Craigslist Psycho

Earlier this year we bought a new high definition TV. I get free cable and free HDTV and my husband couldn't stand not having a high definition TV to watch it on. So after months and month of begging and saving we invested in his new favorite toy.

But standing it it's way was our old TV... Flat screen, HUGE tube in the back. Weighing over 200 pounds for sure. My husband was so eager to get rid of it, he asked me to put it up on Craigslist in the "free" section. I did. Bad idea.

All of three minutes later I got a swarm of calls from people, one after another asking if I "still had the TV" ...Well yea, I just listed it. I'd get 3 new voicemails while I was one the phone with one person asking for directions to our house. Text messages as well. Quickly I realized this wasn't the way to do it. I should have asked for at least $25 or something to weed people out.

One old man I talked to I could hardly understand because his country accent was so thick. He proceeded to tell me how he rem embed his first TV, and the experiences he's had with his recent TVs. I pulled the phone away from my ear for a moment so my husband could hear part of his life story, and we muffled our laughs about the hilarity of this experience.

I took the listing off and made it a race between two people to come and get it. One guy lived down the street and got there long before the other left his house, so I called to let him know not to worry about it. He was upset... Apparently he wanted this TV for his mom who's TV broke or something.

I've had my fair share of Craigslist experiences. It's a great tool, when used correctly, but you can get burned too.

Once I was so excited to buy a set of leather couches only to see another couple walking away with them just as I arrived at this guys house... Who I drove an hour to meet and buy the couches from.

Other times I've scored big on an item I would have paid 5 times the price for at a retail store.

But never had I had an experience quite like one of my most recent ones... In my search for the perfect nursery dresser.

I was nearly nine months pregnant and eager to put all of Lil' J's clothes in them before she arrived. I just knew she was going to be early (joke was on me).

See, we don't have much room in the nursery, so we didn't want a changing table. Instead, I'd been looking for a nice-sized-dresser that has a wide top so it can also double as a changing table once I throw a cushion on top. Delta, the company that made the crib I own has a great one!

I started searching and found the perfect dresser. Delta Canton Espresso Dresser. Matched the crib perfectly, was new in box (so I could transport it in my car) and they were only asking $100.

I wrote to the lister and asked about the dresser. He still had it! But he said it was more "cheery" than "espresso" colored.

"That's ok!!" I wrote back.

He was out of town until Sunday... That's ok! I'm off Monday, great, we'll buy it then.

Sunday I write.

No response.

I call. Leave a message.

No response.

I probably should give up at this point because he's probaby some crazy Craigslist person anyway who was just disappointed after I said I would bring my husband along to pick up the dresser, who knows. But I didn't stop.

I wrote again, and again. To my credit, I would have stopped but he still had the listing up, and every time I searched for another dresser that one would come up and I'd get SO excited for a split second... Then remember it was the jerk who keeps ignoring me.

Finally I gave it one last shot and wrote him this honest email.

"Hi Tim,

Me again! I noticed you still have the listing up for the dresser and every time I search craigslist it haunts me. I wanted to see if you want to get rid of it and be $100 richer while also making a preggo very very happy to finally have a dresser for her nursery. Please just let me know if it's gone or whatever one way or another so I can stop torturing myself! Thanks! Jennifer"

No response. But a few days later the listing was deleted.

It was a sad ending... At that point, but I ended up just putting up a "Wanted" listing for what I was looking for and got a GREAT deal on exactly what I wanted!
I got this pretty white dresser that goes perfect in the nursery. But I turned it from that to this.

In all of ten minutes, by switching out the drawer knobs with fancy snazzy ones from Kids Decor Inc.

So the moral of the story... I'm a little crazy when it comes to getting what I want. I can kinda be a psycho. But sometimes when that means finding killer deals for my daughter, it's worth it (a week ago I got a $155 swing for $50 and she LOVES it!).

Like what I did with a dresser it took me months to find? Jazzy up your kid's room with adorable decor from Kids Decor Inc. Get 15% off your total order at the store using code: "BMM15".

Everyone who comments on this post before October 1st at 11:59pm will be entered to win a $40 gift certificate to Kids Decor Inc. If you follow them on Facebook or Twitter, you'll get an extra entry! Good luck!

Operation Nursery Makeover Part 5 {$215 Canvas Art Giveaway}

So... The crib is up, mattress in the bed (still has the wrapper on it though), we have a dresser, I made the mobile, her name is hanging in adorable modge podge letters made my yours truly, and I have some beautiful wall art hanging above her crib with a cute vinyl saying once again created by *clears throat* this mama right here!!

