Low Budget Baby Shower/New Mom Gift Idea

Homemade Cocoa Butter All-over Body Scrub

(paired with Young Living Tranquil Essential Oil Roll-on)

You will need:

1 jar/container and embellishments

Body Wash Scent/brand of your choice

Granulated Sugar

Baby Oil

I used this recipe that I found on Pinterest, but I used adult cocoa butter body wash (it was cheaper) and regular baby oil with vitamin E that I already had at home. I used pure cane sugar I already had at home. I also upped the amounts to 1/3 cup for the oil and wash so that I would have some left over for myself. It smelled great and I love it! It's a little runny, but that could easily be remedied with a bit more sugar. It filled an entire jar and then some, making it perfect :)

Really the scent options are whatever you like, or think they will like. Cucumber Melon, Cocoa Butter, Cherry Blossom, Lavender, etc. If you did an essential oil scent you could even add real oils to it and that would be a cool touch.

I tied the essential oil right onto the jar for a little added flare and included it's uses and the best places to apply it on the tag. In my opinion this should always be done for those who are unfamiliar with the oils :)

 As you can see pictured above I used a simple piece of pink material (my friend was having a girl) and a plain white ribbon as my embellishments. For your jar/container the options are really limitless. You can go simple like I did, you could bedazzle it, or anything in between. (If you decide to go my route I suggest using a little clear tape or hot glue to hold the ribbon in place so when they take it out of the bag it doesn't slip off.)

Newborn Tutu

I made my very first tulle tutu last week for my new arrival and it turned out so cute! I was very proud of myself ;)

It turned out SO tiny, but of course it will be big on her. Do you ever look at a newborn diaper and think, "There's no way, they're too small, they won't fit!" Then when your new baby gets one on... they're huge! Ya, that's what's going to happen with the tutu.

I used the loop through method as opposed to knots. 1. It was easier.

2. I personally think it looks better.

I also used ribbon instead of elastic. I taped the ribbon to the back of a chair and just started putting the tulle on until I got my desired length, then I tied the ribbon to finish it off. It's also more adjustable this way and can probably be used in more than one photo shoot.

I can't wait to take pictures of my sweet newborn in this. I have so many good ideas and Pinterest has become my photography go-to! 

Stay tuned. She's due 2 weeks from today!

Informal Maternity Pictures by My Husband

I was having a really rough week and was feeling down several weeks ago so my husband agreed to take some informal pictures to cheer me up. I love pictures :)

I just wanted to share a few with you all!

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Baby Shower Project/Gift

I like to consider myself a pretty creative person, hence this blog! BuuuT I've been slacking as of late. This pregnancy has made me so tired and basically... I just really don't want to do anything! Most of you know how that goes!

Anywho, I made this several months ago for my cousin who had her first baby, a little boy whose name you'll see shortly. He's a cutie for sure! It took a while and MANY coats of paint, but I will list everything I used so no worries :)

 Baby James! I used sponge brushes I already had (pictured below on the plate) and got cheap frames from Walmart. No frame was over $6. I got 3 total frames, and 4 total paints. Cheap craft paint from the  craft section. The green one was outdoor craft paint, only because it was the color we wanted. The wooden letters were also just a cheap bag from the craft section. One bag had multiples of most letters so we only got one.

 I took the back and the glass off the frame and covered my work surface with newspaper. I think next time I'd rather use wax paper as the bottom of the painted area stuck to the newspaper in places. 

I used a disposable plate and put 5 coats of white on the darker frame, and 3 coats on the smaller frames. I also put 1 coat of white on all the letters that I used for his name. I let each coat dry for 5 minutes before I put on the next. 

On each smaller frame I put 3 coats of the color paint, I used a different color for each frame. Each letter got 2 coats of color paint, and the darker frame got 4 coats of color paint. 

After letting them dry with a small fan on low pointed at them (for about an hour to ensure it set) I used a hot glue gun add the funness. Yes, I just said funness even though it's not really a word...

I glued his first name on one frame and on a different part of the other smaller frame I glued his middle name. I used similar color buttons in a zigzag pattern along 2 sides of the bigger frame. (I already had them from a while ago, but they were purchased from Robert's Arts and Crafts store)

And this is how it turned out! Cute, huh? I used some of the maternity pictures I took of her (had them printed at Sam's bc the prices are best there) and put those in the frame so they were already ready to be put up in the nursery!

Baby Projects

Wow, it's been a while! I am such a scatter-brained pregnant mom that I have been SO bad about blogging. I'm working on getting better though! When I have the funds and time I really want to start on some fun projects for my new little bundle. I have some super fun stuff in mind! Headbands, onsies, a quilt...

Anywho, I finally opened up my sewing machine that my Mom got me for Christmas. It was pretty intimidating since I've never really been the sewing type. I've always been the glue gun type. Anyone with me? Needless to say, it was quite the ordeal just trying to figure this thing out! 

I finally got a bobbin threaded and figured out how to follow the instructions and get the machine threaded so I could start on my first project, a burp cloth. I have 4 of them so far, but none of them are finished. I still need to learn that invisible stitch to finish them up.

