Skip to Content

Modern Texas Themed First Birthday Party

When it came time to plan my son’s first birthday party my two main goals (besides throwing a fun party!) were to come up with a concept I hadn’t seen before and incorporate personal details. When we found out we were expecting we were living in Texas at the time but moved back home to Arizona about half way through the pregnancy. Texas holds a special place in our hearts so I decided to take a modern spin on the state for his party theme. Everything was black and white with pops of green, yellow, and silver. I used mini cacti as center pieces, put together a nacho bar (because everyone in Texas loves queso), and assembled a simple back drop for the smash cake. I wanted there to be hints of Texas (like the cowhide rugs and stars) without over doing it.
We live in a neighborhood with a great park system so I also wanted to utilize that resource. I had planned on everything taking place under a really neat ramada in our main park, but when the day came it had already been claimed! Everything in the neighborhood is “first come first serve,” so I knew there was a chance we wouldn’t get our ideal location without the ability to make a reservation beforehand. Despite the set-back we decided to set up shop on the baseball field next door and make do, and thankfully everything came together just great! Because of this experience, my advice to any parent planning a birthday party that isn’t taking place at home is to just be flexible and enjoy the day!

Beautiful Gender-Neutral Nursery

I wanted to share our nursery because so many people have expressed how much they love it. I was inspired by bits and pieces of designs on Pinterest and have always enjoyed designing and crafting. We are currently expecting our first baby July 3rd and we are going to be surprised with the gender. With that being said, we had to do a gender neutral nursery that would still be vibrant and exciting. I’m not a an all white and beige kind of gal, or a yellow/green kind of gal either. I searched and searched for gender neutral themes and really came to love the tribal and Aztec look that would be both exciting for a boy or a girl and could easily be dressed up one way or the other once the baby comes to further define the gender look of the room.
My husband and I came to a compromise on painting two walls a medium/dark steel gray and leaving 2 of the opposite walls the mint green that they already were. We decided to make the two dark walls our main focal point and star of the show. We highlighted the dark walls with custom made light gray and mint green vinyl triangles. We also put in homemade natural wood shelves with a very faint gray stain and mounted with gold/brass painted pipe brackets. To coordinate, my husband also made matching book shelves from the same wood and stain and embellished with gold painted cup pulls for accent.
From there, we added in all gray solid wood furniture with a lightly rustic/worn-looking finish. We sought out an etsy seller to make custom bedding with all of the fabrics of my choosing to ensure an equality of gender-specific type of colors. We featured mint green, navy, a hint of peach and a little bit of gold yellow in the fabrics, along with grays of course.  To finish the room, we used white linen curtains, canvas white teepee that I hand embellished for some extra flair and added a fancy electric recliner with Bluetooth plugs made by Babyletto.
Hope you enjoy viewing the photos as much as I did designing it and working with my husband together on it.

Mint Green Woodland Nursery

This nursery was inspired by rooms I saw on Pinterest and Project Nursery. I went with a woodland theme and I’m so happy with how it turned out! I’m a DIYer so most of the things in this room are handmade. I love the color mint green and found a fabric I loved that had a mixture of mint green, navy blue and gray. The room is designed around this fabric and all the colors go so well together! It’s really easy to design a room around a color, pattern or theme. So it’s best to pick something, stick with it and run with it! The sign, ladder, shelves and accent wall were all created by me. Checkout my blog for tutorials on how to make them!
www.mydivinehomeblog.com

Baby Ryder’s Woodland Nursery

This is our first boy and 3rd baby so I wanted a unique nursery that was different from the normal boy color scheme. I wanted to incorporate woodland animals without having to do much camo. I saw some fabrics that I loved for the bedding and that is where the nursery started. I had so much fun designing his room and just finished up the final touches. We tried to give the room a distressed antique feel with the furniture. The dresser is completely redone. It was my mothers and we took the mirror off and a friend of mine reloved the piece. She sanded it down, and brought my vision to life to match the nursery just perfect!!! I hope he loves it as much as I do.

