Big girl room!

Stacey had some huge goals for us since I ended my summer semester and before our new little girl arrived. She wanted to create a Big Girl Room for Jaela and a new little girl room for the soon to come. She imagined it, designed it, and then told me what to do :) I must admit, it turned out pretty good for amateurs.

It all started with a big girl bed..... We wanted a bed that would cater to Jaela's need. Obviously, we couldn't have the traditional twin bed because she wouldn't be able climb in and out of it herself. We wanted something that would give her a sense of independence and freedom. Stacey saw the idea on pinterest, then set out o replicate the idea but to our own scale and without blueprints. We searched high and low to find a mattress that would be short enough for Jaela to be able to climb on and off without injuring herself, and low and behold, we found it at IKEA. A mattress that is half the height of a regular crib mattress (2.75 inches thick). We then made everything to fit around the mattress.

This is what we came up with....

As you can see, Jaela is proud to be in her new big girl bed. When she prays at night, she prays for her "big girl bed" :). She loves to sleep in it too! We have not had any problems switching her over into it.

Stacey told me where and how much to cut and I did, and she did all the painting. She stenciled the headboard and the footboard. We both designed the rail using our own imaginations :). Stacey also hand stitched the quilt on the bed and one other one for the proud princess.


The next project was to refinish Grammy and Papa's old dresser. This dresser is around 40 or 50 years old and has been just about every color of paint and stain possible :). We decided to paint it white and change out the hardware to make it look more modern. Everything is white, you can't really see all the details because my pictures are blurry (I took them on my phone, in the dark). The drawers have a stencil on them, we painted the first coat with a high gloss finish, then took a stencil and painted over the gloss with an eggshell. This created kind of the the "two toned" look on the drawers.

We then created a 'makeshift' bench, bookcase, and storage cubby.  Stacey covered some foam pads for the bench appeal and we created the wooden totes to hold toys and blankets. As you can see, elmo loves his new bed ;).

This is what the one side of the new room looks like... Stacey found the lamp at the D.I. and painted the base and created a new lamp shade for it. (If you look closely, you can spot the little princess sleeping in her big girl bed).

This is the other side of the room... Yes Jaela has her 'own' computer ;). We had to put the computer and desk in her room because there is a lack of storage elsewhere. So to make it match, we painted it white also.

So all in all, we (mostly Stacey) made a bed, re-finished the dresser, painted the desk, made a bench/bookcase, made some wooden totes, recovered some pillows, made two quilts (the 2nd one you can see on the floor in the picture above, it is gray and white), re-finished the lamp, made some drapes, and did all this for under $100.



Other exciting news......

After completion of my first year I applied for a bunch of scholarships. I was selected as a recipient for the Radiology Department scholarship. I was also selected as a finalist for the Jon Huntsman scholarship and the Traditional Family Values scholarship. I had to write an essay for each of the latter and then go down to Ogden for an interview. I was #1 recipient for each of those scholarships. I will not have to pay for anything for school and will also be getting paid to go to Weber State! Go Wildcats! ;)