My DIY Nursery Art

The nursery is, for all intents and purposes, DONE! I can't believe it. Well...actually maybe I can since Baby is due to arrive in 8 days. High on my agenda for this week is to take pictures of the whole room so I can finally share it all.

One of the last big things I was waiting on was the custom faux ostrich leather bench for under the window. You'll recall it was a wee bit messed up when I first saw her? But she's back and looking fabulous I must say. I am loving the texture of the faux ostrich and the wipe-ability of the vinyl surface. Here's a sneak peak.

The other to-do that has plagued me in the nursery was art for the crib wall. Originally I was going to do wallpaper, then wallpaper panels, then a vinyl decal, then 3 framed prints...but nothing ever felt quite right. So finally I just decided that I'd rather try my hand at some fun cartoony art than leave the largest wall in the room blank. I was completely inspired by local artist Keith Norval who's art has always struck me as being perfect for a kid's room. His work is amazing and I would have loved a big, original statement piece for the room. Sadly though his work is pretty much perfect, the price tag was not perfect for us.

One trip to Michael's later and I had armed myself with 3 12"x12" canvases and some oil pastels (which I should mention I haven't picked up since the 4th grade). But I resigned myself to "letting go" and not focusing on making anything perfect, just something fun and colorful to fill the Baby's world for a while.

I knocked out 1 piece last night - a cheeky, blazon-maned lion. Here he is getting very tenuously sketched out at my kitchen island.

I have to admit, putting down the first stroke of color was a little nerve racking. But he came out pretty cute. I will share final pics of him and his 2 friends this week.