February 3, 2011

Aspen's nest



Welcome to the little spot where Aspen sweetly slumbers...

I've been working on doing the kids' shared room for a loooong time.




Since Aspen is now one, that means she gets to finally sleep in her beautiful crib. I sometimes wonder why we even have cribs in our family - we have chosen to share sleep (aka "co-sleep") with each of our children the first year.

Well, at least that gave me plenty of time to make bedding! I have to admit, I had *cute enough* bedding from Pottery Barn that I had got a while back on sale. But once I had her, and thought about the shared room of a boy and a girl, I just didn't want to feel pigeon-holed into "yellow and green". Ya know?

So, I opted for yellow and gray. And white. And maybe a splash of pink in her corner ;)

I'm still not quite done - just a few details left and then I'll give a tour of their room. Sawyer's side is awfully cute as well ;)
Mostly, I am waiting for a print to arrive, and trying ever-so-hard to decide which prints I should (if any) hang on the walls. I think it's kind of weird to put up a lot of prints of yourself by your bed. Maybe that's just me? But maybe one or two...? Ahh, decisions! You would think since I take a gazillion pictures my walls would be covered, right? Nope. I can never decide! If anyone can help me, here, please feel free!

Okay, without further ado, here is her new cozy little nest...




In case you're wondering:

I made the poms with fabric (the big one took FOREVER!)
I got the print off of Etsy (love that Katie Daisy!)
The sheet is a hand-me-down from PB Kids - soooo soft
The monkey is from Santa
The bumper I made from cutting up a white coverlet I found at Target, then turning it into a bumper and finishing it off with flannel-backed satin for the trim and ties
The bedskirt is from a sheet I cut up - found the set at Ross and made Sawyer's duvet out of the same sheet. And trim to finish it, just ropey stuff I found at the fabric store.
The white quilt was made from the same coverlet and trim,
and the pretty blankie is Amy Butler fabric on one side, pink Minky on the other, and bound with satin.
I wish I could fit in her crib and take a nice, looooong nap myself, it is just soooo soft and cozy.

When I write that down it seems so simple.

But it took me days. And hours. Weeks. And months. To. Do.

So far, the transition from our bed to crib is going relatively well. She starts out in the crib and comes into our bed later - but the time gets longer each night. Last night she came into our bed around 4am. We believe training ourselves to be night time parents is easier than sleep training our babies. Sometimes, they just need to be cuddled, ya know?

Here's to sweet dreams, Miss Aspen!

ps-anyone who has two young kids who successfully share a room - any tips? they are totally welcome! (ie Sawyer now naps in the pack n play in our room so we can be consistent with the crib. He thinks it's da bomb :)

8 comments:

Joe and Joanne said...

Very creative - you're awesome with the sewing machine!

You take great pictures, I can see why choosing just a couple for the wall would be hard...(sorry, I know I'm not much help, but I'm a minimalist too...).

Marie said...

Our girls share a room. I don't really know what tips to give. I feel like they have worked it out themselves. Amazingly they don't wake each other up at night (usually). We put them to bed at the same time with the same routine. Maybe bath time together right before bed helps bed time together? Good luck! Their room is adorable!

allegra said...

awe, it's SOO sweet!! i've seen most of it put together in person, but seeing it in pics is so darling too. I don't think pics by the bed would be too much. I know what you mean though, I can never choose which ones to hang... hmmm.. a few classic black and whites grouped together might look cute. or if you chose color you could always try and coordinate with the decor:) ha ha. like maybe chose one of aspen from her party in her pink dress to tie in the pink in the flower poms, or her yellow swimsuit pic from her invitation you could print to tie in some yellow:) or some black and white family ones from our session would be way cute. Just thinking out loud...

Dude. I know what you mean about those flower poms. They take FOREVER. I have been working on making some for Ruby's first bday and holy cow they're time consuming. But oh so cute, too.

I hope Aspen becomes attached to that cute blankie! It will be so special to have that one be her "favorite" and her little go everywhere blankie. Turned out so cute! How fun she'll know her mommy made it just for her:)

I'm sooo glad you used my tip of using already quilted or matlase bedding for the bumpers. Isn't it so much easier than buying the fabric and trying to quilt it yourself?! And sometimes much cheaper, too. Actually usually much cheaper.That's something my mom taught me from way back during Max's nursery bedding days. His was a quilted bed cover we cut up from clearance at Home Goods, and Ruby's was a white matlase coverlet from TJ Maxx we used for the bumpers.

Holy novel! Sorry about that...

Cute room for those cute kids!! Glad Aspen is finally starting to use it:)

xox.

allegra said...

oh wow that comment was way longer than i thought. sorry! ha ha ...

hope those sweet kids start feeling better soon so that we can play and hang out again...:)

capturingtheride said...

@Allegra - yes, thanks for that tip! It saved me a month or so of extra work ;) As for photos - maybe when we hang out sometime I can bounce my ideas off you. I have been swinging between doing gallery-wrapped canvas' for quite sometime - maybe one of me+aspen and one of jacob+sawyer, classic bw - from our session with you. I DO like color to match decor, ha ha, so I was thinking of trying to get one of the two little munchkins together, but that is risky - so hard to get a good one of both of the little squirts together. We'll see - anyway - if you need help or extra foam balls for Ruby's poms, let me know, I have some extra ;)

capturingtheride said...

marie-
yes, we have them do the same routine, pretty much - all except we have Sawyer go out for a bedtime snack with Daddy while I nurse her so there is less distraction. (Yes, I am still nursing her :) and we have also been amazed that they don't wake each other up. If they are both awake when we put them down, it is fun to hear Sawyer talking or singing to her. So sweet. I like how you said your girls "worked it out themselves". It is true they do have to work it out - Sawyer is happy to have a roommate :)

joanne-thank you. maybe I should just accept that I am a minimalist? Okay. I accept it. But I think I will still get a little something up on the wall...eventually :) I figure once I get everything "just so" it will of course then be time to move... :)

Jeanie Nelson said...

I am just in love with those hanging poms. I have been super into those (I noticed you used some at Aspen's party as well). I would LOVE to have some directions on how you did it with fabric. Could I borrow the idea/photo for my blog?
These photos were also super helpful in me finishing up the yellow Alphabet poster. It has been such a burden on my shoulder. I was so not happy with it when I did a test print. I had to keep tweaking and sitting on it, tweaking and sitting on it. I finally think I got it. I'm waiting for the prints to come back. I used your photos to get the exact colors I wanted and now it's going to rock. Sorry it took so long! We have been loving the headbands you made us. Ivy lives in them!

Amy Smith-- The Bride :D said...

I absolutely adore your flower poms, even if they took a million hours-- They are worth it. Aspen is so lucky to have you!