Sweet Baby Gifts

Aside from a photo album…

I bought a "Precious Moments" kit at a craft-store and made an impression of my daughter’s hand. It looks like a little hand-statue. But it’s very sweet and shows me how little she once was.

A girl I know had every person in the family/going to the shower sew a square of a quilt with a different letter then later had it sewed together by a friend. What is something similar I could so for a friend that’s having a baby shower that each person could make a piece and out it together later?

the quilt was a great idea! another idea might be a scrapbook…similar to a baby book that the parents can fill out, but it’s made by the friends & family, much more personal. the various pages would include info related to the family instead of a generic "one size fits all" type of book from the store.

Most of it is girl clothes with some neutral stuff. I have already gone through everything and gotten the keepsake pieces. Nobody else I know is planing on having a baby soon so we don’t need the clothes any more.

Salvation Army is the best place that you can donate your old baby clothes.

I am 16 weeks pregnant and we recently purchased a keepsake baby book. I was wondering when to start filling it out, because it asks a lot of stuff about the pregnancy, like what we felt when we first found out, ultrasound pictures, things that made mommy sick, and so forth. I’m afraid if I wait much longer I will start forgetting some of the stuff, should I start filling it out now?

Girl close the computer and get started since yes you will forget and things will change and if your afraid of that put on the side how many weeks along you are, just in case you change within your pregnancy. I always enjoy going back to it and reading it although some things where left blank since I bought it to late.

hello, my older sister is expecting her first baby in november.
although i am only 14, and only get £50 a month from my paper round and £20 a month pocket money, i really want to get the perfect gift that my niece/nephew can keep forever. my sister is very sentimental so she’ll probably keep every gift that the baby receives, and i just really want to get something really special. I’ve been searching online for a while, but can’t find much.
I was thinking something along the lines of a piece of jewellery, but as we don’t yet know the sex, i’m open to all options I’d just like to say thank you in advance, you have no idea how much this means to me

caitlin x

My daughter loves scrap-booking and she is making the cutest thing for her newest grandchild. I’ll tell you about it and see what you think. You could take your time and spend a little bit at a time, but when you are done, it would be such a good keepsake. She got one of those small scrapbooks, not the huge ones and collected pictures of everybody in the family,. plus family pictures of other things, parties, holidays, etc. Each page has a picture and a letter of the alphabet. Mommy, or course, for the letter M and Daddy’s picture for the letter D and for A, Aunt Caitlin, or course. With each picture, she writes something in carefully printed script. For instance, A is for Aunt Caitlin who loves you so much she will babysit for free. Get the idea? She puts the cute little scrapbook stickers by each picture and uses different colored paper. Some graphics you would not even have to buy. You could take them right off the computer and print them out.
It is so cool and the baby will look at the bright pictures and love it even when it is small. And, it is something to keep forever. It would take a lot of planning on your part but you seem to really care about the baby and it would be a gift with a lot of love. I think your sister would love it for the sentimental value alone.

Well when my niece had her first birthday, she got her own cake. We took a picture of it before and after. You can also keep the outfit they wore when it was their birthday. If you have a girl, have her wear a really nice outfit/dress and keep it as a keepsake. Same thing goes for if you have a boy. Save the babies birthday candle that has the number 1 or save the candles you used for the cake.

For their first Christmas, take a lot of pictures, save their favorite toy, their first stocking, maybe video tape it.

i’ve got a keepsake frame that came with the clay or whatever mold inside, but it was expired, so i could not use it to take my baby’s handprint. Is there another material (plaster) i could use to do that? thanks.

Often, those "kits" for baby handprints are just a super-soft polymer clay (like original boxed Sculpey) but I’ve never heard of polymer clay "expiring."
You can of course do that yourself (wash your baby’s hand with soap afterwards before they can put in their mouths to be uber-safe) by using any kind of permanent frame that can withstand the low 250F or so temp that’s needed to harden polymer clay if you bake them together… or use a temporary frame (even of aluminum foil with "walls" scrunched up), then remove the baked clay afterward and put it in a frame (on a backing if too small, etc).

You could also use plaster, I guess, either the kind of Plaster of Paris you get from the hardware store, or the more refined kind sold at for crafts (and definitely wash afterward).
Or you could use an "air-dry" clay like Creative Paperclay or Crayola’s Air Dry Clay (don’t try to speed up the drying on that one) or you could even make your own salt dough or bread clay, but be aware that air-dry clays can shrink some so may not be the exact same size as your baby’s hand and all must be sealed after drying.

Here are some kits, info, and photos:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=how+to+make+baby+handprint+clay+plaster
http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&q=baby+handprint+clay+plaster
http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&q=baby+handprint+kit

HTH,

Diane B.

I bought 2, one for my daughter and one for my nephew. They were expensive! Only to find out that Grandma bought the same ones. So I decided to take mine back. However, Hallmark doesn’t do returns on Keepsake Ornaments. I have the B is for Babies (and Booties) and the Classic Pooh Baby’s First Christmas. Does anyone want them? They were $15 and $18.50. Or, does anyone know of any other place that carries Hallmark Ornaments?

No, I don’t need one. But try listing them on Craigslist!

I am 37 weeks pregnant with a baby girl. I have a two year old son who is very excited for his baby sisters arrival. Hes always rubbing my belly and asking for baby. What is an age appropriate craft my son can make for his sister? I came up with a few ideas like a keepsake box and photo frame. I am open to any other ideas or referrals to good craft idea sites. Thank you!

You could:
Make an outfit for her that has his hand prints on it with paint
Make Big Brother shirt
You could make signs by finger painting
You could make tamborines which requires two paper plates, a stapler, beans/rice, and markers. He could use this to celebrate her arrival.
You could buy those cardboard shaped boxes [they are small and can be decorated. Plus they come in many sizes] He can put glue on the box and glue tissue paper to it. Then you can put glue on top of this finished project. It makes a cute looking box for knick knacks

Some other toddle crafts are:
Making a necklace out of cereal

Good Luck!

My little brother will be welcoming his firstborn into this world in October. I want to do something really special, something that would be a keepsake. We are a religious family, so anything that could incorporate God would work really well. That being said, it doesn’t have to be spiritual. Does anyone have any ideas?

FYI: For my firstborn, he reupholstered a beautiful antique chair that went in her nursery. She now has it in her room and loves it. The chair will be with her forever, so I’m looking for something heirloom-ish like this.

I think a photo frame with each of your immediate family members in it. Maybe even as they were babies. This is something I think s/he wouldn’t be able to appreciate right off but as s/he grew older s/he would come to love. There are so many beautiful frames out there (different colors, different shapes) you could find something that would incorporate into her/his nursery quite well. Even a old antique frame with a matte to fit it plus the pictures would work.

If that doesn’t work, Try a keepsake box. This is where all members of your family put something meaningful into a box. Then you could say a prayer, close the box, and s/he will be able to open it when s/he is ready. (newspaper clippings, jewelry, a hand written note/poem, video, etc..)