A shade of Robin Egg Blue

I love the shades of Robin Egg Blue.  It brings a sense of peace and relaxation.  I helped with some of the extras in Lori's nursery.  I loved the color she picked out for the wall.  A light gray-blue-green color.  Her baby's bedding is white with slashes of red in the pattern.  We decided to leave the walls alone, and spruce up the room with a few extras.  I really loved her color scheme.  We decided to refinish an outdated nightstand and replace the lighting in the room!  Yep, another chandelier in store for me!  This is the first time I actually refinished a piece of furniture.  With a little advice from a highschool friend and a bunch of googling....this project turn out fabulous!!  I really love the new nightstand.  It makes me want to refinish every piece of furniture in my house!  I will admit that the sanding part is NOT fun!  My back is somewhat sore.  But You Can Do It!  Just put your back (or elbow) into it!  Next time I will invest in an eletric sander.  The next blog will be a "how-to", so you folks can try it at home! 
As far as the chandelier goes, the room needed a pop of red.  So the chandelier was painted red!  I love the cute white shades with the miniature red balls (for lack of a better word) hanging from them!  Lori originally sent me a photo of curtains with larger (balls) hanging from them, so I knew she would like the shades on the chandelier!  It really came together quite nicely!  She decided not to find out the sex of the baby, and I think this color scheme was perfect for just that!  A real nice surprise Clark!  Ok- yes I'm tired!  Enjoy the pics!  And be sure to check out our other goodies at The Nest Boutique~ http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Nest-Boutique/174353755933625

HOME: the Perfect Nest

Lately, Kevin and I have been working on some home improvement projects.  There seems to be 100+ projects we want, or should start.  Slowly we have tried to improve our home, rooms and yard with "mini projects".  Why stress ourselves out and our wallets with everything all at once?!  I've been most impressed with our guest bathroom.  The bathrooms in our home were so outdated.  Next year we will tackle the master bath.  But take a peak at the hallway guest bathroom.  We found this great sink vanity at a Celadon Warehouse sale.  What a great find at a 1/3 of the price!  It has a rustic feel to it.  The vision was based around the sink vanity and everything else fell into place.  One of our great friends, Kendall helped us replace the old vinyl floor with slate colored tile.  It looks great!  Thanks Kendall!  Next we had the new commode and sink vanity installed (with help of course).  Kev is handy, when it comes to calling the experts!  ;)  Next I found a great sale on the shower curtain at pottery barn that I really loved.  A decent shower curtain was one of the hardest finds!!!  But even harder I think, was picking out a color for the walls to blend with the shower curtain!  I'm sure Home Depot's paint department hated seeing me at 10:45pm!  So indecisive!  All-in-all, I am very pleased!  Lastly, I just added little touches: wooden bird cage given to me by my MIL, beautiful hydrangeas from our yard, towel and magazine baskets from Marshalls (love discovering affordable, great finds there), old mirror from our garage that was once over our fireplace (so glad I held on to it...Kev is always trying to give things away).  We propped the mirror on the vanity instead of hanging it on the wall;  I really like the look.  Thanks to good friends and great finds....it turned out great!  Just try it, one room or project at a time.  It will make you much happier with your Home, your Nest.  And be smart with your purchases...it doesn't have to cost a fortune!    And do it with the ones you love...it brings a sense of accomplishment and teamwork as a couple! 

adorn your NEST

I know, I know.  It's been a while since I've blogged!  Can you tell the weather is getting warmer here?!  I love beach and boat weather!  I hope everyone had a beatiful Mother's Day!  Kevin and I took our families to brunch for Mother's Day.  We were lucky because my Grandmother was in town visiting too!  It was great having both of our families together.  We will cherish these moments. 

More recenly I've been working on ideas and inspirations for two of my best childhood friends' nurseries!  It has been so much fun reconnecting with these ladies!  We have just laughed and picked up where we left off!  I can remember giggling for hours on end with Lori (the girl is hilarious) and having skating recitals with Seana in our garages....and charging our neighbors to watch us!  HAHAH!  Great memories!  It's so hard to believe that we are old enough to be married...and now babies?!  As they say, time flies when you're having fun~

I am so excited to share these two nurseries with you after they are completed.  Seana is having a sweet baby boy.  Her bedding is so spunky and the colors are so vibrant!  We decide to paint a playful design tree near the crib!  Can't wait for you to see the color combos!  Lori has decided to make the sex of their baby a surprise to everyone...even themselves!  (how is she doing it?!)  We are working on sprucing up the room with the extras including a refinished nightstand...AND the lighting~!  I am so excited to get another opportunity with a chandelier!  Her colors have a soft grey/blue with a punch of Red!  Love it ladies!  Thank you for giving me the opportunity to make your nurseries my canvas. 

I found a book about decorating nurseries that I just ordered from Serena and Lily.  It's called, "Nursery Style 101."  I can't wait to get it in the mail.  Briefly the book breaks down 4 steps that go into designing your nursery.  Step #1-Define your Style (Classic, Vintage, Modern, Ecletic).  Step #2-Choose your Palette.  Step #3-Furnish your Room.  Step #4- Adorn your Nest.  I love how the book describes Step #4!  "Now it's time for pure fun. Selecting the artwork and accessories for your nursery is another chance to infuse the space with personality and make your mission truly one of a kind. Remeber to stay true to what you love, to what inspires you and holds meaning for you.  You'll spend oh-so-many hours staring at these walls. Make sure you'll be gazing at something you love."  I could not have said it better myself!

