Cassie is a seasoned blogger, Etsy shop owner, graphic designer and crafter who officially added the title of Mom last week as she and her family welcomed Perry Avery into the world! Cassie’s nesting time was well spent creating a soothing, bird inspired nursery. “For the baby’s room, we decided to keep it understated, clean and modern with a folksy twist. I wanted a room I could personally seek refuge in and not just a character-themed nursery he would outgrow in a couple years…I’d say the room currently reflects my own style and not necessarily that of a baby boy.

The color inspiration came from a quilt Cassie made a few years back and the crib/crib bedding comes from Walmart. Fearing that the notNeutral wall decals wouldn’t properly adhere due to the room’s textured walls, Cassie created her own version with a quart of paint, stencils made out of card stock, and a roll of masking tape. The green paint on the wall is Valspar 6003-3B Martinique Dawn in eggshell and the green used for the mural is Valspar MS245 Spiny Sea Urchin in semi-gloss. For more DIY details, visit Cassie’s sweet blog “Twittering Bird“. Oh, and we must boast that Project Nursery inspired the darling, complimentary handmade bird mobile!

Cassie believes that anyone can easily customize anything with a couple quarts of paint and a few yards of fabric! We wanted a dresser instead of a changing table, so the little guy could use it for years to come. We were on an ikea budget and weren’t quite satisfied with anything we saw until we spied this dresser. It’s solid wood but the colors were anything but exciting, so we figured a few quarts of paint would be the perfect solution. The exact colors of the dresser are: Valspar 5004-9C Beach Sparkle (blue) and Valspar 6010-4 Amazon Silt - both in semi-gloss.“

Just one simple curtain panel provided enough fabric to make two valances. And the best part - The fabric was found on sale at Target for only three dollars! The dresser and shelf are both from Ikea. Some of Cassie’s favorite finds include the Amy Ruppel print (their first purchase once pregnant), the inflatable “Rody“, and the Bla-Bla knit toys.

Best wishes to both Cassie and baby! Thank you for taking the time to share with us. We hope you enjoy many peaceful nights in your beautiful nursery!

Tags: Boy, Gender Neutral, Inspiration, Paint, Wall Art

We were delighted to introduce you to Nicole Worth and family a few months back. You made it known that you were just as delighted to view their son’s incredible modern nursery. And like us, you thought, “Hmmm? Do I dare copy this look? Is it really difficult?” So without further adieu, Nicole shares with us her mural making secrets and you don’t have to be a graphic designer after all…

Melisa at Project Nursery asked me to write a how-to on creating our alphabet mural for a nursery, and I am happy to oblige!  Being that my husband and I went to art school during the days when hand-lettering was a class, we decided to create a mural that not only reflected our son’s crib bedding but also let us take a step back-in-time and put our hand-lettering skills to the test.  Although we built our mural using alphabet letters, any design can be created to get the same effect.

Here’s how we did it:

We started the process by figuring out which colors worked best for our design.  Knowing we wanted to use a color that went with the Dwell Studio Bedding we chose, we decided on blue.  Using BEHR paint from Home Depot, we chose three shades of blue:  the base color- which covered all the walls- is Cumberland Fog and the other two colors-Little Dipper and Silver Strand-are a lighter hue and a darker hue of this same blue shade.

After painting our wall with the base color we started creating the design for our mural.  Being graphic designers, we decided to use Adobe Illustrator to layout our design. Knowing we were going to use two different color values, we designed the mural to have an overlapping effect for interest and depth.

Once completed, we then printed out the design and used this printout as the stencil for the wall.  Using a projector in the room, we projected the printout on the wall and proceeded to outline the design very lightly with a colored pencil.  Luckily enough my husband has an amazingly steady hand so he was able to handle all the large straight lines without a straight-edge.

Once the design was transferred to the wall, the real fun begins.  Using varying size paintbrushes, the design was then outlined in paint. Since we used two different shades, the light color was put down first so that the dark could overlap it.  After the light shade was all outlined, we used a small paint roller to fill in the color.  Waiting till the light color was dry, we then proceeded to outline and fill in the remaining letters with our darker color.

All in all it’s a simple procedure used in creating the mural.  A steady hand with a paint brush was the hardest trick, but the design can truly be translated into anything you want!

Nicole is kind enough to answer any questions and can be contact directly at nicole{at}formcode{dot}com. Stay tuned for more information on the official launch of FormBaby toward the end of this year.  FormBaby will offer one-of-a-kind wall art and designs especially for baby which answers our second most popular question, “Where can I get that monkey wall art?”

