Gaga Over These DIY Diaper Babies

DIY diaper babies for baby shower idea

It’s been awhile since I have purchased, or changed a diaper. I don’t miss changing dirty diapers at all, but I do miss the days when my kids were tiny. The days of those precious newborn smells, first giggles, first steps and holding those tiny hands passed by in the blink of eye. Working with diapers again had me reminiscing on all those wonderful times.

Whether the days of diapers are in your past, present or future, these DIY diaper babies are worth making. They make the perfect gift for new moms, or a fun baby shower activity.

I shared all the details with Momtastic, so check it out here.

DIY Sleep In Pillow Case

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Let’s get real – sleep went out the window when we became moms, and we’re not convinced it ever comes back. Our children were not born good sleepers, they don’t know the meaning of sleeping in {no matter how late we keep them up}, and even when they are teenagers and we won’t be able to wake them up, we will be up late waiting for them to come in {and lose sleep over our worries about where they may be or what they may be doing}.

Just one day a year, it would be so lovely to sleep in. Not wake up at 7 a.m., then go back to bed for another hour. Like, really sleep in where we lose track of time. Remember those days?

Don’t get us wrong, we love motherhood, and feel incredibly grateful for every day on this earth we get to wake up to our beautiful children. It’s a gift, a priceless treasure. But, just one day of extra zzz’s would be so amazing.

Mother’s Day seems fitting for such an occasion. We made a pillowcase so everyone will know what we have in mind when we lay our pretty little heads down on Mother’s Day Eve.

When our DIY Sleep In pillowcase is on the bed, don’t even think about waking us up, ok?! Even if our family misses the memo, at least we can dream about sleeping in. We were inspired to create the pillowcase after this mirror at West Elm caught our eye. We love it, just like we love everything in West Elm stores.

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If you’re looking for a cheap, fun and last-minute gift this Mother’s Day, this is it. Anyone can do it with just a few supplies.

Materials:

Directions:

Pencil in your design, or trace a design. We styled our pillowcase just like the West Elm mirror.

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Trace your pencil marks with the Stained fabric marker, and then color in.

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Insert a pillow in the pillowcase. Set it on your bed and sleep in.

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Sweet dreams to all you amazing mother’s out there!

Giraffe Baby Shower

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We made a trip to the zoo last week, and the giraffe’s were a favorite among our kids. The tall beauties have been loved by Jessica’s son for a long time. Thanks to Sylvia Strauss of Special Events and photographer Finishing Touch Roelien Visser, now we know they can be the inspiration behind a pretty baby shower, too.

Sylvia was inspired by the blue and yellow color of the striped flower pots on the table. Of course we love the DIY details, such as the wool letters and the spray painted plastic animals.

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blue-yellow-giraffe-baby-shower-outdoor-party

 

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blue-yellow-giraffe-baby-shower-outdoor-party

blue-yellow-giraffe-baby-shower-outdoor-party

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blue-yellow-giraffe-baby-shower-outdoor-party

blue-yellow-giraffe-baby-shower-outdoor-party

VENDOR LOVE

Venue: Mountain Breeze Stellenbosch
Cookies: Krummelkuns
Decor & Planning: Special Events
Photographer:  Finishing Touch Roelien Visser

 

ABC Block Hook Rack is a Nursery DIY to Try

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This DIY nursery project is made with ABC blocks, and honestly, it’s as easy as 123.

ABC
Easy as
One, two, three
Or simple as
Do re mi
ABC, one, two, three, baby, you and me girl!

ABC blocks are a favorite among moms, and our kids love to play with them, so we used them for our custom, DIY baby name hook rack. A special and beautiful little man named Finnegan {Finn} was born in December, so we wanted to make a custom DIY piece for his nursery. Armed with spray paint, gloves, a drill and an open garage, we went to work.

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Materials

  • Baby blocks – antique blocks from antique shows, Amazon, Toys ‘R’ Us and in our case, Target
  • Piece of wood – a new piece from Home Depot, or salvaged wood like we used, the length of the baby’s name
  • Spray paint {primer + paint}, Home Depot
  • Wood glue
  • Hooks
  • Drill

Directions
Spray paint the baby blocks. It took about 3-4 coats to cover the blocks, with a light coat of primer {our half-empty primer can ran out and a trip to Home Depot felt impossible with the kids at the time, so an all-in-one paint and primer was our go-to on this project}. Let them dry for 12-24 hours.

