new bridal shower invite

baseball room

once we knew we were having a boy, i wanted to get his nursery ready.

we wanted something that could be a big boy room and not just a nursery.  

we decided on a baseball theme.

my husband thought that the "hunter" paneling worked just great since it was going to be a boy. you can see how often i listen to his opinion.

our helpers

first step: priming

i didn't get any "in between" pictures.  (or pictures of me 8 1/2 months pregnant finishing this project)

i painted each section of paneling, alternating blue and taupe

then went back and taped off in between each stripe and painted a dark brown pinstripe.  this was very tedious but makes a big difference.

this wall has the dresser/changing table and a floating shelf.

here are some details on the shelf

i printed a picture that i had taken at wrigley field ripped around the edges then used mog podge to attach to a canvas.  i did the same thing with a piece of baseball scrapbook paper.  then i used a brown stamp pad to "age" the edges.

i found some tin stars at joann fabrics for a couple dollars each.  i painted them with hammered copper spray paint.

i'm still planning on adding hooks to a wood bat and hanging it below.

baseball chair from homegoods and tin baseball art from target.

wood letters painted with same brown as pinstripes on wall. i mounted them on scrapbook paper on cork squares.

the crib bedding is a mix of pottery barn collections: a red bumper with stars, khaki sheets with polka dots, and a blue striped crib skirt.

home improvement.... a work in progress

i am adding some home improvements in order to join in the fun of link parties!

the fireplace before & after...

when we moved in, i was thrilled to have a fireplace.  but less than thrilled with the orangey-brown tones of the jagged rocks.  my original plan was to build a wood facade over the rock, but i needed to hire someone to do that and they are kind of funny about expecting to be paid.  so i decided to paint the rocks in the gray tones i would've picked. everyone thought i was crazy.  now they think i'm a genius!  i'm proud to say i did this project without the help of any men! (my sister may have painted 10-20 rocks)

before: 

don't you love the pea soup green walls!

during:

goodbye brass doors and vents! i painted them with a black high heat spray paint.  priming the stones was 

h o r r i b l e!

in fact it was so bad that i only did about 2/3rds.  

 

after:

once all the rocks were painted, i painted the mantle an off white.  then i sanded around all the edges and over some of the wood grain.  next i applied stain over the paint and wiped it off.  i ended up using a couple different colors of stain to get the right look.  

 

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