Animal Print Wall Mural DIY

Newborn Penelope in her nursery. Design by Dru Ammons, Photo by Looney Digital, Mural by me!

A few months ago my friend Dru asked me if I would be interested in creating a wall mural for her new baby’s nursery. I was honored and excited because I love Dru’s style and knew it would be nothing short of chic and cool- go peruse her site HERE- you won’t regret it. So, when she showed me what she was dreaming of- and then told me she was getting a custom neon sign with the baby’s name to go on top, I was ALL IN.

Sweet Penelope is here, and so precious! Beyond any of the decor, she is what makes the room special. It was an honor to get to paint this mural in her room- and I filmed the process so I could take you along with me!

Dru originally showed me an animal print-inspired pattern. We selected these three paint colors after looking at several in the room. (Never, ever just pick a swatch from the wall and order paint without looking at it in the space first! Lighting can completely change the color. It’s also important to view a swatch at different times of the day in the room- light will change from morning to night, and so will the tones of your paint.)

Once we had our colors down, I experimented with several ways to create the print, and landed on old-school potato printing. I grew up making potato prints with my mom, and it was the perfectly imperfect solution to creating a consistent yet organic feeling to this pattern. In the video, I show you how I cut them to create the pattern.

A finishing touch was the metallic paint I used to create the centers of the print pattern. I used Plaid’s Liquid Leaf paint in gold, though I would call it more of a rose gold. I love this paint and haven’t found one quite as metallic as this one:

Check out the whole process and more detail in my video here:

I am so pleased with the way the mural turned out and appreciate Dru for trusting me with it! Just in case you are wondering, that amazing neon is from Brite Lite Tribe.

Design by Dru Ammons, Photo by Looney Digital, mural by Lissa Anglin

Hayden Kate's Nursery

My niece Hayden Kate is due any day now so last week I wanted to capture a few images of my sister, Layne, at her roundest and loveliest yet. :) I am OBSESSED with the gorgeous wallpaper she put in her nursery so I asked Layne if she wouldn't mind sharing a bit about Hayden's room here on my blog! 

So, here is Layne with a little tour of Hayden's room!

When I started dreaming of the little room I would soon rock my sweet baby in, my first thought was that I wanted it to be a place that felt warm and peaceful.  If you have seen other parts of my house- this would make sense to you- my husband will kindly refer to it as “50 Shades of Blue.”  Ha. I like the color blue and honestly had to really focus on not making her room totally blue.  I was unsure of where to start and my mom gave me the advice of “Find something you love and go from there!”

So my search began and while browsing Pinterest, I came across this blog where she featured a floral wallpaper used in her daughters room that I loved.  After browsing the Ellie Cashman wallpapers, blowing up my mom and sisters' phones, I finally settled on the Dark Floral II Black Saturated XL (200%) Wallpaper .

The rest of the room flowed from there!  Because I splurged a little on the wallpaper, to stay under the budget, we found a lot of the other items at estate sales, Craigslist, and garage sales!  I cannot take credit for all of it, I had a lot of help from my talented family and friends.  

Crib: Craigslist find- distressed with “Dust of Ages”

Bedding: Target, our goal was to keep it clean and simple!

Plates: Peter Rabbit plates, my Mom scored these at an estate sale!

Mobile:  Made by my sister Lauren and I- but lets be real, mostly her!  My favorite part about it is the blue band at the top- It is my belt I wore with my wedding dress that Lauren also made. 

Mirror: Garage Sale, again scored by my Mom

Unicorn: Target

Curtains: TJ Maxx

Dresser:  Antique store find by my Momma (she did a lot of hunting for me:))

Chandelier:  Pottery Barn Kids, bought ages ago in college!!!

Glider: Gift from my in-laws from Babies 'R' Us

Quilted Blanket:  Made by my talented sister.  I am in love with the details!!!

Toy shelf:  Garage Sale find! 

Toy bins: Target

Shelf: piece of wood from a friends old house (Whitworths)

“You are my Greatest Adventure” painting: made by my talented momma!!

Wreath:  One of my favorite pieces of her room.  This wreath was my sister, Lauren's, idea.  At my Lubbock shower ladies wrote prayers on leaves for Hayden Kate.  Their words will be cherished forever and to know HK’s room is covered in prayers puts this mommas heart at peace. The flowers were also crafted at the shower! Lauren took both the leaves and the flowers and created the most beautiful, meaningful wreath. 

Owl: Target

Blocks: Estate Sales, you guessed it- my momma found them!

“Hayden Kate” bunny sign and “Isn’t She Lovely”:  Maggie McMurry with: @lettermemarie on Instagram

“Hayden Kate” banner:  made by my sister Lauren

China cabinet : a piece of furniture from the house we grew up in

I feel so blessed to get to bring Hayden Kate home to a room filled with love, prayers, and awaited adventures.  While I feel like her room itself is a gift, the gift of life from our Savior far exceeds anything I could add or put into her room.  We feel extremely blessed and excited to meet our baby girl!