the details: baptismal gown

on july 15th, 1978 my parents were married. thirty seven years later, my mother {the good sport she is} put on her wedding dress and it was determined that its future would be as a baptismal gown! the lace was deconstructed by the amazing Ruby V and made into a stunning baptismal gown for sweet baby Ward to be the first child to wear! check out the amazing details that have been adorning the family for generations now! 

new favorite journal

oh how wonderful are these new favorites of mine! my graphic image spiral notebooks that I typically love for my Bible study notes/prayer requests/other inspirational notes have been hard to find. I read more and more about the moleskine cahier notebooks and decided to try them out from Paper-Source. 

in typical "if you give a mouse a cookie" fashion, I immediately realized that they needed to be personalized...so I asked my sister for some help with that. she made me two cute stickers that I could slap right on the front of my moleskine notebooks and make them my own {she also sells these super inexpensive on Etsy}. 

after I realized how cute these notebooks looked, I decided I wanted a leather cover for them to be snuggled up in. I took to Etsy & Google in search of a cover. I stumbled somehow across this company, Old Church Works and fell in love! Mike from OCW was super helpful in determining what I needed for my notebooks to be at home. I chose the double moleskine notebook as opposed the the quad. I tell you what, I have never seen such a beautiful leather notebook in my life! I cannot wait to put this to good use! 

the nursery is {finally} complete

how is it that little Ward has already been cooking for over 36 weeks?! some days you feel like you've been pregnant forever and other days you feel like its flown by! our renovation is 100% complete and we are finally enjoying settling down into the house! Ward's room has had little touches from many people. There is one more piece for the wall coming but all in all, whenever Ward decides he's ready we know we are too!

I love the idea of a soft, fresh, calming nursery and was hoping to emulate that for Ward. I also love getting to bring in an extra pop of some color in the crib. Personally not a fan of crib bumpers, instead my mother made some beautiful bolsters that fit perfectly in the ends of the crib. These "throw on the floor pillows" as hubby likes to call them sure do make the crib look inviting!

The crib skirt was one of my favorite fabrics that I found at Lewis & Sheron in Atlanta. A subtle chevron of small rectangles brought in a variety of blues to pull from throughout the room. An indoor/outdoor rug was a must {remember when the sweet puppy ate a red...and a blue...pen on the downstairs rugs}. Personal bragging rights reserved for the precious needlepoint pillow {Patti Mann designs} that was stitched by me for Ward.

 During the renovation we had a wall vent that was there to stay for in Ward's room given the complications of bringing a new vent into this room in addition to the other new vents that were coming upstairs. We had a new, beautiful vent cover put on from Signature Hardware. That however meant that we needed a custom size piece of furniture to fit between the closet and the vent. Sid to the rescue. A beautiful, Pottery Barn Kids inspired piece was created just for Ward!

In the opposing end of the room sits a beautiful yellow rocker & ottoman that was broken in by two other children who hold a special place in our lives. It was a fun pop of color in his blue & white room. The crib skirt fabric was pulled into a small accent pillow. I promise there are now photos in the frames. The white on the wall above the bookcase is the IOU for the frame which is still being crafted on order!

 

A few of my other favorite things include the needlepoint rocking chair and the wooden "Ward" choo choo train. I'll refrain from any photos of the closet as I'd hate to show evidence of my true weakness {little boys smocked outfits}! All we need now is a little baby boy to make the room truly perfect!

...resources...
Crib by Jenny Lind
Book Case by Jenny Lind @ Land of Nod
Fabrics @ Lewis & Sheron {Atlanta, GA} and Carousel Designs 
Lamp & Side Table @ Target
Rug @ RugsUSA
Sewing & Monogramming Request @ Sew What Georgia
Paint colors by Benjamin Moore, quality by Sherwin Williams

handcrafted by sid

If you've never met him, you're missing out. Whether you call him Gene, Daddy, or Sid it all means the same thing...awesome! I am truly blessed to come from not only a "use your hands" family but one that drops everything and anything to do something for you.

Being one of three girls, we have learned to wait in line for Sid's great creations. Come with a drawing or an idea and he can deliver. Normally this process involves me "taking measurements" however Sid isn't a big fan of "about 62 inches" or "like waist height" so thats when a husband comes in handy!

As you walk in our [Davis] house, nearly every room has something that is branded with "Handcrafted by Gene Guertin" underneath or in a drawer. Joe's bedside table, our amazing dining room table, our wine glass bar area, and the sideboard when you walk in the front door, the desk in our office, and so many more things are products of my father's hands. Many of the things that are made for me have my one of a kind dark wood stain on them, custom mixed with love.

My most recent order into Sid's workshop was a new sideboard. I was inspired by something on Pinterest [imagine that ha] and although I love a good piece of painted furniture, I wanted my new lighter custom mixed finish applied.  I sent Sid the Sasha Waddell piece and our measurements and boy oh boy did he deliver!

Our biggest pet peeve of the piece currently there is that of course our floors are somewhat off as many old houses are and the drawers don't seal shut so I am constantly trying to close that 1/4" gap. The current sideboard was at one point used to hold a TV and therefore had a place for baskets and other items to be seen. In our den, I'd prefer to have it all sealed off.

Prior piece (notice ALL the clutter on the random day we took this photo)

new piece in daddy's workshop

The first order was for soft close self sealing drawers and door hinges which even though they are nearly triple the price of the standard ones, doors and drawers will not slam or open on their own! Officially worth it!

Custom 7 layer stain borrowed from Jenny Steffens Hobick's blog with only one change...satin poly vs. danish oil so that it could withstand the wear & tear of being in an entry way. What a great, great finish for a fabulous piece (& recipe below)

Jenny Steffens Hobick's Headboard Finish1st : Sand, Sand & Sand
2nd : Pre-Stain Wood Conditioner (Minwax)
3rd : Stain mixed in equal parts : Special Walnut, Provencal & Golden Pecan (Mixwax), brushed on and left on
4th : Special Walnut & Weathered Oak (Minwax), brushed on, then wiped off
5th : Light sand & buff
6th : **This was the step Sid changed** Minwax Satin Polyurethane vs. the Danish Oil rubbed on that Jenny originally called for
7th : Light sand & buff

The final touch was for the amazing knobs and drawer pulls that were the icing on the cake (left knob & pull from Rockler...center/right knob & pull are from Home Depot). Left knobs (matte) were the ones that were chosen to match the satin finish.

Final pieces are below!

The Final Product...Chalk Paint Refinish!

so...what do you think!?! i love it!!!!

here are the before shots & the during shots from previous posts! 

the chalk paint remodel in progress!

this paint is awesome!!! here are the during shots!