My First Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day!

For the past five years or so I have avoided Mother's Day like the plague.  I have blown off family dinners and pretty much cocooned myself inside my house.

When you are not a Mom and are desperately looking forward to being one the day can be overwhelming.  Last year was probably my lowest point.  The day before Mother's Day I found out that I was not pregnant...yet again. 

I was a mess.

What a difference a year makes. 

I am a Mom.  I can finally say that.

As I reflect on my first Mother's Day I can say that all of the cliches are true.  You do not truly know how much you can love until you have a child. 

In my short time as a Mother I have already experienced stronger emotions than I thought possible.  I can't watch the news anymore as all of the sad stories hit me harder.  What if that was my daughter? 

I will often find myself holding her and feeling such a wave of love that it actually hurts my heart.  The biggest heart-melting position is when I am burping her during a night feeding over my shoulder.  She is drowsy and buries her little head in the nook of my neck...gets me every time. 

Motherhood is hard and I am sure it will continue to get harder.  I believe the Army's slogan is "It's the toughest job you will ever love."  I call bull crap.  Motherhood definitely holds that title.  Bring it on!  I can't wait for all of the "firsts" yet to come.

Being a Mom has also opened my eyes to the love my Mom has for me.  It has been wonderful getting to see her become a Grandma.

Mom,

I love you so much and I am so lucky to be able to call you Mom.  I can only hope to be half the Mom you are.  I am so lucky that my little girl gets to call you Grandma.  Enjoy your new title this Mother's Day but know you will always hold the title of Mom.

Love your little girl.

So Happy Mother's Day to all and prayers and good thoughts to those still struggling to get there.  Hold on, it will happen.  It may not happen in exactly the manner you envisioned but then again nothing does.  Know you are not alone.  Many struggle but you will soon have your own story, no matter how many plot twists.

Little Red Riding Dress

 

I am really enjoying sewing little baby clothes.  I have about 5 patterns that are waiting in the queue for fabric and time.  (Time being the limiting factor...who knew having a baby would be so time-consuming....oh yeah, everyone!)

I did manage to make a Little Geranium dress by MADE BY RAE.  This pattern for 0-3 Months is free on her website.

The instructions were great and the dress came out very cute.  I do have to say that I wish the neckline was not so "boxy." I feel like it goes too far up on baby girls chest so that you can't see that she has a neck.

The good thing is that MADE BY RAE does offer a Geranium dress pattern for sale that includes additional options for necklines as well as shelves.  It also is for additional sizes.  I will most likely be buying the full pattern as I really did like the way the dress came together.  I even got to use my button hole maker settings on my machine for the first time.

The material is from the Little Red Riding Hood line from Riley Blake.  There are some really cute fabric patterns in that line.  I have some other patterns that I am trying to figure out what to do with.  They are just too cute not to use.

I also made another little pair of pants using the same pattern that I used for the Easter outfit.   I really do like that method for making leggings.  They are really easy to whip up and she has gotten a lot of use out of them.  I am ordering some fun knits online so that I can make some additional leggings for the fall.

My next clothing project is most likely going to involve making some shorts.  It is finally warming up around here and will soon be too hot for little pants.

I have not been able to find a pattern online that I really like.  Most seem too involve for infant shorts.  I don't want to spend a bunch of time with pleats and darts when the little shorts are going to be bunched up sitting in a bumbo or kicking around on a playmat.  I will save the super cute time consuming stuff for when it can be toddled around.

I think my plan is to approach the shorts in a similar way to the pants.  I am going to use a pair of existing shorts as a pattern.  Hopefully I will be able to post a tutorial soon. 

If you don't ever see a BABY SHORTS post...it means they did not turn out. Don't hold your breathe.

Really all of this baby clothes making is just an excuse to take pictures of baby girl.  She is an adorable model.

Friends

 

Tomorrow my life-long friend is coming for a visit.  Too many people throw around the phrase life-long friend.  They typically mean someone that they have known from early childhood.  In some cases they may have even known the person before kindergarten.  While that is a long time I challenge the statement of "life-long".