Photo of 4 generations in our family from Mother's Day 2011:  Sweet, isn't it?!

Home "Tweet" Home!

As most of you know, my sweet niece Elsie Claire was born on Monday, March 14th!  Mommy and baby had a safe and healthy delivery.  Praise to you, God.  She is just beautiful!  Our family is just filled with so much love for this newest addition, especially her big brother!  One really neat gift God gave them leading up to this delivery was this tiny bird's nest right outside of Elsie Claire's nursery.  While Tina was nesting at home prior to her delivery, she heard sweet birds chirping and babbling outside of the nursery window.  When she peeped out the window, she found this nest!  How appropriate, right?!  I'm sure Tina is sleep deprived, but regardless she is the best Mommy I know!  As a mother, I have seen her provide comfort, security, nourishment, love and assurance that "everything will be alright."  Often I wonder if I could ever be ready for that right moment in my life.  Most days I can't find my keys, how could I care for a baby?  For now, I like being "Aunt Jacquie"...

Welcome Home Door Hanger

The Nest outside of Elsie Claire's window

Our sweet Miss Elsie Claire wearing her Hoot Hat from The Nest!

The Sweet Angel in Pink

On the Fly

Soooo, Baby Elsie Claire is ALMOST here, and we can barely stand it!  Especially Momma Bird!  I spent a weekend in Augusta working LONG hours with my brother-in-law, sister, mother and sweet nephew getting little Elsie's room together!  I just get sucked into these projects once I start them, and before I know it....it's 3am!  Although there was much to do in a short weekend, we got it all in!!!  But I must say, it looks adorable....and well worth it!  Check out some of my favorites...all from The Nest Boutique!  http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Nest-Boutique/174353755933625

 The Nest Chandelier

 Sweet Curtains

Applique owl onesie from The Nest! 

 Sweet personalized owl painting on canvas

Custom frame for Elsie Claire!

 Custom bow holder!

 Wall with mirrors, owl lamp

 Tweet Bird Mobile

 Tweet bird hung from ceiling near painted tree.

 Adorable crochet items for Elsie and her photo shoot!

Hospital Door Hanger for ECP!

Personalized Frame, monogrammed button

Hand painted owl table

 Her name hanging from the tree!

 Growth chart with bird house!

iheartthenest chandelier!
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/The-Nest-Boutique/174353755933625

She rocks in the treetop all day long...

What a beautiful weekend in Charleston, SC.  It felt like Spring has Sprung!  Too bad we will probably will have several more weeks left of chilly weather....burrrrr!  I enjoyed this weekend with many projects in my own nest!  We finally purchased a new couch!!  And while we were picking it up at Celadon...we found a great deal on a sink and vanity!  It just so happens that Celadon was having a sale that we were unaware of when we purchased our couch last weekend, and they offered to give us a refund of the difference of the couch!!!  Basically we got the sink and vanity for free with our savings!  What a steal right?!  As my husband put it, Celadon will have us as a customer for life!

I spent my busy little Sunday working on "The Nest" projects!  After finalizing a class with Mrs. D this week, I attempted a few appliques on my own!  What fun!  I will be out of control with these appliques before you know it!  On a more exciting note, I am a few steps away from having this Nest Chandelier completed, and I must say, I love, Love, LOVE IT!  WOW-$20 turned into a masterpiece and a jewel!  This is so much more unique than those $300 boutique chandeliers and will go great with Elsie Claire's whimsical owl themed room!  Check it out!  It all started with a pile of branch trimmings left on the side of the road and a $20 thrift store chandelier!  Just wait until I post pics when I get it up in her room next weekend!

Make me a bird so I can fly far, far away.

Make me a bird so I can fly far, far away.  Some days this is how I feel, and today is one of those days.  Work, schmirk.  Worries, schmerries.  Blahh, Blahh.
Home is where I can relax and try to forget about that "stuff".  Nest (n): a place of retreat, rest, or lodging.  Nest = my home.  Back to a favorite hobby....creative projects.  Debating on whether to practice with an applique or ideas for murals in Baby Elsie's room.  I wanted to get a chandelier for her nursery as my gift.  As I started googling and searching for the perfect chandelier...I quickly realized that chandeliers aren't cheap.  I want the chipper chicken Fronk!  It's not as though these chandeliers have REAL crystals on them...  So I started googling and stubbled upon this....I'm lovin' it!  Both options will be super cute and save major bucks!  What do you think?!  Would this look cute in a nursery with an owl theme?  Or have I gone Cooky?!

Option 1-brass chandelier (find a reasonable offer on craigslist or thrift store)...

Spray paint it white....

http://www.centsationalgirl.com/2010/09/brassy-to-classy-my-free-chandelier/

Then add some crystal beads!  Awesome! 

http://www.potterybarnkids.com/

Option 2: old chandelier....spray paint it white if not already...

Add some branches and shape them with the curves of the chandelier...

Then Spray paint WHITE!  A Nest Chandelier!  I'm still lovin' it!

http://funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com/2010/11/lighting-up-my-life-with-white-branch.html