Paint Chip Nursery Decoration

Since I haven't had too much time to be crafty myself lately, I wanted to share a beautiful craft project that a friend made us for Cameron's room. Using a tutorial from Blue Velvet Chair, she created this cool "C" framed creation! You can easily make this for your own child, as a shower gift or as a birthday present for a little one.

Using paint color samples and a star hole punch (rather than a plain circle one), here are the final results -

Once we put his new white and pine colored dresser together, this will hang proudly on the wall above. Thanks Allison!

Scrapbooking Project for the New Year

The new year is upon us and since I have a couple low-key days before the baby comes, I decided it was a good time to start on a scrapbooking project for him. I bought this kit about a month ago and wanted to start it early enough that so I can bring a blank page to the hospital for his first hand and foot prints. 

I haven't put his name on the front yet...

The kit includes a 12x12 book, 24 sheets of scrapbooking paper, cut-outs, stickers and protective sheets. I also have a ton of ribbon and other accents that I can use to embellish the pages. 

I completed the first page today with the baby's first pictures - one from his 8 week sonogram and one from his 20 week sonogram. 

I'm thinking of doing another page with pictures of me and Bunch, taken throughout the last nine months so he can see me growing as he grows. And I'm excited to make the page with his handprints, footprints and first hospital pictures. Any day now...

Baby Shower Celebration

It's Tuesday and I'm still recovering from my baby shower celebration! A big thank you to all my family and friends for making it a lovely day. There is more baby stuff around the house than I could ever imagine - how are babies so small but yet they need so much big stuff? :)

Raspberry cake - made by my mom

 

Love these decorations - wrapped pictures on the wall with outfits & bows

Spoiled little guy!

Crib - all set up and ready for his arrival...

Baby's first Red Sox outfit - that's a must!!

Elf on the Shelf - I might be more excited about this than the baby will be!

Teeny-tiny sneaker socks - love these

 Just about 8 weeks left - hard to believe!

Diaper Cake Tutorial (Baby Shower Weekend)

In celebration of my baby shower being held this weekend, I thought it would be appropriate to post a tutorial for a project that just about anyone can do, not matter what their craft skills may be.

Diaper cakes are a cute and crafty gift, perfect for a mommy-to-be, no matter what gender her bundle of joy will be. Here is a simple tutorial if you would like to try one of these for a pregnant friend or family member. 

This picture of the supplies is not exactly organized but here's the basics on what you will need: 

• Disposable or cloth diapers; decide how tall you want the cake to be or how much you want to spend, that will determine how many diapers you buy

• A cardboard base; you can buy cake boards or cut a piece of study cardboard and cover with cute wrapping paper

• Ribbon; choose your colors based on the gender and make sure to have many different widths 

• Clear elastic bands to secure rolled diapers

• Rattles, socks, lotion, pacifiers - extra items for sides of cake

• Glue gun, tape, scissors, flowers, and wine (for drinking, not decoration!)

• Cellophane and ribbon for wrapping

The first step is to glue lace around the bottom cardboard base and then start rolling some diapers! 

We used 52 for this cake and it took us about 15 minutes to roll them all. I was initially going to roll them and have Sandy tie them with ribbon but it would have taken too long. A quick trip to the store led us to the clear hair elastics in the picture and still saved about 45 minutes. 

After the diapers are rolled, start lining them up on the base, with the edge facing in, until the outside of the board is covered in a ring of diapers. You may need to use a smidge of rolled tape under each to keep them upright while you are working. We stuffed the center with tissue paper but if you have enough diapers, you can use those to fill the entire circle.

Then, place a slightly smaller cardboard circle on top of the bottom level and repeat the process. We tied some ribbon around the bottom layer while we worked but it's just a temporary hold. The cake isn't sturdy at this point but you can secure it all once the diapers are in place.

Repeat the process from the first layer on the second and third (if applicable). 

If you are using cloth diapers, you will find that as few as 30 will make a full, two tier cake but that will mean your cost could be significantly higher. 

After we finished all three layers and wrapped the layers with thick, wired ribbon with smaller magenta ribbon on top, secured with hot glue, we realized that the top layer was too full (the picture on the side is  the goof-up before we fixed it). There was not enough of a difference between the middle layer and top layer so we simply pulled out one of the diapers from the top layer and pulled the ribbon tight with hot glue for security. Try not to get any glue on the diapers.

 You can see there is one diaper left over in the middle, we used that and the diaper that we removed from the top layer, to hold a bottle of baby lotion in place on top of the cake, creating the illusion of another tier. 

