babies here, there, and everywhere!

I'm surrounded by the sweetness of babies!!

My good friend, Kim, had her sweet baby boy a month ago and he is the cutest little thing! I love when I get to hold him and he snuggles up to me and I breathe in that wonderful baby smell. Can you say BABY FEVER!?

I wanted to give Kim a gift that she could use and appreciate. And since I knew that she was set to go with so many things already (this is her third), I designed her baby announcements and put them together for her to be able to send out to her family and friends. This was my gift to her and her family.

I've already posted Bradley's announcement on my HB Creative Design site, but I just had to show off his cuteness here, too! I just love that wrinkly little forehead.


Kim is also on the MOPS leadership team and all of us on the team decided to pitch in to bless her (and Bradley) with diapers!! {Yes, I took a picture of diaper boxes.} Although I didn't wrap them up, I couldn't resist adding some ribbon and a cute gift tag. Sometimes the thoughtfulness can come through in the presentation of a gift...even with diapers!

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Just last Sunday I went to a friend's baby shower who will be expecting her 2nd little girl sometime in the next month...she hopes sooner than later! (Right, Ang?) I wanted to do something different and unique for her since she had been blessed with so many girly things already. I bugged her a little to find out what colors the new baby's room would be, and even tracked down the bedding online that she'll be using in her room. I took the printed copy of the bedding with me to the scrapbook store to find just the right colors!

Here's what I came up with! (By the way...I was able to see Jolie's new room that awaits her and oh my goodness -- it's CUTE! Great job decorating, Angie!! I love it!)

Of course, to finish off the gift I had to do a little wrapping to match. Don't you just love this polka dotted paper!? I found it in the Christmas stash at 50% off at Michaels Crafts, but I have a feeling it will be used for anything but Christmas!

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One of the greatest blessings after you have just had a baby are all the meals that you are blessed with! I love being able to help out a friend (or even an acquaintance) who has a newborn, just to make their day a little less stressful and for her not have to worry about preparing dinner for the family. I was able to bless a mom and her family awhile back (a gal from my MOPS small group) with a meal, but it was just one of those weeks that was crazy busy when it was my night to bring the meal. So, instead of making a home cooked meal like I wanted to, I grabbed a frozen lasagna, bagged salad, and some bread from the store. I wrapped it up with some ribbon and attached a little note with my blessings. I'm a strong believer that it's the thought and care that counts...even if there's no time for a home cooked meal!

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And speaking of babies...I just got word Wednesday evening that one of my best friends from college had her FOURTH little baby on Wednesday, one day past his due date. Sweet baby Levi is finally here and I just can't wait to meet him!


**Don't forget! Today is the LAST DAY to link up to our Christmas-themed decor monthly craft challenge. I'll be randomly choosing a winner from the participants and someone will receive a fun little gift from me! Head on over to see all of the craftiness of the season or link up a creation that you have been working on!

creative & unique baby gift

Many of my friends are having their 2nd or 3rd (or 4th!!) child. (Hello, baby fever!!) Sometimes it's tricky for me to come up with a unique gift for those who might already have all of the clothes or baby accessories they need. Diapers are always a necessity, but let's face it sometimes it's a lot more fun to give something that is a little more creative than that! And I love giving gifts so the wheels are always turning! Creative gift giving has always been a passion of mine.

A few weeks ago, I attended a baby shower for a friend of mine who had just had her first baby girl, but second child. The invitation said that she had already been blessed with lots and lots of girly baby clothes, so I knew my fun shopping trip for the perfect baby girl outfit was out! So, instead of going towards the practical side in the form of a gift card or diapers (which, don't get me wrong, are ALWAYS great to receive!), I decided to use my creativity and created an 8x10 picture art of her new baby girl that could be used as wall decor for her nursery. I swiped some of the pictures off her blog and thankfully she had also posted some pictures of the nursery, so I knew there were going to be butterflies. And, lucky me, she even included the meaning of her baby girl's name that I decided to include.

