A Little Gift for a Little One

About two months ago, a friend of mine had a new baby girl.  Admittedly I am running behind on my gifts, but this weekend it rained a lot and I was able to catch up on a lot.  This little gift consists of a hooded bath towel, a receiving blanket, and a personalized burp cloth.  I wrapped and layered them all together and tied them up in white tulle, adding a matching purple bow.  Hope she likes it!

A Purplicious Baby Shower

Purple is not a color I have much experience with. Every woman on my mom's side of the family hates the color, and therefore I never gave it much thought growing up. As luck would have it, Mistress LOVES purple and has picked it as her favorite, and I have begun to realize that I actually like it as well. (Sorry Mom!) So when a friend and I decided to throw a shower for a neighbor having a little girl, we decided to branch out past the traditional color for girl baby showers and go with a purple theme!

First off, the wine charms. I made these using scrapbook paper, a little ribbon, and several oval shaped punches. After printing off different baby themed words in purple on white card stock, I added layers of light purple card stock and dark purple polka dotted paper, and finished the whole thing off with purple ribbon. We served a non-alcoholic purple punch (really good) in martini glasses rimmed with purple sugar. Everyone knew which glass was theirs!

The purple sugared martini glasses...

A closer look at the glass tags...

On the left, the purple punch. We put the canisters on white cake pedestals so that it was easier to get the glasses under the spouts. On the right, ice water. We thought it would be really cute to float purple grapes in the water for some extra color. Just so ya'll know, grapes sink. Live and learn...

For some simple decorations, we made some purple and white pom poms to hang from the chandelier and a purple bunting to hang across the tops of the windows. The bunting was really easy and SO cute! Seriously, 20 minutes worth of time and about $3 worth of fabric and ribbon. I'm sure there will be bunting in my house somewhere soon. I'm thinking over Mistress's windows...

A closer view of the bunting...

When it came to food, we kept it simple. A fruit tray, a veggie tray with red pepper hummus, purple and white yogurt covered pretzels, nuts, and a cheese a cracker tray. Because you HAVE to have sweet at a shower though, my partner in crime made these amazing lemon blueberry cupcakes with purple frosting. YUMMO! I have no photographic documentation, but we also used purple receiving blankets in lieu of table cloths and let the mommy to be take them home for use when baby gets here.

We didn't do any games, just enjoyed chatting with each other. We did do one fun thing for the mommy to be though, everyone wrote her a note on a diaper (using a purple marker, of course) so that when she has those late night changes she'll know that we're thinking about her. Now we're just looking forward to meeting little Miss B in a few weeks!

Green Gift Wrapping

Here's the thing about wrapping paper: it's not all that environmentally friendly and to me it just wastes money. You buy the paper, wrap the gift, and throw it away. Gift bags are a bit better since they can be reused, but they can only be reused for another gift. My mother has taken to giving gifts in pretty reusable shopping totes which is a fantastic idea. I have also seen cookbooks wrapped in dishtowels, a stack of towels wrapped in ribbons, and the ever popular gift basket. When it comes to babies I think it's fun to wrap in receiving blankets!

This weekend a friend and I threw a small baby shower for a neighbor who is having her first in a few weeks. We decided that since she had already had a couple of baby showers that we would just do a stock up baby "sprinkle" to get her going with a stash of diapers, wipes, and other baby items that disappear quickly with a newborn. I started with a package of size 1 diapers, a receiving blanket, and a diaper pin.

Open the blanket up and put the package of diapers in the center. Tuck the bottom up, bring the sides, in, and pull the top down like an envelope, pinning the flap so that it looks like an envelope.
And with just a few minutes and very little effort, you have a cute little gift that won't go to a landfill!

Diaper Cakes

Several years ago I was walking through an upscale boutique and noticed an adorable cake made out of diapers. I was throwing a baby shower for one of my dear friends in the near future and thought it would make an adorable centerpiece so I looked at the price...and almost choked. $100 for a two tier cake made of diapers.

Unbelievable.

I knew I could probably figure it out, and here I am six years later still making these adorable decorations. Here's a quick how-to in case you are planning a shower for someone!

