DIY Scrollwork Mirror & Cork Board

I absolutely love the antique hand crafted frames Restoration Hardware Baby & Child had put in their catalog.  They make a kids room look so much more sophisticated as you can see below:

However, the cork board costs $299 and the mirror runs at $399, not something I was hoping to have to pay.  My first thought was to check out ebay and craigslist for people selling frames and painting them the color I wanted.  However, it wasn't much better there!  Everything ran at about $100 each- again I was sure I could do better.

So, with a turn to my new favorite store Ikea, I got lucky.  For only $39.99 I found the UNG DRILL mirror pictured below- you can pick this up at most Ikea stores around the world actually.  Sure, right now it doesn't look very nursery friendly, but with a little spray paint you can see it transform yourself!  

  

We started with some primer spray paint because the frame is plastic and black.  Then with some flat white spray paint we finished it off so it would look less plastic looking and more like wood.  It took quite a few coats but I was determined!

Next I wanted something large and rectangular to make the cork board with.  However, I had no such luck anywhere.  The only option I could think of was to buy a cork board and turn to the local hardware store to create it myself.

At Home Depot I was able to pick up a variety of molding accents (like the ones pictures) and used a combination of them to create the look I wanted.  I ended up spending about $60 on this project between buying the cork board and the combination of accent moldings.  It was a little more than I wanted to spend on something that could end up not working out, but it was a huge cork board and I decided to move forward with it because I had no other ideas.

 

By using a combination of wood glue and my trusty hot glue gun I was able to create I frame I was thrilled with.  

Since I wanted a really sophisticated look, I used a coat of primer then painted on top with white paint.  In the end the cork board came out fabulous and was totally worth it!  

Here are the finished products in their room!! 

  

Blackout Wall Canopy: Background

*For instructions please see Blackout Wall Canopy: How To

For some people adding a canopy to their bed is a luxury. For us parents who are willing to do anything to get a couple extra minutes of sleep, the idea of a blackout canopy is genius.  So, how do we make this idea a reality? Let's start by going over the fact that I could not find ANYTHING like this anywhere.  No one uses canopies around their children's cribs to keep out light, this seems crazy to me as so many people use blackout curtains in their nurseries and rooms.  So, I needed to draw inspiration from the looks I love.

 Love this room from Restoration Hardware's Baby & Child :

 

The bassinet from Babies"R"Us is close, but these curtains from Pottery Barn Kids are perfect:

Only problem is that to completely surround a crib, you would need 3 of the Pottery Barn Kids Ruffle Blackout curtains which at $99 each, puts you at over $300 with shipping for just 1 crib.  As I mentioned before, I am preparing a nursery for 2 girls under the age of 2 so canopies for both would put me at $600 for just curtains. Let's continue though, I'll get to the total price break down in a second. 

The obstacle: 

For some reason, our ceiling is concrete.  My husband tried drilling into the ceiling and broke the drill bit he was using.  So, we need to hand this canopy off the wall. The only wall canopy I have been able to find that is remotely sensible is this following one from Restoration Hardware's Baby & Child: 

Surprisingly enough, this is only $50, which is just a fraction of the other wall canopy hardware you find out there. 

So, if I used the products from Restoration Hardware Baby & Child and Pottery Barn Kids, I would find myself making 2 blackout wall canopies for $700 plus shipping, so probably around $750.  While I would gladly pay this for the extra sleep I know this will afford me, I just had to see what I could do about it.  Paying this much for some fabric and a twisted pieces of metal just seems absurd when you aren't sleep deprived and  can think clearly about it.  

Lucky for me I was able to do the below for under $200.  My next post will explain how:

Newborn Digs: The Plan

I am currently 8 months pregnant with our second daughter (yay!) and am coming to terms with the fact that even though our first daughter is not even 2 yet, most of what we have is either out of date, or just not my style anymore.  Does it bother me enough to go buy new things?  No.  However, it does frustrate me enough that I want to invest in a little updating where I can pull it off.

My latest dilemma is surrounding the bassinet.  When we had our first daughter, we thought we were incredibly clever by purchasing a 3 in 1 bassinet that had a changing table piece you attach on top so we could save space.  However, when you are up for weeks with no more than 2 hours of a sleep at a time from nursing around the clock, have a crying baby, a husband who seems to sleep and snore through anything, and are trying to juggle that and putting your changing table up with only 1 hand, you suddenly don't feel so clever.  It was a great idea in theory, but not for us.

We ended up getting a pack and play with a changing table that is already attached at the end once our daughter got too tall for the bassinet and it was like heaven- the beauty of hindsight!  We had our daughter in our room with us until she was 6 months old (as recommend by the Pediatrician) and plan to do so again with our second, so last week I had my husband pull it out of the closet so we could start arranging the room and prepare for our second little bundle of joy.

This is when I think I actually looked at it for the first time- oh my.

Surely I had better taste back then, it was only over a year ago that we purchased it!  The colors, the patterns, the look and design...I couldn't help but want to pout.  Functionality wise, it is still everything I could possibly want or need.  But is it fit for my second precious little girl?  No. Well, not yet anyway- I have a plan!

Since I have basically have no time to sow something myself, which I am seriously tempted to do, I had to settle for finding a more creative approach.  I want to essentially create a cover that will go around the pack and play and hide the design so it matches the decor of our bedroom.  After toying around with several ideas and some price comparisons, I settled on ordering 2 wrap around bed ruffles which I will be attaching to the pack and play, then adding a canopy on top.  So, I get to keep the practical and add a much more sophisticated look then you can even buy.

So stay tuned for Sofia vs. Pack and Play, I will post the pictures of my process so I don't leave out any gory details!  

Introductions are in order!

Every time I flip through a new catalog or scroll through a favorite website I wonder what those rooms look like after a month of use, or with real toys or kids playing. Would it stand the test of reality?  I feel as though most of these staged ideas would miss the mark and leave moms like my self in morning of our beautiful rooms, and with quite a bill to pay.  This blog is about a regular mom with no formal training, but a love for the stylish and crafty.  With kids, animals and limited space to contend with, I hope many can find inspiration in my unstaged solutions. 

That being said- Hi! I'm Sofia, thanks for reading!