Here is the finished piece...


For those of you who don't know, I dabble a little bit in creating photo cards in my "spare time". Since starting my Stampin' Up! business, I haven't done as much with this as in the past, but I still create when I can or when others want me to. In fact, for a very good friend of mine who just had her third, I will be making her new little guy's birth announcements as my gift to her. And, soon, I hope to design our family's Christmas card.

It's always fun to give a gift that comes straight from the creativity of your mind. I figure if I've been given a talent, then I should use it to bless others and not just keep it for myself! This works for me!!

For more Works for Me Wednesday, visit We Are That Family.

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Don't forget...tomorrow is the LAST day to link up your photo project to this month's craft challenge. Now, that I think about it, this post actually fits the challenge! A new challenge will be posted on Friday, so come on back!

teddy bear, teddy bear

Our new neighbors who moved in this last Spring just had their baby on July 5th. I wanted to give them a little something to say congratulations on their new arrival! We knew they were having a little girl, so I wanted to buy her a sweet little outfit. I love the chance when I get to shop for little babies, especially girls!! Since when did my own little baby girl get so big? How cute is this little summer dress!? (Shh...don't tell, but it was only $2.99 on Target Clearance!)


Of course the dress needed something else added with it to make it a complete baby gift, so I looked in my little gift container that I have on hand for just these occasions and I found this cute little {brand new, but stored away for awhile} teddy bear. Obviously, it instantly screams BOY with the blue bow around the teddy bear's neck. Nothing that can't be fixed, right?


I took the blue bow off and changed it up with a new one. I do wish that I had something that was PINK, but I had to make do with what I had. So, this was what I went with. I love the green and purple, but hopefully the blue doesn't overpower it.


Of course, to finish off the gift I had to make a card. And, how about a teddy bear to match!?

staying on top of it all

Lots to do today...trying to stay on top of it all!

I had grandiose plans to try to do something fun and exciting this week to share for Kid Friendly Friday at I Blame My Mother or Friday Book Project at Just For Fun, but those plans quickly lost their momentum with still battling a sick and very crabby 17-month old. Thankfully, he's on the mend and a little more back to his old self. I've actually seen him smile! I miss that...

I've also been doing a lot of prep work for this Monday's MOPS. I'm the creative activities leader and create the monthly newsletter, so needless to say the week before MOPS I'm busy doing some planning. Thankfully I've gotten myself into a routine and do a little each week. As of today I'm all ready to go! (Thanks to my mom for entertaining the kids yesterday and helping me prepare the craft. Do you have to leave on Tuesday?) I'll look forward to sharing March's craft with you hopefully sometime this week. If you'd like to see some of the crafts we've created so far, check them out HERE.

This weekend is going to be quite the blur! So, I've decided to take a 2-day blogging break, which is probably what I should do on the weekends anyway, but blogging is just so addicting, you know? Maybe I'll use the weekend for catch up on my blog browsing, which I am SO behind on. Don't worry, I'm hopefully headed your way...

Tonight my husband is having a Poker Night with the guys, so I'll be busy preparing some snacks for that. But, of course, that means hitting up the grocery store first. It's nice out, so maybe we'll go for a walk instead of drive. I think we need a little fresh air! Along with making the dip and buying groceries, cleaning (or at least straightening up) should be on the agenda, so during naps I will try to tackle this. Not what I wish I were doing, but it's gotta get done!

Tonight, the kids and I will be heading to my mom's house to hang out, so that we don't bother the guys. My mom accepted the challenge of having the kids overnight while I come home later in the evening and wake up early on Saturday to head off to the Creating Keepsakes Scrapbook Convention in Portland. This was a birthday gift from the hubby! I'll be spending most of the day at the convention with friends and then finish the evening with some scrapbooking at a local scrapbook store. I wonder if it's possible to get scrapbook burn out? I guess we'll find out!