Supplies: One box or 2 large packages of diapers. Personally I like Pampers Swaddlers, not only were they my favorite newborn diaper to use on my kiddos, but they also have a very important quality in a diaper cake: They are white! That makes it easy to personalize it to any gender or leave it gender neutral. One exception, on the occasion I am making one for a baby boy, I do like the Up and Up diapers from Target. They are blue and green polka dot, and paired with blue and/or green ribbon it makes for an adorable combination. You also need some sort of yarn or string and a pair of scissors, and whatever ribbon you want to tie around your layers.

I like to start with the bottom layer. Take 5 diapers and roll them into a round shape. Tie tightly with string.

Now start layering your diapers around the bundle of five. Don't worry about making it too even right now, you can adjust it when your layer is tied off.

Continue layering around in a circle, building up your bottom tier of the cake. You will feel like you need 12 extra hands. This is normal. I would probably suggest you have a partner to help you the first couple of times. I would also suggest laying it flat on a table, I tried to hold it up to show you the process better and ended up exploding the layer in my lap. Also, having a two year old helper to hand you one diaper at a time is great to speed up the process. (Ha)

Once you get all the way around, use string to tie your layer tight. At this point you can turn it on it's side and go around adjusting the diapers to make them even.

Make two more layers. I start the middle tier with three diapers in a bundle, and the top tier with one diaper rolled up. My first cake turned out looking like a marshmallow, don't be discouraged if you have to take a layer apart and add or subtract to make it the right size.

By this point in time, The Professor was home from school and 'offered' (cough *insisted* cough) to take a picture. Apologies to all for my scary lack of makeup. It was a crazy morning.

When the three tiers are done, choose a ribbon to tie around the middle which will hide your string. For boys, I like to forgo the bows and use a diaper pin to fasten the ribbon around the middles. You can also add a topper of a small stuffed animal or blocks.

And there you have it; a simple shower decoration that only costs about $20 to make, but that can be used by mom to be when baby finally arrives. Have fun making one for that special bundle of joy on his or her way!

Baby Bibs!

Nearly seven years ago now when my oldest son was born, we received two baby bibs as a gift. They were beautifully handmade, very practical and I truly appreciated how thoughtful the person was who took the time to make them for us. There was only one thing, while one was blue with trains on it, the other...

...well, here it is.

Pink on one side with ballet hippos on the other side. It was cute and color coordinated, but in case you missed it in the first sentence, we had a boy. I can only imagine that the woman who made these didn't know what we were having and sent one for each gender just to be on the safe side. But the point is that we loved these bibs so much that my sweet little rough and tumble boy wore a pink ballet hippo bib because they were the most practical bib that we were given. It was large enough that nothing spilled down past the bottom and because of the button he couldn't pull it off like the velcro ones that we also owned. He wore it until his little brother came along and it was passed to the next rough and tumble boy in line. It wasn't until nearly five years had passed that the pink ballet bib was finally able to be worn by our little girl, and after almost seven years and I can't imagine how many washings, it is still going strong. Since we loved those bibs so much and since they weren't able to be purchased in stores, I decided to draft a simple pattern from the original so that I could make some of my own for baby gifts. Even though you may not have this bib in your home, you could make one similar using a large bib from the store as a jumping off point.

Project: Baby Bibs

Time: 1-2 hours

Skill Level: Easy Peasy!

Lay your bib out on top of some tracing paper.

Using a seam gauge, make small marks around the edge of the bib to add a seam allowance. I used 1/2 inch.

Make more marks around corners to keep the shape of the bib even.

After making marks around the edge, use a straight edge to 'connect the dots.'

One finished pattern.

Mark an approximate placing for the button hole.

Cut it out! Congratulations on making your first pattern!

Make sure to mark what the pattern is, and record the seam allowance that you used.

I like to use two coordinating prints, one for the front and one for the back. This bib will be for a boy, I chose not to use the pink hippos. Only a small percentage of boys can actually pull off that look...

Pin your pattern to the fabric and cut out a front, a back, and one out of batting. I like to use Warm and Natural, just be sure to preshrink that stuff otherwise the first washing of your new bib will end badly. I promise you.

Now you have three bib pieces cut out.

Layer your Warm and Natural first, your back, (right side up) second, and your front (wrong side up) third. Pin around the edges.

Mark a start and stop at the bottom, this is where you will leave open to turn the bib right sides out.