I got a bed skirt to go under the queen bed that's in the room, and I'm making some throw pillows that match the crib bedding that's COMING TODAY! And curtain valances I made for the bed (tutorial for pillows coming soon... If I ever finish them).

I got some wall shelves for a corner of the room and I hung them up Friday, and I am refinishing a toy box I bought for $20 on Craigslist.

It's safe to say the room is coming together from [wanna be] Man Cave to Nursery, it's really transforming! I blogged about my husband's love/hate relationship with my redecorating on my Parenting blog, so check that out too, comment if you can pretty please!

But there's still some things I'm working on. For one, I'm still trying to figure out what to do with this high ledge in the room. It's so high and there's so much white between what's below on the wall and up on the ledge (I've put a few teddy bears up there so far) that I feel like I need more up there.
I'm thinking of adding maybe some baskets, and big blocks or something... But I think I need something more drastic... I may even*gasp* paint the wall above the ledge/shelf as an accent wall. Maybe I'll paint it green or yellow. We're renting so I'm hesitant to paint but I really am not sure what else to do, but she said we can paint if we want (though me way have to paint it back). I also worry about getting up there... I'll need a ladder or something and this could be dangerous in my condition.

Now on to something else I added to the nursery recently... I'm cheating a little on this week's What I'm Making Monday cause while I MADE it... Sorta, some ordering was also involved.

I had seen posts and tweets about this company called Modern Bird Studios. They have a very--well--modern type of art that's beautiful for your home.

When they contacted me and asked if I wanted to try it out I was soooo indecisive on what I wanted. I knew I wanted something personal, but something that would still go in the room. I worried their contrast look wouldn't go with my whimsical theme... Boy was I wrong!

Since I like butterflies I asked if they could take this picture I took of a butterfly during a date with my hubby, and convert it into a piece of art. Originally we tried pink and brown. But once I figured out the colors of the nursery we decided to go with pink, green and white! They were so professional, polite and QUICK! And they sent me examples every step of the way!

They shipped them to me in the best protective shields. Really, there was no way I was gonna get a scratch on those things, it took me about 20 minutes to unwrap it all! But I was SO impressed when I got them out and set them side by side. Look how it turned out!So sturdy, beautiful, unique PLUS I took the photo! I think that adds a nice personal touch, knowing I took that picture and it turned into something so pretty and personal for the room, plus it all matches. But the nice thing is they also have pre-designed series you can see on their site, with beautiful pictures you can choose from with flowers, and other wildlife.

Then, wanting to add my own little flair to it I added these bows and hung them on the wall!It's an illusion though. There's a nice stand on the back of the picture so it's actually hanging by that and a nail, then I added the ribbon and taped the bows to the wall (hehe, sneaky I know). I can't wait to show you the nursery all together once I get it all finished. We're getting there!

You can find out more about Modern Bird Studios by visiting their website, following @Modern_bird on twitter or "Liking" their Modern Bird Studios Facebook Page.

I went a totally different route with some of my photos, since I was going for bright, colorful, and "nurseryish" but look at these other GORGEOUS styles for your home!

Want a beautiful piece of art just for you!? Right now, you can BUY a work of art from Modern Bird studios and get 15% off until May 30th. Use code: "BABYMAKING"

And you can take your chances at WINNING a 12"X12" canvas art from Modern Bird Studios! That's a $215 VALUE!

{{To Enter}}

Visit Modern Bird Studios and in the comments of this post let me know your favorite color combo and what picture you'd get for your home.

{{For Extra Entries}}

Leave an extra comment if you:

Be(come) a GFC follower of my blog
Follow @Modern_bird on Twitter
"Like" Modern Bird Studios on Facebook and leave a comment on their wall telling them you found them from me!
"Like" Baby Makin(g) Machine on Facebook
Be(come) an email subscriber to my blog and confirm your email address
Leave a decorating tip idea in the comments about what I can do with the high ledge in the nursery.
Link up to this weeks What I'm Makin(g) Monday (linky at the bottom of his post)
Leave a comment on my Parenting.com Project Pregnancy Blog

*People who have won a giveaway from Modern Bird Studios before aren't eligible to win again*
*Open to Continental US*

Contest Ends May 23rd at 11:59pm
Random.org will choose the winner. Good luck!

I was given the canvas pictures for free for conducting this review. I was not compensated in any other way for writing the review, opinions expressed are mine alone.

What I'm Makin(g) Monday: Wall Vinyl Decal! {And Giveaway!}

I'm sucking at this meme thing already. I mentioned planning to start one this week, and here I am, finally posting it Monday afternoon...

