Category Archives: Baby or Mom

Heirloom Vintage Jewelry Christmas Tree

10th December 2018

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If you don’t think this is beautiful, your eyeballs are broken. Do you know what this is??? My friend Emily’s husband has this from his grandmother and it’s made from all of her jewelry made by her! Oh my goodness! WHAT A KEEPSAKE/FAMILY HEIRLOOM! What an amazing way to pass on something personal and with so much character. This is so priceless! I wish I had one and now I plan to make them from my mom and mother in laws special things, fabrics and jewelry.

You can make this easily by purchasing an unfinished Christmas tree wood piece from a craft store and painting the color of your choice. Then lay out your jewelry design and lift up edges and secure each piece by piece with hot glue or super glue. I prefer hot glue almost always for everything! Don’t feel crafty and don’t want to meet with painting a piece or finding an unfinished Christmas tree pattern? No problem! Buy a wooden Christmas tree from the home decor section at your store of choice and cover it in jewelry. Tis’ the season to find about a million tree options and hey, they are almost all about to be clearanced out! Another cute twist on this idea would be to get a large wood slice, wood wreath form or unfinished wood circle from your local craft store and make an ornate jewelry wreath!

**Here are some options you could use to make a tree:**
unfinished one foot tall wooden tree
Above is available in larger sizes as well. Just paint and remove star if desired. Add wall hangers to make it wall decor!
unfinished wood tree in different style, available from 6 inches to 2 ft. tall
nested plank trees (Remove the stand if desired and paint.)
barnwood tree (Remove wreath and star)
large wood slice to make jewelry wreath

Find someone who you know could start this project, whether it’s a parent, grandparent or a child who has old keepsake jewelry from a loved one. What a gorgeous and special heirloom to pass on for generations of things your loved one once wore and loved! It beats sitting in a box! Thanks to my friend, Emily, for this beautiful picture and for letting me share this treasure!
PIN, SHARE, ENJOY!

Sentimental Farmhouse Decor & Gift Idea

11th July 2018

Okay so, check it. My sister made copies of handwritten recipes that my grandmother had written for me, my sisters and my mom for Christmas. I’ve framed them for my kitchen and I LOVE it!

So this is a double whammy: awesome gift idea AND crazy cheap and sentimental home decor! I adore it! What do you think?

Sarah’s Stitches: Custom Hand Embroidery You HAVE To See

23rd August 2017

Are you familiar with hand embroidery? Girl, I wasn’t either and IT IS GLORIOUS and such a beautiful and intricate craft! The art below is the PERFECT, unique, and customizable gift that you can give, wear or decorate your home with!

Sarah from Sarah’s Stitches make the most INCREDIBLE custom and one-of-a-kind hand embroidery art pieces and jewelry. It’s been a long time since something impressed me this much. She has raw talent and the detail makes me tired just looking at it.

It’s an old fashioned art, but with a modern and custom flare that makes me want to embroider my eye balls to a hoop of it so that I can never look away!

See the bottom of this post for a chance to win one of these pieces!

And now for your chance to win!

You know it is your heart’s desire to win this cactus necklace…

Win this 1.5″ wood mini embroidery hoop pendant on a 30″ brass chain and make your other jewelry necklace that they aren’t handmade.

To enter:

FOLLOW Sarah and her party pants on our Instagram accounts and COMMENT on the post with the Win Me image above. Be sure to take note that Sarah’s Instagram has an “e” between Sarah and Stitches. I made that mistake once before. If you already follow us, GREAT! Just leave a comment as an entry ON OUR INSTAGRAM ACCOUNTS and for good measure, give this post a share on Facebook.

Winner will be announced this Friday on our Instagram accounts! Happy winning! Thanks to Sarah for letting me share her work and for giving the ole’ party pants a giveaway!

Simple Back To School Gift For Mom

31st July 2017

Have you sent your first child to kindergarten? It can stink to the emotional high heavens. Some moms are like “Bye Felicia” while some are crying in their coffee for hours after the first day drop off.

