Featured & Some Nursery Questions Answers

Thank you so much to Layla at The Lettered Cottage and Rhoda at Southern Hospitality for featuring my nursery makeover on their blogs!

I am beyond flattered and excited that so many people love the space like I do!

I thought I'd answer some questions that a few readers had about the room...


Q. I love the beadboard ceiling too! Did you use beaboard sheets or individual bead boards? -Lisa

A. We used 4x8 sheets of beadboard for the ceiling.

Q. I have been wanting to paint a tree in my sons nursery for a while now and have been unsure of how to do it. Did you just free hand it with a pencil and then fill it in with paint? -Amy

A. I sketched the tree onto the wall with pencil, then painted it with acrylic craft paint. The other wording actually isn't vinyl wall lettering. I printed out the wording onto paper, then traced it onto the wall with carbon paper and painted it using the same type of acrylic craft paint. This is my favorite method for putting wording on the wall, because it's fairly easy and doesn't cost a cent! :)

Q. And I am so very impressed with your painting skills! I was going to ask if it was Uppercase Living. . . is the tree branch on the bench and the name from UL? -Melissa

A. The painting on the bench is something I just sketched out and painted myself. I did get the idea for the branch and bird from an Uppercase Living catalog though!

Q. I got a decal from Leen the graphics queen with a tree branch and birds and was thinking to myself if i could only find something that has those exact words--His eye is on the sparrow.....May i hire u to come paint them for me??: ) -Lena

A. Yes, I would love to come paint it for you! Seriously, if you're local and need help with some painting, just email me at maweaver1@gmail.com.


Q. Did you use tree branches for curtain rods or did you buy them. If so, please, please tell us where. Thanks! -Wabbit

A. The tree branches are literally from the tree in our front yard! I just picked out ones that were as straight as possible and cut them down to size. I probably should have sprayed them with a sealer because they tend to shed bark and dirt when I have to move the curtains, but so far I've been too lazy! :)
~ ~

Thanks again everyone for your sweet comments about the nursery! I'm blown away by the responses I've gotten about the tiny little room! You guys are the best and such an encouragement!

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday weekend! Ours will be spent at bbq's with friends, strawberry picking, yard sales, and picnics with family! Sounds like a fun time to me!

Ruffled Tote Bag

I am such a girl.

I'm a skirt wearin', French-inspired, headband lovin', pink adoring, party planning, ruffle obsessing, GIRL!

And I believe my little girl is following in my footsteps.

Yesterday at Ikea (her first time since she was a toddler), she shrieked at the sight of the decorated rooms. She kept saying, "I could LIVE here! I could WORK here! I could SLEEP here! I LOVE it!"

And then she saw the kids rooms all set up.

And she went officially nuts.

"Mama, there's hearts! And lady bugs! And little beds! And flowers!"

Oh, yes, she did me proud.

And then the cuteness wore off when she was in need of a nap on the way home. Meltdowns are never cute, am I right ladies?


Now, I know what you're wondering - what's the deal with all these pictures of the bag on the chair?

Well, I was inspired by this post on Susie Harris' blog and just plain fell in love with the ruffle bags she made. I mean, how can you not? Seriously.

I lugged out the sewing machine and got to work! Susie posted great instructions for making it on her blog, but I'll just give you some tips as well. Oh, and by the way, I'm a VERY amateur seamstress and am just learning how to sew, so you really don't need to be an expert to make these! I promise! It just takes some time.

What you'll need:
-Set of 3 canvas tote bags from Wal-Mart (around $5 for 3 - in the craft section)
-1 yard of fabric (I used unbleached cotton fabric from Wal-Mart that was around $2/yd)
-Silk flower embellishment or whatever you want to use - I got the flower at Hobby Lobby a few years ago.


Cut the fabric into 6 strips 4 1/2" wide and seam all edges. You could do wider strips if you wanted wider ruffles. Basically, you can make it however you want.

You'll ruffle the strips, then sew them onto the bag. I just put ruffles on the one side of the bag, but you could do both if you wanted. I just got impatient and ran out of time, so I did it the easy way!


Isn't it a fun summer tote bag? You must try it! Let me know if you have any questions!

The Nursery Reveal!

Aaahh, the room I have been waiting to show you for over a year!

Yes, it really did take that long to finish (actually, it's not even quite done yet).

And, no, it was not supposed to take that long. Three months at the most. But you know how it is when you do all the work yourself. Somehow, it just dragged on and on.

I'll start with some before photos. I must warn you, these are truly heinous. I think when you see them, you'll understand why.

This little add-on room was used for storage, and we decided that it would make a really cute little nursery. It started off with the typical 70's paneled walls (no insulation), tiled ceiling, ancient windows, concrete floor, and a door that was unusable.





And here's what it looks like today, inspired by Layla's reading room...



Some things that we (as in, the ever-so-handy hubs & I) did:

*Ripped out all the paneling and ceiling tiles.
*Installed new windows and repositioned them (had to also replace the siding on the outside of the room)
*Installed new insulation and drywall.
*Re-wired all the electrical.
*Installed carpet (the only room in our house with carpeting, and I must say, even though I like the look of wood floors better, this stuff is so freaking comfortable!)
*Installed beadboard and crown moulding on the ceiling.



