A friend of mine is getting ready to have a baby shower. We were discussing baby shower ideas which made me reflect back to my own baby showers. One sweet baby shower idea is to have each guest fill out a list of wishes for your baby. I included a PDF at the bottom of this post with the wish list my mom made for my baby showers. She placed a list for each guest at their place setting with a cute pencil (it was sort of a pain sharpening all the pencils but they looked cute!). Everyone filled out a wish list for baby before we ate. Later my mom put them all in this book she gave me. It makes for a sweet baby shower idea and a gift my baby will have forever. It's also fun to look back and read the sweet messages your friends and family left for your baby at her shower. I love this book my mom put together for me from Sophia's baby shower. It's a pretty vintage looking book with clear pockets on each page. My mom made this emblem for the cover page. Each guest filled one of these wish lists out for Sophia. Each card was placed in the book. I have the book for Sophia to read one day when she's old enough. Wishes For Our Baby wishes for our baby (boy) … [Read more...]
Too Many Toys?
Do you ever wonder if your child has too many toys? Do you wonder if they are bored with their selection of toys or not stimulated by them? I came across a great book titled Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne. The subtitle of this book reads; Using the extraordinary power of less to raise calmer, happier, and more secure kids. This is comforting advice regarding my child having too many toys. This is a great book and highlights four tips regarding children and toys. 1. The number of toys your child has should be dramatically reduced. The author writes,"As you decrease clutter, you increase a child's attention and capacity for deep play." She explains that too many toys can be overwhelming for your child. This makes sense. I feel most calm when I have less excess stuff; when my closet is cleaned out and organized, and my drawers are de cluttered. This is when I feel like I can focus best. 2. Organize the room so your child can only see a few toys at a time. It is best to put most of their toys away so they can concentrate on a few at time. Too many toys is too much of a distraction. 3. Reduce the number of books they have in their room. Dr. Payne writes, "Kids need the … [Read more...]
Shadow Boxes & Baby Clothes
I love the way shadow boxes look, especially with baby clothes in them. Shadow boxes and baby clothes are a great way to add art with meaning to your baby's room. Shadow boxes can also display your baby's keepsakes beautifully. Last time I was at my mom's I took a picture of this shadow box she has on the wall above the baby's crib. It gave me some inspiration to make my own. I haven't gotten around to making one yet but I found a few more shadow boxes I like and thought I'd share them with you to maybe inspire you to make one. Shadow boxes look really great with any sort of keepsakes or memorabilia in them {not just baby clothes}. This shadow box with a baby sweater is from my mom's house. She put some pink and white checked fabric in the back and pinned a cute little Polo sweater in it. A shadow box from Pottery Barn Kids. I love the silver plate, spoon, baby shoes, and picture. It's so simple. This another shadow box from Pottery Barn Kids. This is cute for a little boy's room. I love the hand print. This is from Restoration Hardware Baby. The simple pink dress in the white framed shadow box looks so pretty in this little girl's room. Another shadow box from … [Read more...]
Motherhood Has Changed Me For the Better
As I was sorting through photographs of Sophia this morning, I thought about how motherhood has changed me. I thought about how my life has changed for the better since Sophia's arrival. I thought about how the center of my universe has shifted to her, giving me so much to celebrate. I thought about her being this little person that somehow I never get tired of being around. Most days are really fun with her. Sure, there are times when she is fussy and whiny. There are times when I feel really exhausted from the juggling act but I still love being around her. It’s a different sort of love than anything I’ve ever experienced. She’s a delight and when I’m away from her for even a couple of hours, I really start to miss her. Since I've entered the world of motherhood, my priorities have shifted and Sophia has helped me realize what really matters in life. I’ve noticed my values have sharpened knowing I’m setting the example for another person and her tiny pair of eyes constantly fixed on me keeps everything in perspective. Motherhood has changed me for the better because I find that things that once seemed important are now less important and Sophia has helped me discover an inner … [Read more...]
Tights into Leggings
Ever thought about turning tights into leggings? I have a bunch of tights that Sophia has grown out of and the weather is warming up. There is no need for tights this time of year but I do like the look of leggings under a dress. This is another super easy project: turn your tights into leggings. First, you will cut off the feet as close as you can to the heel. Next, pin under the cut edge of the tights. You can stretch the tights and use a sewing machine to sew the cut ends under or hand sew. Now you have turned tights into leggings. They look a little more finished when they are hemmed as opposed to just cut off. This is super easy to do. After you sew, the bottom might look a little stretched out. I used my iron to bring it back down. New pair of leggings! I showed you how to make these rose petal flowers last week. Here are a couple more I made. These look so cute on and are great for photographs. They would probably be best for little girls a couple years older that won't pull them off. If you would rather not make these, you can purchase them in the store. I made this flower out of the same material I used for the drop cloth table runner. You can also … [Read more...]