I have an empathetic spot for mommas in the sad bunch because it was a difficult transition for yours truly. I saw these note napkins last year at Kroger and fell in love with them. If you can’t find them at Kroger, Amazon has everything basically. You can probably buy human body parts on there. Anyways….

Wrap these napkins in a ribbon with a pen, small Starbucks card, and little encouraging note. While kids are still little, they love notes from mom and it gives a mom on the struggle bus a way to be there for her kid while they are gone. Plus, your child will typically be reading by mid-kindergarten so you can leave actual simple messages that they can read themselves as the year progresses.

This is also a great little gift for a child starting at a new school! (Disclaimer: Not big kids though because, they definitely don’t want this poppin’ out of their lunchboxes.)

Just a little thoughtful gift from one mom to another! Have a great first day back, whenever that may be for you! Your kid’s will love school and eventually, you’ll love it too. Mommin’ ain’t easy. #momsagainsteducation #babiesforever

Creative and Practical Gift For A Family With A New Baby

14th March 2016

A friend of mine recently had a new baby and when someone has a few kiddos already, you get creative and gift the whole family! I made a practical family gift box (and it literally was a box wrapped in paper) and I included something little for everyone.

What’s in the box?

Mom and Dad’s favorite chips and a drink for each

BabyGanics bubble bath for the 2 big sisters (completely free of all dyes/perfumes and ANYTHING that can bother little girl’s particulars in the bath)

Diapers for the new bundle

A gift card to Pizza Hut for an easy, hassle free meal

Disposable cups and plates to save mom the chore of dishes for a little while

Easy, practical and you can make it anything you want! And before I go, can we get a moment of silence for that killer wrapping paper?!!!! A little known factoid on me: wrapping paper is my favorite and this Ikea gift wrap was so perfect, I bought in two colors! Hollllerrrrrr! The colors aren’t really neon-y in person but either way, killer!!!

Pin, Share, Enjoy!

Gift Idea For Siblings Of A New Baby

6th February 2016

Usually I feature gift ideas that I’ve come up with but this time, this was a gift given to my girls by my long time friend, Katie Dendy. These gifts below are busy bags for big brothers/sisters. She went to the dollar store and filled up bag with lots of dollar items from Grow A Flower kits and sunglasses, to pre-bagged crafts and sticker books. For a dollar a piece, anyone can give this gift and both mom and kids appreciate them for very different reasons. Kids feel special and mom has something to entertain the kids with while she is busy and nursing or when she just needs rescue from the kids boredom.

I LOVE this affordable, fun, thoughtful and helpful gift idea! Thanks, Katie! My girls loved them!

P.S.- The cupcake book came from Target, not the dollar store, and was for my new bundle.

Great Practical Baby Shower Gift Idea

10th November 2015

When a mom-to-be goes to register for her baby, they tend to get all the cutesy stuff and may forget the practical things. I gave this to a girl this weekend and I think it’s a GREAT gift. It’s very practical and really helpful when you need it the most. Baby medicines are pricey for what they are and the bottles are so tiny, you can burn through them easily. Just like diapers, you always need them and once your baby is sick, who the heck wants to go shopping for them?! You need them now! You don’t need them until you do and when you do, it’s sooo nice to have them there!

I piled in all the essential things you need for when a baby is uncomfortable or sick. What’s even better? I put them all in a cute plastic storage box that she can keep all of her baby meds in separately. It’s not just a “gift box”. Here’s what’s inside:

Gas drops

Infant Tylenol

Baby Vapor Rub

Saline Nose Drops/Sprays

Orajel

Pedialyte

Diaper Rash Cream

It’s a good idea (and cute) to put little kraft paper tags with tips on the backs of the boxes for the first time mom like: “You can’t use Ibuprofen until 6 months or older. Once they can, you can alternate between Tylenol and Ibuprofen every 4 hours to treat a fever.” Or, “An infant isn’t considered to be “having a fever” until 100.9.”

