CSN Stores Giveaway Winner!

Hey everyone! Just stopping in tonight to post the winner of the $40 gift certificate to CSN Stores Giveaway & I'm about to make one very lucky someone happy!! Thanks so much for allt he great questions - I'll be answering them in a future post soon!

Without further adieu, the winner of the $40 gift certificate to CSN Stores is...
 

Lucky #10

Cassie, who said...

I'm a blog follower! :)

Congrats Cassie!! Thanks so much for reading & following my blog!! I hope you enjoy your gift certificate, I'm sure that you will put it to good use in your nursery!! Send me an email at worldofdennifer{at}gmail{dot}com within 48 hours to claim your prize or I will have to select another winner. Enjoy!! :)

Project Nursery - 2 finished walls + DIY hair bow holder tutorial!

Hey everyone! Wow, this was a LOOOONG weekend - one of my friends had a wedding & I was a bridesmaid, so I have been running around since Thursday, then I had a baby shower to attend on Saturday. So, that's why there was no 5QF this week, but it'll be back next week. Today, I have some super exciting Project Nursery stuff to share! I finished two walls in the room - the first is the back wall that the dresser/changer combo is against & the other is the wall the crib is up against. I may add a few things here & there + we'll add stuff (like the changing pad) to the dresser after her shower. I'm also waiting on the final piece of her bedding set to come in & planning to do some Martha Stewart inspired poms to go over the crib, so all of that will eventually be added as well. But for the most part - these two walls are DONE! Here is a peak at our little girl's nursery so far:

 You've seen the wall tree decal & owl bookend sitting on the shelf before, the ribbon mobile was DIY, the throw pillow/sham is from PBK, the wall shelf is from Land of Nod , DREAM banner is from Etsy seller Crepe Confectionary.

A few close-ups of the back wall:

And a few of the crib wall:

What do you think?! I think it's coming together just as I planned & her room is quickly turning into one of my favorites in the house! Did you catch that her name starts with an "A"? You'll have to wait till she's born to find out her full name, but I figured one teeny clue wouldn't hurt! One thing I noticed when I took these pictures - her little wall shelf was missing something cute, so I decided to make something that could double as a functional AND decorative piece - a DIY hair bow holder!

I have seen a few of these online at various blogs, so I used directions from a couple & came up with my own! Here's how I made this little cutie:

First, I gathered up my supplies - a 11x14 cheapo frame from K-Mart (you are gonna toss the backing & front of the frame, so don't pay too much for this at all - you can also try re-purposing a frame you already have or looking at a thrift store...I tried there first, but didn't find any I liked), a can of Krylon Ballet Slipper satin finish spray paint, glue gun/extra glue sticks, wide ribbon, scissors. Spray paint the frame you purchased/thrifted/re-purposed with the spray paint you select.

I had the hubbs spray paint the frame for me :)

Flip frame over. Cut strips of ribbon a bit longer than the frame, pull them tight across the back of the frame & start hot gluing them on.

After you finish gluing all of the ribbon strips across the back of the frame, trim the excess ribbon hanging over the edges.

Then clip on hair bows to the ribbon & place your pretty frame where you plan to display it!

And that's it - a very simple DIY project for a little girl's nursery...it added the perfect finishing touch to Baby J's wall shelf! I think I may have to make these as shower gifts for some of {what seems like 10 million} friends that are having girls, I bet they will love it just as much as I do! Even the hubbs liked this - he said "wow" when he saw it. So simple, yet so cute! I'm sure this thing will be full of bows soon enough, but there's only a few on there for now. And with that, two walls completed in her room. Only 2 more to go - and 10-13 weeks till she arrives, so it'll be finished just in time!

Linking up this project to Hoo's Got Talent?! Head on over to check out some of the other cute stuff!!

Wanna see our nursery progress from the beginning?! Check out my master plan for the room & the first set of DIY goodies I made for our little girl, the major furniture all put together, my cute owl accent finds & decision to do a understated owl theme in her nursery, my "Owl" Bean Bag score turned FAIL, how we "planted" a tree over the glider to read books to our sweet baby girl under, and my easy peasy DIY owl wall art that I made using recycled greeting cards! Enjoy. :)

Don't forget to enter my CSN Stores Giveaway running now until 11:59pm (EST) on Tuesday, August 10, 2010...hurry before time runs out! 'Till next time!