Not to brag...but mine is a true life-long friendship.  It acually started in-utero.  Our mothers were friends before we were born.  They were friends before they were married.  Friends before their pregnancies. 

Once roommates they ended up loosing touch after one moved across the country.  After moving back years later they ended up running into each other on the street both pregnant by this time.  Our mothers started up their friendship again supporting each other throughout their pregnancies. 

On the day of my birth my Mom called up my friend's Mom to see how she was doing.  When she called she found out that she had actually gone to the hospital; she was in labor.  Not long after making that phone call my Mom went into labor.

My Mom ended up in the same delivery room as her friend.

We were born on the same day...40 minutes apart.

We grew up together.  Even though we went to different schools and had different circles of friends we had a special friendship that has lasted through the years.

I have been lucky to have her in my life.   She has two beautiful twin girls that mean the world to her.  They have had their struggles.  Born premature they needed extra TLC from the beginning.  When one of her girls developed liver problems and needed a liver transplant she handled everything with an amazing inner strength.  She had to struggle through long days and nights, numerous trips to the hospital, and watching her little one go through multiple procedures.  She is the strongest person I know and I hope I can be half the mother she has become.

Last week she called and let me know that she was making a surprise visit to see me and baby girl this week.  I didn't realize how much I missed her until I knew she was coming.

I want her to meet my baby. 

I want to hug her. 

I want my best friend.

Our friendship has evolved over the years.  We are no longer the girls that used to sing stupid songs, fall off chairs, and spin around until we touch hands.  We are mother's and have our own girls now.  While they won't be able to say they are life-long friends I hope we can raise them as special friends.  Friends that don't necessarily need to talk or see each other everyday.  Friends that will be there no matter what, no matter the distance, no matter how much time has gone by.

Kristie (you will always be Kristie to me) thank you for planning this trip.  I love you and can't wait to see you tomorrow. 

Hopping Down the Bunny Trail

Happy Easter!

I was certain I was going to rush out and buy an over-the-top Easter dress for baby girl.  However after I had looked at a few stores I changed my mind.  Don't get me wrong I saw plenty of outfits that could make you just die from the cuteness.  But little babies tend to get lost a bit in all of that flounce.  Many of the dresses just wouldn't look right on a baby, they needed a toddler that could stand up to do the cute justice. 

So I decided to wait another year for the big time Easter dress.  I should probably warn her now that next year she will be in ruffles and there will be an Easter bonnet.

I figured a cute onesie and a skirt would do the trick for this year.  This was going to be my first craft project post baby.

Let me just say that this little project, that would have taken me a couple of hours pre-baby, took me multiple days and required I forgo a couple of Mom naps to complete.  I think it was worth it!

Onesie -
No big deal here all I did was find a cute bunny picture and stitch witchery it onto the onesie.

Skirt -
I "semi" followed the tutorial found here from Crazy Little Projects.  I will say that this works a bit better for a larger baby.  I ended up having to make the top layer much smaller than it should have been because I didn't have enough real estate to get in 3 layers.  If I had to do it over I would probably make my skirt a bit longer in order to accommodate all 3 layers.  I still like the end result so no biggie!

Leggings
These are probably what I was most excited about on this project.  I love little baby leggings but I can't seem to find exactly what I want.  I had actually tried to find white leggings at the store without any luck.  I was very excited when I stumbled upon this tutorial for easy baby leggings from Make It Love It.  While the tutorial was very simple I was concerned about sewing with knit.  I have a pretty cheapo sewing machine and I was unsure if I could even sew on the fabric.  I made a bold move, bought a twin needle and just went for it.  Despite one complete baby fuss meltdown during a critical step everything went together super easy.  I will be making more of these.  They are very easy and I can get exactly what I want.

So not to toot my own horn but I am pleased with my first post baby craft (even if it did take a long time to complete). 

Add a few Easter eggs and bam...cutest Easter baby ever!

