mini album for baby

A mini album for a new mom with little time on her hands. It is meant to record the first year in a simple way. I keep the album small (6x6") so we don't overwhelm Mom with too many photos or journaling. 

I was fortunate enough to know the baby's name before he was born and could add his initial to the front cover. I also added some coordinating ribbon to the rings of the album to add a little bit more fun to it, I just forgot to photograph it.

I just love making these little books for a shower gift or after the baby is born.  I made one a while back for a little girl that is the pink version of this one, you can find it here.  

The idea is that each month there is space to put a photo and do a little bit of journaling but not too much, just enough. Each photo space is meant for a 3x3" photo and it will have a slight (about 1/8") border of patterned paper once the photo is in place.  I also added some double sided tape to make it easier to mount the photo.

Month number two. As you can see on the left page it would be quite easy to add another small image if desired.

Month number three and on it goes. Once the album is complete it's a great keepsake of the first year or a wonderful gift to pass along to grandparents.

These little albums are great to me for recording a year whether it's a baby's first year or a child's school year, what a great little keepsake.

on-the-go diaper change kit

A few of my friends are expecting babies in the near future which is the prefect opportunity for me to sew something. I made one of my friends one of these on-the-go diaper change kits.  It holds 2 diapers, a change pad (Kushies waterproof change pad with bonded terry) and baby wipes.  What more do you need when you quickly run an errand?

I had originally made one of these change kits using this tutorial but it did not quite turn out has I had expected or hoped for.  So this time I used the same tutorial and this tutorial to create my 'updated' change kit. I like to add a pocket (with elastic at the top) on the front for those extra baby things that you may need like a soother, money or a small baby snack. 

baby shower

I hosted a baby shower (for twins) recently and it was a lot of fun to put together. I try to keep things simple as that seems to work best for me and everyone seemed to have a good time. We did not play any of those games you would expect to play at a shower (gasp, I know) but the neat thing was, everyone seemed to be somewhat relieved. It was just so much fun getting know different ladies at the shower and having no games, allowed for some great conversations...well, that's what I tell myself anyway for not playing any games.

Some of the things that were at the shower were cake pops.  I have a cake pop maker, by babycakes,  and it's the best thing ever. I will say that the machine gets extremely hot and would not recommend kids using this but the results are great.  I was able to make many cake pop balls and freeze them prior to the shower...one less last minute thing to do.  I also made a few mini cupcakes to add to the variety of sweet offerings. Then some fruit, a veggie tray and few cookies. Yummy.

Then we had some napkins folded into little t-shirts which were a hit.  I just love stuff like this. I will try to put together a tutorial on how to do this but I'm sure you can figure it out from the photo, it's pretty simple.

As a shower favour for all the guests, I put together animal crackers in a small bag with a tag on top that thanked everyone for coming. It was simple but cute. And before everyone left we made sure they filled out their address on an envelope so the guest of honour would have on less thing to do when sending out her thank you cards.