Made with Love. Anya’s toddler room.

I have been wanting to share this little part of our place since forever. This post will get a little long, let me warn you. Lots of pictures and so much I want to share about it. This room is full of love and lots of stories behind every single thing that sits here and that is my favorite part about it. That it brings happy memories, reminds us of loved ones, and is the place where our little girl discovers herself and the world around her.

Come and finally take a peek?

The crib is Gulliver by Ikea and one we have loved since the first day. The blanket that hangs over, along with the pillows that sit in her crib are a gift from someone who was like family back in the days before I got married. Her name is Rashida and she used to help us with household chores and stitch clothes for us. She specially made this set for Anya and gave it as a gift and I love having it in her room.

My husband and I come from families of art lovers. I love how art always has stories behind it, about who made it, where you found it etc. Nothing like art to bring personality into any room. For this room, along with the framed art wall, I also wanted to have one where I could easily change what it held. This wall is also the first thing you see when you enter it. I also love how anything can be art when displayed well. 

About the art: ABC art from Land of Nod. I love you to the moon, made by my sister Waliya. The Sweet Dreams art is from a calendar I found in my dad’s papers. My dad was an aeronautical engineer and this art from a Boeing calendar that he had kept, reminds us of him.

Rocker from Ikea, DIY blue pillow made by me (shared here), White Crochet blanket is handmade for her by her nani¹ and another favorite in this room. Trousers Hangers from Bed, Bath and Beyond.

I always knew I wanted to incorporate our baby pictures in her room. So the black and white picture of my husband as a baby and the one of me with my dad that my mom took sits on the shelf. Its funny how Anya has looked so much like us at different times of her little life, mA. The shelf also holds our growing collection of fairytales and folktales. Most of these were Bilal’s along with one that is from my childhood and even a Russian Fairytales that was my mothers’. 

Alarm Clock, Bird sculpture (actually a tealight holder), Lampshade and the 4 by 6 frame from Target. 

Lamp was a 4 dollar find at my first ever thrift store buy and made to work thanks to a sweet friend’s husband.

The large frame is from ZGallerie and the square frame from Marshalls.

This little illustration was made by my sister, Waliya along with a little place for Anya’s bangles and her never ending hair accessories.

The shelf, Expedit from Ikea is the perfect place for Anya’s books and toys.

Most of her toys are gifts from family, her grannies, great grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and sweet friends. Her growing little book collection also contains books passed on from her cousins and some are from my childhood and I specially love that. To know that these same books were enjoyed by others before her and then lovingly passed on, makes them even more special.

 

The art: (Top row) Mushroom digital art drawn by Bilal. I’m still learning art made by Anya’s Waliya khala². (Left most) Kitty cross-stitch made by Anya’s youngest phupo³. (Second row) Red Birds print bought from an art fair in Leavonworth, WA on one of our trips, Owl print bought from an art fair in our little town, Sketch my mom made of me sleeping as a baby in ‘84. (Third row) Asian mom and baby art made by my sister-in-law again. Colorful collage art made by my sister, Anya’s Nadiya khala². (Bottom most) inspired by paint chip art, a card I made for Anya’s 2nd birthday framed.

The frames are from Ikea, Target, Michaels, and some spray painted white to go along.

Because this room functions as a guest room whenever there is need, we keep the queen bed in here and this little cushions plus stuffies collection sits atop.

The cat and hen pillows are made by Anya’s older phupo³, my older sister-in-law. The Tweety Pillow I made with a TShirt my dad had got for me on one of his trips. The knitted penguin is from my childhood and my nani¹ knitted it specially for me when I was a baby. I was ecstatic to have found it in one of the boxes back home last year. The yellow Ugly Doll was my first buy for Anya when I found out we were having a baby. The bicycle pillow on the front is from Francesca’s. The heart striped pillow, my mom bought for Anya. The duvet cover on the bed is from Ikea.

Fox Stuffie from Anthropologie and the burlap bear was a lucky find at Safeway at one of our grocery trips.

The DIY bird mobile now hangs over the crib. And so does the DIY yarn wrapped A from Anya’s 1st birthday celebration. The rug in front of the crib is handmade in Pakistan, a gift from my parents’.

The shelves from Ikea are our happy place to keep our treasures. I love using flash cards for Anya so decided to hang some below. These ones I found at Dollar Tree and are as good as any more expensive other. The white crate is from JoAnn’s and holds Anya’s growing collection of stuffed toys.

Top Shelf: left to right: Paper flower garden made by Nadiya khala², The little pirate in front was made by Anya’s Shafqi phupo³ many many years ago. The birthday hat is from Anya’s 2nd birthday. The little chalkboard in the back, my sister-in-law brought for me in Pakistan and I painted it yellow. The wooden train is from Melisa and Doug. The Abacus by Melissa and Doug also was a gift from a sweet friend.

Bottom Shelf: left to right: Ceramic Owl bank from ZGallerie, Vintage Lady and the Tramp book found in Pakistan was a childhood favorite, Carved Wooden camel bought from Bahawalpur, Yellow Elephant from World Market, Sketch of Anya made by my mom. Anya’s baby sneakers were a gift from her Waliya khala². Pink frame from TJMaxx with a picture taken by Muqu, a talented photographer friend, stuffed owl I made for Anya before she was born, a get well soon Minnie we got for Anya from Walgreens, Little glass ball is my husband’s, Initial mug from Anthropologie, a gift from a friend. Adventure Stories for girls, is my mom’s from her childhood.

For me, the best part about decorating any space is incorporating items that mean something to you. That involve a particular memory or remind you of loved ones and this room is full of these things. Whenever someone asks me what they should get for Anya, I always ask them that I would prefer something handmade for her and her room. I love that this room reminds us of all the sweet people that love our baby and who go out of their way to make her feel special.

Hope you enjoyed this little tour.

Thanks for reading and for stopping by.

Go here to see what this room looked like before.

FYI: ¹Nani is maternal grandmother. ²Khala is mom’s sister, ³phupo is dad’s sister.