What did you do this week? Light any strawberries on fire?

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Read Part 1 here.

Earlier this week I posted about why I wanted to create an unconventional baby book to document this first year as a family. Today I’m going to share a few baby book ideas and tips for making your own. Don’t feel left out if you don’t have a little person in your life though. Make a journal to document your first year in a new city, the story of how you fell in love or just a little time capsule of all your thoughts, hopes and adventures in this moment of time. (If I ever get a dog, you better believe they’re getting their own journal. How fun would it be to make one of these for a little pup!?)DIY JOURNAL TIPS:
• Use a journal designed for scrapbooking. This isn’t absolutely necessary, but it will allow you to re-order the pages. I wanted to go renegade and use a sketchbook so I’d feel more casual about adding to it on a whim, but I find it hard to know how much space to allow for each section I’ve yet to complete. (Do I have one page worth of Christmas photos or 23 pages worth? Only the iPhoto gods know.)
• Print your photos regularly. I realize this is like saying you should floss every day. Only the most dedicated among us do it. (Unfortunately, I’m not always one of them.) Printing your pics helps the project feel more manageable and significantly increases the chances you’ll actually work on it.• BUT, don’t hesitate to jot down little notes and memories even if the relevant photos aren’t printed yet. Part of my intention with this journal is to document the moments, memories and feelings BETWEEN the holidays and milestones. For that reason, I find it extremely helpful to write down that little stuff as it happens. Not saying I always do it, but I try…
• Step outside the scrapbooking aisle. As I mentioned earlier this week, I got lots of cool scrapbooking tools and do-hickies at Michael’s, but I also found some more traditional “art” supplies that inspired me too. Use whatever fits your personal style!
• Keep some pages simple. Some of my pages get paint, glitter, stencils, fancy paper and a blessing from the Queen of England. Other pages get a few photos and some double-sided tape. Alternating between time-intensive pages and simple ones allows me to document my baby’s first year without missing most of it because I’m buried alive in a pile of paper punches and photo corners. • Tape your trash. Whether your journal is about your baby’s first year or your visit to Vietnam, I love including little momentos from the real world. A used bandaid, the wrapper from a pregnancy test, a tissue with your baby’s first tear on it. They’re all fair game to me. (Most of the journals I’ve made throughout my life probably deserve a bio hazard label on the cover. Keeps the snoopers out.)
• Use a consistent color scheme. Or don’t. I knew my photos were going to be all over the map color-wise, so I decided to stick to a fairly subdued palette with what I added to the journal. If it’s important to you that the journal feels cohesive, this could help unify everything. This is by no means essential though, especially where there are as many cute scrapbook paper prints out there as there are cute babies in the world. • Do your thang! Don’t do what I’ve done or what anyone else has done. Do what feels good to you and inspires you creatively. Your kid is six months old and you want to start now? Great! The point is to create a memento for your child that will encapsulate this special period of time. And most of all, don’t feel like it needs to be perfect. Nothing in motherhood is.

Well, except for maybe your baby.

Aw…

Michael’s provided the supplies for this post. All ideas and opinions are courtesy of yours truly. Check out Michael’s Lookbook for lots of ways to document the memories you want to hold onto for every and ever!

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Here’s the thing about babies: Everything they do is cute. It’s their schtick. Combine that with a camera on your phone and what you have is tsunami of kid pictures. (I dare you to hang out with a baby for a day and keep your phone in your pocket. Not possible.)As a new parent, you want to remember E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G. (If I could bottle a little sample of spit up and tape it in a baby book, I think I probably would.) This is where I ran into problems with traditional baby books. Even the most creative, open-ended ones felt too c0lor-inside-the-lines for me. What if I don’t want to document our first solid foods, but instead want to write a sentence about each day for the first year? What if our first bath was uncharacteristically adorable and I have five great photos of it instead of the three there’s space for? I knew from day one I wanted to create an unconventional baby book, a story of how we became a family. An open-ended scrapbook with plenty of white space to roam was definitely going to win out over a fill-in-the-blank alternative. But much as I love how diverse scrapbooking supplies have become, traditional scrapbooking has never become one of my preferred crafts. (There’s a lot of competition.)

