As I type this, Phil is in the nursery painting a light shade of “Pink Champagne” (Valspar from Lowes) onto the nursery walls. In another week, we’ll be filling the room with everything I’ve planned. I guess that means I had better begin to finalize my nursery plans!

I had been stuck on what to do with the wall above the crib for quite a while. I knew I didn’t want a mobile, and I knew I wanted to reuse art from our apartment that hasn’t yet found a place in our new home (can you say free?!).  But how should I arrange it all? I didn’t want anything too sparse, or too cluttered. So when I found this cute little balloon light- I knew I wanted to include it in a simple little arrangement to give a minimal touch to the kitschy art. Voila! I hope it looks alright once it makes the transition from digital rendering to real-life.

The crib we are using was found on Craigslist for a great price. I decided I wanted to paint a thick white stripe across the top, below the chew guards. So I found some baby-safe paint, and now I just need to get to work on painting! I’ll share more on that project later.

Like my selections and want to recreate a similar look in your home? Check out the links below!

1 / 2 / 3 ($50 with invite link here) / 4 (create your own signage) / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / baby-safe paint here

If you want to check out the opposite wall elevation, look here. Since I shared this rendering originally, I’ve decided on different curtains, and moved the “xoxo” signage to the opposite wall. Other than that- this wall is all ready to go! Woo hoo! This nursery is coming together!

Since this little girl growing inside of me is going to be our first child, we wanted to milk the excitement for all its worth! Initially, I had planned on throwing an intimate party for close family and a few friends to announce our baby’s gender, since everyone else seemed as excited as we were to find out. After being sick for almost a month, and still having lots of work to catch up on in our lawn maintenance, Phil and I decided it would still be special and fun to just send out cards, in lieu of a party.

I got a few phone calls last week from family and friends letting us know how excited they were to get the card, and how fun it was discovering our baby’s gender from an interactive card. Since I took the time to hand illustrate and create these cards for just one baby, I thought I would share the digital template and instructions with you, in case you have special baby news to share with your family too! (P.S. If you didn’t catch our “gender reveal” video, you can see it here!)

First, I chose cardstock for the front of the card, and a coordinating cardstock for the inside. Since the cardstock was not already 8.5 by 11 inches, I had to trim the sheets down to print out the digital image for the cover and inside. After they were all printed, I trimmed the front and inside down with a paper cutter, I cut out the arrows with scissors, and then using a utility blade (my Xacto wasn’t handy), I cut out skinny little slits for the arrows to slide into.

Next, I slipped the arrows into the inside portion of the card, flipped it over, and used a glue stick everywhere except where the arrow sat. Then, I stuck down the inside to the inside of the folded cover, making sure the arrow stayed straight and out of the glued area.

That’s all there is to it! I sized my cards to fit inside small envelopes that I had left over from our wedding Thank You cards. (The cards are around 3.5 x 5 inches in size.) If you want to print your own, I thought I would offer the digital download to you for both girl and boy announcement options!

click to download: girl card outside and arrow inserts
click to download: boy card outside and arrow inserts
click to download: card inside

For the past several months, I’ve been collecting choice baby clothes from thrift stores and garage sales. A few weeks ago, when we learned the baby’s gender, I packed up some of them in hopes I can use them for another baby, years in the future. But which clothes did I pack away, and which clothes did I keep out? Well, We’re finally ready to share the news: Boy or Girl? Watch the video below to find out!

P.S. Pardon my Memorial Day tan lines! Yikes!