Semi-Handmade Nursery Bedding

Before my daughter was born, my mom and I scoured baby stores for just the right bedding for her room. I didn't want a "theme;" certainly no princesses or teddy bears covering the walls. I was hoping for something serene and sweet; perhaps in lavender and light green. We looked for weeks on end and it seemed hopeless. Everything was either the wrong color or style, cheaply made, had too many unnecessary "parts" or was WAY too expensive. We went into a HomeGoods store one afternoon and happened upon a quilted pillowsham that was by far our best option thus far. We realized that if we could find a larger amount of that fabric, we could use it to create all of the pieces we wanted--and for a great price.

We searched that store high and low for more pieces to the bedding set. No luck. We checked other stores. Nothing. Finally, we looked online. We put in the information on the card with the sham and held our breaths. After a little bit of hunting, we came to Overstock.com. And there it was. In full, queen or king. We had options! We just hoped the colors were the same as the sample we had. It would be heartbreaking to order it only to find it was three shades darker!

We decided the queen coverlet would give us an ample amount to work with. I ordered it and anxiously waited for it to arrive. As soon as it did, I took it to my parents' house. We took it out and studied it. And compared it with other fabrics we had small cuttings of for which we thought we'd use for accents. It looked like it would work...and work really well.

As we were reminded, there are many uses for the bedding you see in stores, whether it's sheets, pillowcase or coverlets, etc. So the next time you are looking for a fabric-related item, or when you need a fabric, consider looking in the linens department. You might find exactly the style and color you wanted. And it certainly costs a lot less than buying from a fabric store -- and if it's anything that can be found in a boutique, such as baby items, it will certainly cost a lot less to make than buy pre-made!

And now the room is done! But it wouldn't have been (at least as beautifully as it is!), without my mother. She can do it all, and she certainly wanted to do whatever she could to help create the perfect room for her first grandchild.

She gave the pieces to me at a baby shower--bumper pads, changing table pad, window treatments, rocking chair cushions and even wicker hamper with a custom-covered top. It was by far the best gift I received. Now, everytime I go into my daughter's room, I think about the process of creating it. And the time and love my mom put into helping me bring my vision to life. I couldn't have done it without her.