For this baby book, I wanted to create something that felt more like a journal of getting to know each other. So when I went to Michael’s to find inspiration, I stepped outside of the scrabooking aisles to add some more traditional “art” supplies to my baby book plan. Of course, I also picked up some extremely useful scrapbook essentials like acid-free pens. (Use a 40% off coupon!) Because I knew this baby book would encompass many memories, layouts and colorful photos, I decided to keep the accents I used within a specific color palette. My goal has been to jot down periodic notes, doodles and memories in the journal as they happen.

But, I have a 5-month-old.

So, what happens is that sometimes I write things down when they happen, sometimes I write them down way later and often, I just forget them. My hope though, is that through my hazy new motherhood fog, I can somehow document enough molecules of this first year together that the munchkin can look back and know how incredibly loved she is.

And that she was a really cute baby.Later this week, I’ll share more pages from the baby book journal and specific tips for making your own baby’s first year book.

Michael’s provided the supplies for this post. All ideas and opinions are courtesy of yours truly. Check out Michael’s Lookbook for lots of ways to put your crafty fingers to work!

The post Baby’s First Year Journal: Part 1 appeared first on makeanddogirl.com.

What did you make and do this week? Sure hope it included some s’mores and PB&J!

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The Beekeeper’s Quilt—a project that is only for the most manic, masochistic crafters is exhilaratingly close to going in my “win” column. Last night I officially completed my last hexagon. That makes a grand total of 169 hexes. Let’s give a round of applause for those size 4 knitting needles that have been on the job now for over a year. Guys, you deserve a serious break. Plus, I’m not going to knit anything with sock yarn for a very, very long time. In fact, my next project is likely going to be a crocheted clothesline rug or something similarly, gratifyingly bulky.I’ve been sewing my Beekeeper’s Quilt together using a whip stitch on each side of the hexes instead of tying it like the pattern indicates. Although a whip stitch is taking a little bit more time, it makes the quilt reversible and a lot sturdier. Plus, when you’re already over 100 hours in on a project, what’s a few more?

Although I knew I ultimately wanted to sew my quilt together in a hexagon shape, for a long time I was just sewing the hexes together willy nilly. I just wandered about, wherever my seam took me. Now I’m going about the dirty work of filling in the holes to make one large hexagon. The template I created has come in really handy though because it showed me exactly how many hexes needed to be in each row.Now, it’s time to shuffle this Beekeeper’s Quilt through the final stretch. And when it’s finished, I’m going to immediately increase my homeowner’s insurance coverage. I mean, this thing’s gotta be worth at least a million dollars in man hours.

Read more about my Beekeeper’s Quilt:
Why I Fell In Love
The Yarns I’m Using
How I Tricked My Mom Into Helping Me
The Template I Created To Sew My Beekeeper’s Quilt Together

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How do you plan to spend the Easter weekend (besides eating pastel foil-wrapped candy, which obviously goes without saying)?

The post Easter Nail Art Idea appeared first on makeanddogirl.com.

INGREDIENTS:
-This tree silhouette and bird template.
-14×10.5″ piece of wood (or whatever size works for your design). If you don’t have access to a saw, Home Depot or Lowes will cut wood for you for about 25 cents per cut. Or you can check Michael’s for wood plaques.
-Tacky Glue
-Small paintbrush or a Q-tip to apply the glue to the buttons
-Buttons. If you don’t have a button stash, you can buy packs of buttons by color at Amazon, Walmart or a craft store. The more variety, the better. (These came from Walmart and cost about $8 total.)
-These swatches of designs for the birds or scrapbook paper. You want something that contrasts with your buttons. Too similar and the birds will get lost.
-A picture hanger of some sort
-(Optional) Acrylic paint for the edges of the board