Arizona Dreaming Nursery

When I started decorating my son’s nursery I didn’t have a theme. Instead I focused on artwork, textiles, colors and furniture that made me happy. Turns out that Arizona, the colors aqua, mustard, black and white really make me smile! The room is extra special because a lot of the decor was made by myself and my husband or was purchased from my hometown in Arizona.
The teepee was the first piece that I made. I knew that I wanted a special place for my toddler to play while I nursed his baby brother. The teepee was a tedious, but fun project and I love how it turned out! My toddler loves it as well. :) When I was looking for bedding, I couldn’t find anything that really matched the colors and style of the room, so I made my own! The fabric was all ordered from Spoonflower, an online custom-fabric store. When I was looking for shelves, I found a set online that I loved but they were so expensive. My husband enjoys wood working and built these cool shelves for the room. A lot of the Native American pieces were sent from my mom who lives in Arizona. They are all very special as they come from one of my favorite shops in my hometown called The Pickle Barrel. The sun and moon art, as well as the the felt garland was all ordered from Etsy shops. I was really drawn to clouds when I was designing the room and fell in love with the cloud nightlight and cloud mobile from Pottery Barn. The larger cloud mobile is from Target and hangs over the changing table. It keeps the baby entertained during those numerous diaper changes!

I love how the room is a collection of handmade and purchased items that really reflect my personal style. A little bit of Arizona, a little bit of modern black and white geometric shapes and a whole lot of love went into this beautiful space for our little boy!

A Feminine Twist on the Southwestern Trend Nursery

It’s amazing how your design inspiration can drastically change when designing a room. For example, with Everly’s nursery I started out with a bold black and white color scheme with bright floral pops of color. Everything changed when I found this pink and gray rug. I immediately put it in my cart and changed up my pinterest board. I love the sweet southwest vibe it carried, but I still wanted the space to be elegant. I also had to find a way to incorporate metallics since I am so obsessed.
When choosing furniture, I knew right away that DaVinci’s gray Flora Crib was just the perfect feminine touch I wanted. I paired it with the gray Piper Glider since I knew if this baby was anything like my first daughter I would spend many nights in it. The glider is one of my favorite places to be because it also reclines—a must-have in my book!
The size of this room was a challenge for me because I knew I wanted a huge dresser. I love how organized I can stay with the many drawers—perfect for bows, blankets and all the adorable outfits that Grammy loves to send. I also like using a removable changing table on the dresser so that the piece can last far beyond the nursery stage.
One of my favorite parts of the room is the honeycomb shelving above the glider. I had such a fun time styling them with items that were incredibly personal to me, like the musical bear that was mine as I child. I knew I wanted to showcase the gold moccasins that were my absolute favorite for my older daughter, Peyton, and many other personal gifts from family and friends. These shelves are definitely a favorite of everyone who walks into the room.
I really wanted an area to keep books since my older daughter is such a huge fan. I loved the idea of displaying them so that we can keep our current favorites at arm’s reach. Being able to top this fun area with one of Everly’s newborn photos printed on canvas puts a smile on my face everytime I see it. Babies change so so quickly, and I love having this reminder of how tiny she was.
Many people don’t know where to start when curating their nursery. My advice is to pick out your must-haves and an overall feel for the space. For me, I needed a reclining glider and a giant dresser, and I wanted a feminine space that was filled with uplifting and personalized items.
I am obsessed with this feather dreamer, and I love including pieces like this in gallery walls to round out all the framed art. Really it’s all about making the nursery a place you love to be. While there will be many nights when you are up late, thinking you may never sleep again, these sweet elements will help you smile when all you really want is your own pillow.
Everly’s nursery is hands down my favorite spot in our house. When I walk in, I immediately feel so peaceful. It was definitely a labor of love, but when I look around, I know that each item that we chose was picked especially for Everly, and I am so proud of this space. This room will definitely be able to grow with her, and I look forward to spending many hours in here reading books and rocking her to sleep.
Images by JTC Photography