Design on an Adoption Dime

I leave for Africa in 9 days. 

WHAT!? So crazy, I couldn't be more excited. There are times I am worried or nervous, but that will be a post for another day when I have more time. The Lord has really been working on my heart lately to expose to to knew things and knew depths of love than I could have ever imagined myself knowing before. Again, a post for another day soon. Probably when I come back. 

Before then, I wanted to share something FUN, and budget friendly (because we are obviously not rolling in the dough right now) I'm not an expert designer by any means, but I love how it turned out. 

What am I talking about?

Big E.'s room of course!

I was desperate to give her a space unique, beautiful, and a representation of how much we love and want HER. I wanted it to be everything SHE wanted, while fitting my picky bill of decor (ask my husband, that's hard to do!) With her love of red and yellow paired with her taste for all-things-girly, I decided I was going for a whimsical/princess/romantic red and yellow theme. 

I began a search on the internet and found TONS of options I loved, but only one problem...picky taste often times equals high price tags!

We just couldn't spend more than a few hundred dollars on everything, so I put my thinking cap on and got to praying and pinching pennies. Though I imagine I'll add a few more pops of red and yellow as awesome things catch my eye, it's basically done and I am proud to give her this space. 

TA-DA! What do you think, fabulous right? 

So here is how we did it. 

The bed frame was DONATED to us, yes you heard me right, the princess frame was DONATED so the total cost for the frame was around $10.00 for new hardware.

I made the bedding myself (duh) and the pillow completely out of scraps of minky, binding and fabric I had left over, so the pillow was free and the bedding was just supplies. 

The yellow curtains were a fabric steal at $3.00 a yard. I made the bed skirt out of some OLD curtains we had.


(up-cycle, up-cycle!)

The dresser was an auction find that used to look...a lot less enchanting. Add one talented hubby, a can of stain and VIOLA! A beautiful dresser and mirror for less $65.00

The chair, lamp and picture in the mirror we had. I made the flower vase for $2.00 from Wal-Mart (those ugly flowers they have CAN be put to good use) the vintage books were an Etsy find for $1.50, and the awesome Africa lunchbox was a gift from my sister-in-law.

The molding was actually free from our neighbors when they moved out, all we needed was white paint which I got 50% off at Wal-Mart for $4.00.

The fantastic tree decal? $5.00 on amazon. I kid you not. JAW-FLOOR, I know. It's is a pain to assemble as it isn't super sticky, but for $5.00 WHO CARES?!

So there, you have it! Design on an adoption friendly dime =)

Will I post again before I leave for my adventure? 

Stay tuned to find out =)

Until next time,

TeJay, Ashleigh, Big E. and Little E.