And, because I have to share something fun besides just blabbing, here is the baby announcement I created for my good friend who just had her 2nd little guy at the end of January. Head on over to HB Creative Design for more photo cards that I've created if you're looking for something to do!


Try not to miss me too much over the weekend! Just kidding... I know you all have much more exciting lives than I do! I'll be back in full swing blogging mania on Monday and have some fun things to share next week!

And lastly, don't forget...it's not too late to link up for this month's Craft Challenge. It doesn't have to be anything new. It can be something you've already posted and created with the circle scalloped punch. I'll leave up Mister Linky until Thursday. If you haven't checked out the ideas that have already been shared, please take some time to do so! You will love what you see! I'll be announcing the giveaway prize for one lucky participant and next month's "mission" by Tuesday!

talk about a baby shower

Updated to add on 4/3/09: This party was featured on Creative Parties & Showers.
Updated to add on 4/20/09: This party was featured on Tip Junkie.

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On Sunday, I had the pleasure of co-hosting a baby shower for my dear friend, Ambria, who is expecting her 2nd baby girl at the end of March.

We decided for the theme colors to be pink and green (pickles & ice cream if you will). Instead of the typical cake for dessert, we opted for a sundae bar for the sweetness factor.


Here's just a little something to welcome the guests. (Can you say $.98 on clearance at Target? I'm not cheap, I'm thrifty.) I was a little hesitant with the purple bows (remember the colors? pink and green), but figured no one else but me would notice!


I had to come up with fun little (themed) prizes to give away throughout the shower: whoever had a sticker underneath their plate, whoever's present was the 7th one to be opened, and whoever had the most toppings on their ice cream. I snapped this picture after two of the prizes had already been given away. There was also a prize for one of the games which included a notepad that said Sweet!, a scoop, and some Ghiradelli chocolates.


Unfortunately, I can't take credit for these little favors. I hosted this shower with another friend of the mommy-to-be who whipped out these cute little things. However, I did buy the little tins (on 75% off clearance), so does that count? These are the most adorable little things and I was so thankful to be hosting with someone who is just like me. (Thanks, Andrea!)


One of the games we played was Baby Pictionary. The team who won got to take home a set of 4 little note cards. Notice the pink and green polka-dotted ribbon. My mom was helping me put some of these together and she casually mentioned, "Wouldn't that be cute if you had pink and green ribbon"...and guess what, friends? I had pink and green polka-dotted ribbon. Genius, mom!


Yummy sundae toppings included: Oreo cookies, gummy bears, Heath bits, peanuts, mini M & M's, chocolate sauce, strawberry sauce, butterscotch sauce, and pickles if you dare!


We went with pink and green right down to the candies (don't you love it?), plates, and napkins! I can't help myself. It's a sickness.


No punch at this shower mostly because we were already having ice cream. So, we opted for raspberry lemonade with frozen raspberries to keep it cool and extra sweet!


Here is some more crafty awesomeness (is that a word?) from my co-host (who sells Stampin'Up!). She whipped these babies up in a matter of minutes...or so she says. How cute are these?? Wouldn't this be a great idea to use with your SCALLOPED CRAFT PUNCH?? (Just thought I'd throw that in there to get you motivated for the craft challenge this Thursday!)


You gotta have some confetti to add a little extra to the table. Homemade confetti if you didn't notice. So easy! Just take a cute punch and go to town.


The completed table of goodies: fruit salad, veggie tray, snack mix, and of course pickles...just in case the guests had a little craving for "pickles and ice cream".


I think it turned out to be a fun time and I know my friend felt honored and blessed. And, that's exactly what I was going for. She deserves it!

If you want to see more of my themed baby shower madness, check it out here.

Sooooo...it's time to start talking and head on over to The Lazy Organizer for more! This week is technically "The Home Tour Edition", so I guess you could say I am stretching it a bit with sharing something that I love to do IN MY HOME. Does that work? Go check it out here.

it only took a year

Updated to add on 5/1/09: This post is part of The Masked Mommy's Beautify Your Home Pow Wow! Go take a peek for more inspiring home decor.