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And this is my sewing machine! So pretty :) Once I got started and actually used it it wasn't so bad! I think I actually enjoy it just a bit.

 And my first burp cloth! Those were supposed to be actual corners... but they're a little rounded. Oh well. Practice makes perfect, right?

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This was my first attempt at round corners. Not too shabby, eh?

This one was my first attempt at the shoulder cut style (supposed to fit better over your shoulder) and it came out a bit crooked, but hey, it was my first try!

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My husband asked me to also make him some rice bean bags for his gun case to soak up any moisture that will find it's way in there. I made them with the only material I had which was girly! lol

Husband's Christmas Project

My husband... what a guy. He amazes me at times and makes me crazy at others. You all know how it goes ;-)

He is a handy man, and although he has his personal training certification, he is still an incredibly creative guy and so good at what he does. 

He took on a cool project this past Christmas to hand-make a gift for his brother-in-law, who happens to be pretty in love with Jack Daniels. Typical guy, right?

So I just wanted to share a few photos of what he made! It's pretty cool!

First he found and cut out the right size board. Then I printed out a Jack Daniel's sign for him. He placed it on top of the board and used a ball point pen to trace out the letters pushing into each on to make an indent.

 He used a Drummel to trace/carve out the words in the Jack Daniel's font.

 After finishing with the drummel, he burned the letters with a torch, sanded, burned some more, sanded some more until he was satisfied, and then he stained it. 4 times. lol

He put hangers on the back and presto! Needless to say, the brother loves it and they are going to hang it up next to their bar in their basement which my husband also built.

I love being married to such an amazing man :)

Megan Maternity Session

I got the privilege of taking maternity pictures for my beautiful cousin Megan a couple months before she gave birth to her adorable son James. These were taken inside the old section of our local library. I don't have photoshop and I'm not a professional, so these were taken just to play around, but I just love them :)

I love this shot, too :) 

I kind of love Black and White... 

 This is one of my favorites. We found this little art display studio and were allowed to get a few shots inside.

Give It Up For The King Of Creativity

Today I just wanted to give a shout out to the King of Creativity, the one and only Dr. Suess, less commonly know as Theodor Suess Geisel. This Children's Literature Icon sadly passed away in September 1991. The anniversary of his death is in 4 days.

*I did not draw this picture and do not own the rights to it. This is a tribute photo of the Children's Literature Icon, Dr. Suess. 

Artist Unknown. 

Here at my house we are BIG Dr. Suess fans. We own most of his books, but not enough! 

Some of our favorites include:

The Cat in the Hat

Green Eggs and Ham

Are you My Mother?

Go Dog Go!

To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street 

(Go Dog Go! & To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street were written by P.D. Eastman, but are considered part of the Dr. Suess collection)

There are two at Barnes and Noble that we have our eyes on right now for Cmas. One about the inner workings of the human body, and the other about things you can do that are good for you. Of course he didn't write these, but they belong to his collection and legacy. We especially LOVE Suessical the Musical! It wasn't written by him either, but it was written and compiled based on his books.

As a tribute to his memory and his life's works, I wanted to share some of my most favorite quotes by him. A couple are from Suessical the Musical, some are things he said, and some are from his books.

The two I hear quoted most often are:

"Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you."

*from Happy Birthday To You!

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"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."

More Famous Quotes:

"I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living. It's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope, which is what I do, and that enables you to laugh at life's realities."

"A person's a person, no matter how small."

*from Horton Hears a Who!

"Why fit in when you were born to stand out?"

"So when life's going wrong, and the fates are unkind, and you're limping along and get kicked from behind... Uh! Thank your lucky stars you've gotten this far, and tell yourself how lucky you are!"

*from Suessical the Musical, taken from Oh, The Places You'll Go!

"We are all a little weird, and life's a little weird, and when we find someone who's weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love."

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind."

And possibly one of the most important quotes from one of the most beloved books that has recently been made into a movie:

"It's not about what it is. It's about what it can become."

*from The Lorax

This man was truly a visionary! He is a creativity inspiration. When I get to throw my kids are big joint birthday party in the next year or two, it will probably be Dr. Suess themed.

He was one of the most creative people to ever live, and his life and legacy have touched many lives. Even mine and my children's, as his books helped my oldest daughter learn how to read, and will be used to help my youngest daughter learn to read as well.

I hope you enjoyed my favorite of his quotes. Feel free to add your favorites in comments. I would love to hear them!

In conclusion I leave you with these two last quotes:

"And will you succeed? You will, yes indeed! Ninety-eight and three quarters percent guaranteed!"

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"The more that you read the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go."

My First Maternity Photo Session

Recently I had the opportunity to take some maternity photos of my beautiful friend Meri who is having her fourth baby, but her first girl. She was VERY excited and I was so grateful that she would let me share this part of the experience with her. Here are some of my favorite shots from the session. The spot we chose turned out perfect! I'm very pleased with the turn out.

^This was my own idea, not from Pinterest or a website or anything. SO cute, right?

 These two belly shots are two of my favorite from the whole session!