Babies Don't Like To Be Naked

I like to consider myself an amateur photographer.  Emphasis on the amateur part.  So I of course had grand delusions of taking my own newborn photographs.  Up until now my photographs have mostly been limited to macro photos of inanimate objects or the occasional child of a friend that I manage to wrangle for a few minutes.  I don't typically do posed photos I tend to focus more on candid shots.  Just capturing small moments.

So of course now that I have my own child and unlimited access to her I decided to try my hand at doing some posing.  And what is more cute and sweet then a sleeping naked baby?

There is a reason that professional newborn photographers exist.   After spending a couple of days trying to get some decent shots I have determined the following things.

1) Babies do not like to be naked.

2) Babies really do not like to be naked in a ceramic bowl.

3) Naked babies will take any and all opportunities to pee or poop on you when naked (especially if they are in a ceramic bowl.)

4) Babies do not like to stay in the position you have placed them.

5) Babies to not adjust their feeding schedules so that you can use the natural light coming through your living room.  They instead sleep through all of the good light so you are reduced to scrambling around your house to round up any floor lamps you can find.  Only to have the baby be ready for the next feeding by the time you are finally ready to start taking pictures.

6) Babies will squint, squirm, and spit up just when you finally get them positioned correctly.

7) Babies do not like to be naked...they will poop on you.  (Yes this is a repeat but I feel it needs to be stated more than once as it happened more than once.)

8) Babies will let you know when the photo shoot is over. 

Bottom line.  If I want posed naked newborn pictures I am going to have to find someone else to take them...

...however if I stick to a mix of clothed poses and candid shots I will be okay.

 

Happy Birthday!

I woke up on Thursday the 21st still pregnant.  I was ready to get labor going.  There are a ton of theories and induction superstitions out there.  Some have a loose medical tie (walking, etc.) and some are just down right stupid (touch your left foot to your left ear...who can even do that when they are 9 months preggo!). 

I decided that I was going to up my efforts to move baby girl along.  As stated above I was unable to get my foot to my ear (yes I tried) so I went a bit more conventional.

My Mom and I went to lunch at a Mexican restaurant to get some spicy food.  I had initially planned on meeting a friend downtown to get some amazing enchilada suzas but decided at the last minute that I probably shouldn't be driving over an hour away from home base. 

 

Next up on the "get the baby out mission" was some shopping.  Went headed to the mall to do some window shopping while getting in some good power walking.  At the beginning of the walking efforts I was pretty sure that I was going to be pregnant forever...however toward the end I was feeling a bit "off."  We made one final quick stop to pick up a baby book.  I had been going back and forth on if I actually wanted to do an actual book...I decided yes.

With baby book in the backseat we headed home.  We had only been home about an hour when I felt my first contraction.  Of course I wasn't sure at the time that was what was going on, only that it hurt and it was a new sensation. What happened after that was a roller coaster that ended in the birth of my beautiful baby girl.

4:00 PM First contractions started.

4:15 Called the husband at work and told him that he needed to skip his 5:00 meeting as "I think things are getting started".

5:00 The husband came home.  He instantly thought I was probably over reacting and that if I was in fact having contractions we still had a long way to go.

6:15 We made the decision to head into the hospital.  I had been having regular very strong contractions every 20 minutes...however I was having some slightly milder contractions every in between the strong ones.  Obviously 20 minutes apart is too far to head into labor and delivery...but if you counted the milder ones we were looking at every 5 minutes apart.  I panicked.  I was convinced that all of the contractions should be counted and we needed to head in.  The husband was prepared to be sent home.

6:20 While the husband quickly packed up the car I quickly slapped a layer of frosting on the cake in between contractions.  This was probably one of the stupidest things I have done but at the time it was really important to me.  I will admit that my Mom had to finish the frosting effort as the contraction pain knocked me down a bit and I needed to get in the car.

7:00 Arrived at the hospital and got checked into labor and delivery.  The husband insisted on leaving all of the bags in the car as he didn't want to have to do the "walk of shame" back out with all of our stuff when they sent us home to labor a bit more before admitting us.

