1. Hardware that could be removed
2. Good surface condition (less sanding involved)
3. Well constructed (this one has dove-tailed drawers)

First, I removed the drawers from the body of the dresser, and then I removed the hardware. I used a white gloss spray paint for metal surfaces for the handles. I then primed, lightly sanded and re-primed the dresser body and drawers. Once that dried, I applied a first coat of spray paint (Valspar – Avocado Green). If you end up with any drips or uneven coverage, lightly sand with very fine grit sandpaper. Wipe off any dust before applying your next layer of paint. Repeat these steps until your piece is entirely covered. Once the final coat of paint was dry, I applied a layer of gloss polyureathane as a top coat to help protect the surface.

Here is the before…

The during…

 The after!

Do you have a piece of furniture you’ve painted for your child’s room or any DIY tips that you want to share? We want to hear all about it!

The “Baby Love” baby shower I’ve been working on will be in the late afternoon during the traditional “tea time” with little sandwiches, dainty desserts, coffee and tea. To go along with our tea party atmosphere, one of the favors will be little boxes of tea bags that say “Thank You” on the front and “You are Appreciated!” on the reverse. I know our guests will love them!

These are very easy to make. All you need to assemble them are scissors, a glue stick and a bone folder (if you have one), along with the printables I’m offering for free through Project Nursery.

First thing you’ll want to do is download the “Baby Love” theme files for the tea bag wrappers and the tea bag box. They are large files, so give them a minute or two to download! Print the tea bag wrappers on plain white paper and the box on heavy white card stock then cut all the pieces out.

To assemble the tea bags:

1. Fold and crease the top flap, and then fold the bottom up to where the points touch the the top crease. Make the bottom crease.

2. Using a glue stick, apply adhesive to the very edges of the inside middle third of the wrapper—no more than 1/8 inch of glue on each side! You need to have plenty of room to fit your teabag in. Fold shut, press down and let dry.

3. Glue the heart square to the paper tag on the tea bag. Trim any excess.

4. Carefully place the tea bag in the envelope. A very small spot of glue stick will seal it shut!

To assemble the box:

1. Fold along lines on box.

2. Glue tab on the side to inside of the box.

3. Fold the small flaps on the bottom in, and then glue down the large flaps.

You can also forgo the box and fill a cute tea cup with these extra special tea bags as a really nice party favor or small gift for someone.

Everyone is trying to use the Pantone Color of the Year, Tangerine Tango, in their decor this year. A favorite fabric of mine featuring this color with hot pink is the Kazak handprinted fabric by Quadrille. Even Mary Mac Donald used it in her Instant Room feature in House Beautiful June 2010, and entertainer and designer Eddie Ross uses it for tabletop decor in the image above.

You can get a gorgeous Ikat pillow from Oomph for $385 (whew!)

Or another Ikat pillow option from Etsy for $150

But it gets even better than that. You can make your own below with a pretty close copy of the fabric.

Ikat Orange Pink at $45 per yard from Lewis & Sharon Textiles

Still not dirt cheap or an exact copy, but it’s a similar look for less than half the price, so now you can use it in your nursery or daughter’s room. And now Annette Tatum has come out with an Ikat duvet set with a similar vibe. Not as bold, but lovely just the same.

As I shopped around for the perfect easel for my little girls, I found just one that truly caught my eye. It was from Restoration Hardware Baby & Child, and it was gorgeous. It was different, and it was expensive! Once I saw the price, I knew it might not be the best option for us, but I really wanted it (okay, so I needed it!). But I didn’t think their distressed finish was going to work for our room, and I knew the price tag wasn’t going to work either, so there began the project!

My husband and I have resanded, repainted and refinished plenty of things, but truly building something was going to be a first for us. Or should I say him, because he did all the hard work. Here is my husband’s take on a Scalloped Chalkboard Easel that cost us just $40 out of pocket (assuming you have the tools). Enjoy!

Supplies:

- (4) 1”x2”x8′ wood boards
- (1) 1/4”x4”x2′ poplar craft board (for scalloped trim)
- (1) 4’x8’ sheet of 1/8 tempered hardboard, masonite (this will serve as the  chalkboard)
- box 2” 6D sized finishing nails
- box 5/8”x18 wire nails
- pack of two 2” x 1 3/8” brass hinges
- Gorilla Glue (or your choice of wood glue)
- Your choice of paint, primers, brushes—just don’t forget the chalkboard paint!

Tools:

- Band Saw
- Hammer

1. You can begin by collecting the supplies; we went to Lowe’s, but any hardware store would do. While you’re there, you can have them cut the tempered hardboard (masonite) for you. The chalkboard’s surface when finished is 15”x30”, so the masonite itself needs to be cut to 16”x31” so you have some overlap to nail it to the frames when they are finished.