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baby-blocks-finn-abc-kids-diy-nursery

Measure and drill 3 holes {about ¼ the size of the length of the hook} into the bottom of the wood. Twist the hook into the hole and continue to turn until its tight.

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Apply wood glue to the back of each letter block and glue to the wood. Apply a clamp, or in our case, stack heavy books on top. Let it dry for 12 hours.

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Find a couple little gifts/items to hang from the DIY custom hook, wrap it with extra love, and then send it to the bundle of joy.

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A Little Star Baby Shower

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When one of my besties is in town for the inaugural Reintoberfest, and she is preggers, a baby shower is certainly in order. My girlfriends and I hosted a small, fabulous group of women for a Little Star baby shower. It was a surprise…and I think we pulled if off, even with a few slips.

© 2015 Meredith Moran Photography

The shower was designed after one of my most favorite art prints by The First Snow. Beautiful, isn’t it?

© 2015 Meredith Moran Photography

© 2015 Meredith Moran Photography

We re-created the art print with an antique ladder, ribbons and fresh flowers by Vail Vintage Magnolia and DIY hanging stars that were spray painted gold and white. It worked our perfectly because it’s a gender-neutral theme, and the nursery is also star themed.

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© 2015 Meredith Moran Photography

baby-shower-ladder-star-lights-white-gold-flowers

© 2015 Meredith Moran Photography

Our menu consisted of homemade French Toast casserole, egg casserole, yogurt bar with fruit and granola, fresh spinach salad and for dessert we devoured mini bundt cakes. The backdrop for our Champagne and Bundt bar was a DIY Kimi’s Little Star sign. We sipped on mimosas with DIY star gummy drink stirrer and oh my goodness they were good!

© 2015 Meredith Moran Photography

© 2015 Meredith Moran Photography

© 2015 Meredith Moran Photography

I made DIY star napkin rings that also served as ornament favors guests could take home. DIY tutorial to come.

© 2015 Meredith Moran Photography

© 2015 Meredith Moran Photography

Meredith made DIY star headbands we all adorned on our heads to represent the “bouquet of stars to place around your sleeping heads” like the art print said.

© 2015 Meredith Moran Photography

© 2015 Meredith Moran Photography

© 2015 Meredith Moran Photography

© 2015 Meredith Moran Photography

© 2015 Meredith Moran Photography

© 2015 Meredith Moran Photography

In our family, we say Aunt, pronounced ‘ant.’ In MN, Kimi says Auntie, pronounced ‘on-tee,’ with a bit of a flair, of course. For the shower, we wanted to emphasize her auntie ‘thing’ with custom buttons for each guest. When baby G is born, we will all be proud aunties with gifts of our own to offer him/her. It was a good laugh for everyone. I gave myself the title of auntie of crafts. Jenna was crowned the auntie of shoes. And, Jodi proudly accepted her role of auntie of reality tv. We will take our roles seriously, Kimi!

© 2015 Meredith Moran Photography

We played a fun, non-cheesy game that I highly recommend for a smaller sized baby shower – Who’s That Baby? I asked guests to send me a baby photo under 6 months old prior to the shower, and I had the photos printed for a photo display. Everyone had to guess each sweet baby face, and the winner was awarded a prize.

© 2015 Meredith Moran Photography

© 2015 Meredith Moran Photography

Another ‘activity’ and decoration was the DIY Due Date Chalkboard. Everyone had a chance to guess baby G’s due date, and whether it was a boy or girl. If you really want to make it a game, bet $ to get a pool going. To learn how to make the DIY chalkboard, read this.

© 2015 Meredith Moran Photography

© 2015 Meredith Moran Photography

We sent the beautiful mama home with Dear Baby, often called Wishes for Baby cards. We all wrote down our hopes and dreams for baby G, which was a great baby shower activity and keepsake for Kimi. You can purchase the Little Star cards and here and the Little Star invitation here.

© 2015 Meredith Moran Photography

© 2015 Meredith Moran Photography

star baby shower-invitation

Finally, what’s a shower without a posed shot, and a tassel banner?!

© 2015 Meredith Moran Photography

© 2015 Meredith Moran Photography

Thanks to all the Vendors We Love from this Shower
Photographer: Meredith Moran Photography
Flowers: Vail Vintage Magnolia
Invitation and Dear Baby Cards: Fleur de Lis, a paperie
Mini Bundt Cakes: The Bundt Shoppe
Art Print: The First Snow
Auntie Buttons: Share Denver