7:45 The decision was made to admit us (Ha!  I knew it was the real thing!).  I was dilated to a 4+ so we were still expecting a long labor ahead of us...but thankfully it would be with an epidural.

8:00  We were in our labor and delivery room waiting for the IV to get placed.  As soon as the IV was in the anesthesiologist can in to do the epi.  I will admit I was pretty nervous about getting the epi.  I mean it is a needle going toward my spinal cord!  I know the topic of drugs vs. natural is a huge one for pregnant women.  I personally cannot recommend the epi more!  It was amazing and took the pain away instantly.  Mine was also a really good one that allowed me to still be able to move my legs a bit.  I never felt overly drugged up and I didn't have any side effects.  The doc did mention that because of my height (I am a shortie) I would most likely have my blood pressure drop a bit which would be fine as they could correct that with a simple administration of drugs.  I was supposed to let them know if I got nauseous.  So all was good. 

9:00 The doctor broke my water to try and jump start everything.

9:30 The nurse told us to get ready to wait around for the next 5-9 hours while my body dilated from the 4 to a 10.  The husband was doing jumping jacks trying to wake up a bit and we were getting ready to watch a couple of movies on Netflix.  I started to feel nauseous.  I called the nurse and waited.  While waiting the alarm on my blood pressure went off.  My blood pressure had begun to drop rapidly.  The anesthesiologist and nurse came in and gave me the mediation to stabilize my blood pressure.  The OB doctor also came in around that time.  He said he wanted to do a quick check on my progress as there was a VERY SLIM chance that the blood pressure drop and nauseous was due to me being in the final stages of labor and not actually due to the epidural.  The doc and nurses reassured us that this was REALLY RARE for a first time mom. 

10:15 "You are dilated to a 9.  Get ready to push in 30 minutes."  After the doctor made that statement pretty much everything else is a blur.  There was a flourish of activity with nurses getting things ready.  The husband had to make a quick call to the Grandmas (both my Mom and his Mom) to let them know that they needed to get in the car and drive to the hospital NOW.  I got a bit panicky as things were happening so fast I did not have time to mentally prepare myself.  Looking back it was probably a good thing as I would have only succeeded in stressing myself out. 

11:00 - After some great coaching from the doctor about how to push we were ready to go.  It was just a couple of nurses, the doctor, and the husband in the room.  It was the hardest thing I have ever done.  Because I had the epi I could not feel when to push or if I was pushing correctly.  The doctor had to guide me.  After a few rounds of pushing the alarm on baby girl's heart started sounding.  She was in distress and stuck in the birth canal.  The husband and I could tell that the nurses and doc were concerned.  Out came the vacuum.  I had hoped to avoid it but obviously we needed to get baby girl out.

11:30 - Our lives changed.  One final set of pushes and one application of the vacuum and Hadley Anne was born.

Through a bunch of tears I finally was able to see my baby girl as she was placed on my chest.  The husband cut the cord and she was quickly whisked away to be checked out by the pediatric nurse.  The husband went to the other side of the room with baby girl while the doctor finished with me.  I ended up having a pretty good number of stitches but honestly I didn't even ask anything about myself I just wanted to hear her cry and see if she needed any time in the nursery or NICU.  Thankfully she did not.  She passed all tests and was eventually placed into my arms.

I can't even describe that feeling...there are no words.

(She was upset that she didn't get any cake!)

 

Happy Birthday Hadley!
Love Mom & Dad

Little Girl Clothes

Call it nesting, call it keeping my mind off of the fact that I am STILL pregnant, call it whatever you want.  I made my first little girl dress this past weekend.  This is actually my first attempt at clothing period, baby or otherwise.

I will admit that as soon as we found out we were having a girl I started getting excited for all of the little clothes I could make. 

I have really enjoyed sewing but until now it really has been limited to craft projects which are a bit more forgiving as far as fit.  I was a bit nervous to try my hand at clothes but at least they are baby things and don't have to fit perfectly, right?

