Oh baby!

I spent part of a recent Saturday guessing how long to cut the "tummy tape," trying not to say the words "baby" and "July," and attempting to fill in the missing words in nursery rhymes. And if those all sound like extremely strange things to be doing on a Saturday, then you may not have been to a baby shower recently!

The baby shower was for an old friend of mine that will be delivering her first little one this July. I really wanted to give her something special and unique that would make her smile- but without making my pocketbook cry, if you know what I mean. I went to work on finding an idiot-proof craft or two that even I could do! (I'm not crafty, remember?!) What I found was a tie-applique onesie and a "love me some abc's" picture. (If you like the picture, keep reading for the free printable!) It was all super easy and fast. And call me the "Clark Howard" of crafting, but it was all under 10 or 12 bucks!

The first gift was this precious tie-applique onesie. And guess what? It can be completely no-sew, which is awesome for those of us who generally develop hives at the thought of using a sewing machine!

And no, I did not think of this idea on my own- I am really not that creative! I found the idea on the Crap I Made blog {Check it out here}. She gives an amazing tutorial and even the free tie pattern, so I won't even attempt to "top it!" (I did want to note that if your Wonder Under isn't peeling off like it should, turn up the heat on your iron and try it again!)

I really get excited thinking about the possibilities of Wonder Under + fabric + onesies! I mean you could put anything on a onsie! I decided to make a little bow tie onesie, for all of the baby's "formal occasions." I used some orange cardstock and a marker to make a pattern for the bow tie. I thought it could have used an extra detail or two, like some buttons or a vest, but overall, it certainly makes a statement! {Click Here} for the (very rough!) pattern I used.

I am not the only one who gets excited about Wonder Under + fabric + onesies, either! Soon after I made these I found these precious DIY applique onesies on the Daffodil Design blog. The post {read it here} even includes templates for the little birdie, giraffe, and elephant that you see in the picture!

Photo from Tatertos & Jello Blog

So cute! And then there's the "I love me some abc's" picture that I made for the nursery. I've seen these pictures on Pinterest and Etsy and even on T-shirts and figured it would be a cinch to make my own. It really was! I just used a Microsoft word document and a piece of cardstock. I got the 8x10 frame from Wal-Mart for $3.00. I wasn't sure if she would prefer blue and brown (to match the nursery bedding) or green and brown (to match all of her baby accessories), so I stuck both in the frame! (Due to the limitations of documents to have really small bottom margins, I cut off the extra paper on the bottom and added another piece of cardstock behind the picture.)  See the bottom of the post for the free printable!

So that's it. With a little bit of ingenuity and creativity, I think that I gave my friend something special. I hope that she will smile each time she puts her little guy in a tie or bow tie onesie or sees the Abc frame that says exactly what she feels for her son. And it was all extremely easy on my wallet, too! Now on to find some crafty bridal shower gifts...

Want some more DIY baby shower gifts? Check out {this awesome blog} for even more ideas!

Thanks for reading,
Mary


{BLUE I love me some abc's picture}
{GREEN I love me some abc's picture}
{PINK I love me some abc's picture}
{PURPLE I love me some abc's picture}
{YELLOW I love me some abc's picture}

Not so craftsy craft blog...

Okay, so here's the deal. I recently became obsessed with all things Pinterest. Pretty pictures, great ideas, cute quotes, crafts...It is simply wonderful. I found through my love of Pinterest that just about everyone on earth now has a blog- well, at least all of those crafty stay-at-home moms have one.

In reading through their tutorials and looking at their perfect pictures, I found myself rather disillusioned. I mean, I am not crafty, don't have much extra moo-lah for fun and games, and don't have twenty hours to roll book pages into flowers for a wreath. And did I mention my severe lack of artistic talent? (My art teacher in elementary school gave me one compliment the entire time I was in her class. She complimented the flower I drew, which would have been very uplifting if the picture was actually a flower and not a clown.)

Don't believe me? Oh, well it's true. I would like to illustrate my point with the following. We will call it "Exhibit A."

I found this beautiful cake at the I Am Baker blog (http://iambaker.net/red-velvet-strawberry-shortcake). It was my inspiration for an incredible Valentine's dessert that would knock my husband's socks off. I mean, it's truly lovely, right? I read the instructions over and over and spent a month dreaming of how gorgeous it would be, sitting there on Valentine's Day in our apartment, John looking at it and just knowing from the bottom of his heart that this is what a perfect Valentine's Day looks like and thanking God for giving him such a crafty wife. Unfortunately, this is what John saw on Valentine's Day:

No, it's okay. Laugh, judge, shake your head in disappointment, because, this, dear friends, is all the artistic talent that God has given me to work with. And all these blogs from the Wonder Moms aren't helping my self-esteem. So this humble blog is my attempt to help people like me, normal people that have day jobs, budgets, and are not capable of creating a Vera Bradley look-alike casserole dish cover out of a milk carton and jar of Modge Podge to still enjoy the DIY project process.

I plan to post my attempts at recipes, craft projects, decorating, and party ideas right here. The good, the bad, and the ugly. After all, we all could use a creative outlet in the middle of our day-to-day lives, right? Stick with me; this should be fun!

Loving Jesus,
Mary