Now I have to apologize. I was making this for a shower gift and was about 20 minutes from departure time so my pictures are a little sparse. I still think I got all the important stuff though!

Stitch around the outside of the bib, leaving the opening at the bottom. Clip your curves using a pair of pinking shears so that your seams will lay straight.

When all your curves are clipped, you are ready to turn it right side out.

Ta-da! Now give it a good press with your iron.

Pin the bottom shut neatly where your opening is.

Topstitch around the edge. I like a contrasting stitch, so I used a taupe in my top thread and a cream color in the bobbin thread.

Add a coordinating button and button hole. You could use velcro if you want, but I like the button because baby can't pull it off. Make sure to sew the button on tightly, you don't want it to come off because it could pose a choking hazard.

And voila! One finished baby bib! I'm sure I'll be making a lot of these, they are quick and easy and parents really do appreciate them. I think I'll keep the pink ballet hippo one for the future though. After all, someday I might have a grandson.

Ribbon Embellished Baby Towels

There's nothing in the world like the smell of a freshly washed baby. For me it rates right up there with a spring rain, an apple orchard in the fall, or a fresh cut Christmas tree. They come out of the water all wrinkly and pruny, smelling like baby powder, their soft baby skin just begging for a kiss and a cuddle. A baby shower wouldn't be complete without at least a half dozen of those little hooded baby towels for the mom-to-be, but unfortunately we learn all too quickly that they only work for a couple of months before baby is too big to fit in them! When my daughter was born, I had a friend who gave me a handmade towel like the one I'm going to show you how to make. It was by far the best towel I ever got for my kids, and it still fits my children today, even my oldest who is almost seven!

Project: Ribbon Embellished Baby Towel

Time: 60-90 Minutes

Skill Level: Easy Peasy!

To begin, you will need one bath towel, one hand towel the same color as the bath towel, (this can make two baby towels though as you only use half of it) and ribbon that coordinates with your towels.

Start by cutting two lengths of ribbon approximately 1-

2 inches longer than the width of your towel.

Similar to the burp cloths, fold the edge of the ribbon under and begin to stitch as close to the edge of the ribbon as possible. Personally, I like to start the ribbon after the border edge on the towel. You can see the edge better in the next picture.

You can see the edge here that I was talking about. When you get to the end fold the ribbon edge under and stitch to the end of the ribbon.

Turn the corner...

...turn it again, and then stitch up the other side. You will need to go a little slower, the towel loops tend to fold over the ribbon and for the neatest appearance you will need to make sure they are out of the way. When you get back to the top, turn the corners again and end your stitching where the you began. Tie off you threads and weave them in. If you need a tutorial, go to my Jeans...Transformed post for a step by step.

On the other side, either cut off the label or pin it back so it doesn't get stitched into the ribbon. Attach the second length of ribbon the same way as the first.

Set the bath towel aside.

Next take your hand towel and lay it out. Measure to the center and cut it in half exactly.

Set one half aside, you'll be able to make a second towel hood out of this later.

I like to remove all the tags for the hood part. Cut it off carefully so as not to cut the towel.

Fold it in half so the raw edges of the towel are pinned together.

Stitch the length of the raw edge using a one inch seam allowance.

Here's the kind of tricky part. Pin your seam allowance open and stitch up as far as you can go toward the point. Don't worry that you can't get all the way to the end, you'll be getting rid of the point anyway. Just make sure you don't catch anything in your seam that isn't supposed to be there!

Both sides are stitched as far as you can go, now it's time to get rid of that point!

Lay it out as shown here on a cutting table.

Using a straight edge, get rid of the point. I like to measure down approximately 1.5-2 inches. Just make sure your stitching extends past where you cut!

Cut the point off. Stitch your seam closed using approximately a 1/2 seam allowance.

Cut a length of ribbon and attach it to the bottom of the hand towel using the same technique as the sides. Make sure you sew it to the finished side of the towel, not the inside!

Now find the center of the hood and the bath towel.

Match your centers up...

And pin the hood to the towel. You will have the edge of the towel overlapping the finished edge of the hood, right next to where you stitched the ribbon on.

Carefully attach the hood to the towel.

Cut off any stray threads and you've got an adorable little towel that mom and baby will both love!

My oldest, modeling. The bigger the towel, the bigger the kid it will fit!