If you’re expecting a little boy, you’ve likely got a lot to do to prepare for his arrival. His nursery will require a lot of work, but the décor doesn’t have to cost you a ton of money.
There are a variety of fun DIY projects that you can do on your own to prepare your baby boy’s room.
1. Puppet Hangers
As your son ages, he will likely begin to enjoy hand puppets and how they bring stories to life. You can display your child’s hand puppets in a fun and interesting way by creating paper hangers for your wall. Use paper mache to create a peg shape, and then glue it to a piece of strong cardboard. Next, drill a tiny hole to mount the hanger to the wall with nails or pins. You can even add name tags for your child to label his puppets.
2. Animal Silhouette Art
You can easily create some cute animal wall art for your baby boy’s room. Simply choose your animal, and then use a picture to draw out the animal’s silhouette to create a template. Then, place the template onto the back of your favorite card stock or fabric and cut the fabric into the shape. You can mount your cutout onto a contrasting background with craft glue before framing and hanging your artwork.
3. Nursery Ottoman
You’ll need to have a comfy chair and a place to rest your feet when your baby boy is young. To make an ottoman, find some foam pieces for the inner stuffing and your favorite fabric. You’ll cut three pieces, two of which should be circular to cover the top and bottom, and one that will be a rectangle to encircle the foam. Sew these pieces together, and secure them to the foam with sticky-backed Velcro.
4. Dictionary Wall Art
Get a used dictionary from your local thrift store to create some creative wall art for your baby boy’s nursery. Rip out pages of the dictionary to serve a backdrop, and then place an alphabet flashcard in the center. Frame your piece, and the end result will be an interesting and unique piece of art that you can hang on its own or with several similar frames.
5. Suspender Curtains
If you happen upon interesting fabric that you’d like to use in your baby boy’s room, use it to make suspender curtains. You’ll need some basic sewing knowledge to create the curtains before adding overall buckles, buttons, and fabric straps. The fasteners are made to look like overalls with buttons, and this makes the curtains both adorable and easy to raise.
6. Felt Animal Squares
Invest in some square artists’ canvases, and paint them your favorite colors. Then, look through some coloring books to find pictures of animals that you would like to feature on your son’s wall. Elephants, pigs, frogs, and chicks are all great options. Cut out the pictures to use as a template, and then trace the designs onto the felt. Cut out the felt into the shape of the animal and attach the shape to your canvas.
7. Cool Outlet Covers
If you’re looking for a small change that will make a big difference in your little boy’s room, try updating the outlet covers. Visit your local scrapbook store to find scrapbook paper that will match the theme of his nursery. Then, cover the outlet covers with this patterned paper while taking care to cut out holes for the outlets.
8. Weather Chart
As your son gets older, science and the weather will become increasingly interesting. You can take advantage of his interests by creating a weather chart for his room. Use scraps of felt to create certain weather conditions, such as sunny, cloudy, and rainy scenes. Place Velcro on the back of each felt piece so that they attach to a felt board to display the daily weather.
9. Themed Window Cornices
Does your baby boy’s room have a theme like sailboats or jungle animals? Create a themed window cornice to match. First, cut pieces of pine wood to the correct size for your son’s window, and then wrap each portion with batting and fabric that will match your theme. Staple the fabric and batting down as you wrap. Once installed, these cornices will transform plain and boring windows into the focal point of the room.
10. Safari Crib Bumpers
Give your baby boy’s crib a personalized touch with a fun safari bumper. You’ll need four yards of fabric with a safari theme, and you should also get some stuffing or foam for padding. This DIY project will require some basic sewing knowledge, so contact your local technical college or quilting shop for tips on how to assemble it.
You don’t have to spend a fortune to prepare your baby boy’s room for his arrival. Put your creativity to good use and have fun decorating your son’s new bedroom with DIY projects.