Wordless Wednesday: The boys' room, right now

Made by Junior J. A tarbosaurus! 

I just had the opportunity to clean up the boys' room a little, so I thought I'd just snap a few pictures of how their room looks, right now:

Both the older boys now share the room. (You can see our previous room tour here, when it was just Junior J in there.) Lil J sleeps below. 

I forgot to tell the hubs to flip the panel when he fixed up the Kura bed.
The blue of the bed bothers me for some reason, so I'm planning to do something to those panels.

We added two shadowboxes for some display storage, and they were filled up by Junior J. He also stuck some of his own stuff around the bed. I love how the area around his bed represents his interests right now. 

Lil J has his own obsessions: his blue pillow, his stuffed toys. Most days he brings random things to bed: essential oil bottles, cards, books. 

The crane mobile is still here. Baby J loves it, so I think I need to make another for his cot.

We'll be making some major changes in time to come, so I thought it'll be nice to have a pictorial record of how their room looked before we changed it!

Linking up with:

  

(Small Spaces) Two rooms in two countries

Hello and welcome back for another week of "Small Spaces"! I hope  last week's posts have given you some inspiration on how to organize and decorate your child's spaces.

Today, I thought it would be fun to share photos of Junior J's room back in SG, as well as his room in Germany. After all, his room will look very different when we move back, since Junior J would have to share his room with his little brother... so I thought it would be nice to look back and see how his room has changed over the years. Looking at the photos made me miss home a little. You can also pop by here to see how his room was like before we decorated it!

So here's looking at two rooms, lived in by the same little boy, in two countries, in two different continents!

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Here's a peek at how Junior J's room was like back in Singapore (I'll let the photos do most of the talking):

:: Little souvenirs from around the world. Many from his doting grandparents and our friends, and some that we picked up previously when travelling. (You can read about and view more of the little details here!)

:: His bed, which was a normal single mattress placed on the floor. I love the idea of a floor bed, since we don't have to worry about him getting a bump on his head from rolling out (which he has done), plus the mattress will see him all the way through until his teenage years (hopefully!). (Btw, if you want more inspiration on rooms with floor beds, check out Bedstart, which showcases rooms with beds placed on the floor!) Oh, and we hung his artwork on the line that was hung between the two trees, which we had painted ourselves.

:: His paper crane mobile, which we DIY-ed. This hangs above his bed, and he enjoyed looking at the birds fluttering before he fell asleep.

:: His little reading corner, where we placed our old Papasan chair. He loved snuggling there to read his books.

:: And these clouds and the hot air balloon float above his reading corner. 

:: And of course, some shelving to house his books and toys. We moved our old Billy bookshelves that we had into his room... but we'll have to rethink the shelving, since our children book collection has overflowed into our study, and it has grown since our move to Germany!

The paintings were purchased in the pasar malaam in Penang. I love how cheerful they make the room look!

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Now, when we shifted over to Germany, we found out that many people rented their apartments, and that most of these come unfurnished. We arrived to an empty house, save for some bookshelves and kitchen cabinets (there were no lights and we had to rely on small table lamps that we borrowed from a friend for the first week!). So we had to buy our furniture. After asking around, we concluded that our best bet would be to head down to the nearest Ikea (which was in the next town), as it was the most affordable furnishing alternative here.

We made that trip, and tried to buy the bare basics: mattresses, some storage (all our clothes managed to fit in two chests of drawers plus one clothes rack!), and a sofa bed for visiting family members. Since we were going to be here for only a year, it made sense to minimize the furniture we bought, and that applied to Junior J's room as well.

:: Very little decorations this time round, save for some books and the globe on his chest of drawers. He now keeps his animal figures up here so that they don't get chewed by his brother:

We're fortunate to live in the land that produces Schleich. So once in a while, Junior J gets to bring home an animal friend.

:: We still display his artwork.  However, now its haphazardly stuck in the walls with washi tape, by the boy himself: 

No more paintings, just two posters on dinos in his room!

:: The bed's still a mattress on the floor. But now we have to include a quilt, which is a must in our home, which isn't insulated very well:

I couldn't resist the quilt covers from Ikea!
It also doubles up as a play scene for him.

:: And another difference would be that his room has a small carpet. Back in SG, we opted to keep the floor clear, since the boy is very sensitive to dust, however, the floor can be really cold over here, so we bought him a carpet, which again, doubles up for play:

:: One thing that never changes... the mess that seems to come alive everyday!

His dino world, which houses his dinosaurs. And erm, a leek. 

The house has some bookshelves mounted on the walls in the hall, so all our books are housed there.
However, they somehow find their way into the room, and would lay scattered about until I retrieve them, or make him do it!

Mess aside, I'm glad that Junior J enjoys playing in his room and has that space to call his own for the year (ok, he has to share it with his brother sometimes!).

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Do you have a child's space to share with us? Drop us a note at john(dot)jus(at)gmail(dot)com! Do pop by tomorrow to take a peek at a little girl's cozy play corner, and have a blessed week ahead!

Messy Mittwoch: Packing for baby

Hello!  I won't hang around for long today, since I've loads to pack for baby.  I've finally gotten down to getting the baby clothes out of storage, washed, and the newborn stuff packed into some sort of order (I tried to get Junior J to help today, and was showing him how tiny the baby will be... he was interested at first, but then decided the most fun thing to do would be to fling all my neatly folded piles everywhere!).