CSN Stores Giveaway + GTKM

[THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED]

Better late than never right?! I promised the CSN giveaway & tonight, I'm bringing it! CSN Stores is such a cool online shopping source because they have over 200 stores & really great prices too! There are sooo many great things that I need/want for either the house or Baby J & I'm sure I can find all of it at CSN Stores! Let's take a quick peak at some of the great stuff available, shall we?!

Well, I have been looking for a great floor lamp to go next to Baby J's glider so that we can cuddle up to her & read books before bedtime! How beautiful would this look in her room?!:

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And ever since I saw this rug on CSN Stores, I have been drooling over it - replacing our LR rug is most definitely on my list of things to do before Baby J gets here!

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And I just know my fat dog (he's not really fat, that's just one of his many nick names ;oP) would lurve a new bed to go right next to his daddy's side of our bed.

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And there's sooo much more to choose from over at CSN Stores! I'm excited because they have generously offered one of my lucky readers a $40 gift certificate towards any little thing your heart desires at one of their 200+ online stores (NOTE: The gift certificate excludes shipping costs, but not to worry - many of their items have FREE shipping)!!

*~*The Giveaway*~*
 

This giveaway is going to be a little different than your typical giveaway, I want to take this awesome opportunity that CSN Stores has given me to allow all my readers to get to GTKM (Get to Know Me (or the Dennifers as it may be)), so that's what this giveaway will be all about! Please ensure that I have a way to get in touch with you if you win - either leave your email address in one of your comment entries or have a link to your email in your Blogger profile. 

WIN IT: The winner of this giveaway will receive a $40 gift certificate towards any little thing your heart desires at one of CSN Stores' 200+ online stores (NOTE: The gift certificate excludes shipping costs, but not to worry - many of their items have FREE shipping)! Whoever wins this will be super lucky!

INITIAL ENTRY (MANDATORY): Comment on this post with a question you have about me, the Dennifers, Baby J, my DIY projects, my home decorating/renovations, or anything else really - I will answer the questions you guys leave for me in a future post! I have seen this on a few other blogs I read & they have been some of my favorite posts of all time, so I'd like to do the same. Have a question for me you are just dying to ask? Or did you ask me a question on a previous post that I never answered - well, now's the time to ask! And you could get a $40 gift certificate out of it!! :)

ADDITIONAL ENTRIES: Please leave a comment for each one so that all your entries will be counted!

• Become a public follower of World of Dennifer, or if you already are one let me know you are!
• Head over & check out CSN Stores & let me know what you'd use your gift certificate on if you won (please include a link to the item you want as well).
• Grab the World of Dennifer button (top right hand corner of this page) & display it on your blog.
• Blog about this giveaway & leave a link to the blog post in the comments.

This giveaway will run for one week & will close at 11:59pm (EST) on Tuesday, August 10, 2010. I will select a winner using Random.org, then post the winner here on World of Dennifer & contact the winner letting them know they won - you will then have 48 hours to respond or I will have to select another winner. Good luck everyone!!

Project Nursery - DIY owl wall art + tutorial

Hey there everyone! I hope everyone had an awesome weekend! Looks like this week is going to be insane at work & with other personal/social obligations. A good friend of mine is getting married this week & I'm in the wedding, so I have lots going on! Anywho, I was going to post about the back wall of the nursery, which is pretty much done, wahoo. But then, I realized I hadn't uploaded all the pics I need for that post...so tonight I'm bringing you something equally as exciting - DIY owl wall art + a tutorial!!

I had seen something similar on Chic & Cheap Nursery a little while ago & just knew that not only could I make it, but that it would be adorable in my baby girl's room too! More on where this cutie will go later, but it turned out really cute, right?! And the best part - it was pretty easy & inexpensive to make! Here's how I did it:

Step 1: Gather up all your supplies -a 12x12 shadow box frame in the color of your choice, Martha Stewart owl embossed punch, small ruler, one sheet of white cardstock (for the frame background), 1 small pack of Mini Glue Dots, old greeting cards (gotta love finding new ways to re-purpose greeting cards!).

