Crafting, Baking, and anything DIY: DIY Hot Air Balloon Nursery

I've always wanted to have a hot air balloon nursery because Up is one of our favorite movies. We named our dog Ellie because of Up.

Yes, there is some sewing involved with some of the projects. I am not a sewing expert, and first used a sewing machine only one year ago. I took a groupon class at a local Sewing and Vac store, which involved 3 group lessons. I highly recommend doing something like that to make the whole sewing process seem less intimidating.

Below was how the room looked like before we moved in. It is not a big room since it was an add-on to the house later. It used to be a closet, and then was expanded to be a little room (it's probably half the size of a regular room).

Room overview:

Now, to the specific components:

1- Mobile: my sister hand-made this for me.
She used this pattern: http://www.howjoyful.com/2012/07/nursery-felt-hot-air-ballon-mobile-tutorial-and-pattern/

2- Bookcase. Our room does not have a closet, so we bought this bookcase from Ikea to serve as clothing/supply storage.

I bought chalk stickers from the craft store, and have labeled each box/drawer. I like the use of chalk, because I will be able to re-name the storage boxes whenever I store different sized clothes, etc.

3- Hot air balloon props:
Baskets: I decided to crochet these, after I couldn't find small baskets to buy. I used the following pattern:
http://crochetincolor.blogspot.com/2012/02/chunky-crocheted-basket-pattern.html
Instead of using bulky yarn, I just regular brown yarn and a small crochet needle. Therefore, my basket turned out to be probably half the size of what the pattern was intended for. This worked for my purposes.

I bought this set of 3 balloon lanterns from Hobby Lobby. Probably cost $5 after I used their 40% off coupon.

4- Decorative blankets- nowadays, there's not much that you can put in the crib because of all the suffocation risks. These blankets were really easy to make. A yard of your favorite flannel fabric, sewn with a yard of snuggly fuzzy blanket fabric.

5- Ledger shelves- my dad made me these shelves. I think it cost less than $20 for all the materials. We bought the wood already painted white at Home Depot, so it was very fast to make.

Plans from: http://ana-white.com/2011/05/nursery-room-book-shelves-10-ledge-plan

Can you believe that ledges like this retail for $45-$64 EACH at Pottery Barn??
http://www.potterybarn.com/products/holman-ledge-natural/

6- Hand-me-down rocking chair
I made new covers for existing rocking chair pads, to match the room. I looked online at various tutorials, but in the end, all I did was trace the chair pads onto the fabric, and sew. No complicated measurements.

I also didn't have enough material to make the chair pads all one color, so I used two different fabrics. Now, I can flip them anytime I want to change the color. :) It's a win-win situation!

Using my beloved Kam snaps for the closures definitely speeds things up!

7- Nursery art- OK, so most of these prints can be bought on etsy for $15-20 each. Instead of buying, I re-created a variation of them using powerpoint. Then, I printed each one out for 75 cents at Kinkos. I figure that it's legal, as long as I'm not trying to re-sell the prints.

8- Curtains and bedskirts
I used this tutorial to make my curtains: http://www.theshabbycreekcottage.com/diy-curtains
For the lining, buy black-out material at the craft store. This helps ensure that your room is pitch dark for the (hopefully) sleeping baby.

I bought my curtain rod, rings/hook from Ikea: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50217238/
It's really easy to use. The clips hold up the piece of fabric that you want to use as a curtain! No need to cut special holes into your fabric or add material to "thread" the rod into your curtains.

For the bedskirts, I used this tutorial: http://thenestinggame.com/2013/06/10/diy-easy-adjustable-crib-skirt/ My only modification was to make the bottoms have a scalloped edge.