Finally! My niece's baby room is complete. I never thought it would take my Mom and sister so long to decide on a theme for the baby's nursery! They weren't interested in any of my "bedrooms in bag" ideas and I about passed out when i saw the cost of nursery furniture, so with a tight budget in mind, my sister and I decided to see what we could do on our own -- and by on our own, I mean with the help of my incredibly sweet and talented group of family members. I even got Brent involved - he was a good sport about it. It's still a work in progress, but overall, it looks awesome. We managed in record time too!

After hours of searching online my sister found a zoo print - it was the first print she found that she didn't hate and over time her husband started to like it and could imagine how to incorporate the animals into the room. After learning the gender of their baby (its a girl) my sister settled on the zoo in Holly print. It had just the right amount of pink, blue, green and brown that felt girly without being too over the top for her husband's taste. The print guided the rest of the decisions from wall color to furniture.

My sister is very lucky to have a talented family, mainly my mother, who spent hours over the past two days sewing the bumper and crib skirt, pillows and a stuffed elephant that is a twin to one my sister and I had growing up. We also made the mobile by hand from felt -- now this really was fairly simple (and cost around $12 to make) but after the amount of time it took, I understand why people charge $80 for them on Ebay! The crib is a Graco Lauren that my brother-in-law found for discount (it has a minor scratch) at Babys R Us. It wasn't my sister's top choice, but it worked well for the room and was just the right price!

The dresser, shelf, bookcase and chair were all picked up at Ikea. We also stocked up on baskets, curtains and crib sheets for a great price. I personally loved the dresser because of the size (they plan to double it as a changing table) and it could grow with their daughter -- so they actually chose to purchase the dresser in a natural wood stain/color and after a few coats of paint they were very happy! My sister's girlfriends spent an entire Saturday helping to paint all of the animals (Genny the Giraffe, Helen the Hippo, Barbara the Bird, and Tina the Turtle.)

I have two favorites. The first would be Daft, my childhood stuffed animal who went absolutely everywhere with me. I love that he is still around and that I can pass him on to my niece.

The second would be the framed picture one my mom said to us; remember who you are, where you're from, and where you're headed to. :) I'm pretty sure my mom got that saying from a movie or a book, but I'm not sure.