Step 2: Use your owl embosser stamp on your old greeting cards to punch out a bunch of owls indifferent colors. **WOD tip - I attempted to use scrapbook paper & found it was a no go for me. It's much to thin & I liked all the cool colors from the greeting cards better than having it in just one pattern. If you would like to do this in a single pattern, try finding patterned cardstock & buy several sheets to use to punch out your owls.

Step 3: Measure about a 1 inch border around the edges of your card stock & about 3/4-1 inch in between each owl. I only measured the first row, then lined up the remaining owls on the lower rows with the row of owls directly above it. Use glue dots on the back of each owl & press it onto the desired spot on your cardstock pretty firmly. Repeat until completed.

Step 4: Place completed piece of cardstock with owls into shadow box, stand back & admire your work!

Annnd done - easy peasy DIY wall art for your LO's room. Here's a cost break down for this simple DIY art:

• 12x12 shadow box frame - $10 on Amazon
• Martha Stewart Medium Embossed Punch: Owl - $10 on Amazon
• Mini Glue Dots - $3 from Michaels
• Mini Ruler (if you don't already own a ruler - I did, but wanted a smaller one) - $4 from Michaels
• 1 piece of 12x12 white cardstock - $0.60 from Michaels
• Old greeting cards for owls - FREE (definitely just use what you have on hand if you aren't picky on the patterns for your owls)
• TOTAL: $27.60

So there you have it - inexpensive, fun & so cute. I love DIY'ing home decor stuff because it makes you love that piece just that much more knowing you had a hand in creating it! Please let me know if one of you try it - I'd love to see how your's turns out! You can, of course, use a different type of punch depending on your child's room theme or what you are looking for, but I highly recommend the Martha Stewart brand stamps/embossers - they are great quality & make punching through all those thick greeting cards MUCH easier! So, what do you think?! I love it & think it's gonna look great up on her wall. :)

Wanna see our nursery progress from the beginning? Check out my master plan for the room & the first set of DIY goodies I made for our little girl, the major furniture all put together, my cute owl accent finds & decision to do a understated owl theme in her nursery, my "Owl" Bean Bag score turned FAIL, and how we "planted" a tree over the glider to read books to our sweet baby girl under! Enjoy. :)

Linking up to Hoo's Got Talent @ Night Owl Crafting! There's some CUTE stuff over there, go check it out!

More Project Nursery coming soon & that CSN giveaway I promised coming up tomorrow, woot! 'Till next time!

26 weeks - only 97 days left till my EDD!!!

O.M.G. I can't believe how quickly time is flying! I realize I say this every time I do a pregnancy post, but for realz - it's flying. I looked at my little Lilly Pie ticker today & I only have 97 days left until Baby J's EDD - double digits baby!!! Ahhhhh. She's still busy as ever moving away in there...still the size of an eggplant according to The Bump. Another little token of knowledge The Bump gave me today when I opened my email - I may start feeling Braxton Hicks contractions, which I'm sure will freak me out. It may sound crazy, but I still worry about this little girl - I'm sure that'll never change - but anytime I feel weird or something I haven't felt before, then I get worried about her! Not as worried as I was in the 1st tri or before I could feel her kicking & wiggling around in there, but still. I guess that's part of being a mom...which is AWESOME since I'm already a worry wart minus having my child to worry about. Sigh.

The bump also says that I need to:

1. Schedule a tour of the maternity ward {where I'll deliver} - check...DONE!
2. Pre-register with my hospital - umb, no one mentioned this to me?! I guess I'll ask my Dr. @ the next appointment.

Oh & I'm overdue (again, according to The Bump) on these tasks:

1. Start interviewing pediatricians - guess I should get on that, huh?!
2. Research private & public cord banking.
3. Schedule a Glucose Tolerance Test - plan to complete on Wednesday...wish me luck!

And on my own list:

1. Discuss maternity pics, select a date & find inspiration photos for little sis.
2. Finish up DIY nursery projects (as of now, that's about 4 more left).
3. Type up proposed maternity leave schedule & discuss with both my team leader & supervisor (we have briefly discussed it, but I wanna give them something in writing).
4. Work on comprehensive Baby J to do list.
5. Wash bedding & put on/in crib.