In an effort to make myself more crafty, and also brag a little about some of my accomplishments, I thought it would be fun to make Monday my craft-related post day. It'll also hopefully be a fun way to see other crafts out there that I haven't heard of and that I'd like to maybe try (or buy) when others link up and share their skills.

Here's the idea: Share a post, a link, a photo, a tutorial, whatever of something you've made. It can be a craft, food, digital design, whatever!! Maybe later I'll get specific with some prompts but for now people can just share whatever they want. I'll also post something I've made which may or may not include a tutorial. For the first little while, everyone who participates will be entered for a giveaway, and I'll announce what the giveaway item is that week. Some may be big, and some may be small, some maybe even be nothing at all... We'll see how it goes. So if you know wannabe crafters or chefs out there, or people who already are, let them know there's another place to share!

This week will be a little different since it's short notice and it's the first week! But there's still a giveaway everyone can enter at the end.

So let's get this party started... As part 3 of my Operation Nursery Makeover, and my first ever installment of "What I'm Makin(g) Monday" I made a wall decal for Spawnie's Nursery.

Trading Phrases contacted me a couple of months ago about their beautiful wall vinyl designs. I checked out their nursery designs and found the perfect one for Spawnie's room!

It says "With a Butterfly Kiss and a Ladybug Hug, Sleep Tight Little One, Like a Bug in a Rug." I thought since her room is butterfly themed, and I call her my little bug it was PERFECT.

They were really nice and suggested I get color samples so I knew for sure it would match our room. I did as they suggested and narrowed it down to three greens and three pinks, they sent me a postcard with little stickers of the vinyl's color and I picked my two favorite.

Shortly after I got the vinyl in the mail all rolled up nicely in a tube, and was ready to get to work! But I had a dilemma... Our walls are a little lumpy, "textured" I guess is the correct term. The nice people at Trading Phrases told me it would still work, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized I didn't want to stick it directly on my wall. I remembered a project I did once for my living room and got an idea!

First, I bought some wood at Lowe's, I bought a big piece that was 4 feet long, by 2 feet wide, and got it cut down to 17in wide (the size of the vinyl). It wasn't thick... About 1/4 of an inch.

I got home and painted it with two coats of brown, and a coat of sealant. You can get sealant at any craft store, and it's not too expensive... about $5 for a bottle that should last awhile.

I made sure to get the sides and everything real good, and then I waited for it to dry.

Now it's time to get the vinyl! ... See where I'm going with this? One thing I like about Trading Phrases is they sent two pieces of "practice vinyl" with smaller phrases so I could get the hang of how to peel the papers and stuff before I did it for real... Good idea cause reading the instructions were a little confusing at first, but after I tried it a couple of times on the bottom of the my door for practice, I got the hang of it.

Now it was time to lay it out on the wood. Since mine came in two parts I took some time to mark where I wanted each piece to start and stop. Since the wood was practically the perfect size I had to make sure no words were falling off the edge.

I got it lined up and put down the first part.

Then the second part! And then covered both with another layer of sealant. I noticed there was some blank space in the bottom corner of the wood, and normally on the wall I think it would look fine, but since it was plain brown there I decided to spruce it up a little with some paper butterflies I had left over from the butterfly mobile I made. Then... TADA!!!!

What do you think? See, now the whole point of this meme thing is to get encouragement so don't let me down!

I'm really happy with how it all turned out, and the best part is I can take it with me when we move!

If you DO put it on the wall, it's way easy to take off just by peeling, or adding a little heat (with something like a blow dryer) and peeling.

Want to try this craft yourself? Trading Phrases has offered to donate this wall decal to one of my readers!! It'll come in black 24in X 11in, it's over a $39 value! And if you want to add it to a plaque, now you know how!! Want to get to know Trading Phrases better? They're @TradingPhrases on twitter and they have a Facebook Fan Page.

*HOW TO ENTER*

Visit Trading Phrases and tell me your favorite wall decal in the comments. That's all! See? Easy peasey!

*FOR EXTRA ENTRIES*

-Be(come) a follower of my blog

-Link up to What I'm makin(g) Monday this Monday 4/12 or next Monday 4/19 or the last day of the giveaway 4/26, and leave a comment letting me know you did! (2 entries for each time you participate!)

Contest ends April 26th, at 11:59pm. Random.org will choose a winner! Good luck!

Did you make something? Please share! In your post, link back to "What I'm Makin(g) Monday" and link up!