Gifts

Rings and other jewels are not gifts, but apologies for gifts. The only gift is a portion of thyself. Thou must bleed for me. Therefore the poet brings his poem; the shepherd, his lamb; the farmer, corn; the miner, a gem; the sailor, coral and shells; the painter, his picture; the girl, a handkerchief of her own sewing. This is right and pleasing, for it restores society in so far to its primary basis, when a man's biography is conveyed in his gift, and every man's wealth is an index of his merit. But it is a cold, lifeless business when you go to the shops to buy me something, which does not represent your life and talent, but a goldsmith's.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

A reminder to give something of yourself today.

Give your talents. Your time. Your hands. Your full attention. Your compassion. Demand of yourself to give an unselfish gift.

"It is better to give than to receive"
~D&H

Toddler Room: Little DIYs for a Big Girl Room

The transition from a crib to a big girl bed is not easy.  We thought the adjustment may be easier if the big girl bed was awesome. 

It was not easier. 

BUT the bed is awesome. 

Bed DIY:
It took D about a weekend to build, prime and paint the bed.  We found free plans for the bed from Remodelholic's Blog.

He added these copper string lights that make it feel so magical at night during story time. 

Table DIY:
I wanted a place for her to color and work on puzzles so we found table a table at Goodwill that was a height suitable for kid chairs (~18 inches), then found an adorable set of chairs from Homegoods and went to work getting the table just right.

I sanded it then made a chalk paint that was a little lighter than the wall color by mixing a 2:1:1 ratio of wall paint, white paint and plaster of paris.  

After sanding it again to bring out just a hint of the old color I used this Minwax Finishing Paint Wax to complete it.  Cutest $11 table that I've ever seen. 
 

 

Dresser DIY: 
This chest was given to us by my late grandmother and she would probably die again if she saw what we did to it; although I know she would've loved that it is in E's room and is used everyday.

In our defense, we did love this chest, we just didn't have a functional place in our house for it.  So it lived in our garage for a little while until we needed to get E into a big girl room and inspiration (necessity) came knocking (kicking in my belly). 

We found wood trim pieces at Home Depot, D added the trim pieces and sanded it. 

I painted it with a white chalk paint on the outside and a pink on the inside.  I used storage bins to keep her clothes organized.  Since we had the paint this dresser only cost us the trim, knobs and storage bins.   

This dresser has actually been a great tool as we teach her independence; the bins make it easy for her to pick out her clothes for the day and put away her own laundry.       

Decor DIY:
Speaking of my grandmother, when E was born my grandmother's gift to her was animal sketches that she did for the nursery.  

My grandmother was the kind of artist that would sit in a coffee shop and sketch the face of patrons with an impressive acuity for capturing their demeanor.  She kept saying that animals were not her forte, but I beg to differ, she managed to give character to the sketched animals in a way that only she could.        

I had never seen my grandmother be affectionate until the moment she met E, after that I saw a side of her that I had not known before.  

 

E and I would visit her regularly until she passed and I am so thankful that we have these sketches to remind E of the love that my grandmother had for her.  

I made the floral E by hot gluing fabric flowers to a 13" wood letter from Michaels. 

We created the butterfly using shims and mixing paint colors for the different pink and purple tones. 

I use baskets on the open shelves to keep her toys organize and also separate toys she can play independently with and ones that I do not want her to have immediate access to.

 

We came across this beautiful three story dollhouse peering at us from a garage sale on our way down to the river one morning.  This one is not a DIY but it is one of my favorite finds...ever and for someone that doesn't typically do the garage sale thing, I feel like we hit the jackpot. 

We had so much fun with each of these little projects for her room and hope that each time E is in her room she feels completely surrounded by love.

~D&H

 

 

Currently Loving: Glidden's Dusty Miller Paint Color

If peace was a color, I think it would be this "Dusty Miller" color by Glidden.

This paint color perfectly reflects it's leafy namesake, a hearty plant that is worth adding to your garden, and both are my current obsession.

D painted the nursery this color and the more time that we spend in there with our girls, the more we love this color. 

The airy sage tone changes with the light throughout the day to a peaceful gray in the evenings. 

If you're looking for inspiration for your next paint project, definitely give this color a try! 

PEACE!