frame pretty paper

One thing I always look for are nice wooden frames. Frames are expensive, and if you don't feel like shelling out $15 a frame, then make it part of your routine to always check the clearance sections and tag sales...even ugly art on clearance may be worth buying just for the frame. When I saw these frames at Sears for $2.75 a piece in 3x5, 5x7, and 8x10 I bought all of them. They've been hanging around waiting for the perfect use, and this project was one of them.

I was nesting, big time. I furnished my nursery with secondhand items from summer tag sales and craigslist finds. But, I couldn't figure out how I wanted to decorate the walls for my baby with an unknown gender. I had planned a trip to visit my sister-in-law in Northampton, and knew we would visit Essencials, that cool store with all the incredible paper no one knew what to do with. Meanwhile, the frames whispered to me from the closet. Ding! It became so simple and charming to decorate the nursery with framed decorative paper. It's easy to change out, costs less than $3 a sheet, and I already have the frames.

Another great find, wee gallery cards. Since the day we brought him home, my son has enjoyed a long gaze at these black-and-white images---I can almost hear the connections being made in his brain. I used poster gum to stick some by his crib, changing table, and on the wall where he nurses.