Rose Petal Flower Headband
Here is another tutorial to show you on how to make a rose petal flower headband. I found this idea on Pinterest. It was on I Heart Nap Time. I have fun making flowers to put in Sophia's hair, even if they only stay in for 10 minutes. If they stay in long enough to get a picture, then I'm happy. I know that sounds a little ridiculous but I have fun dressing Sophia up with flower headbands in her hair! You will need some cotton fabric (enough to cut 10-12 2 inch wide circles), scissors, a pencil, a glue gun, button, elastic or headband. Begin by tracing something you have that's circular shape and about 2 inches in diameter. Trace 10-12 circles onto your fabric then cut them out. Place a small amount of hot glue on the bottom part of the circle (as seen in the picture). Pinch the other side to the glue and repeat with all the circles. Glue the petals together to form a rose. Glue a button in the middle and attach with glue to a headband. It's so hard to get pictures of her these days without her looking away or sticking something in her mouth! Pretty cute, I think. I love the bigness of the flower. I think the bigger the better. If you're not into making one, you can … [Read more...]
Feeling Thankful Today
I'm feeling thankful today. We have had beautiful Spring weather this past week. Sophia and I have taken advantage of some outdoor time at the park. The sun has been warm and the smiles seem to be more abundant than usual. This weather has made me feel especially thankful for so much goodness in my life. I realize how easy it is to get caught up in the monotony of life. The each-of- these- days is just like the other, sort of thinking. It’s easy to become complacent and to lose perspective. So quickly I can lose sight of just how lucky I am to have been born into the privilege of a loving and supportive family. It's easy to lose sight of the privilege I have had of being born in a country where I have had access to good healthcare, great education, and so much opportunity. I could have easily been born somewhere else with less of a chance. It’s easy to be greedy and to forget just how lucky I am to have food in the fridge, clothes to wear, a car to drive, a bed to sleep in, and so much more than the basic necessities. There are people who don't have any of these things that I often take for granted. It's easy to think I want more and to forget how much I really have. It’s easy to … [Read more...]
Decorative Felt Flowers
These felt flowers are fun to make. They are super simple and you can put them on anything. Glue a felt flower to a headband, hair clip, bag, hat, clothing, or top of a package for an added touch. They also make cute gifts after you have attached a felt flower to a headband, clip or bag. They really do look cute. All you need is some felt, beads and a needle and thread. Draw three flower shapes in three different sizes on a piece of felt, cut out your shapes, stack, place a bead on top, and sew together. Draw a leaf shape if you like, cut out, and sew to the bottom of the flower. It's that easy! Glue a flower to a hair clip. Attach a flower to a headband. Stitch a flower to the side of hat. Sew a flower on the front of your little girl's purse. You can sew them on a plain colored sweater, shirt, or dress. Also, don't worry about the flower shapes being perfect, just draw a simple shape and they look great even with imperfections. They don't have to be perfect to look good! … [Read more...]
Lampshade Makeover Idea
Here is a lampshade makeover idea. Here are the two shades and lamps. The before shade is on the right and the (partial) after (covered shade) is on the left. I've had these little Pottery Barn lamp shades and lamps for seriously 10 years. That's a long time for me to hold onto something! I held onto them for so long because at one time, they were really cute. After all these years, they were looking drab and needed a makeover. This is another simple idea for you on how to makeover a lampshade. You don't have to follow it exactly but maybe it will give you a little inspiration to makeover an old lampshade. I traced the shade on a piece of canvas type of white fabric. After I traced the shade onto the fabric, I cut it out and used a glue gun to glue the fabric to the shade. The shade is beaded, so there is no way to make the cover smooth. I think it turned out fine though. I glued the bottom edge in and then cut four slits in the top, put glue on the pieces and glued them down. The first picture in the post shows what the shade looked like after I covered it. I decided to coordinate the shades with the pillows I recently made. I cut four strips of fabric, created pleats using … [Read more...]
28 Favorite Free Fonts
There are so many great free fonts out there. I picked 28 favorite free fonts to share with you. These are the fonts I probably use most often. It is fun to create invitations, cards, or notes when you have a variety of pretty fonts to use. These are all free! Hover over the title of the font and click on it. You will then be taken to the web page where you can download the font. Most of these fonts come from dafont.com. This is a great site. It explains to you how to download the fonts and it has new free fonts all the time. Check it out and you can come up with your own favorite free fonts. … [Read more...]
