The finish line, aka nesting projects galore

By that I don't mean that I've had this baby -- oh no, I'm still very very pregnant and not exactly all that thrilled about it -- but rather, I can see the finish line and it's somehow making me feel better and a lot worse all at the same time. #39weeks

David's been complaining that I haven't written any blog posts in awhile, because he's a very loyal husband blog reader, but my brain has been such a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions and yet at the same time extremely blank because I'm so tired that blogging has not exactly been on the priority list.

Instead I've been alternating bursts of nesting energy with longggg stretches on the couch. In the nesting vein, I've organized my sock and underwear drawer, sewn a pouf for a footrest (see below!), made David help me rearrange the shoes in my closet because I can't reach the top shelf, finished the baby quilt, scrubbed the kitchen floor (okay, Swiffered the kitchen floor), cleaned our bathroom top to bottom, completed a Nativity peg doll exchange, hung up pictures, batch cooked approximately 20 THM dinners and 40 THM breakfasts for post-baby with my mom and sisters, and probably some other things I can't remember. We also decorated for Christmas on the day after Thanksgiving and I've been finishing up the last couple projects I need to do for work before my maternity leave starts.

And I've also been spending plenty of time trying to nap when I can and sitting on my butt because everything is pretty exhausting at this point. Lest you think it's all productive around here -- it's sooooo not. haha.

The last piece of the nursery puzzle to be completed was the pouf I sewed very last minute. I had been debating on whether to buy a pouf online, or just get the foot rest that matched the glider we got from Target, but everything was so dang expensive. I could not justify $50+ for a pouf that looked like someone spent 10 minutes sewing it, and the glider's foot rest wasn't all that appealing either for $100+. So I DIY-ed it!

I followed this tutorial loosely but changed the dimensions and also just used home decor fabric instead of IKEA rugs. (Although I love the idea of using rugs for an outdoor seating idea! Someday in the future.) Some alterations to her "pattern": I made my squares all 22", which ended up making it a leeetle bigger than I had anticipated, but that's alright. I also had to buy two bags of the polyfil material, (affiliate link!) here on Amazon, but that still made it way cheaper than purchasing one.


The above pictures are my steps, not very well pictured but you should get the gist.
1. Sewing the sides together - I was not very precise on my cuts, and pinned them together just so I didn't have to hold them. Speed was the name of the game.
2. I laid out my pieces and wrote on the backs of them to match my pattern because my pregnancy brain was guaranteed to make a mistake if I didn't.
3. All 6 22" squares folded!
4. My very very fancy pattern written out. Like I said, not a complex pattern but I was sure that I'd mess something up.
5. Sewing all the sides together was super quick, and I double-stitched each one because I'm still nervous a certain toddler might attack the pouf and pop it if we're not careful and I didn't want little poly beads everywhere.
6. I think I bought 2 yards of fabric total, and my 22" squares just barely got me enough of a 45" home decor fabric because the lady cut it a little long. If you're nervous I would get 2 1/2 yards if you want a pouf this big.

I don't have pictures of adding the zipper in, because I made David do that part after agonizing about it for way too long at home by myself. There are far more useful tutorials on how to add zippers online than what I could explain, anyway.

Finished product?


Like I said, it's maybe a *tad* oversized, but it's super comfy and I am already looking forward to nursing with my feet up in our new comfy glider and pouf! Oh, and the nightstand! How have I not blogged about that yet? Oh right cause I haven't been blogging. Oops.

I had been looking for a nightstand for the nursery for a few months, and one Saturday decided to drive to an antique store here in Omaha (Midwest Pickers, if you're local) and try to find one in a last-ditch effort, or go without one. I'd debated buying a new one, but everything in my budget was either super flimsy or didn't have the amount of storage I wanted. I was getting really tired of looking and was just going to say "forget it" if I didn't find one that day.

I found one under a heaping pile of junk - say what you will about this store, but organization  and cleanliness are NOT its strong suits - and bargained the guy down to $5 when it was originally $25. After a quick Google search I realized this nightstand sells for $800 (yes, that's the right amount of zeros) in perfect condition so I was pretty sure I got a good deal. This one had a lot of scratches and a little water damage on the top, but nothing a good paint job couldn't fix.


I stopped at Ace and picked up their dark gray chalk paint (ridiculously titled A Good Man Is Hard to Find, Amy Howard brand) and went to work.


Two easy coats later, plus a coat of finishing wax I had leftover from the piano, and she was all ready to go. I got some cute pulls at Home Depot to finish off the look and voila, brand new nightstand for $40 (if you include the entire can of paint, when really I used only about 20% of it and will definitely use it in the future)!


As you can tell, I am pretty proud of the way it turned out. #chalkpaint5ever

Okay, enough boring nesting projects for one blog post. I finally remembered to have David hold the baby quilt so I could take pictures the other night, so that blog post IS coming, I promise, as soon as I remember to lug my camera downstairs and get the pictures off of it. Or maybe (please Jesus) I'll have the baby tonight and you'll have to wait even longer...I guess we'll just have to wait to find out!
HG

Comments

  1. I hope you have the baby, but I also hope I get to see How the quilt turned out!! The night stand is AHHHH MAZING!!!!! And the pouf... Is it heavy?? Or filled with beanbag filler stuff?? I love it all!!!

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  2. Dang girl, you are getting some stuff done! Go you - I totally love the nightstand and pouf. Come on baby!!

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  3. You nest like a mad woman. I mean that it the nicest way possible, of course! Look at you go!

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