Israel's Nursery

Like many other first-time moms, I have put way too much time into Israel's nursery. I dreamt about it long before we actually started setting up his room. I knew I wanted to go "gender-neutral" (although Will says it is NOT gender neutral) so that multiple kids could share this space/bedding. I LOVE to sew and do things myself, so most of what you see was made with my machine. There's not really a "theme" but LOTS of bright colors. I love the way it turned out!

The map was another "SIMPLE" DIY that didn't end up being simple. We ordered the map off of a teacher's website for dirt cheap, but then the cost of laminating it and putting grommets in made the whole map cost around $40. I wanted it to be laminated and not framed so we could draw on it with dry erase markers one day.

The dresser was an old one that Will and I found at an antique store for $20 before we got married. I repainted it "Dried Leaves" found at my local Ace Hardware. The floor mat was Will's Christmas gift to Israel- it can be found some places online but I've also seen it at the Auburn University Bookstore. Will bought it for wholesale price by contacting the designer.

Here you can see our little diaper changing station. We plan on using cloth diapers once our son is home and healthy. (Decision is made and diapers purchased- no need to tell me your negative opinions on it!). The ADORABLE humidifier is one of my favorite things and reminds me of a precious family that has been so supportive.

If any of you feared that our child would not be spoiled or have enough junk, let this picture put you at ease. :) I call this bookshelf an ode to being in the adoption process for 2 years. For Eighteen months we were collecting random stuff that was baby-ish yet not gender specific. The bookshelf and orange bins are from IKEA and the bins hold everything from bath supplies, extra fabric, to the random baby stuff like nail files and medicine. My mom got us the big bookshelf and that experience was hilarious- I think we southern ladies caused quite the scene as we tried to pick up the boxes and haul them to the checkout. :)

This wall collage makes me so happy. The ET art was given to me by my BFF adoptive mom. I made the yellow frame's giraffe art using this as inspiration. The green frame holds a greeting card that a friend gave us last year and it has little children holding hands around the globe! The giraffe rocking chair on the floor was a gift from Will's parents for Israel for Christmas and it sings!

The quilt hanging off the back of the crib was made using Gus and Lula's tutorial. The bumper pad is a breathable bumper, and I made the penant flags.

I also made the throw pillows and crib skirt (crib skirt tutorial here). Don't worry the pillows won't be in there with him, although he is used to sleeping with a pillow under his head at the orphanage.

I made the mobile using this tutorial. The art print reads "Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow"- it was a gift from a precious friend (and adopting mama) and can be found at the Gus and Lula shop.

The pillow hanging on the door was Will's when he was an infant and reads "I'm Sleeping"- to put on the door during naptime. Will's mom kept everything from his childhood so we have a lot of sentimental items! My mom framed the beautiful art hanging up, it was a scarf she had and I love it!

The table was my mom's and passed down to us, so I painted it the same "Dried Leaves" by Ace. I made the two coasters on there for all the mornings we drink our coffee in our nursery when we go in there to pray. The glider was my sister's and I slipcovered it (inspired by a few tutorials but I didn't follow any one in particular so I won't link). There is a zipper on both pieces so I can take the cover off to wash it. I made the throw pillow using this tutorial. The green/yellow blanket was some clearance fabric from Joanns that I just added binding to. The art on the right is from Ethiopia (postcards!) and we found it at the Lime Tree in ET but I also saw it in the market too. My hubby is a runner so he picked them out. The stool was hand painted by a friend/mentor from Auburn. I made the curtains without a tutorial, just using what scrap fabric I still had leftover.

PHEW! What a long post. Thanks for bearing with me and for "stopping by" to see our nursery :). If you were here in my house it would probably be the first room I took you to! I hope I answered any questions you had but if you have any feel free to comment or email. I LOVE making things with my sewing machine and love that his nursery is 100% his with not another just like it. I love looking around this room. I could name off SO MANY people who were generous to us and blessed us with so many of the things in here.