My first baby project

I'm pretty excited about being pregnant, can you tell! The first project (of many more to come I am sure) that I decided to tackle in anticipation of our little bundle of joy is crib bumper. We were able to buy the crib, changing table and dresser from a friend of a friend for a pretty good price, & now I want it to be cute!
While we were down in Glendale this past weekend, I took some time to go to Joanns, hoping to get some fabric for this project. Well, not only did they not have a good variety of the gren I wanted, but I wouldn't have been able to bring myself to pay that much for fabric. So, I went to Savers, just a few blocks away.
First I looked through the linens section with no luck & then I got an amazing idea. I went instead to the mens button-up shirts section, which is so nicely organized by size & color. I picked out about 6 different shirts, all with similar hues of green, plus a few black & whites, but in a variety of patterns. I also ended up getting some more black & white prints from Walmart when we got home (like the black & white polka dots, which makes it all so much more girly).
I decided to do the room in mostly greens, black & white, so that if we end up having a boy in the future, I won't have to make a completely new set. I am going to bring the pink in with a quilt & some flowers & wall hangings, which are much more easily replaced later.

I started by cutting strips of fabric, all about 22" long from the backs of all the shirts & from the other material. Then I sewed the strips together to make a piece long enough to fit the front of the crib. The rest of the bumper will be one long piece to cover the other three sides. I used some leftover quilt batting, & also put in a fabric stabilizer that is pretty stiff, to stuff the inside. I added ribbons on the ends and in the middle in order to tie it to the crib, & tada! This is what it turned out like. I am still working on the piece for the other three sides, but it will be done shortly. I am using the extra pieces of the shirts to make a patchwork changing table mattress cover & a quilt. It is going to be so cute! I can't wait to see it all finished!