Little Details

So continuing on with Silas' nursery this week, I wanted to share a few little items from his room that really make it special and personal.  I am a lover of all things handmade so I was thrilled when so many talented people showered us with beautiful handmade items and have given Silas something he can cherish for a long time.  I also made a few Etsy purchases along the way that added extra personality and uniqueness to his room (if you don't know about Etsy you can read about it here).  

One of the biggest issues I had when decorating was choosing bedding for his crib.  I just didn't like the matchy-matchy crib in a bag sets and everything seemed either too cheesy or girly.  So my mom and I started searching for something different and ended up choosing a little handmade quilt made by Etsy artist Clevelandgirlie and it is perfect.  Her detail and workmanship is so lovely.  I love that it is something that Silas will have forever and it's not too babyish so he can use it for a while.

One of my favorite items is a little handmade crotchet cat that one of our sweet students made for Silas.  She surprised us with it at our baby shower and I just fell in love with it.  She is so talented.  My niece has already requested one for herself because she thinks it's the coolest thing ever, she reminds me of this every time I see her.

Silas' artwork was another Etsy purchase we made from artist Kait.er.piller.  She was so sweet to purchase from and included several free items and a kind note (I love the little personal touches you get when purchasing from an etsy artist!) I have had so many compliments and queries about his little artwork.  It's the cutest little thing.  I love how simple and sweet it is.

An animal baseball team...let's just call this perfection.

Ok, the next thing was a huge surprise for both Justin and I.  This rocking horse was made by another Silas who is the grandfather of two sweet students of ours.  This is so special to us and I know it will be special to Silas one day as well and I can't wait to tell him that another Silas made it for him, how sweet!

Another talented and sweet friend at church made the most awesome painted letters for us.  She is such a great artist and is always sharing her talents with others and for the church.  I love looking at all of the little details in her painting and I can just picture Silas discovering all of the little details in her work one day too.

Finally, the last thing is Silas' bible.  It's not handmade but it was written for him by our creator (the most talented and creative being ever) and it's the most precious thing we could have given him.  This was our first Christmas present to him and more than anything I can't wait to see him reading it.  

I hope you enjoyed taking a closer peek into our little house and Silas' nursery.  The little details are what truly make your house your home.  Now it's your turn, comment and share with us some of your favorite little details that you love about your home.

Trash to Treasure Dresser

This is the story of our son's dresser.  Once upon a time, when Justin and I got married we had no furniture so many wonderful people gave us junk pieces that they were going to throw away.  My Dad even reclaimed our sofa from the side of the road (it was actually really nice and you would have never known it was once trash).  Thinking back, I think the only furniture items we purchased for our first apartment was a recliner and a mattress - not too bad.  One of the many pieces we received was a dresser - it was half painted, dinged up and had ugly old handles.  I remember being very excited to redo this dresser and I worked very hard and gave it a lovely new coat of white paint (and spray painted handles).  Over the years the dresser served us well and I used it as somewhat of a crafting outlet as I re-painted it several times.  Somehow, some way the dresser made it's way back to it's original state - half painted and dinged with ugly handles.  How did we neglect it so?  In our previous house we did not have a dresser for Silas, we were using an antique cabinet we had but we knew we wanted one for him when we moved.  I thought about several options - all of which included a purchase until I remembered our old junky dresser.  I was so excited because this meant no money would have to be spent, I was not excited however over the condition the dresser was in.  Last weekend I finally got around to showing this dresser some love and it is ready to make it's blog debut, looking all shiny and new - woohoo! (I just can't help myself, I must rhyme when I get the chance).  So here are my steps for the updated dresser - I must add that everything I used to remodel this dresser was something I already had from a previous project so this was a totally free redo!

Before Shot

1.  First step was to putty in all the unwanted holes (I'm a fast learner)

2.  After the putty was dry (actually it never dried bc I Justin bought some kind of weird putty, but it worked all the same) It was sanded and cleaned to remove all of the dustiness.
3.  Next I just used a roller to paint the body and drawers of the dresser and a smaller brush to paint over the smaller details - I did two coats altogether

Yes, I will confess that I never use a drop cloth while painting - I know, I'm living on the wild side.

4.  I decided to add some color so I used some left over paint from the wall color and applied it with a edging brush and I also used a little paint from the gallon I bought for the bathroom that I haven't gotten to yet - this time I used a small sponge brush since I was painting a small area.  I just free-handed the painting, no tape.

5.  After all of the painting was finished I still felt like it needed a bit more so I pulled out some letters I had painted before he was born for his room and hot glued those babies on.

6.  The last thing was the glass knobs that I had stolen from another dresser that we had previously gotten rid of - so free, free, free

After Shot

I really love this little dresser now and it is so much fun giving junky pieces new life and purpose.  For some reason this trash to treasure remake reminds me of the parable of the lost coin in Luke 15 (it's a stretch but bare with me) -    
“Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”


You see, there is rejoicing over us when we find our salvation in God, when we discover his grace and forgiveness and repent.  Just like the tiny coin that was lost and found was such a treasure to the woman, we are precious treasures to be found in Christ.  I want to leave you with one of my favorite song lyrics from a song by Andrew Peterson and I pray that everyone today will know the joy that is found in Christ when we are made into a new creation - His treasure. 

So I find that all this time
Beneath the surface, I could shine
Like all the gold a king and queen could measure
See, even just a penny is a treasure

Linking Up Here:

Nursery Sneak Peek

We devoted this past weekend to our precious baby's room.  It's all painted - trim and walls, pictures are hung, dresser is painted and toys are in place.  We still have blinds and curtains to do but we are happy with our progress.  Silas said he was very happy too.  Here are a few pictures until we get the room totally ready.

Tomorrow I'll be showing the dresser overhaul so stay tuned for that!