Three Little Birds Nursery

by Abra Clampitt
(Bloomington, IN, U.S.A.)

The Three Little Birds nursery title comes from my favorite thing in the nursery - the three birds decal above the crib. It represents me, my husband, and our little girl, Audrey. It also represents the song- Three Little Birds, redone by Elizabeth Mitchell. It is one of my favorite songs to sing to my baby.

The decals came from Etsy.com. Etsy is one of my favorite places to find unique things! My over-all theme for the nursery was just to be vintage inspired and personal. So, really, I would almost say I went "unthemed" for the sake of being unique.

I also was doing it all on a budget. I began shopping for things early on (about 12 weeks into my pregnancy) to make sure to catch the sales.

I started with the idea of using four main colors - yellow, pink, brown, and white.

To save on the crib bedding, I chose not to buy a "set" together. Instead, I bought a sheet and bumper separately and then someone gave me the skirt. I love how the brown bumper contrasts with the yellow walls and white crib.

The crib I purchased online after googling to find the best price on it- I saved about $50 just from googling to find the least expensive store to purchase it from!

To add more of the brown in the room, I purchased a rocker and ottoman from Babies R Us on sale. I wanted a chair that could be used later on in a different room, not just a typical "baby" chair or glider.

To create a personal and unique room, I started with painting a picture of a rose in the nursery colors; which represents my daughters middle name, Rose.

The painting inspired me to do more. At a pottery shop, I painted an elephant bank in the same colors of the nursery and put birds on the side of it to tie it in. It now sits on a custom shelf my husband helped create.

The white shelf in the room was purchased as just an antique shutter with three crowns on it, and then my husband added the actual shelf unit.

Hanging from the shelf are three vintage dresses - using clothing is a great way to decorate - it adds such charm! On top of the shelf sits a prayer girl found at an antique shop. There are also frames and mirrors that sit on top, that were used as decorations at one of my baby showers.

Also, at a shower, the children painted "Audrey Rose" letters and they are now used as decorations in the room. "Rose" is on the shelf, and "Audrey" is above her closest doors. Her name also hangs above her changing table- I used Martha Stewart alphabet letters and hung them with mini-clothes pins from a brown ribbon. Again, I purchased the letters on sale.

Speaking of the changing table- that was my best steal! I bought it at K-mart on sale for $25, regular $230! It is absolutely wonderful! Underneath the changing table, I used baskets I already had and just sewed some new interiors to the basket to match the room. I used the extra fabric to make small pillows for the rocker.

The side table in the room is my husband's desk from his childhood. On top of the desk is a lamp I just used from another room (this is a great way to save- look around your house and see what works in a baby room before going out and purchasing new things). There is also a teddy bear sitting on the desk that was made out of my mother's clothes, who passed away from Breast Cancer before being able to see her first granddaughter.

To keep the closet clean and uncluttered, I organized her clothes by age (0-3 months, 3-6 months, etc.) and used different color hangers to distinguish between them. I purchased little pink and brown boxes on sale at Michael's Craft Store to create a memory box and store things in, such as bath items. I used large white baskets to store shoes and bibs in; the baskets I already had from my wedding. I labeled the baskets and boxes to easily find things.

Well, I hope my Three Little Birds nursery is just as inspiring to you, as it is to me.

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