2. Next, cut all the 1”x2” boards to the proper lengths. These will serve as the frame of the easel. You’ll need four long legs cut to 38”, and four short pieces cut to 15”. Now start assembling the frames. I used one nail per joint and Gorilla glue. The nails will keep everything in place while the glue sets. Gorilla glue is sandable when dry so be sure to sand off any excess when it is dry. Make sure you build the frames identical to each other and that they are built with the 15” x 30” chalkboard surface in mind. The gorilla glue works best when left to cure for 24 hours or more, so while you’re waiting, you can work on some of the other steps.

3. Paint the two pieces of 16” x 31” masonite you had pre-cut at the hardware store with chalkboard paint. We chose to use masonite for the chalkboard portion so that it would have a smooth surface instead of the grain of wood.

4. Next, complete the scalloped piece for the top. I drew this onto some thick poster board and used that as a template to trace it onto the wood. Don’t cut any wood until your template is exactly the way you want it! Then, use a band saw to cut out the trim. You could also check the hardware store and see what pre-made trim they have available to use in place of the scallops if you prefer. If your frames have been curing for 24 hours, go ahead and use a little gorilla glue to secure the trim piece to your frame. Use a couple of smaller nails to hold it in place, and let this cure for 24 hours again.

5. Once your easel frame pieces have set, you can go ahead and paint them. We used white paint and simple foam brushes. Once your frames are dry, you’re ready for the final assembly!

6. Take the smallest nails you bought from the hardware store and nail the painted masonite to the back of each of your frames. I laid my dry frames on the carpet to protect the front surface of them while driving in enough nails to secure the masonite to the frames. This also adds a good amount of rigidity to the frame pieces.

7. The final part is to simply place your hinges on the back of both of the frames, and screw them in! Once the hinges are properly placed and installed, you’re finished!

Note: This is one of our first wood working projects, so we are by no means experts. If you are experienced with woodworking, please use this as a general guideline and feel free to add your own touch!

Check out more of Holly and her family’s projects on her blog.

Have a DIY project of your own that you’d like to share with us?
Email editor@projectnursery.com with details and pictures.

The Party Pom: Hang these poms at your next party.

The Nursery Pom: Use these poms for instant color (image via Etsy).

The Mini Pom: Use these cute minis to embellish party goods.

Supplies: Tissue paper (20 inches x 30 inches), Scissors, Floral wire or pipe cleaners, Monofilament or ribbon to hang

How To:

1. Layer eight sheets of tissue paper.
2. Accordion (fan) fold the layered sheets into 1-2 inch sections, back and forth, the entire length of the paper.
3. Wrap your floral wire around the center of the folded paper and secure by twisting.
4. Use your scissors to trim the ends of you folded paper into rounded or pointed shapes.
5. Starting at the center, carefully pull each layer apart, one piece at a time.
6. Decide on the length you want to hang your poms, cut the monofilament or ribbon accordingly and attach to the floral wire to hang.

In my opinion, doing it yourself never goes out of style, and this particular project was to glam up an old drum shade by adding pattern to the inside. I thought it was brilliant, inexpensive and fun. Do I dare try this on my own? In the meantime, it had me dreaming of the perfect drum shade for my kid’s room.

I’ve always liked this oversized Ikat drum shade from Shades of Light. And I just spotted a new design from West Elm—a drum shade with a twist.

Marimekko teamed up with Crate & Barrel for this shade. The floral design is whimsical, but the black-and-white color scheme keep it modern. And the classic navy stripe double pendant from Oilo can go modern or traditional.

The best part about a simple pendant shade is that with some pattern, color or texture, you can really add punch to the room. Just check out the cool Isabella & Max’s DIY Fabric drum shade project here. I also love this quick and easy tutorial from Honey & Fitz on turning a simple flush ceiling light fixture into a more dramatic DIY drum shade fixture.

As a photographer, I’ve made professional photo books of my work in Paris from Blurb, and let me tell you, they do not disappoint. They make beautiful books fit for any level of dollars you’re willing to pay. The downloadable software is easy to use and you don’t have to be tech savvy to do so. I’m a huge fan of  Pinhole Press. I can’t wait to get started with my annual “recap of the year” family book that I make for my mother-in-law (I’ve got my eye on the large purple one), and I also just received my photo holiday cards I ordered from them—two thumbs up!

Shutterfly is an easy and foolproof site. You can choose various layouts and background themes and knock out a book in no time. Plus, they always seem to have a discount code on their site, which is an added bonus if you want to save a few dollars. My mom loves Kodakgallery. She creates photo books and puts together the greatest collages of our family. With a click here and there, you really can’t go wrong creating a terrific looking album. If you own a Mac computer, the iPhoto program is already installed. Lovely. Lovely. Joy. Joy. Fabulous professional looking books—my go-to book when I make an album for myself.

What photo books have you tried? I’d love to hear them.

