ability to recline and catch a few zzz's if the little one falls asleep after a feeding and has a tendency to wake up when moved.

We decided on Aisley for her name for many reasons. Paisley is over used and I didn't want her to have the initials P.P. (And I am not crazy about paisley print either. If you know me well, you know the reasoning behind this.) Chris liked Ainsley, but I think it is hard to say and it generally used for a man's name in the UK. Also, it sounds like a body part to me. (I will let you figure out which one.) That is how we decided on Aisley. It is a real name. Not common, but for the most part people can spell it and say it when they see it.
I picked up this tree stump in New Mexico during the summer along with the tree branch used for the curtains. I stacked miscellaneous books in order to make the lamp the perfect height. The lamp base was a wonderful $5 find at a local thrift store. I purchased the lamp shade at Target and Chris' Aunt Debi and her creative genius decorated it with the "Old Wise Owl" nursery rhyme.

A wise old owl lived in an oak 
The more he saw the less he spoke
The less he spoke the more he heard
Why can't we all be like that wise old bird?

So there you have it. The baby's room is almost complete. We are missing a few things like the changing table pad, a diaper pail and most importantly, Aisley. 

I have my baby showers in a few weeks and cannot wait. I am so excited to share this time with friends and family. I feel so blessed to have so many loving and caring people in our lives. There isn't enough time in the day for me to count our many blessings and name them one by one. 

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