Thank you to Nicole and her beautiful family. We look forward to seeing more of your great designs!

Tags: Alphabet, Blue, DIY, Murals, Paint

Sometimes I get really fascinated by a couples journey to parenthood. It’s so interesting to learn about how they got together, found a place to call home and eventually began their path to having a baby. I look back on my own time before my first baby was born with such fondness. You know you are on the verge of a huge life change and that this tiny person inside is absolutely going to be the best thing that has ever happen. We at Project Nursery are honored to introduce you to New York couple Ariana and Jeff.

They have done an amazing job designing and creating a serene and beautiful nursery for son Jasper. Ariana and Jeff are eagerly awaiting Jasper’s arrival any hour now! Ariana is a jewelry and web designer while Jeff is a toy designer and illustrator. So, it makes perfect sense that these two would create such a special place for their first child.

The couple decided early on they liked the soothing greens and blues of the Orchard Park crib bedding from Walmart. The clean and modern lines of the Baby Mod Park Lane crib works nicely with the lovely pale blue paint they used for the walls. They designed a custom wall mural featuring a wilow tree and darling hanging monkey which is featured on the wall next to the crib. The 8-dresser is from Ikea and the adorable Dwell Studio Zebra rug is from Target. Ariana and Jeff went into nesting overdrive and even picked up Wendy Bellisimo baskets for diaper storage and Ikea Kompliment drawer organizers to neatly store clothes, burpies and blankets. Everything is picture perfect and ready for little Jasper’s arrival. We are sure that they will enjoy many many amazing moments with their new baby in this very special nursery! For more details about this nursery go to Ariana’s blog,  Becoming Mom.

Tags: Baby Nurseries, Inspiration, Modern, Monkey, Tree, Zebra

Leave it to some very creative Brits to design and produce some of the most beautiful hand-made wallpapers I’ve ever seen. So, of course I had to share it with our faithful Project Nursery readers. The company, Fromental, is headed by Tim Butcher, former Creative Director of world-renowned hand-painted Chinoiserie house de Gournay. If you aren’t familiar with the Chinoiserie style take a look at the de Gournay site and you are sure to be dazzled by the intricate patterns and detail of these papers.  They have recently added a children’s collection they call Brainchild.  The mini-collection is perfect for the most sophisticated of nurseries! 

The collection consists of three series: carousel, monkey or little birdie. There are several colorways available in each series and you can hang the panels together, like the schematic displays, to create a wall mural. With this paper up in a nursery the room is transformed into something darling and completely unique.  For more information on these papers and pricing contact Fromental at info@fromental.co.uk. 

Tags: Baby Nurseries, Chinoiserie, Wallpaper

One of the best parts about parenthood is seeing your own parents marvel at their Grandchild. Both sets of my son’s Grandparents get giddy just talking about him. And when each precious visit comes to an end, they won’t leave without many kisses and the next visit planned! We thought we would honor a few special Grandmothers in today’s post.

Taylor’s Grandmother created a nursery in her own home for her first Grandchild, a real home away from home. And this isn’t just any room with a crib. The walls display elaborately painted murals complete with a carousel, tree house, tree swing and family bulldogs Hailey and Lucy. “They wanted it to be happy, cheerful and playful with elements of us personally.” says Taylor’s mother. Mission accomplished! The hours of planning and painting must make baby Taylor feel extra loved.

Rhonda, owner of Giggles N’ Sugar Kisses teamed up with her daughter’s mother -in-law to create a nursery for their first Grandchild. They let the parents choose from over 200 themes. Frogs and Turtles was chosen and a nursery was set in motion. Both Grandparents had so much fun planning and bringing to life this darling nursery.

“This was our first grandchild, and we were as excited as the expecting parents. I sent my daughter a link that had approximately 200 nursery ideas, and they fell in love with frogs and turtles…They choose the wall color last. They wanted a color that would soothe and calm the future prince, so they decided to paint the walls blue…The diaper cake shown on the dresser was made by the loving hands of Gran. My daughter cherished it so much, she has refused to take it apart. My son-in-law meticulously painted the walls and lined them with the adorable border. The nursery is absolutely beautiful. I love rocking and reading to my grandson among the frogs and turtles when I visit.”

Thanks to all Grandparents out there who help us so much and give our children all that amazing TLC!

Tags: Inspiration, Murals