Do you realize that in less than a week, our little squishy baby boy will be here?!! (I just have to type that out, so that it can sink in….because I can’t even believe it myself!) Yes…..I’m being induced. And can hardly wait to meet this little turkey! And to have my abdomen back. And lots of cozy room for my bladder to expand like normal. Haha! I mean, I’m glad to accommodate and offer a fancy trampoline for this kiddo to punch/squish/jump on…..but I’d like it back, thankyouverymuch!
So, I’ve been organizing baby gear, washing a trillion onesies, gathering baby jammies, and trying to guess how many size 1 diapers to buy (because we all know this little chunk won’t ever be in newborn diapers). And well, I hate to admit it, but I finally decided to decorate his nursery. I know, I know…..I should have done this months ago, or have just left it alone and waited until after his birth. Who actually waits until a couple weeks before the baby’s due date and then starts hauling wood from Home Depot and gets down on hands/knees to assemble/paint/etc??? But I just couldn’t leave it bare. The walls were begging me to happy them up! And besides, if something were to actually put me into labor…….I’d welcome it! (My babies are surrounded by a steel placenta that never breaks and well, I never dialate. My body likes to hang out at a “0”, like it’s fun or something. Ha! Thus, the need for pitocin with all 3 previous deliveries.)
Anyway, I have several things to share (and some will show up here after he comes)……but I am officially done. Hoo-ray!!
First up?? (If you follow my Instagram account, you may have seen the sneak peek.)
Some sweet Giraffe Nursery Art for above his crib…
***These giraffes were inspired by a gift bag that a sweet friend gave to me a month or so ago, with a darling baby gift inside…..thanks Christine!***
Large strips of wood, connected together and hung from the wall……..with long giraffe necks painted on each. The colors, the patterns…….I LOVE how it turned out!
And well, it’s the perfect thing to fill up that big wall above baby boy’s crib. (And no, we still haven’t decided on an official name for this kiddo.)
But just think……..if you’re not into giraffes, how about painting trees on the wood? Or cute wild flowers with tall stems? Or stick people? Or anything, really. :)
It may be hard to see from the pictures, but each giraffe is hand painted (tips below) and the whole piece sits about a 1/2 inch from the wall. The perfect little pop!
And once he outgrows the crib (or begins messing with it), we’ll find it a new spot above a dresser or use it as a headboard…..who knows.
But just keep in mind, this would be darling in a toddler/child’s room as well. Or hey, maybe even a play room. These little giraffe’s will happy up any space in your house! :)
Ready to make your own Giraffe Wall Art?
Keep in mind, that everyone’s project will end up a little different and will require different amounts of wood. I’ll share my exact measurements…..but yours may differ. Also, any type of wood would work for this….but I used pine. Because it was cheap. And was slightly lighter than some other choices. So, just use these steps as a guide while planning your specific Giraffe Art.
Supplies:
First of all, before cutting anything, cut your shapes out of paper and place them on the wall where you’d like them. Tape them in place.
Then start cutting your wood to mimic your paper on the wall. The width of the papers above was about 48 inches wide, so I knew I wanted to spread the wood out that wide. So that meant that each strip of wood was about 1/2 inch apart. Then I placed the thin 1.5 inch pieces of wood across the back and nailed them in place. (Actually, I forgot to switch them over and reverse the order so that I would be nailing in the “back” side……..so the order of the wood is actually mirror image to my original plan, but it wasn’t crucial. So I left it and actually liked the set up a little better with the other things in the room. That was lucky! :) )
Next, I painted the wood with some semi-gloss paint that we have an abundance of (for the baseboards). Just be sure to paint along the side of the wood and the strips of wood that show through from the back.
While that’s drying, sketch out your giraffes. It would be impossible for me to expand these giraffes to the size you need and offer a template……..so here’s a snapshot of the giraffes Steve (my husband) drew for our sketch. Maybe it will help you sketch your own? But don’t stress, they don’t have to be perfect. You just need a main giraffe shape. And if your giraffe heads aren’t facing all different directions like these are……just use the same giraffe head silhouette.
Then, draw your giraffes right onto the strips of wood. And then decide which paint colors you want for each giraffe.
After your giraffes are all dry, you can add a little detail to each. For the blue polka dots, I poured some white paint (the same color as the base color of my wood strips) and used the paint lid as a template and made circles along the giraffe’s neck.
Then I painted the inside of each circle with a paint brush.
The leaves I just free handed with a skinny paint brush.
Same with the stripes.
The hollow circles were made the same as the polka dots above but I used the lid of a cinnamon container. Or maybe it was onion powder. Ha! (Just be sure to wipe any lines that spill outside the lines of the giraffe. And if you use the same white as the base color, it will just blend in and you don’t have to wipe it off that well. Just enough so there’s not a bump.)
Let your giraffe’s dry. And then attach a wire to the back, hooks, wire……….whatever you prefer for hanging.
Good luck!
-Ashley
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Hi, I’m Ashley—the DIY-enthusiast behind this crazy blog!