Once we fixed the top layer and positioned the lotion bottle, it was time to adorn the sides of the cake with teeny tiny socks, a package of pacifiers, a rattle (shaped like a diamond ring for the little diva!), small flowers and an adorable star washcloth, with a happy face to celebrate the joyous occasion! 

Of course you will want to cover this cake to protect the diapers, now that they are out of the package. We used rolled cellophane and some ribbon to complete the gift. This also keeps the cake more secure for traveling as well. 

The finished project cost approximately $30 for all the supplies. You can adjust the size of your own cake project based on your own budget. The recipient will certainly appreciate the thoughtfulness of this personalized gift, no matter how much you spend. Happy crafting!

Deal of the Day

While my Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins are in the oven (smelling delicious!) and my newest project, a memory box for the baby, is drying from the first coat of white paint, I thought I would share my latest Deal of the Day. 

I picked up this package of 8 inch paper stencils from Plaid for only $0.97 at Michaels! Includes all letters of the alphabet! The package shows them used on fabric pillows but I'll probably try them out on some wood panels that I found in the garage, to make something for the nursery. I'm hoping to begin working on it this week...

Nursery Lamp Makeover

As I've mentioned over the past week, I threw myself into a project for the nursery - it's the first time I've had the energy or the inspiration to come up with a new crafty project in quite some time.

Looking at cribs, play yards and nursery decor can be overwhelming so I decided to create some custom pieces for the new nursery that will be appropriate whether the baby is a boy or a girl. (Only one more week until we hopefully find out!)

Starting with a plain lamp that used to be in our living room but we recently replaced - here is the 'before' picture: 

There are 6 panels in the shade so I decided to use an alternating design, starting with some cute monkey fabric that I had stashed away. First, I measured each panel and marked them with small tabs since each one had a slightly different measurement.

 

Then I created a form out of scrap cardboard so I could trace it on the fabric for accuracy. I had to make three different forms (and mark each cut piece) so that the panels lined up correctly.

Once I had the panels cut out, I set them aside and got to work on the panels that would not have the fabric on them. 

Using a full bottle of bright yellow, soft, fabric plaint and a regular paintbrush, I painted the alternating panels as well as the top and bottom trim of the lampshade. 

After letting the paint dry completely, luckily I only needed one coat, I began working on the fabric panel parts. I spread a thin coat of Modge Podge on the back of the fabric panel and then placed it on the corresponding panel. 

The Modge Podge made the panels a little longer and wider so since the panels were measured very specifically, they had to be trimmed while wet which was a little messy. Since I knew I was adding a trim to the panels afterward, it would have been smart to cut the fabric slightly smaller than my original measurements.

Once the panels were lined up, I took small amounts of Modge Podge on my fingertip and spread another thin layer on the front to secure it to the shade. Repeat this step for all three panels. 

While the panels were still sticky, I used Tacky Glue to attach faux pearl trim to the edges of each fabric panel. This helped hide any rough edges and blend the panels in with the painted sides. 

Lastly, I used the Tacky Glue again to attach bright yellow pom-pom trim to the underside of the lamp shade so that only the pom-poms hung down from underneath. It helps to use a clothespin to hold the start of the trim while you attach the remainder, approximately 6 inches at a time until you reach the beginning. 

Here is the final product, with the matching wall art that I created last weekend - 

Creating your own nursery decor is easy - scope out your own items, tag sales or thrift stores for your starting piece and add your own flair from there. Hey, if Jessica Alba can do it, so can you!

Inexpensive Nursery Wall Decor

I hope you will forgive me for taking the weekend off from blogging. We celebrated my birthday on Friday with a trip to the Connecticut Tigers baseball game and everything since then has been a blur of crib shopping and car browsing. We finally picked out a crib, along with a number of other outfits and toys for our new addition and I think we found a car we liked as well although we haven't taken the plunge to buy it just yet.

While I continue to work on my lamp project (which is going to take me a tad longer than expected) - here is another inexpensive decor item I have created for the nursery. 

Using just a small piece of monkey fabric from a half-yard remnant I found at Joann Fabrics and a plain brown frame that I had stashed in my craft room, I made this wall hanging - 

BEFORE

AFTER

Sorry about the flash on the finished product picture, a new camera is on the list of things I need before the baby comes too...

Bunch seemed to think this is a little plain so maybe I'll put next weeks sonogram picture in the middle to make it more fun and more of an 'official' picture.

Back to the lamp, hope you all had a great weekend!

