Update: The Nursery is finally finished!  Hop over and check out the full reveal!

So way back in when I went thrifting with some other mid-Tennessee bloggers in March – I found the cutest little name plaque at Goodwill.  Of course – it was a little girly – but I figured for $3.50 I could work with that!  And it had the right number of letters for our Lil Man’s name – which was even better.

I had an idea of what I wanted to do with it – and the first step was to change out that mat from pink to a different color.  Ever wondered if you can spray paint one of those?  Well the answer is Yes!

I still had a little of my Bahama Sea Blue spray paint from Krylon and that blue went well with the other colors in the nursery.  So I sprayed away and got a nice even color going on it!  I think the blue looks much better than the pink! 

Next I picked out some cardstock in my nursery colors from Hobby Lobby.  I decided to use a base chocolate color and then “layer” on the bright colors on top of that.  After I picked out a font I liked (Georgia if you are wondering), I cut the letters out with my Silhouette machine.  Then I decoupaged them on to some plain white cardstock.

Once I got the base letter color on, I added the brighter color on top – creating a shadow look.  I really like how it gives it a little depth.

Ha!  Thought I was going to slip and revel our Lil Man’s name?  Nope – I actually made a blog version and a “real” version!  Sorry guys – but that one is going to stay private!  I will just switch them out for when I post pics of the Lil Man’s room!  :)

So anyways – here it is all together!  I love the way it looks!

And yep we are using the crib for storage of clothes and blankets!  That is cause hubby is working on getting that dresser refinished!  Hoping to have that to show to you guys soon!

I am going to hang it back behind the crib!  Should be the perfect addition for back there!  Stay tuned for more updates soon!  Did you work on anything fun this weekend?  Lemme know!

Linking this to

Metamorphosis Monday with Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch
Thrifty Treasures with Rhoda @ Southern Hospitality
Get Your Craft On with Kim @ Today’s Creative Blog
Tip Me Tuesday with Laurie @ Tip Junkie
Show and Share Day with Chris @ Just a Girl
Tips and Tutorials with Beth @ Stories of A to Z
Creative Collage with Denise @ The Cottage Chick

Spray Paint Party with Sarah @ Thrifty Decor Chick

I have a great giveaway for you guys today!  The wonderful folks at Hallmark have come up with some great fun stuff and I am super excited to share with you! 
This all started back when we first got pregnant.  See – we live over 4 hours from all of our parents – so we aren’t going to have grandparents around all the time.  And I honestly got a little bummed out about that and started thinking about ways that we could involve them in the Lil Man’s life.  Then I saw the Hallmark Recordable Storybooks.   Those of you that went to Blissdom might remember that we were gifted with one. 

Recordable Storybooks work by letting you record your voice reading each page of the book and then “save” that story so it can be told over and over.  As you turn each page in the book – your voice plays reading each page individually.
As some of you may remember – we have a book theme going on in the nursery.  So for me – this was the perfect gift for our parents to regift back to our Lil Man!  I wanted to give one to each of our parents so that they could “read” for the Lil Man and we would have that story forever.  To me – this let us have a couple of key benefits.
1.  Lil Man gets to hear and learn his grandparents voices.
2.  We have a wonderful memento of our family and loved ones.
3.  Even when Mommy and Daddy don’t have the energy to read, they can still share a story with the Lil Man – all you have to do is turn the page!

When I talked to Hallmark about it – they were totally on board and offered to send my Mom one for her to try out in honor of Mother’s Day.  I totally forgot to take pictures of her with it – but it was super easy to figure out how to use.  There are instructions right on the inside cover and with each page you can re-record if you mess up – or get a little weepy!  :) 