I really like rather simple styles without a ton of fluff and flounce.  (Although I do have a bit of a weakness for ruffles on baby behinds...).  I like my dresses with straight lines and not a ton of ruffles. 

I came across a Butterick pattern at a JoAnn's sale I thought it fit the bill.  In addition to the pattern I found this super cute seersucker fabric in the red line clearance section for half off.  It ended up being a dollar a yard!  Score.  Plus it seemed perfect for summer.

There is no tutorial here as it is not my pattern but I will share some things that I learned along the way.

1) I have become a bit spoiled by online tutorials.  Working off of a pattern is not my favorite as you are left to make some leaps of faith when the instructions don't necessarily make sense.

2) When in doubt go with your gut.  When I was working on the arm holes I didn't like one of the instructions as I felt it was going to turn out a bit bulky.  I decided to try it as written on the first side...  Guess what it turned out really bulky so I made an adjustment for the second side and I liked the result much better.  Maybe I didn't read the instructions correctly...or maybe I am just really awesome and my way was better (let's go with the second option).

3) Basting is for suckers.  Holy cow I have never seen so may basting steps.  I decided early on that I was not going to waste my time basting every 2 seconds and I would "honey badger" it using pins and such.  Potentially my lines would have been a bit sharper if I had done the basting but I honestly think it came out great in probably half of the time it would have taken me if I had followed all of the basting craziness.

4) Baby girl may be wearing this dress in the dead of winter vs. summer.  I think I ended up with a 9-12 month dress vs. the 3-6 month I was shooting for.  I am not sure if this was due to me or just the sizing in the pattern.  If she doesn't end up a chunker-nutter/Michelin Man baby she may have to wear a baggy dress or plan on being in a cardigan in the winter.

All in all it was pretty easy to put together and I will definitely be making another one.  I am really excited to start making some clothes and I already have my next project picked out...however if baby girl decides to actually come out it may need to wait for a bit!

What a Year - Nursery Craft Photo Bomb

It is the last day of the year.  What a year it has been!  This has definitely been the year of the baby.  Our entire year has revolved around the upcoming little one.  Even before she was a reality.  It has been a bit of a roller coaster of emotions but 100% worth it!

I won't be posting a top ten Wood and Cloth blogs from the past year as I probably didn't post many more than ten! 

So instead I will try to get caught up on posting the craft/decor items that have been completed for the nursery.  I got a bunch finished this holiday vacation which is a good thing as I swear the baby bump has grown exponentially over the past couple of days.  This is making sitting or standing too long uncomfortable.  Add in the fact that I have to sit a good distance away from the sewing machine and the number of projects getting done over the next few weeks is probably pretty limited. 

Project #1 - Pinwheel Pillow

I did post a picture of this in a previous post.  It comes from a wonderful tutorial from Cluck Cluck Sew.  A pinwheel pillow?  I couldn't pass it up. 

Project #2 - Bunting

Simple bunting made with bias tape. 

Project #3 - Paper Pinwheels.

I still have a few of these to make, finding double sided scrapbook paper is more difficult than one might imagine.  There are a bunch of tutorials for these out there on the web.  I used paper drinking straws for the stems.

Project #4 - Framed Paper Elephant w/ Pinwheel.

This is the first of a few projects that were put in painted picture frames.  All of the frames came from IKEA and were originally white.  I will note that some of the frames did not take to the paint as well as others.  No biggie I just did a few more coats and then decided that the white that bled through was character!

For this little guy I just found an image online for the elephant pattern, put a bit of baker's twine on and glued one of my pinwheels.

There are many options for nursery art with elephants holding a flower but I thought the pinwheel would work well...and I think it did!

Project #5 - Framed Paper Punched Elephant

I am going to preface this project...I will most likely redo this one a bit.  I threw this together using hole punched elephants (the punch is from Martha Stewart) in a few minutes.  I didn't really measure and it looks a bit sloppy to me.  However when you are showing off your nursery for the first time to visiting family members sometimes it is enough just to get it done. 