I like a gift that is helpful and helps them save money on things they HAVE to have. You don’t have to go out and buy 40 pairs of cute footed jammies, but you will need these things as you raise your babies. Works for me! Pin, share, and enjoy!

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Love A Mom-To-Be From Afar: Baby Shower In A Box

26th October 2015

If my love for creative gift ideas and my love for my friends had a baby, it would be this idea: Baby Shower In A Box. As you get older and your friends scatter, it’s hard to get to them for all of the big events in life. I recently had a friend who was adopting a baby girl and the problem was, she lived in a different city but I still wanted to do something special for her. My idea for a baby shower in a box was born when I thought, “How neat would it be to send to her what I can’t do in person? I’ll send her a party to her door! Her own baby shower!”

Thus, I present to you the idea of planning and creating a party for someone that you pack and ship right to your loved one’s door! You can make it any theme and in any price range. I promise that you will be the only one giving them this gift. It’s sort of a double gift: a party and the gifts for the party.

Special thanks to Joel Ham Photography for making my idea come to life in these beautiful photos. Check them out on Facebook and on their personal site.

Here’s a look at what I created:

This is a baby I borrowed, along with a box I bought and embellished. Using scrapbook paper, chalkboard stickers, and an oil-based Sharpie, I made this “Baby Shower In A Box” label. I will wrap the front in packing tape when it’s shipped so it will be delivered with this on the front!

When she opens the box, the first thing she will see is this handmade invitation I made to match the decor for the front of the box.

What’s in the box? Well, a whole shower so…

An invitation
Cake mix and icing to make the shower treat with her son
Paper goods: napkins and plates
A helium balloon that will pop-up when the box is opened
Gifts: a dress for later, a onesie for now, and a headband to grow with her
Party Game with a game prize AKA a treat just for the mom
Big Bro Bag because you can’t forget the older sibling(s) while showering the new little squirt
Something for the nursery. I ordered the print shown from Mandipity on Etsy.

What’s in the bag? For the sibling bag I just put in a bunch of cheap thrills: bath bombs, Ninja Turtle cup, Ninja Turtle bubble wand, M & M tube, and a party of pack of glow stick glasses and wands. If the bag is for a little girl you could include: nail polish, pink cookies, glitter pens, plastic tiara, or one of the many paperbooks about being a big sister. Lots of popular characters that both boys and girls love have cute books on becoming a big sister/brother.

If you want to go all Martha on the bags, check out my post on Big Sister Bags and Busy Bags for Toddlers for more specific bags that will really make a mom cry tears of jubilee. You can do these for yourself pre-baby to build in a little sanity for after the baby comes. Hey, if no one sends you a bag to busy your kids, by all means, be your own hero.

How did I make the box that holds the prize? I took a plain white gift card box from Hobby Lobby and embellished it to match my party theme. Using washi tape, a doily die cut and a chalkboard sticker, this little box became my favorite party detail. And just for all you curious cats, the prize was a gift card to Starbucks for the mom because EVERY mom needs a little Star-cation.

One small detail you might have overlooked is the doily banner strung on twine across the backdrop. That actually coordinates with the whole theme and will be sent in the box as more of the “party decorations”. A banner can be personalized and used in the nursery or can be pulled back out and used it at their first birthday party. It’s a sentimental touch and I’m a sucker for that.

If you want to add a few pieces that are personal to your special celebration, yet doesn’t require a crafty hand, the home decor space within Shutterfly has everything from custom art, plates, and pillows. I love the chalkboard pillow or woodgrain monogram pillow print for a nursery I also adore the personalized placemats for kids as a big sibling gift.

This gift is creative, personal, thoughtful, and has more possibilities than the Powerball. It’s for any person, for any party, for any celebration! Now that’s versatile! You don’t have to be close to a friend to be a part of the experience. Pin, share and enjoy!