Ellena's Nursery - Baby Girl Whimsical Nursery: Unicorn & Swans
Whew! It's been a whirlwind couple of months. We moved from Italy and I had my baby girl. We named her Ellena Grace and she is a lovely little creature I am completely in love with. I'll share more of all the craziness that my life has been in the coming weeks, however today I REALLY want to share her nursery.I moved back Stateside just before I hit the 35 week mark. Her nursery was put together in about two weeks. The only thing I had for was her custom name sign. Everything else was purchased or made here.I had a vision in my mind I cultivated over the several months of my pregnancy. I knew I wanted it to be simple, feminine, and have a whimsical feel. The pallet would consist of white as the predominant shade, coloring the walls, and furniture. Shades of pink (mostly blush and "baby" pink) would be the next most frequently used color followed by varying shades of gold as accents. All in all I'm quite pleased with how it all turned out.Please note, this post contains affiliate links. If you purchase an item through these links, I earn a small commission, which I use to help support this blog. 
The wall decor was found at various locations. The swan art was purchased from the Etsy shop called Cassie Loizeaux. The custom metal name sign is by Rusted Orange Craftwork Co. I purchased via jane.com, at a discounted price; they're often featured there, but if you can't wait, you can purchase directly from their website. I found the other pieces at Toys R Us, TJ Maxx and Marshalls. You can find similar pieces here, here, here, here, and here.
The garland isn't a permanent fixture as it's a major safety hazard. I only hung it for the photographs, because it looks so pretty, and I've not figured out where or if I'm going to hang it in her nursery.
Ellena was due around Easter so I included a few bunnies in the decor. The larger bunny is a Tiffany bank and the smaller bunny I found in a Goodwill. The clock is a vintage find I purchased at an antique market in Italy. The lampshade I covered in ribbon and decoupaged over it. The base was a Goodwill find too. You can find a similar piggy bank here. A "vintage" clock similar to the one I used here.
I found this dresser at at a Habitat For Humanity -ReStore, and painted it white using Valspar Chalky Finish paint purchased at Lowes. The entire dresser took about half a can. I initially intended to spray paint the hardware gold, but realized the brass if polished would look pretty cool, and so that's what I did.The unicorn night light was purchased at Target. You can find a similar baroque wall mirror here. I didn't intend to use a wipe warmer, and didn't buy one, but after the baby came, my husband went to Babies R Us on an errand, and he purchased it for her. I got a good laugh over it, because wipes warmers are generally one of those unnecessary baby items first time parents get, and we certainly did with Michael. It was so sweet, his not wanting her tush to get cold, and as baby wipes warmers go, it's a decent one. I have wire baskets I use to hold frequently used items like toiletries on her dresser and swaddle blankets by her crib. You can find similar ones here and here.
The unicorn was purchased at Target too. I love that sucker. The coat rack was something I had on hand. The lovely dress was a gift at my baby shower. I really like this similar version.
The curtains were purchased at World Market. They're so airy and light. You can find similar ones here. These ruffle curtains are a different style, but ohmygosh are they adorable! 
The chair is a from Ikea. The hamper was a gift, you can find similar ones, here and here and here. The garland was found in the clearance bin at Michaels. You could easily make one yourself, find one at Michaels or other places like Etsy.
Here she is! My baby girl! Ellena isn't sleeping in her crib, yet, so I keep pillows and dolls in her crib until she's ready to sleep in it. You can find similar pillows here, here, here, here, and here. The sleeping doll was another jane.com find. They can be found at the Little Love Boutique website. Swans are my favorite bird, and like the unicorn, they've got that whimsical magicalness about them. You can find the swan rattle here. I purchased the small version, they do come in other sizes. The stuffed rabbit was a gift at my baby shower. You can find a similar one here.
Finally the mobile. I made myself and it was the easiest thing... EVER. I'll tell you how I made this DIY mobile in my next post. I am in the process of painting an old shelf to replace the chair to hold books and other things. Once I get it completed, I'll update this post.
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Gender Reveal: It's A Girl!
I had a feeling this little one was a girl, turns out I was correct. We had a LONG wait to find out her gender because here in Italy (our military medical insurance) doesn't cover the early gender tests via blood sample. I did have an anxious month as some blood work for genetic abnormalities came back as being at risk for Down Syndrome. Thankfully, her scan showed no soft markers, though in circumstances such ask this, the only way to know for sure she doesn't have Down Syndrome, would be to have an amniocentesis. I decided against having an amnio preformed because regardless of what that test would reveal I wouldn't abort this pregnancy.My husband and boys and I feel so blessed we can't even really wrap our heads around it. Denniss is a little anxious about fathering a girl child. I'm perfectly confident he'll do just fine as he's an amazing father to our boys. Michael and Evan are super excited to have a little sister, and Evan is also excited to become a big brother.For years my friends would remark that we had to try for a girl. As soon as we announced our pregnancy all the well wishes started to pour in and the hope that this one would be a girl. I love my boys, they have been so much fun to mother, but I am excited for all that comes with having a little girl... especially the ruffles and bows.
All the stuff... Oh my gosh...
My oldest son Michael is 12 years old and my youngest, Evan is eight. I can not begin to tell you how much cooler all the baby gear and things seem these days. There aren't any really "big box" baby stores or specialty stores here in Italy where I can touch and see the items, but with the help of my friends I've managed to compile a registry via amazon.com.Amazon has been such a lifesaver for me since moving abroad. One of the perks of creating your own registry with Amazon is that once you're registry is completed you can a discount and if you're a Prime Member it's even larger. I definitely recommend creating a baby registry with amazon. I'm sure in the coming weeks I'll be sharing more of my baby wish-lists and things I've purchased so far.
For our gender reveal photo we used a giant 36 inch balloon. You can find one
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In case you were wondering, I'm wearing mostly H&M Mama and some stuff from their regular line.Shirt is A Pea in the Pod, similar one
. Skirt, similar one
. Cardigan similar
I love the lipstick I wore that day too. It's a new favorite, you'll find it
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