I really liked this punch as it allows for some dimension with the ears that you can fold up. 

Project #6 - Fabric Covered Letter

 

I never really found a great tutorial on how to cover a paper mache letter...so I winged it.  Honestly I just cut and glued a bunch (using fabric glue) trying to make the seams as unnoticeable as possible. 

Project #7 - Headband Holder

The inspiration for this project (which is technically a Wood project) came from a tutorial by Shanty 2 Chic.  We ended up changing it up a bit and using small turned wood feet.  The husband gets partial credit for this one although I probably could have assembled it my self.

Project #8 -  Monochromatic Sayings

I saw this idea on Pinterest and unfortunately when I went back to see how it was done my link took me to spam so I improvised.  The husband had cut me plywood boards awhile back for a different project (I decided against doing that one, at least for the time being) so I used them as my backing.  I think the original one used canvas which would also work.  I then attached wooden letters using wood glue and painted.  As a piece of advice I would not suggest gluing the letters to the wood backing until after you have painted the wood backing and the letters separately.  It was a bit of a pain to paint them together and made for some sloppy brush strokes.

Project #9 - Throw pillows

2 sets of throw pillows, one with piping, no biggie. 

Project #10 - Elephant Pillow

I purchased this elephant pattern from Gingercake Designs.  I have done patterns from this shop before and really liked them.  I struggled a bit on this pattern as I felt some of the instructions were not very clear.  It could have been my pregnancy brain however.  I would recommend using a very light weight interfacing as I used the light weight one I normally use and it was WAY too stiff causing a mess when I turned the pattern out.  I may potentially redo this little guy but we will see....

Project #11 - Paper Elephant Family

Just scrapbook paper.  I liked the simplicity.


So that is it, the BIG nursery craft project round-up.

Hope everyone as a wonderful last day of 2012. 
Bring on 2013!!!

Time Was Ticking...

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.  I think I sat down yesterday for the first time in 5 days.  The holidays are exhausting, especially if you are pregnant!

I somehow managed to throw together the ottoman "packages" before everyone came over to the house for soup and candy house making.  I really should have left this project for next year instead of trying to cram it in last minute but...

Slipcover Packages

Project Rankings
Difficultly - Easy
Frustration Level - Low
Makeability - 100% worth it!

Materials
Fabric
Ribbon
Bow

Warning! I just kind of threw these together not really caring if my seams were good or anything.  They are going to sit under my table for decoration so I didn't take any great pains.  If you are looking for a precise tutorial with perfect corners you came to the wrong place!

Step #1:
Measure the dimensions of what you want to cover and then add some extra for seam allowance.  You want your slipcovers to be pretty snug but not too snug that you can't get them on.  I ended up adding 1 inch to each of the sides using a 1/4 inch seam allowance with left about 3/4's of give which seemed to work out great.

Step #2:
This is the hardest part especially if you don't have square ottoman's.  Lay out all of your pieces so that you know which sides connect to each other.  I actually got messed up (I am going to blame pregnant brain) and ended up having to rip out a ton of seams the first time I tried to assemble one of them.  I worked one side at a time pinning them together and then sewing with a 1/2 seam allowance.  I did leave about 1/2 inch open on each end of the piece.  This allows you to turn under the bottom edge to make it look nice.  It also allows you to piece together the corners.

Step #3:
When you get to a corner just kind of bunch and pin all of the pieces together (as shown in the picture and sew all the way to the edge to finish up your corner.

Step #4:
When you get to your last piece you may have to make an adjustment to make your slip cover a bit tighter.  I ended up sewing a 1 inch seam allowance for the final piece as 1/2 inch would have made the cover a bit sloppy.  Again this is a really rough decorative/non-function cover so I improvised.

Step #5:
Note:  I did not do this step but if you want a more finished look you can turn under all of your bottom edges and sew them.  I just kind of tucked mine under the ottoman for this year...maybe next year I will finish the seams (but probably not).