The beadboard ceiling is my very favorite feature of the room. Since the ceiling is low and slanted, I wanted it to look like it used to be an old porch and thought the beadboard would really bring out some of the character of the room.

Totally LOVE.IT.


I painted 18" stripes on the wall using Frogtape to tape off the edges (best stuff ever). The paint colors are Olympic Diamond Mine and Olympic Drifting Dune from Lowes.


Then I painted the lettering on the walls, inspired by the old song "His Eye is on the Sparrow".

I wanted the room to have a natural, nature-inspired feel and wanted it to be as calm and serene as possible. I know that you're "supposed" to have bold graphics and colors for a nursery to help with your child's sensory development, but I was totally selfish and decided that the room would be about what I wanted (aren't I a baaad mama??).

After all, after delivering a baby and hardly getting any sleep, I'd much prefer calmness and serenity, to bright colors and cartoon characters. Just my opinion.

Carry on.



I had painted this toy chest that I found at Goodwill a while ago. It fits into the room perfectly.



I sketched the tree on to the wall and painted it with acrylic craft paint.



I made the bumper cover using an old white quilted throw and some new green fabric that I sewed together. I also made the dust ruffle using a twin-size white dust ruffle and added the green fabric to the bottom to make it wider.


Almost everything in this room was thrifted or made by me. I found the tab-top Martha Stewart curtains at Goodwill and sewed brown fabric from WalMart to the bottom to make them longer. I used branches I found outside for the curtain rods, adding to the "natural" feel. And, they cost 0 dollars, which is always nice!



For now, Jack is using this room, while I turn his old room into a "big boy" room. Then, when the baby comes in November, this will be his/her room.

I'm still working on the wall that's not shown, which houses a changing table and some organizational stuff. And hubs is installing a laundry chute...everytime I think of it I hear the angels singing. I am THAT excited!! I am not even kidding!!

The room is teensy-tiny, so it was hard to get good pictures, but you get the idea of what it looks like now. I am in love with it. And so glad to be (almost) done with it! It is a good feeling!

Now, onto Jack's "big boy" room! I swear, I will never be finished with this house! And that makes me happy! :)

"His Eye is on the Sparrow"

Verse 1:
Why should I feel discouraged,
Why should the shadows come,
Why should my heart be lonely
And long for Heav'n and home,
When Jesus is my portion?
My constant Friend is He:
His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me.

Refrain:
I sing because I'm happy,
I sing because I'm free,
For His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me.

Verse 2:
"Let not your heart be troubled,"
His tender word I hear,
And resting on His goodness,
I lose my doubts and fears;
Though by the path He leadeth
But one step I may see:
His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me.

Verse 3:
Whenever I am tempted,
Whenever clouds arise,
When songs give place to sighing,
When hope within me dies,
I draw the closer to Him,
From care He sets me free:
His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He cares for me.

Linking to these linky parties...
Shabby Nest
The Girl Creative
Heather Now
Making the World CuterSkip to my Lou
Lucky Star Lane
A Soft Place
Craft Edition
Beckie and Brad
The Thrifty Home
Blue Cricket Design
Lovin My Love Bugs
Fun to Craft
Life as Lori
Somewhat Simple
Southern Hospitality

Birthdays & Posies

So my little girl turned 4 yesterday and to say that she is proud is a complete understatement.

She keeps saying, "Now I'm taller! And I'm going to school soon!" She is positively itching to go to school like her bigger cousin Anna.


In awe of the cake. And boy was it simple to make! I am most definitely NOT a baker, so cakes are sort of a chore for me to make (I dread it).

This one was a strawberry cake (thank you cake box!) with cream cheese frosting. And instead of going to the trouble of doing fancy decorations, I stuck some peonies in the middle and called it a day.


Opening her gifts and loving every minute! She requested a doll, cards, and candles on her cake. And all her wishes came true!



My house smells like a flower garden right now. Really.

Tulips in the hallway...


And peonies everywhere else! Just because it's that time of year!





And can you believe my roses??


The porch smells absolutely divine, let me tell you! I just stand there and stare at them. All day long.

I love them so!

Cape May

We are lucky enough to have friends who are pilots (well, the hubby is anyway) and so we get the privilege of flying to different parts of the Northeast with them on quick trips.

We've gone to Niagara Falls, Boston, Atlantic City, and this weekend we headed to Cape May, NJ for the day - a little tourist town on the beach with lots of Victorian-style homes and white picket fences.



As you well know, I'm a house junkie, so I was doing a lot of gawking! Excuse the plethora of pictures!



Adorable Victorian homes in a row. Not my style, but still awfully cute!





And we got to explore the beach a little bit...



Yes, my belly is starting to round out very nicely, thank you very much.


We visited Cape May Winery and enjoyed walking around the vineyards and relaxing on their beautiful deck.




One the way home, we got to see a beautiful sunset from the airplane!


Landing at the Lancaster Airport - what a gorgeous flight we had! Thanks so much Mark & Mary!


By the way, thank you to everyone for your kind comments and concern from my last post! It's taking a little while to get over the stress of the whole situation, but I'm feeling so incredibly blessed! Thank you friends!!