Getting Inspired by Crafty Celebrities

Last weekend, Jessica Alba gave birth to her second child, daughter Haven Garner. She's never been shy about her love for crafts, even Tweeting this statement just over a month ago: 

Jessica Alba  

Headed 2 do some flea market furniture shopping for nursery. Do any of u like antique furniture shopping? Got before n after pics?

Updated 38 days ago via Twitter for BlackBerry® Share

Inspired by her love for breathing new life into previously-loved items, I decided to create a decor piece for the nursery that we are putting together in our own home. Here is the before picture - be on the look out for my tutorial and results, coming soon!

Happy National Breastfeeding Week

Being pregnant means I have become aware of all kinds of things I would have never otherwise known.  For example, August 1st - 7th is National Breastfeeding Week. Started by the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA); "a global network of individuals and organizations concerned with the protection, promotion and support of breastfeeding worldwide."

Another thing I've learned from being pregnant is that each mother and mother-to-be should be entitled to make her own decisions. Whether she decides to breastfeed or not, organizations like this encourage the promotion of choices when it comes to parenting. 

In the spirit of this week, here is a free pattern for how to sew your own nursing cover, from Bliss Tree.  

Lovely Card Creations from a Fellow Crafty Blogger

Today I experienced one of the most touching moments since I've started this blog. A routine trip to the mailbox turned up a package from one of my Twitter friends, Rachel from TwitterRWCrafts. Since I recently shared my pregnancy news, she sent this adorable, handmade baby card.

Also in the package were these cute Thank You cards, which will surely come in handy over the next few months, since we've already started receiving baby gifts!

 

Rachel also used her crafty skills to create this cute photo album - I can't wait to put some pictures of this little one in there. 

It's funny, we went from talking about getting pregnant to actually getting the house ready for a baby! While some of my friends are excited to get their baby stuff out of the house and pass it along to us, I love seeing the house slowly transform. Even though it means I have to start moving all the breakables to higher shelves ;)

A heartfelt thank you again to Rachel - be sure to visit her blog often, for some amazing projects and gorgeous photos. 

Deal of the Day

I don't think it's any secret that I love a good deal but even more so when it's of the crafting variety. Michaels recently had a clearance bin with cross stitch projects and I discovered this project for only $1.97!

At the time, I wasn't pregnant yet but how could I pass it up? I figured I would find the perfect recipient for this adorable cross stitch baby quilt, with cute little jungle animals on it. Little did I know, I would be able to do this project for our little one. 

I'm hoping to get started in the next week or so. We have a big wedding this weekend and will be extra busy. I'll be sure to post updates as I go. It will also be my motivation to finish my other in-progress cross stitch project, which I've been slowly plugging away on.

Announcement from Babycakes Crafts

Hello everyone! I mentioned a few weeks ago that I would let you all know why I've been posting a little less lately and taking my time with the projects I've been working on. So...I am thrilled to let you know that Bunch and I are expecting a baby! 

The last couple of months have been filled with afternoon naps and some mild morning sickness, hence my lack of new projects. But now I'm officially in my second trimester which means my energy is picking up and I'm hoping to get back to my crafting room soon. Hopefully I can start working on some baby projects for this little bean too. 

I'm currently working on a birthday gift for my niece and I'd also like to make a tooth fairy pillow, inspired by a project I saw from the Martha Stewart website. I will post updates of these projects soon and I'll be sure to update you on my pregnancy along the way.

Thank you all for your support since I started this blog earlier this year and I hope you'll continue on with me as I begin this new journey!

My Secret Unfinished Project

I'm sure every crafter has one of these - an unfinished project that sits in a drawer or perhaps sits right out in the open, in a mocking fashion...

For me, it is this adorable yet unfinished cross stitch teddy bear bib. I bought this to make and give as a gift two summers ago. The fact that I didn't start it until 6 months after that should give you some clue as to where this story is going. I finally brought it with me on our first anniversary trip to Martha's Vineyard - it was a glorious two weeks with nothing to do but shop, read, take walks on the beach...and cross stitch. I made great strides during that trip and then promptly threw it in my take-home bag. 

Once we returned from our trip, it got to be difficult to make time to work on this project. It was back to work and back to real life. So I left it sitting on the couch, I gave myself self-imposed deadlines but somehow I've never managed to complete it despite the many projects that have been started and finished during this time. 

I'm hoping that this public declaration will light a fire under me and that this project will be finished before the next season starts.  Considering yesterday was the first day of summer, I guess that buys me some time!

What about you - do you have an unfinished project that you just can't seem to complete?