There's still loads to do though, since there's still bags of clothes to be sorted: Cold clothes for both boys (donated by friends, for the move next year), all the other clothes for baby J (who has quite abit of stuff since we have hand-me-downs from friends, plus his brother's stuff, PLUS gifts), and Junior J's clothes that he's outgrown, or has yet to break into.  Its quite amazing how much clothes they have, and I'm very sure Junior has more clothes than I do!

One of my headaches is storing the tiny stuff for Baby J, like the bootees and mittens.  We had a shallow drawer with compartments for those when it came to Junior J, but that drawer is now overflowing with art materials.  In addition, I'll have to store baby's stuff in our bedroom, since baby will be rooming with us before we move next year.  So I've just stuffed them all into one compartment in the drawer for now.  Any ideas or tips for this?

Messy Mittwoch: The little reading corner

I've mentioned that the little boy loves to read, more so now that he's been running a fever for the past few days and isn't really up to much outdoor play.  So here's the little reading corner we have in his room, next to a shelf of books:

The papasan chair was actually shifted from our living room, after one of our guests sat in it and it broke (we got it repaired, but figured it would be safer seating a small boy in his room :p).  I love how kids can crawl into the chair and snuggle in there with a good read, and even babies (and bears, for that matter) can more or less sprawl in there comfortably:

And after having a good read, one can look up at the clouds floating by, and dream happy dreams:

These clouds accompany a hot-air balloon that hangs above the reading nook. :)  (Do try making some of these clouds, they are frightfully easy!  Details here.)

Oh, and if clouds aren't enough, there are little friends flying by in the balloon that will always be willing to listen to a story or two (or ten!)...

... and I especially love how the balloon lends a splash of colour to that little corner! :)

To see other corners of this room, click here, and here. :)  

Messy Mittwoch: Its the little things...

... that help make Junior J's room cheerful:

:: Hand-made banners and little souvenirs from loved ones, sitting atop display boxes housing little treasures...

:: Stars in the window, that shine in at night...

:: Artwork gleaned from overseas night markets, hanging on the walls...

:: And useful little things, like hooks for hanging clothes...

These are hung below the window, where Junior J can easily get to them.
He knows he has to hang up his clothes, and likes choosing between the crocodile and the rabbit!

... and a table for play, and for feeding your animals!

Just snapped this afternoon.  The boy had prepared lunch for his animals!

What are the favourite bits of your child's room?

Messy Mittwoch: The neatest room in the house...

... happens to be Junior J's room.  Granted, he spends more time playing in the living room since its easier to keep an eye on him there if I'm doing housework, so usually there are toys scattered all over the sofa and floor during the course of a normal day.  His room is used mainly for reading and sleeping, so its easier to keep it neat and tidy.  Whatever the case, I've realized how the room has morphed over the past 2 years to suit his needs... and since its a busy day and the boy is falling sick, I thought I'd just share some photos of his room that make me smile... :)

This was how his room looked when he was a little baby (we didn't have time to do up a nice nursery for the boy and everything was rather mishmash, but that warrants a post on its own):

Drawers used to house essentials like cloths, wipes, etc.  This was shifted from our room to his.

Sleeping quarters (this was the cot I slept in when I was a baby!), complete with sleeping baby inside.
We had hung a hot-air balloon from the ceiling instead of the usual baby mobile.

And Junior J's room now:

The drawers have remained, and now house old toys not in circulation, as well as art supplies.
The panda actually is a night light, and the picture is done by a talented couple in our DG.

The hot-air balloon got shifted to another location in his room,
and he can now look at birds flying above him when he wakes up in the morning.
Details on how to make the mobile in this other post. :)
The trees on the wall were painted by us over a weekend!

Same location for sleeping, but a different bed!
We took an old mattress that was formerly used for guests and converted it to a floor bed for the boy.
The boy loves choosing which pillow to sleep on each night... :)

Will post more about his room next week... gotta run now!

How to catch a star

1. Get one old box from Ikea used formerly to contain a star-shaped lamp.  Get a willing helper to test the solidarity of the box:

2. Get helper to play peekaboo with box:

3. Cover said box with blue paper that has been painted over with ultramarine poster paint.  Sprinkle and glue down many many many "stars" punched out from old aluminum foil.

4. Add a title using lettering stickers, using a phrase from a verse in the Bible (from Phil 2:15)...

5. Cut and paste a HUGE star cut out from cardstock, and sprintz lots of glimmer mist...

6. Fly one rocketship with a little explorer along the path of the shooting star.

I used a flower punch to punch out shapes from shiny paper to make the "flames".

7. Step back and admire the star...

Supplies: Cardboard from an old Ikea box and aluminum foil,
Cardstock (American Crafts), Thickers (Glass Slipper),
Poster paint (Ultramarine), Dewdrops (The Robin's Nest).

8. And paste it up on a window, where stars are usually seen!

The window had to be covered since the room gets too much evening sun (and gets really hot),
but having the star cut-out let a wee bit of light in. :)
Those boxes were a gift from a friend, to keep Junior J's baby bracelet, first curl and first tooth. :)

PS: This was how it looked before I did up the nursery window...

The previous owner had also used the room as a nursery, but had painted this wall terra-cotta red,
hence the matching red cardboard.  I had hated how the colour had stuck out in our greenish blue walls!

Looks much better doesn't it? :)  Have a great weekend!

PS: I got some of my inspiration from the book "How to catch a star" by Oliver Jeffers, which was recommended by another mum in this post.

And... the shooting star joins the paper cranes, clouds and trees that are currently in Junior J's room!