Today, I'm talkin' it up for Talk About Tuesday hosted by The Lazy Organizer. It's the first Tuesday of the month, which means it's the Home Tour Edition...my favorite!



So, there's this little project that I have been wanting to get d0ne, but I have put it off for quite some time now. Oh, let's just say...a year? Yes, that's right, a little over a year ago we had our sweet little boy. And, unlike our first child, the nursery wasn't quite complete at the time of his arrival. I should say that most of it was done because, come on...it's me we're talking about! It just felt like something was always missing. (Not that anyone but me would actually notice.)

In the beginning, I had a hard time finding the right crib bedding for our baby boy. This was kind of a treat for us to be on the hunt because we didn't do the whole crib bedding thing with our first (it's probably because I couldn't find something I liked enough!) Much to my surprise and excitement, the ONE crib bedding set that I really like just happened to be on clearance because it was the floor model and did I mention I had a 20% off coupon?. How lucky was I?! The set came with a bumper, quilt, checkered sheets, and a valance. The diaper caddy was missing, but I wasn't going to use it anyway, so that didn't bother me. Anyway, this started my hunt to turn our room that was once our office into a little boy's room.

Here is what the bedding looks like (this is actually the quilt). I love the colors!


My mom and I took the quilt to Home Depot and found the perfect green to paint the one wall we were planning to repaint. We just held it up to the paint matching machine (is that what they call it?) and woolah! The perfect green! We left the other 3 walls "as is" because they were a cream color that went well. Why change something that works, right?

My next creative endeavor was to help spruce up the bare walls a bit. I just so happened to find some cute little wooden cut outs at JoAnns that looked just like the transportation vehicles as what was on the bedding. Again, I brought the quilt with me and found some acryclic paint and tried to match the colors as best I could.

Here are my little creations (don't look too closely)...


Here's a quick 360 degree tour...

This particular area has been complete from day one...probably the only part of the room that has. I found the square blocks that are on the green wall in our garage just waiting for them to be used somewhere! They were a perfect match to the furniture color. I knew I had saved them for something.


I had painted letters to spell the name of our son. The cute little mobile you see hanging was the final touch to this little corner. It was way to expensive to buy for when Austin was little, but this last summer I found it at a garage sale for only 3 dollars! I thought I could use it just like you see here...a little added decor. It matched exactly to the bedding. And did I mention it was only 3 dollars? In perfect condition.


The same time we hung the "mobile", I finally hung up something above the dresser. It had been sitting bare for over a year and it's the first thing you see when you walk into his room. I had to do something to spruce it up. I also found the lamp you see on the dresser on a shelf in our garage. Seriously that place is a gold mine! The changing table and baskets have been there from day one. My mom made basket liners out of blue fabric with little stars.


And finally, I found this fabric growth chart at a second hand store, and although it isn't the same brand of the bedding set, it couldn't have matched any more perfectly. This is where the mirror used to hang (that is now above the dresser), but with a blank wall underneath.


And now we've come full circle!

Thanks for taking a little tour of my little man's room. It finally feels finished and it actually feels a bit more cozy. One of these days we'll get some books on the bookshelf and maybe even add a few toys. One thing (er, year) at a time, right?


*It's a good thing I've had this little post ready to go for at least a week because there's no way I would have been able to find some time to get it together. I'm barely finding time to breathe these days!

works for me wednesday - themed baby shower gifts

Recently I was invited to a baby shower for a friend of mine who was having her first baby. I was so excited to do some shopping for her little guy and since this was her first I didn't have to be on the hunt for just "practical" things like diapers and wipes. I could do a little splurging because she and her husband were starting from scratch. Many of my friends are on their second or third child, so lately the theme has been "get them what they need". Which, let's be honest, isn't as fun as getting them something a little less practical. I try to get a few things off their registry and then add some other goodies that I think they might like. Since I'm a sucker for themes and I really enjoying giving gifts in a basket or container, I usually go the themed route. Works for me!