While gathering ideas for my first styled event, I stumbled upon a ripped fabric curtain on Pinterest and knew that it would be the perfect backdrop to set the stage for my Honeybee-themed dessert table.

I wanted to incorporate not only natural colors but also pattern and texture in this fabric curtain display. This inspired me to include burlap, muslin and lace.

Supplies:
6 ft wooden dowel rod/1.25 in diameter
2 yards – polka dot fabric
2 yards – seersucker yellow fabric
2 yards – paisley fabric
1 yard – lace
1 yard – burlap
small pieces of muslin left over from ruffled table linen

First, I placed all of my fabric next to each other to determine a good width for each strip since various patterns were involved. I started ripping approximately 2.5 inch strips and then varied the width anywhere from 2 inches to 3.5 inches, depending on the fabric.

It was news to me that once an initial cut is made, fabric rips in a straight line—talk about a time saver! I wanted frayed edges so ripping the fabric was the exact look and feel I wanted for this project. I decided to rip all of the fabric prior to hanging it on the rod. (Note: Burlap and lace do not rip, so I had to manually cut each strip.) Once the fabric was torn into strips, I tied it to the dowel rod leaving an uneven strand hanging.

I then realized that the strips of fabric were looking rather flat, so I took the pieces of muslin and used them as “connectors” while attaching either burlap or lace to the strip of fabric. This created a rugged, textured look. Once I achieved the look I was after, I decided to stagger the lengths of each strip hung on the dowel rod. I also mixed and matched patterns and textures to create an uneven feel.

Finally, I suspended the dowel rod behind my dessert table and added random pieces of lace and burlap throughout as a final touch.

Lesson Learned: If I were to create this backdrop again, I would purchase less fabric since the fabrics were connected and displayed in varying lengths.

Here is the fully styled Honeybee Gender Reveal Party. I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and can use this idea at your next party!

I desperately wanted over-sized, whimsical, silver polka dots for the walls of my gender-neutral nursery. The $220 price tag for special ordering polka dot wall decals was ridiculous. I knew I could do it myself for less. And I did! Actually, I came up with a fantastic solution for less than $40! I’m excited to share how I made my polka dots with the Project Nursery community and hope other baby mama’s find this tutorial helpful.

Believe it or not, my polka dots are made with silver contact paper from a home improvement store. It’s sold in 18-inch by 6-foot rolls in the appliance section. Apparently, people use it to make it look like they have stainless steel appliances—who knew? Any color or pattern of contact paper will work.

Project list: Contact paper, circle cutter, credit card, self-healing mat and something heavy to weigh down the contact paper (I used oversized candlesticks)

1. Spread the contact paper out on top of the self-healing mat and hold it in place with your heavy objects.

2. Gently smooth out any wrinkles with the credit card.

3. Set the circle cutter to your desired size and cut, cut, cut!

My dots are five inches in circumference (roughly the size of a CD), and I got 39 dots per roll (give or take a few misfires). Your pile of cut dots will look like this. Don’t worry about flattening them out.

Once you have enough dots, the next challenge is getting them up on the wall. If you have Type-A tendencies like me, this is a daunting task. If you don’t need the dots perfectly ordered, just slap those puppies up! It will go a lot faster. However, if you want your dots in straight lines, some prep work is in order.

I used Christmas ribbon as my moveable guide; I started four inches below the ceiling and away from the adjoining wall. From there, I set the dots nine inches apart. For the next row, I measured nine inches from the bottom of the dot above, moved the ribbon for guidance and set the dots directly between the dots above. I repeated this careful pattern for each row and ended up with seven perfectly aligned rows. Good thing or I literally would have lost sleep over it!

What I didn’t lose sleep over was the budget! In my case (because I already had a self-healing mat), I only needed two items:

- Silver contact paper, $9.99 for each roll (I used three but ended up with twice the dots I actually needed) $29.97
- Circle cutter (I scored one with a half-off coupon at a craft store) $9.99

TOTAL = $39.96 (that’s a $180.04 savings from the pro’s quote!) Connect the dots…I’m a happy mama!

With some of my extra dots, I reset my circle cutter to a smaller size and cut smaller versions of the polka dots to decorate a lamp I had lying around. It was fun to add the polka dots to another piece in the room for absolutely no additional cost!

Anyone inspired? If you replicate this project, please post a link below, and let me know how it turns out. Be sure to check out my blog for more DIY nursery and home ideas.

Have a DIY project of your own that you’d like to share with us?
Email editor@projectnursery.com with details and pictures.

Image: Thankful Tree Leaves Kit by Pebbles In My Pocket

On that note, we wish our readers and their families, good health and many blessings! Here at PN, we are sincerely thankful for your support of our website, your voice on our blog and inspiring decorating projects.

Happy Thanksgiving All!

xo, Team PN