So I guess I need to get on the ball on a few things. I have also tasked the hubbs with researching College Savings Plans & bringing what he finds to me, so we can make a decision on what'll work best for our family & budget. Whew. Thankfully that list does not include figuring out daycare - my older sister has generously offered to be our nanny. She's a SAHM, so she says she doesn't mind & she'll be able to bond with her first & only niece! LOVE her. :) It's gonna be soooooo much easier for me to go back to work knowing our baby girl is being cared for by someone we know, love & trust and someone that we know will not harm her in any way. My sister is, unlike me, a very natural nurturer, must come from being oldest? IDK...but she's awesome with kids & I know she'll take great care of our LO.

Baby Center says the baby's network of nerves in her ears are better developed and more sensitive than before & that she can almost definitely hear outside voices in addition to mine. I definitely think she knows her daddy's voice, because anytime he puts his head down near my belly & talks to hear, she kicks for him. A daddy's girl already! They are totally forming an alliance against me, but it's cool because I know Dizz {my sweet doggie} will remain on his mama's side...he better if he knows what's good for him! Or maybe, he'll join the Baby J/Daddy alliance b/c I'm sure he & the baby will be BFFs, then I'll have no one on my side. Sigh. Outnumbered. Already. By way of symptoms, I am definitely feeling more achy towards the end of the day & I have been getting a lot more frequent heartburn. Last night it kept me up for a bit. It's not horribly unbearable, but it still hurts! I have also been having a lot more (tmi) gas - my poor hubby. And my ankles are swelling again - I assume from humidity & salt intake, so I'm laying down with my feet up resting now.

You guys will be proud/happy to know that my baby buying obsession is still in full effect. My newest purchase - that my hubby denied, but I just HAD to have so I bought it with my credit card. : ) We have a joint, but also separate checking accounts & one separate c/c each that we pay from our separate accounts...works very well for us. But I digress, I bought my little girl the most frivilous, but also the absolute cutest thing ever:

Photo Credit

::giggle snort:: A-freakin'-dorable, right?! I love that it's 0-12 months, so she can wear it for her newborn pics, her monthly ones too possibly & for her first birthday!!! And the best part - I got it on babysteals for $35 & it's regularly $70, although on sale for $55 right now!! So now I want to try & make her a cute hair bow to go with it!

I also made the last of the really major purchases for her nursery! I got her bedding, toy storage tote & throw pillow/cover for her glider. I will be showing ALL of that + more off very very soon in my project nursery series. But, take my word for it - it's all super cute!

We went to visit the hubbs best friend/cousin this weekend who's wife just had a little boy & he's simply adorable:

He's so cute! Makes me even more excited to meet my little girl in 3 months. When he was crying, she started kicking - I think she's asking, "Mom, what the heck is going on out there?! I'm used to my fat dog brother's ridic barking, but not this - what is that????!!!" LOL.

And finally, my 26 week bump pics - I definitely think I look pregnant, but still don't think I've "popped" (the rounded belly effect). Sigh. When will it happen man!? Regardless, I'm fully in maternity or my husband's clothes, lol. Keep growing big & strong in there baby!! (Oh, & please excuse my crazy looking hair/face - we just got back home from a 3 hour drive back home - as you can see I heart those JD pajama pants of my hubby's, they = comfortable).

Clothed Belly:

Bare Belly:

And that's all I got - very exciting DIY & nursery progress posts coming up this week! 'Till next time!

5QF - 07.30.10

Wowza, I can't believe how quickly this week has gone by. I have lots of nursery updates I want to share, but I just need to have the time to sit down and write out a post! We are getting sooo close to being done with her nursery & I can't wait to share the final product with you guys!! We are actually about to head out of town to where the hubbs is originally from - his cousin had a be-beh, so we are heading down to meet the lil guy! So, I'm gonna make this one quick & sweet. :)

So on to 5QF! If you want to participate, head on over to My Little Life & link up (and let me know if you do, I'd love to read my reader's answers)!

1. Did you have a favorite blanket or toy as a kid? If so, do you still have it?

 

Hahahaha, funny you should ask. I don't think I had this as a child necessarily, but I have this sheet that I have definitely had since at least high school. I love it. It's so comfy & I cuddle with it every night. My husband always makes fun of me for it, but it just makes me happy at night. I even bring it along on trips....I use it to lay my head on - I'm really weird about sleeping on hotel/non-mine pillows. I have SUPER sensitive skin so if I don't know what something was washed in, I always cover it. It'll be coming along on this little trip to even though we'll be staying at my MIL's casa. :)

2. Do you dream in color?

 

Yep, I sure do. Is that weird?! I remember I dreamed twice that we were having a boy. I'm soooo excited about my little girl, but if you would have asked me to guess....I totally would have said boy.