And Hallmark was generous enough to offer one Recordable Storybook for you guys too!  And in honor of Mother’s Day they are also offering two of their new Postage Paid Card Packs!  They sent me a card pack to review and I have to say they are really fantastic!  The cards are all really cute – I love this one!  (We are totally a funny card family!)
And the best thing with these cards is that you can just sign them and mail them.  The postage is already included – which is really fantastic!  No running to the post office to grab stamps – which I never have any more because we pay all of our bills online!  And the cost of the cards is around $3.99 and I have paid that much for just a regular card before. 
So we have one Recordable Storybook and two Postage Paid Card Packs up for grabs!  So what do you have to do to enter?  First – hop over to Hallmark’s site and pick out which of the Recordable Storybook titles you would like to have.  Then come back and tell me which one you want in a comment. 
For any extra entries – you can also do the following

• Leave a comment telling me how you plan on honoring your mother this Mother’s Day
• Become a Follower (or tell me you already are)
• Become a Facebook Fan (or tell me you already are)
• Tweet or share this contest on Facebook
• Blog about this giveaway

That is 5 extra ways to win!  I will leave the contest open until next Tuesday evening (5/10) at 8pm CST.  On Wednesday AM – I will announce three winners – one for the Storybook and two for the Postage Paid Card Packs!  So you have lots of chances to win!!  Good Luck!! 

Can you guys believe tomorrow will be May?  Isn’t that just a wee bit scary?  The year will be halfway over before we know it!  I also can’t believe that there is only another 10 weeks until my lil man is supposed to be here.  Crazy!  Well – before we get into May, I thought I would share with you guys some of my favorite posts from this past month both here and around the web!  Let’s go!

DIY and Crafty Goodness

For starters – I made some Simple Easter Centerpieces for our dining room table.  I find it totally strange that I decorated for Easter this year – but I just felt possessed to do so.  Has to be all those maternal hormones running around!

I also finally replaced my ugly vertical blinds with a sliding panel solution!  I  love these things – and I may gussy them up at some point with a little trim or something.  In the meantime – I am just glad to have something that lets in the light without letting out too much of our privacy!

Around the House

Another thing that has been on my to do list for forever was to do a little gallery wall in my hallway.  So I got this little collection of silver frames all set up!  (Love silver spray paint!)  The hubby really loves it too – says it makes his day to get to see all our family everyday! 

I also updated my mantel.  Ok – it is a speaker shelf – but I call it a mantel!  I added some more spring colors and textures.  I really like how it plays off the white accents around the TV!

Inspirational Ideas

I ran through some great blue and white combos – starting from really light blue and going all the way to deep dark navy!  I loved getting to see your comments on what shades you guys preferred!  Feel free to hop over and add your two cents if you missed out on that little conversation!   I think one of my favorites was this blue bedroom overlooking a blue sea!  Ah …. I wanna go hang out there! 

I also did a spring take on my “Fall is … Cozy” post and did a “Spring is … Fresh!” post!  I loved sharing with you guys they way I find fresh in design and decor!  My favorite – this picture with all the flowering branches!  Swoon!

Tips and Tricks

I think my favorite post on tips from the month was the one I just posted this week on 10 Ways to Display Dishes!  Dishes are a super affordable and fun way to infuse all kinds of color and texture into your home.  I think this little vintage plate rack was the favorite based on the comments! 

 

Other Posts and Ideas from Around the Web

So those of you that follow me on Facebook have probably already seen these!  That is where I share all the great ideas I have found while running around online!  There were a ton of great projects that I featured this month – but these were my favorites!

First off – I am in love with this paper flower wreath from Kami @ No Biggie.  Isn’t this just adorable and amazing!  And a great way to get through some of your scrapbook paper stash! 

Photo via No Biggie

Next up, I was seriously debating changing my whole Living Room wall decor when I saw these amazing Ballard knockoff mirrors that Alicia @ Thrifty and Chic made.  I am in love with these!  Would you believe she made them for a mere $15?  Ah-maz-ing!

Photo via Thrifty and Chic

Next – my friend Erin over at Peony Wire Works makes the most beautiful things out of Chicken Wire.  But nothing she has made has been as beautiful as this gorgeous spring bouquet.  Love it!

Photo via Peony Wire Works

So there you go!  Those are all my favorites of the month!  Have a favorite post you want to share?  Yours, mine, someone else’s?  I would love to see it!  Post it in the comments or on my FB page!!  :)