Emma's Nursery Reveal!

The last project in the nursery is now complete so I wanted to post pictures to share!!

Here is the tour along with some color commentary on the 'projects' that took us through the past 90 days.

View from the doorway

The nursery was originally going to be a pink sea life theme, but then I saw this awesome yellow elephant fabric online in a nursery and the yellow and gray theme kind of took off from there!

'Favorite books' library

• These are all of our favorite baby books that were handed down to Emma from Lexie.
• "I love you like crazy cakes" is a recent addition (gift from a good friend). Super good book for those adopting or those interested in introducing the concept of adoption to your little one.
• Lexie already has been in to check out the room to make sure she is ok that 'her' books are in Emma's room. So far so good...we will see how long that lasts!

Closet

• Emma's closet is really big so we wanted to make the most of it. We ordered this closet organizer and then installed it to allow the dresser to fit in the closet as well. We only used about 1/2 of the shelves from the kit so we are planning to use the rest of the pieces for our entryway closet!
• The dresser is from Pottery Barn Kids-- we got it at the outlet store for $299, b/c it was missing its feet. You know me though, after 3 weeks of hunting online for the feet, we ended up getting them shipped to the house for free! Bam, $700 dresser for $300. Note - Matt did have to install the feet and there was a broken ledge so it did require a bit of work. :-)

Wall Art from Etsy -

I ordered these pictures from Etsy Seller Finny & Zook. They were actually the wrong size when I got them in the mail so I scanned them in and resized/printed them to fit the Ikea frames. Turned out pretty good!

Window Seat

• The window seat is really a bookshelf from Ikea turned on its side with cabinet legs underneath. Most of the items in the window seat are hand me downs from Lexie.
• There is one little guy that is new...Mousie...see below for more on him!

Mousie

This little guy was my favorite stuffed animal growing up. He was in my bed all the way through high school! I fixed him up with a warm dye bath (Rit dye in the washing machine), new stuffing, and some new eyes. My sister said he looks like a freakish elephant but I think he is adorable!!

Rocking Corner & Shelves

• The glider may not be pretty but it is oh so comfortable. We literally JUST stopped using this with Lexie about 2 mos ago.
• The Yellow Chicken and 'bowling' bunnies were gifts from my sister in law Leslie who is super talented and should sell her stuff on Etsy!! They are so adorable I had to put them up for display.
• I also included a few items we have recently received for Emma as gifts, ADORABLE shoes (just got int he mail today, thank you grandma!) and 2 cute dresses. :-)
• The subway art was custom ordered on Etsy from My Sweet Prints. I love this quote, it is from an unknown author but is so fitting for how I feel for Emma. Emma, who I still have not yet met, yet who I dearly 'miss' and cannot wait to have in my arms!

Do it yourself stuff

Since we had so much time on our hands, I had a huge list of DIY projects. This allowed us to keep the cost of the decorating down and also taught me a few things. As many of you know I am not very crafty (i.e. I had NEVER sewed before this room, not even sewing on a button). That said, 'easy but functional' was the name of the game while doing these projects.

• DIY (no sew!) blackout lined curtains using this tutorial. Fabric from fabric.com with a coupon!
• DIY Fan - added light shade to existing ugly, 1988 builder grade fan using this tutorial
• DIY Pillows using this tutorial, fabric from Ikea
• DIY Duvet Cover using this tutorial
• DIY Crib Sheet - Rit Dye made a $5 white Ikea Crib Sheet the perfect steal gray. I did use a 'fixative' after the Rit so hopefully the color stays.
• DIY minky blanket on glider (this project was the most difficult -- sewing with Minky is not a fun afternoon)
• DIY renovation of Mousie - Rit dye, polyester stuffing, and 'crazy' eyes. :-)
• DIY wall letters - letters from joann fabirc ($4/each), painted white, and hot glued tacks on the back for easy placement on wall without damage.

That is it! Hope you enjoyed the nursery!!

OH YEAH, WHERE IS OUR LOA?!

We are still waiting on our LOA to help us confirm when we will travel. I am a member of an online chat board and we are now in the top 5 families (of ~60 families) waiting for their LOA. We had a two week break where no one got their LOA due to the Chinese Holiday. Then yesterday nine people got their LOA's (we were not one of them).

My hope is that there is another wave of approvals Monday and Tuesday next week and we are in it. This would be Mid January travel to pick up Emma.

Fingers Crossed!!!