I wish I had taken more pictures throughout the years for samples of things I could recreate, but here are a couple I have to share. The first gift is the one I recently gave. The second gift is one I gave over 2 years ago to a friend who was having her second. (I kind of feel like my gift wrapping abilities has gotten much cuter over the years.)

Bath Tub Basket
2 bath tub toys (off the registry), set of washcloths, lotion,
baby bath wash, 2 Baby Einstein washcloth puppets

Changing Table Necessities Basket
wipes, lotion, change of outfit, diaper rash cream, baby powder,
toy for distraction, changing table pad (off the registry)

I thought I would share some other themed baby shower gift ideas...

First Aid Basket
thermometer
first aid kit
electrical outlet covers
finger nail clippers
door locks
infant Tylenol
gas drops

Bath Tub Basket (more ideas that can be added to the gift basket pictured above)
hair comb and brush
hooded towel
rubber duck (with or without thermometer)

Clothing Accessories Basket
booties
hand mittens
onesies
socks
bibs
sleepwear

Feeding Time Basket
formula
bottles
bottle nipples
bottle cleaner
bottle warmer
bibs

Nursery Theme Basket (you can even find out the theme or colors of the baby's room)
baby lamp
outlet covers
blankets
baskets
decorations
crib bedding

Books in Basket
Check out this cute "basket of books" idea over at Buzzings of a Queen Bee that works as a themed baby shower gift, too.

Giving a themed baby shower gift basket always shows that your gift was chosen with extra care and attention. Remember you can be as elaborate as you want or as simple as you want. You don't have to spend a lot of money to make a good impression!

If you have any other themed baby shower gift ideas, I'd love for you to share!

For more of Works for Me Wednesday, head on over to Rocks in My Dryer.

baby shower favor idea

A couple of days ago, I helped host a baby shower for a very good friend of mine who was celebrating the birth of her third child. My other friend whose house we were having the shower at had printed some wallet size photos of the sweet baby with the intentions of using them for the shower invite. When that didn't work out, I decided to try and do something with them as shower favors for the attending guests.

I backed the wallet size photo with white paper and then onto a colored cardstock. I then took some coordinating ribbon and thread it through two punched holes.

On the back, I attached a poem that I adapted to fit the baby's name, including his birthdate at the bottom.
Each guest took home this special little favor to hang on their refrigerator.

baby shower-seeing stars

I love baby showers! I have been a part of the planning process in my fair share of celebrating the arrival of little ones (first it was wedding showers, now it's babies). I am a big fan of throwing a party! Last summer, I was able to help out with a shower that we had for my sister-in-law. Her sister, but also my good friend, and I were the party planners and together we made a great team. She made all of the food (thank, goodness! that's not always "my thing") and I was in charge of the invites, games, and decor. Score! My favorite part of the party! I thought it would be fun to show off a few pictures of the decorations from that shower. Since I love themes, I investigated a bit and found out that the crib bedding in the nursery was going to be stars with blues, yellows, and greens, I thought it would be fun to go with that.

baby shower invite-created by HB

favors we passed out to the guests-
my friend made the cookies, and I made the tags

we even had stars down to the shapes of the cheese-brilliant idea by my friend
I used silver star confetti and then punched out other stars in coordinating colors...check out the colors of the Hershey Kisses...not bad, huh?

Over the years, I wish that I had taken many more pictures of the simple things at the showers I have helped with, like party favors, invitations, decorations, and more. Not only so I could share them with you, but so I could duplicate it easily if I needed to. But, don't worry, I think if I browsed through my files, I could find some fun things to share that I did take pictures of. I might even try to put together the shower games I have created or used.

God's creativity

Enough said.