1. Print the tree silhouette template and cut it out. Of course, you can use any shape you’d like. Just search “____ silhouette” to find a shape that fits your fancy.
2. Lightly trace the silhouette onto your wood.
3. Use the bird template to cut your birds out of your chosen paper. Loosely decide where you’d like them to live in the tree. Don’t glue them down quite yet.
4. Beginning at one edge and slightly overlapping your pencil line, glue your buttons down. Be careful not to use too much glue so it doesn’t seep out of the button holes. I used a Q-tip to apply the glue to each button.
5. When the buttons approach a bird, nestle the bird in amid the buttons in a way allows the buttons to snuggle in close. I found that using smaller buttons near the birds helped with this.
6. If you’d like, paint the edges of your board for a little pop of color.
7. Apply a picture hanger to the back of your wood board. AS Hanging Systems has plenty of snazzy wall hangers that would work great. There you go! Plop your button art up on the wall and sit back to admire it’s textured niftiness.

This post was sponsored by AS Hanging Systems. If you can make it, they have a way to hang it. Head over and check out all the options they have for hanging your crafty eye candy.

Linked up here.

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She didn’t do anything special to dry the flowers, just simply hung the bouquet upside down until it was dry and then dismantled it. (Although, if you’re interested, there are plenty of more complicated ways to preserve wedding bouquets.) She wove and hot glued the flowers into a basic grapevine wreath. I love how vibrant the colors are, even now that the flowers are dry. If you’re not having a wedding anytime soon, you could turn any bouquet into a sentimental reminder of a special day.

The post Turn Your Wedding Bouquet Into a Wreath appeared first on makeanddogirl.com.

So if you’re ready to give your fingers a little freedom after the long winter, but not quite ready to go completely glove-less, Tante Ehm’s Campout Fingerless Mitt pattern will do the trick.

I knit mine in about as much time as it takes to watch a couple episodes of Dexter including bathroom and snack breaks. The pattern’s author used variegated yarn, but I’m more of a solid color sort of girl so made these with some Cotton Ease from my stash and dressed them up with a few buttons. These mitts are super fast knit and perfect DIY gift for those oh-crap-so-and-so’s-birthday-is-tomorrow moments. Download the free pattern from the Ravelry Campout Fingerless Mitt project page.

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Until three months ago, I had basically no idea about baby gear and I’m still far from an expert. Who could have guessed there was so much STUFF associated with bringing forth life? Like most things, capitalism has found it’s way into every nook and cranny of having a baby. I’m not anti-capitalism, but I am anti clutter, money-wasting and mindless consumerism.

So in looking back at the last three months, I thought I’d highlight what few newborn baby essentials have been really handy in our day-to-day life. There are plenty of lists out there that tell you how many nighties and washcloths you’re “supposed” to have so I’m not going to do that here. Instead, I’ll just share what items few non-essential essentials we have used almost every day of our brief career as parents. I’m sure everyone has something they personally couldn’t live without that wont be listed here, so please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