3. How tall are you? Do you wish you were shorter or taller?

 

 

I'm 5'5" (if you want to be real technical, I'm 5' 4 & 3/4") - I like my height, the perfect compliment to my hubby!

4. If you could have anyone's (celeb or other) voice as the guide on your GPS, who would it be?

 

 

 Hmmm, interesting question. I have always like TI's voice - IDK what it is about his voice, but it drives me crazy - I think he has this sexy southern swagger. IRL though he's really skinny & short, lol...I have been to a concert. I still think he's cute regardless!

5. Do you return your shopping cart to the corral or leave it wherever in the parking lot?

 

I actually take it back like a nice girl. :)

Gotta run & finish packing. Hope everyone has a great weekend! Hopefully, I'll be back on Sunday with a new Project Nursery post. 'Till next time!!

25 weeks - only 15 more to go!!

First things first...I'm very excited to be bringing all of you a really great giveaway from CSN Stores!! I love CSN because they have over 200 sites & you can get pretty much anything on there from a coffee maker to crib bedding (& everything in between!). I plan to post that in the next week or so!!

Now on to baby stuff - woot! Soooo excited to be here. According to some sources, I am in the third (& final) trimester now, but I am going to go by the more liberal date of 26 weeks, 6 days. Either way, I'm close enough & getting super excited to meet my baby girl! I looked at my ticker the other day & saw that I only have 101 days until she arrives, which = me being kicked into gear - almost double digits...woo hoo!! I need to simmer down because I keep adding new DIY crafts for her room to my list, lol. I just can't STOP! But her nursery is coming along well & I am taking new pics tomorrow to show you guys. Oh & to feed my baby buying obsession - I bought some cute girly bows today. I also bought her bedding, toy storage tote & throw pillow for the glider late last week! I can't wait to show you guys - it's supposed to be here on Friday!!!!!!

The photographer I mentioned who did my wedding photos is being slow responding to me about my maternity pics, so to save $$, we decided to let my little sister do them. She's actually pretty awesome. She does photography as a hobby, but she has a really great Digital SLR & takes pretty awesome pics! I can't wait to do them & see how they turn out. I'll still ask the professional photographer to do the newborn pics, which I am sure will also be adorable.

According to the Bump, the baby is the size of an eggplant. She's about 1.5 lbs. by now & is getting a sense of equilibrium, so she knows when/if she's upside down. Her immune system is maturing & her eyes are forming - soon she'll be practicing blinking! Baby J is busy kicking away - the hubbs even felt her twice tonight! He says he thinks he felt her once before on the 4th of July, but we weren't positive. Well tonight, we were positive!! It was so hard he even asked me why she was kicking me so hard, lol. I told him it'll get harder when she gets even bigger. Keep kicking away little girl...mommy loves your kicks! I'm happy to report that I have stayed true to my vow to start hitting the treadmill 2-3 times per week. I have been Sunday & Wednesday this week & plan to likely go on Friday. I still want to find a pre-natal yoga class that is convenient for me to attend at least once a week. Despite all that, my belly is definitely getting bigger - I went to get a bridesmaid dress altered for my friend's wedding next weekend & I had already ordered the dress 3'ish sizes larger than my normal size (I was like over 8 weeks along when we ordered the dress) & it's only a little bit big in the boobs! It doesn't need to be taken in anywhere else! 3 sizes larger than my pre-pregnancy size! Oh.my.gawsh. Ah well I guess, as long as my baby girl keeps growing big & healthy in there, that's all that really matters!

And now on to the bump shots!

25 weeks clothed & bare:

And as promised, I...errr, my hubby did a comparison from earlier on in my pregnancy until now, hopefully it shows up okay. This shows every 5 weeks of my "bump" starting at 5 weeks - wowza, look at the change (click to enlarge photo)!

I'm sooo exhausted, so I'm off to bed. But make sure to stay tuned - like I mentioned, I have some nursery DIY projects & updates to share! 'Till next time!