Baby #4 Shower

"Baby #4" from Inchmark.

Another cute, but simple baby shower idea. Especially wonderful if you don't know the baby's gender. Wish I had more friends. Maybe my sister will have lots of babies!! :)

First Words Book

"Weekend Project #2" from Party Perfect.

After Sara bought a "First Words" book for her son, she found that the items didn't look like the items she had around the house. So she decided to make her own.

How awesome is that?!?! I love an excuse to make a Blurb book--and this actually makes sense. How adult of us to assume that a baby understands her pink and purple shoes are shoes just like the sneakers in the book!

She also has ideas for a book of relatives as well. How fun!

Hanging Book Display

"How To: Make a Hanging Book Display" found at OhDeeDoh from Megan.

"

Tools:
-A 47-inch by 40-inch piece of fabric (I used Amy Butler’s “daisy bouquet” ) -Two double curtain rod brackets. I bought mine for about $5 each at Lowes, but here are some I found online -Two, 4-foot long wooden dowels or curtain rods that fit into the brackets. Drill and drill bits -Level -Stud finder -Pencil -General sewing supplies, like a sewing machine, thread and scissors -Optional: paint, paintbrush and sandpaper (options 1 and 2) and wooden balls or other end caps for the dowels (option 3).

Steps:
I made this hanging book display to help solve that problem. It’s modeled after school-grade book display cases that show the fronts of books, and hopefully will make choosing a bedtime book easier (and faster!).

1. Fold the fabric lengthwise, with right sides facing, so you are working with a double thickness rectangle that is 47 inches by 20 inches.
   
2. Using a 1/2-inch seam, sew the fabric together around one of the short sides, the long side and about half-way down the other short side.
   
3. Turn the fabric right side out through the opening, poking out the corners with a turning tool (a pencil will do—just don’t poke all the way through).
   
4. Sew the opening shut by folding the raw edges toward each other, then top stitching down that short end of the rectangle.
   
5. Now you’ll need to sew casings for the dowels on the two long ends of the rectangle. You can either do this by measuring the circumference of the dowels and folding that amount of fabric, plus a bit, over or actually laying down the dowel, wrapping the fabric over it, and pinning it along the side of the dowel until you’ve created a tube that holds it.
   
6. Remove the dowels (if you chose the latter route) and sew the casings.
   
7. It’s time to hang the hardware on the wall. Locate two studs four feet apart on the wall where you want to hang the book holder. (Note: my studs were four feet apart. It’s not a bad idea to find your studs before you start the project and make a book hanger that aligns with your studs. Or just use those little plastic things they sell to hold screws in the wall).
   
8. Test out the locations with the dowels. You don’t want the curtain rod brackets to be so far apart that the dowels don’t reach, but you don’t want them so close that the fabric gets bunchy. Mark the stud locations lightly with a pencil. Using a level, mark the points where you want the brackets.
   
9. Pre-drill holes for the screws. Screw the brackets onto the wall. Hang the fabric on the dowels, then insert the dowels into the brackets. The brackets should come with tiny screws that tighten onto the dowels, holding them in place. Load with books. If you screwed the hardware into studs your book holder should be able to handle a good amount of weight, but don’t go too crazy.
   

• Option 1: Before getting started, you could paint the ends of your dowels a color that matches the décor of the room or the fabric.
• Option 2: If you don’t like the color of the brackets, you could paint that, too, with a paint that adheres to metal. Sand the metal first so the paint has something to grab onto.
• Option 3: In addition to or in place of the tiny screws that hold the dowels in place, you could cap off the ends of the dowels with a cute wooden ball or some clever object. I plan to do this but haven’t found the right thing yet.
• Option 4: The brackets don’t jut out very far at all, but if you’re worried about someone bonking their head, sew slipcovers for them with a little padding inside.
• Option 5: If you have enough wall space, make four or five of these and install them above one another. It could be cute to make a rainbow-like display—red patterned fabric for the top one, orange for the next, then yellow, blue, green, and purple."

The Blues

"The Blues" card from Hoote + Annie, found via where the lovely things are.

I'm inspired by this print. Not sure why this popped in my head. But wouldn't this be cool painted on the wall in a nursery or play room. It wouldn't be as overwhelming as a rainbow-bright color scheme, nor as kitschy as a wall mural. Just simply blocks of similar color hues. I think the color names are imperative, too. You've got to admit the words are a little more child-friendly than PMS colors. :) But what wonderful way to inspire creativity in a child--blue, there are so many different shades of blue.

Baby Shower Story Box

"A Story Box" by Kelly Wilkinson, guest blogging at Design Mom.

Oh my... this idea is too perfect for someone I know (who probably won't be having children for another 5 years or so and hopefully isn't reading--however, if you are, would you let me know so I don't post anymore secrets. thanks, dear!)!

What other baby shower ideas could you come up with around writing, stories, etc?

• Everyone brings a storybook
• Favors are mini-journals and pencils
• Theme--"the next chapter of your life"

"All this takes is a sturdy wooden box (a cigar box is ideal) covered with some dreamy illustrations, and digging into your shared memories to come up with a few stories that reveal something about the mom-to-be. We all wrote two or three story prompts that Robyn (or her daughter, when she gets old enough) can pull out and use as a starting point for a story. A card inside the box reads “Tell Ada A Story About…” and the handwritten cards take it from there.

The cards we wrote for Robyn included trips that she and her husband took before having kids…famous (and infamous) stories about our parents…and sweet sentiments about what Robyn imagined her son or daughter would be like.

One of the things I love about this project is that it’s a collective expression, and it manages to capture a wide range of feeling and love and history without being too treacley. Perfect for someone like Robyn, who won’t let you linger too long on why she’s a kickass sister, mom and friend."

Awesome Valentines

Lots of awesome class Valentine's cards from DesignMom.
Here, here, here, and here.

Toddler Crayons

"Project: Making Toddler Crayons" found at Martha Stewart via Say YES! to Hoboken.

We used to always make crayons when we were kids. I had some craft kit with different shapes. This is certainly a project to remember. You can even used cookie cutters and wax paper, I think, to make different shapes.

"Tools and Materials

• Kitchen knife
• Old crayons
• Mini-cake tins (we used pans with heart- and circle-shaped pockets)

Crayon How-To

1. Parents can use the knife to chop crayons into pea-size pieces, taking care to keep colors separate so kids can combine them as they like.
2. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees while children fill the tin with crayon pieces, arranging them in interesting designs.
3. Bake just until the waxes have melted, 15 to 20 minutes.
4. Remove the shapes after they have cooled. If they stick, place tray in the freezer for an hour, and the crayons will pop out."