1. Baby Carriers: I’m a huge fan of baby wearing and if there was one item I would say I’ve used THE MOST during this newborn stage, it’s been a baby carrier. There’s plenty of research about why it’s anthropologically appropriate to keep your baby in close contact with you—it helps the baby regulate it’s breathing and temperature and it also helps the mom’s hormones normalize more quickly (who couldn’t use a little help with that?) But besides being academically sound, baby wearing makes my baby happy! For the first two months, she would really only nap on me. I could have just held her for 5-7 hours a day (and some days, believe me, I did), but wearing her allowed me to actually get out from under a pile of baby and move around a bit. Plus when we’re out and about, I refuse to haul her car seat around like it’s Paris Hilton’s handbag, so I almost always wear her in stores and restaurants. I own three carriers, which I love for different reasons:
-Baby K’tan: This thing is like a second womb. It was all we used at first. The K’tan kept her balled up and happy and was less of a headache to put on than a Moby-style wrap but still created a similar effect. Now that she has better head control, we still use the K’tan and she likes that her legs are able to hang out and wiggle around. If I had to only choose one carrier for this 0-3 month window, it’d be this one.
-Ergo: There were some days (and some marathon walks) where the K’tan hurt my back. That’s where the Ergo comes in. It’s AMAZINGLY comfortable. Seriously. It makes my now 13 pound baby feel like a walnut. I’ve worn in for 2-3 hours on hikes with no problem. A bonus is that the infant insert is like a padded taco shell and it keeps her really warm when we’re outside. (Obviously, this is a drawback if you have a summer baby.)
-Maya Wrap Sling: I thought slings would be a major pain-in-the-back, but in the case of the Maya, I was wrong. This sling is really easy to get her in and out of and thus is my go-to carrier for trips into stores or when I’m wearing her around the house.2. A Noise Machine and a White Noise Phone App: Perhaps my daughter shares her mother’s disposition towards light sleep, but I don’t think this girl would ever fall—or stay—asleep without some sort of white noise. Sometimes I worry that she’s going to think she grew up in a wind tunnel in the rainforest where ocean waves never ceased, but that’s a small price to pay. (We own this noise machine and use this app.)

3. A Bouncy Seat: Personally, I don’t think it really matters which one. It’s just a great place to set a baby down for a few minutes. Ours usually lives on the kitchen counter. (Turns out, you’re not likely to lay a blanket down on the kitchen floor and plop your newborn on it.) Our bouncing babe spends at least a few minutes in it every day.4. A Car Mirror: In this case I’m talking about one that lets the driver see the baby in the rear-view mirror. Alright, perhaps this is not essential, but it sure is helpful, especially when you have a baby that hates her car seat. At least then I’m able to see the degree of torture we’re inflicting on her every time we leave the house. (We own this mirror.)

5. A Video Monitor: Similarly to the car mirror, it’s just helpful to be able to SEE your baby when you can’t necessarily get to them immediately. For me, the video monitor helps me gauge the severity of her whimpers while she’s napping. Plus, if I happen to see her eyes opening up, I can rush downstairs like my eyelashes are on fire and try to sooth her back to sleep before she realizes what’s going on. That said, I’ve also had a friend tell me that she got a little too wrapped up in watching her baby on the monitor and felt like it detracted from her own sleep. And I can’t lie, I have studied that monitor for a three pixel fluctuation in my baby’s belly to make sure she’s still breathing. I guess the benefit of a video monitor really comes down to personality type and personal preference. We didn’t use this monitor at all for the first six weeks. It was only after our baby started doing a little sleeping on her own that we found it useful. And if I lived in a particularly small house or apartment, I think I’d find it—or a monitor of any sort—a lot less necessary. In that case, I don’t think you need a $200 piece of equipment for something your ears are willing to do for free. (We own this baby monitor.)6. A Good Camera: Again, this is far from a my-baby-will-grow-up-to-be-a-friendless-recluse-without-it essential, but as parents who are slightly obsessed with our new little playmate, I am constantly thankful that we have a decent DSLR camera. It’s nothing fancy as far as cameras go, but it allows us to take good photos without a flash. (We own this camera.)

7. Patience: With your baby. With your partner. And most of all, with yourself. You can never have enough.

So there you have it. This is the very brief list of things I’d take with us if we were sent to a deserted island with a 0-3 month-old baby. It’s far from a complete inventory of what it takes to keep a baby alive and happy, but I’ve found it actually takes surprisingly little to accomplish those goals.

Thanks to my dear friend McCall at Lucky Malone Photography for providing the last three photos for this post. These were taken when our little goose was about 6-weeks-old, but McCall is great at photographing big people too. Hop over to her site and see for yourself.

So, what are the baby items you can’t live without?

The post INMO: Newborn Baby Essentials 0-3 Months appeared first on makeanddogirl.com.