we all know i have a tendency to get in over my head

But I think I'm allowing myself enough time, that I can actually put into motion and finish, this project before little Miss Sweetcheek's arrival.

I've been looking online at baby girl crib bedding. A definite first for me! And I kinda sorta fell in love with this set:First off, it's pink. I know, I know a lot of mom's stay away from pink because it's cliche or because she's gonna be stuck wearing pink forever, etc.

Guess what? I have THREE boys. And now I'm having a girl.

She will have pink bedding. When she is a baby, she will be dressed in pink. (as well as other colors, duh). She will most likely wear pink bows and headbands and she will look adorable.

Okay, personal opinion but it's my blog.

But, back to the bedding. I like that it's pink, it has this vintage feel to it. I like that it's not too babyish, and I love that it has flowers without being ''floral''.

What I don't like? That for the bumpers, quilt, sheet and dust ruffle they want $120-$170.

YIKES!

When you consider that she won't use that quilt- it'll hang on a wall (maybe...I never did hang bubba or pooks) and when the bumpers only get used for the first 6-9 months-then it's a safety hazard and the sheet will likely get pee/poop/spit up/etc on it and be off more often than it's on--I just can't rationalize spending that kinda money.

So I had one of those Shannon moments where I said to myself "I could totally make that."

I looked around online and consulted a few friends who had either made their own crib bedding or seriously considered it. I found a website that I fell in love with for their super easy tutorials:
http://sew4home.com/projects/pillows-cushions/356-stylish-baby-nursery-crib-bumpers
While I hate the fabric they chose, i love the clean lines, simplicity of design and overall look of their crib bumpers.
And finding out that Jo-Ann's sells ''baby bumper inserts' so that I don't have to sew through 2 layers of batting? SCORE!

So to make sure that this was really gonna save me money, we took a little trip to Hobby Lobby to look at and price fabric. I absolutely, head over heels, love these fabrics from Brother Sister Design Studio:

not my pic, found it on google images

The main larger print on the white fabric, will be on the outside of the bumpers and the pink fabric with the little icons will be used as an accent (for a Boppy slipcover and on a rag quilt). The inside of the bumpers will hopefully be a super soft minky fabric. (gotta find a color of minky that matches) I also found a coordinating striped fabric that I will use for the piping along the top of the bumpers.

The estimated cost for crib bumpers? Under $40! The bumper inserts cost $20, the fabric will total about $20. (depends on if I can find my good jo-ann's coupon)

And I can make other accessories. Add in the additional fabric for the dust ruffle ($8) boppy cover and quilt ($20). So for around $75 I can make the crib bumpers, the dust ruffle, the quilt, the boppy cover and probably have leftover fabric for little projects later on.

$75 compared to $150 (avg) for the bedding? Plus the Boppy covers that you buy in the store are between $11-$20. That's saving me over half the cost of purchasing a set! Plus, Miss Sweetcheeks will have personalized, handmade bedding that couldn't be purchased in a store.

And it helps that I love this fabric more than the website bedding set.

B is on board too. I'm not sure that he ''loves'' the fabric but since it's our last baby and our only girl after 3 boys, he's pretty much letting me have free reign on this one. I think the real reason he's okay with it is two-fold; it'll keep me busy and out of his hair and it's saving us money. If you know B, you know he's...frugal, to say the least ;)