Step #6:
Put your bows on.  I crapped out an bought a bow for the top of my ottomans.  My bow making abilities leave a lot to be desired.  Done.

Fueling the Crazy

 

We are officially in Christmas crunch time. 

Cards have gone out, gifts have been purchased, some wrapping has been completed.  I was feeling pretty good about my progress... until yesterday when I went through my list of things I want to complete before we have a large number of people over to our house on Saturday for a Candy House and Soup Party. 

Most days the wife walks a very fine line between remaining in control of her craft urges and going overboard.  I often have to force myself to not over commit to craft projects. 

I have to recite the mantra...  There is only so much time in the day, that project doesn't have to get done it can wait until next year. 

If I don't I tend to get a bit panicky and go into super craft freak out mode where I wake up in the early morning hours to sew.

The husband is usually the one that has to remind me not to go overboard.

Usually...

So what does the loving husband tell his wife?  His wife that is semi-overwhelmed with the amount of nursery projects that remain undone...  His wife that is in her third trimester... His wife that has pretty much every weekend from now until February booked holiday activities, baby showers and birthing classes...

"You know what would be cool?  What if you sewed some Christmas fabric to pull over the ottoman's in the front room and then tied bows or something on them to make them look like packages."

Seriously?

I guess it was my own fault as I had asked him what he though we should do with the 2 ottomans we had previously made for the front room.  They are not very Christmas-ey and I didn't really know what to do with them.

I never actually thought he would give a suggestion let alone one that would require some crafting time.  It was, however, an amazing idea which I now have to act upon. 

I am powerless.  He fueled the crazy. 

I can no longer have people over to the house before I get these slipcovers done.  The idea is just too good.  

I mean how cute would that be?  Ottomans that look like presents......!  Wish me luck!

Lullabye and Good Night

I am not very good at wall decor.  I panic and tend to over think too much which leads to me having a ton of empty/blank wall space.

So the thought of figuring out what to put on the nursery walls sent me into a mini panic.  Well that, and the hormones.

I haven't been sleeping great, not that I ever have, so I often troll Pinterest for ideas in the wee hours of the morning.  On one such occasion I did come across an idea from Project Nursery to frame sheet music from a favorite song or lullaby.

Now came song selection time.  My original thought was to use a favorite lullaby my Mom used to sing me...Horsey, Horsey, On Your Way.   After some searching on the Internet I found out it is an old English lullaby that has a couple different versions.  Unfortunately I was unable to find the sheet music for the version I wanted.

Next up I thought I would like to frame St. Judy's Comet by Paul Simon.  I have always loved Paul Simon and there are a couple of songs of his that I hope to make into lullabies for baby girl.  The problem with my selection was that the original song is written for a boy.  When I sing it ( if you want to call my vocalizations singing...my family is not known for their melodic talents) I change the words to a girl but I wasn't sure I wanted it framed with the boy version.

I went through a couple more options but found out that many had more than three pages of music and would not work as I only want to frame three.

Finally I settled on Baby Mine from Dumbo.  It was perfect.  Sweet lyrics, three pages, and even tied into the elephant theme.  Now to find the sheet music.

Apparently no one buys actual sheet music anymore.  It is either digital or only offered in compilation books.    I did make a trip to one of the local music stores only to find out that no they didn't have it in stock but they could order it in.  The problem was it would take 4 weeks to get and the store was closing its doors forever in two weeks.  So I decided to buy it digitally.

Now the problem was that I needed it bigger than my printer could handle and I wanted it on paper with a bit more character than stark white.

The husband enlisted the help of a friend of ours that is a graphic designer.  He created an ivory background for behind the music so that we could take it to be anywhere on white paper. 

For the frame we used a frame from IKEA with a white matte.  I wanted a bit more "pop" so we painted the matte with the dusty rose accent color.

The result is exactly what I wanted.

Now I need to work on signing the song all the way through without crying.  I get to the last verse and I lose it.

"From your head down to your toes.  You're not much goodness knows.  But you're so precious to me sweet as can be, baby of mine."