A project from my nesting days of not so long ago…

Just about one year ago, when I was very pregnant, done with work, and trying to soak in my morning alone time with R off at pre-school, I fell under the spell of the nesting fairy. To be clear, I was feeling pretty awful most of the time due to chronic pain, a few unnecessary scares and too many doctor appointments. I was generally just OVER being pregnant. I had a very rough pregnancy the second time around, so the warm and fuzzies were few and far between. But prepping for baby K did bring me joy and butterflies, so I busied myself with decorations and projects and organization daily. I should have posted my cute nursery projects as they were being produced, but I didn’t have a blog then…

One of my favorite ones, which made me smile just this morning as I changed K’s diaper (for the second time in 10 minutes 😂), is explained below. The result is a charming animal wall hanging for the nursery. 

1. Find a few theme-appropriate cut-outs from old cards. R helped me comb through baby shower cards from 4 years prior, when she was in my belly. This was fun and sweet, because I read her all the wise and kind words that were bestowed upon me (actually, many of the cards issued warnings about how incredibly hard motherhood is, and at the time such cautionary tales really got under my skin). We selected a handful of cards that were printed on heavy card stock and included nice, uplifting and colorful imagery. R and I each took a pair of scissors and cut out a whole bunch of balloons, animals, flowers, baby carriages, bottles and the like. I gathered my favorite animal cutouts and saved the rest for a special collage project that I’ll regale you with later.

2. Paint one or more square wood wall plaques. I purchased mine for around $1 each from Michael’s, and used Martha Stewart’s pretty pastel acrylic paint in pink, purple and green.

3. Once my plaques were painted and dry, I added a coat of mod podge and arranged the cutouts (using the mod podge as an adhesive). Another layer of mod podge was applied as a sealant after the first dried. 4. Hang in nursery and pat yourself on the belly for being so crafty. THE END.