Baby Shower gifts

I went to a baby shower a couple of weeks ago for my husband's cousin's wife, who was only a couple of weeks away from having her first baby - a little boy. I was able to get crafty and put together a few things for the new arrival.

Card: Stamp set - Baby Prints and Nursery Necessities

Cardstock - Whisper White, Pacific Point and Kiwi Kiss

Ink - Pacific Point and Kiwi Kiss

Other: Oval punches, Polka Dot embossing folder

Tie Bodysuit to wear to church:

Newborn Snuggler from the Lotta Jansdotter book - Simple Sewing for Baby. Its a simple swaddling cocoon for a new baby. It's made from cotton fabric on the outside and minky on the inside to keep the baby warm.

(I also made one of these for my baby...)  

A quick crafty overview of the past few months...

I've been suffering from crafting ADD the last few months - I start a project, only to stop and start another one, and so on and so on. Plus the baby creating and working and two other little boys have left little time/energy for finishing things. And then there is the whole taking photos/blogging of the actual finished projects :-) But here are a few things I have been able to finish:

A baby girl outfit for a friend's baby shower. This is a combination of the Little Lizard King "Elizabeth Claire" pattern, a scalloped skirt tutorial and the "Diaper Cover" pattern from MADE.

A card to go with the baby outfit:

Toys for my boys - This is the Kinder Boys pattern by Ric-Rac (I haven't quite finished all the clothes for these yet...)

A MiniHoot using this tutorial

My youngest son's 2nd Birthday Cake (from Australian Womens' Weekly Childrens Cake Book)

3 zippered hoodies for my eldest son using Burda 9822

And the occasional card making - this is the mothers day card I made for my mum and mum-in-law.

The Bapron

What is a Bapron? Simply, a baby apron :-) I found this tutorial on Craftiness is not Optional the other day, and thought it would be perfect to make for my 1 year old, who insists on feeding himself :-) It has more coverage than your average bib, and is a little harder for Mr 1yr old to take it off. I used a plastic "table bib" that my dad had picked up somewhere for free and cut it up to make this (and 3 other baprons). I lined the back with a "vintage" sheet (ie I picked it up from an op shop), and made my own bias tape using a Birch bias tape maker I received for my birthday (an awesome sewing tool). The tutorial uses fabric and flannel for their baprons, but I wanted something I could wipe clean (and could keep off beet root stains!). Oilcloth or any other laminated fabric would probably work well too.

And here's an action shot :-)

I went a little crazy...

Do you remember a few posts ago when I showed off the blocks and goofball that I made for my sister-in-law's baby shower? Well, as the baby shower came closer I found more and more tutorials that I wanted to try - I had the material, so I thought why not? ;-) So here's what I ended up making...

I had a couple of singlets put away that were a more t-shirt like material than your general singlet type ribbed material. So I decided to add a couple of sleeves and applique the middle...

(I'm actually working on my first ever tutorial to show you how to make these sleeves... Hopefully it will be up soon!)

A shirred baby skirt from Creation Corner... Yes I am a little addicted to shirring...

A pair of Big Butt Baby pants from the pattern by Made By Rae. These pants are designed with an extra panel in the back to be able to fit over cloth nappies. These are probably more like 3/4 length on a newborn, and I've added a couple of rows of shirring to the legs to make a cuff (yes, more shirring again ;-D)

A nursing cover from the pattern by Christina from Sometimes Crafter:

And I pulled out my Stampin' Up! supplies to make a card and decorate a gift bag:

It was so much fun to go a little crazy :-)

Easy baby presents

My sister in law's baby shower is coming up, so I thought I'd put my crafting "skills" ;-) to good use and make a few things for the new baby. I found this tutorial on Obsessively Stitching for goofballs and had a go at it. Once again I didn't read the instructions all the way through (I'll learn one day) which is probably why my goofball looks more like a goof-egg... but it still works :-)

Then I saw this post on Skip to my Lou for fabric building blocks. This was such an easy thing to make - I actually managed to do them without making a mistake :-) The only thing I would do differently in future would probably be to use some sort of interfacing on the block to help it look more block shaped. I added a couple of little bells inside.

I hope the baby likes them!