The Crib Bedding Adventure.....

First of all, I cannot even begin to express the difficulty I've had picking out bedding for Olivia...You all know because I've ranted and raved about it in several different blog posts.  Sorry about my ever-changing mind!!  WELL...we finally made a FIRM decision after going to pick out fabrics at Room 2 Dream and then being completely overwhelmed with the choices and we didn't even find anything we liked that much.  I've been on a roller coaster ride about what to do, but the decision was finally to go on the "Neutral, plush, soft" route.  I also decided to make it myself to save some money, I've made several sets of pillows and curtains so bumpers and a crib skirt shouldn't be too far off my comfort level!  I'm sure you all will hear all about my adventures in crib bedding!  With that said, we knew we wanted some sort of "minky" fabric on the bumper....then we decided we wanted it in a neutral color but still feminine.  I looked EVERYWHERE for just the right fabric and got NOWHERE.  I ordered swatches online, I went to fabric stores, I did it all and didn't LOVE any of my choices.  Then it came to me.....I could use a "minky"/"faux fur"/"super soft" blanket as my fabric!!! Brilliance, I tell ya.  Brilliance. I found this DARLING blanket online for....wait for it....75% OFF!!!! It's a 50x70 which is approximately 2yards for 1 blanket! Um, heck yes.  I was a little nervous because I've been so picky, but I ordered it at a Department store website so I knew I could take it back if I hated it (like I had hated everything else I'd seen).  Well, it came in today and I'M OBSESSED.  It's EXACTLY what I had pictured!!!!  Best part?  I got 2 blankets and a matching pillow for a ridiculously low price and I don't even think I'll need to use the second blanket for fabric! I am just beyond excited to start this project now!!!  AHHHH  Here are some pics of the fabric/blanket that will be the entire bumper:

Did I mention the darling "Rose" emboss it has?  I was so worried the neutral color wouldn't be feminine, so this is PERFECT! And how easy to clean?! It's a machine washable blanket, and I can spot clean with BLEACH because it's white! yaaahhoooo plus it's super duper SOFT!!

Close up of the fabric...it looks kinda dirty but thats just the shadow of the chenille

 Just a matching pillow so I don't have to sew it myself :)

I'll add satin/silk ruffles and ties to the bumpers with a satin/silk bedskirt.  Which I'll hopefully go pick out tomorrow!!  I'm going to try to find a really light champagne color for the satin/silk....

Here goes nothing! 

A Bedding Decision!!

Ok, so I know everyone is probably super sick of discussing our bedding dilemmas! But, I think I have FINALLY made up my mind :)  I am going to duplicate my original favorite, with some changes:

I cannot find a pink stripe or gingham print in taffeta or silk ANYWHERE....you'd think it'd be easy right? WRONG.  So, I went to my handy-dandy Fabric.com and picked out some cotton fabric with the same print.

This stripe will be horizontal for skirt, ties and ruffle on bumper

The pink polka dot will be on the outside of the bumper

The white minky dot will be the inside of bumper as well as the crib sheet

Thoughts?!  I haven't set anything in stone, so I'd love to hear your opinions! :)  I like the idea of simple pink and white...I just don't think you can go wrong with polka dots or stripes---they will always be "IN". And I don't want to SPLURGE on crib bedding that she will likely only use for 6-9 months if she's anything like her big brother!

New vs. Old

I am having a difficult time deciding whether or not to keep Kenwood in his furniture and get the baby a new crib set or to have the baby use Kenwoods and get him some big boy furniture.  At first, we decided we would FOR SURE have the baby use Kenwood's furniture...but times, they are a changin'.  First of all, Kenwood has some REALLY nice furniture and it was a great buy for us because it's a 3-in-1 crib (crib-toddler-full) and he has a beautiful dresser/hutch that matches.  It's actually a beautifully masculine little set we got him! So, after looking at the prices of bedroom furniture vs. the prices of cribs & dresser sets I'm leaning toward just getting Olivia a decent (not too expensive but not cheap) white crib and a plain white dresser.  While money is the main issue behind this decision, here are the other motivating factors :)

The name of this bedding is actually OLIVIA..it's meant to be!!! While this is a crazy expensive set, I'm hoping I can find some pink/white striped taffeta or silk and duplicate this darling bedding...I'm OBSESSED! Plus, I think it looks much better with white than a dark brown crib and furniture :)

Here is the crib I'm thinking about.  It's plain which I like, and it converts to a toddler and a full bed as well if we were to need it. It also has a matching dresser that I plan to add some pink crystal knobs to kind of like the inspirational photo below: