Guest Post

DIY Baby Shower Invite {All Things Baby Guest Post}

September 5, 2012 Leave a Comment

Hello Hello Johnny In A Dress Readers!!
I am Meesh from Finding Michelina! First I want to say thank you to the lovely Natalie for letting me hang out here today and second CONGRATULATIONS on your peanut!!

So today we are going to look at a jungle themed baby shower invite made using my lovely Silhouette, paper punches and picmonkey!!

This is one of those easy peasy photo DIYs… here we go!!

Create your design on picmonkey or silhouette

Save as a pic and open up in your powerpoint program

Resize, print and cut!

Take your blank card and add your cover using Tombow

Your card with the front added….

Take and add your clouds which can be cut in a variety of ways: paper punch, by hand or silhouette/cricut

For the clouds I added the left and right one with regular Tombow and then used 3-d square mounts for the center one so it POPS so to speak

Add your animals 1st with the Tombow and then add your long grass, then both short grasses and trim the very edges {Both animal shapes and grass were cut using my Silhouette}

Your finished front of the card!!

But seriously how cute is this theme?!

And the inside of your card {use the same method of creating on program of your choice, saving as a pic, opening in powerpoint, resizing and printing!}

And last but not least… a pic of the insert asking people to bring a onesie to participate in the onesie game!

What?! You don’t know what the onesie game is?! Well let me explain!! You see you ask everyone {who wants to participate} to bring a onesie that describes them {the goes}, their relationship with mom or to baby to be, an inside joke etc. You hang them up at the shower and then mom gets the guess who each onesie comes from AND she gets a bunch more onuses!! Cause from what I understand you can never have enough!! :0

Hope you liked our jungle theme invites!! Please let me know if you have any questions!

And thanks again Natalie for letting me hang out!!

Peace out Cub Scouts!!

Filed Under: Guest Post

Framed Canvas With Chalkboard Pennant {All Things Baby Guest Post}

September 3, 2012 6 Comments

Hello JIAD readers! It’s Ginger from Ginger Snap Crafts.

I’m so excited to be here! Congratulations to Natalie & her family!
Babies are the best! I’m speaking from experience!

I’m the mom to 5 kiddos!

My youngest just turned 3….so technically he’s not a baby anymore!

Buuut I’d love to show you this framed canvas print I made for his room.

It’s an adorable picture of when he was a baby. {They just don’t stay little long enough!}

For this project you’ll need: a 16×20 inch frame, a canvas print, washi tape

chalkboard vinyl cut into triangles {I just left the backing on the vinyl.} & twine

For the framed canvas print: (1) First I took my frame apart. (2) I had to trim my canvas because it was a little too big! So I just used the glass as a guide & trimmed it with scissors to fit my frame. (3) I put my frame back together but I didn’t use the glass. I just left it off. I wanted the nice texture of the canvas to show.

For my cute chalkboard pennant: (1) I just used my die cutter to cut some pennants out of chalkboard vinyl. (2) Then I used a big sewing needed to thread the twine through the pennants. (3) Once my pennants were all strung I used chalk to write my son’s birthday. (4) Then I used washi tape to tape the pennant banner to the bottom of my frame. That’s it! Super easy.

I really love how it turned out!

Love those big sweet eyes!

I’d love for you to stop by Ginger Snap Crafts sometime.

Here’s are a few of my favorite projects.

(1) Outdoor Chalkboard (2) Laundry Room Sign

(3) Coffee Filter Wreath (4) Nativity Blocks

You can also find me here:

Thanks for having me over, Natalie!

Filed Under: baby, Guest Post, Tutorial

Finger Painting Wall Décor {All Things Baby Guest Post}

August 27, 2012 1 Comment

Hello!!!

I am Danielle from The Ullrich Family Adventures. I am a stay at home mom of two little ones! Blase who is 4 and Grace who is 16 months.

I have one blank wall in the kids toy room that drives me crazy! I found on pinterest a craft with the kids names and finger paint! (source)

So I changed it just a little instead of their whole names I just did their first initial.

Here is what you need:

Canvas

Painters Tape

Finger paint

(Make sure your finger paint is washable! You will see why)

I got every thing ready before I told the kids what we were doing. Then we headed outside into the grass with our stuff! The hardest part was making their letters. I just winged it. I used some long pieces and then I cut a lot of small pieces to make the letters look right.

Blase with his B

Grace with her G

Blase jumped right in and actually I wish he would have stopped before everything was just a greenish hue.

Grace started off ok. She only tried to eat the paint once. But then she discovered how much fun it was to squish it in her hands.

She then decided that it was more fun to paint her shirt and her hair then painting her canvas.

Once they were done painting I took them and left them on the porch to dry before peeling off the tape.

Once they were completely dry I carefully peeled off the tape.

I think that they turned out pretty good. I think that maybe in the next day of so I will put the year in the bottom corner so we always know when we made them!

Hope you enjoyed this little project and be sure to stop by my blog!

Filed Under: Guest Post

Taggy Baby Blanket Tutorial {All Things Baby Guest Post}

August 24, 2012 2 Comments

Hi JIAD readers!
My name is Kara and I’m a creative mommy blogger over at Mine for the Making.

I love sharing tutorials, recipes, printables, frugal decor ideas, mommy adventures, fashion, and all things DIY. I enjoy painting and designing wooden signs and I also LOVE making jewelry and hair accessories for my shop. Today I am sharing a handmade baby gift that any baby will love!

Enter in…

Supplies:

-2 pieces of coordinating fabric, each 12in x 12 in

-Multiple pieces of ribbon cut in different lengths

(anywhere from 2in to 4in…I didnt actually measure though)

-Sewing machine and notions

(Pardon the bad lighting… this was a nighttime project.)

Tutorial:

-First start by cutting your fabric and ribbon.

-Fold your ribbon pieces in half and pin to one of the pieces of fabric. Pin it so that the ribbon is laying on the right side of the fabric, facing in (look at picture collage above).

-Lay the other piece of fabric on top, right sides together and pin in place.

-Sew all the way around (remembering to back stitch at the beginning and end) except for a small opening to turn right side out.

-Turn right side out through the hole. Press with an iron.

-Go ahead and top stitch all the way around the blanket. Be sure you sew over the small hole as well (picture not in collage).

-DONE!

Such a simple, adorable, handmade baby gift… don’t you think?

This Taggy Baby Blanket is obviously for a girl, but they are great for little misters too!

Babes love the different textures of the ribbon on their fingers…something to pull or chew on is always good, right? {winks}

Thanks for hanging out with me again at JIAD!!
Lots of love and blessing sent to the JIAD home!

I’d love for you to stop by my place and say hi sometime!

Blog | Shop | Facebook | Pinterest

Filed Under: Guest Post

TV Tray Tutorial {All Things Baby Guest Post}

August 22, 2012 Leave a Comment

Hello! I’m Lindy from Itsy Bitsy Paper Blog and am honored to be doing a guest post here at Johnny In a Dress! I am the owner and designer for Itsy Bitsy Paper and also am a blogger! I blog about all sorts of goodies but mostly DIY, Crafts and Cooking and Baking. I hope you will stop by and follow along! Now on to the great project I have for you…

I have a set of TV Trays that we have had for years and they were looking pretty worn out so instead of throwing them away I decided to do a makeover and now they are beautiful!

I used my old TV Trays, a sanding block, Krylon Cafe Latte Spray Paint, Drawer Pulls and a Dollar Store Vinyl Sticker and finished it off with a coat of Clear Acrylic Spray. Super simple!

*If you don’t have TV Trays they are readily available at the big box stores, home furnishings stores and probably thrift stores.

• • • Fab Makeover

• As you can see my TV Tray was looking a little used so it was time to refinish it and make it pretty again. You will want to sand the entire table until you have a nice smooth surface. If there are chips of wood or dings in the wood use a filler and then sand it again so you have a smooth surface.

• Once the paint is dry your are ready to add drawer pulls to each end of the TV Tray (I’m sorry I have no painting pictures)

• Flip your tray upside down and make the marks on the bottom of the table where you want to drill

• Use a drill and drill the appropriate size hole for your drawer pull

• Place your drawer pull on the table top and screw it in place then do the other end the same way

• This creates a really nice decorative touch but it’s amazing how useful these drawer pulls are for moving the tray quickly

• Grab your vinyl sticker–I got mine at the Dollar Store which was the best because I loved how cheap it was but also how perfectly it went with my painted tray

• Despite the vinyl sticker having adhesive on it already I wanted to be extra sure it wasn’t going anywhere so I added spray adhesive to the back of it so it would adhere even better to the painted tray

• The tray is basically ready to use now but I decided to add Clear Polyurethane to seal the top of it.

• This step really should have been done before the drawer pulls but this was my first shot at this project so it was an afterthought to do it. The others had this step done before the handles were on. If you are like me and do it a little backwards just cover your drawer pulls with plastic

• Spray the entire top of your table with the clear polyurethane. I used 2 coats so ensure I had it well coated

Look, even the pups approve of it–ok, I guess they could really care less but they were in the spot I needed for the photos.

• • • Beautiful!

I just love how they turned out and so does everyone else that sees them or gets to eat off of them. I think I now have a great gift idea for the holidays…

Filed Under: Guest Post

Counting Duck Game Tutorial {All Things Baby Guest Post}

August 17, 2012 Leave a Comment

Hi, my name is Michaela and I blog at Covered in Mod Podge. On my blog, you can find lots of little girl’s sewing projects, tons of baby shower present ideas, recipes, and random ramblings. It’s where I share whatever project I was inspired to give a shot.

Congrats to Natalie and her family on welcoming Hollis into their family. I’m thrilled to be here to share a new sibling gift tutorial while Natalie is getting to know her new little miss.

My mom always bought presents both for the new baby as well as the siblings. It’s a habit she passed along to me. Bringing a new baby home changes the dynamic of the whole family. I think its fun to spoil the older siblings a little. It lets them feel extra special at a time when a lot of fuss is being made about the newest member of the household.

One of my daughter’s little playmates is about to become a big brother. Milo just loves my little miss. He calls me “Emma Momma” and is very sad when he sees me without my little miss. Lucky for my husband, Emma doesn’t return his affection. She’s not too big on boys being anywhere near her.

In addition to my little miss, Milo loves ducks. His favorite pastime is feeding ducks at the park. Thinking about what I wanted to make this soon to be big brother, I knew it had to involve ducks. So, this little duck counting game was born.

Supplies:

Yellow and white foam

Duck outline

Sharpie

Scissors

Clothespins

Mini popsicle sticks

Gorilla glue

Find yourself a duck outline {I just searched Google Images} and trace him onto your yellow foam.

Then, go to town cutting out your 10 yellow ducks.

For the white squares, I used my quilting ruler and rotary cutter to make 1×1 inch squares. You could always guestimate {like my technical terms} or use a ruler to draw the squares and cut them out from there.

Next, write your numbers on your ducks using a Sharpie. Also, draw in the duck eyes. Then, write in the numbers on your white squares.

Go ahead and glue the popsicle sticks to the back of your ducks. I used Gorilla Glue because its what I had that would stick to both foam and wood. I wanted it to be a firm hold that would survive a two year old. Keep in mind, hot glue will eat away at the foam.

Also, glue your clothespins to the pack of your numbers.

These little ducks will let your little one count and match numbers. Also, the clothes pins are great for practicing fine motor skills.

Now you have yourself a counting and number matching game for the little duck lover in your life. I’m very excited to give Milo his new paddle of ducks! {Yep…a group of ducks is called a paddle}.

Feel free to stop by and say hi over at Covered in Mod Podge. You can also visit me on Pinterest!

Filed Under: Guest Post, Tutorial

Mobile Tutorial {All Things Baby Guest Post}

August 13, 2012 1 Comment

Hey guys!!

I am SO excited to be hanging out here today with Natalie!!

I just love her blog and it’s so fun to be able to spend some time here

I’m Kelsey from Tattered and Inked,

where I blog about furniture redos, free printables & all kinds of DIY decor.

I was so excited to get to share a fun baby DIY idea because it has been baby season lately!

I’ve had all kinds of showers to go to & gifts to get for friends & one of my favorite things to do is to make something that is sweet & personalized.

When my friend found out she was having a girl,

I had a field day making all things girly for her!

One of the things she really wanted was a unique mobile.

But get this…hubby works in the Air Force with C-130s

(those are the HUGE supply planes…and here in Arkansas they’re a big deal)

so she wanted someway to incorporate daddy’s C-130′s into it.

And make it girly.

Definitely a challenge & I was excited to figure out what to do for it.

Can you believe I made a C-130 airplane girly???

Well, I totally did.

Just wait.

It’s crazy awesome!!

Here’s what I started with:

Supplies:

Large Embroidery Hoop

Large Chipboard Letter

Strips of ribbon/fabric

Hot Glue Gun

C-130 Model Airplane (Hobby Lobby)
Spraypaint

Screw-eyes

Transparent Hanging String

Drill with small drill bit

The first thing you’ll want to do is get to cutting all your strips of fabric and ribbon.

I used pieces of linen, burlap & green & pink ribbons for mine.

Make sure to hold them up to the embroidery hoop to determine the length you want.

For this project, I just used the inside of the embroidery hoop because it was smooth & round.

I painted it white just in case any part of ended up showing through.

Take your fabric & ribbon and start hot gluing them around the embroidery hoop.

All I did was take the end of the fabric, wrap it around to the back & then secure it with a dab of hot glue.

Go all the way around to completely cover the hoop.

You can add layers if you want a fuller look.

First part- done!!
Isn’t it pretty already??

You could definitely just hang it like this and even add a second tier with a smaller hoop under it but remember we’re adding a plane!!!

But first, to hang it from the ceiling, we decided it would be super cute to hang it from her monogram.

So we got an E for "emily"!

I covered it with cute green scrapbook paper.

Make sure your letter is big enough that the hoop you’re using won’t look funny hanging from it.

It’s a tiny bit complex to hang this pretty thing but totally worth it!

The best way we found to hang it was by using screw-eyes on the back of the ‘E’.

There were seven screw-eyes total.

Three on one end of the E

Three on the other

and one in the very middle of the front of the E.

The mobile was securely tied to the four screw-eyes on each corner of the back of the "E" with the hanging string.

We just tied it around the hoop itself and brought it up to tie to the screw-eye.

Just make sure it stays level- that’s the tricky part!

Here’s the embroidery hoop hanging from the "E".

The other two screw-eyes on the back of the "E" are what the whole thing hangs from at the ceiling.

Two pieces of string go from those screw-eyes and tie to a silver ring that then can hang on a hook in the ceiling.

Next comes the girlifying a C-130 part.

So fun!!

We were able to score a model C-130 at Hobby Lobby and let the hubs and little man put it together.

Then it got a nice spray-down with a beautiful baby yellow.

Doesn’t it look cute in yellow?

Did you ever think that a big, tough supply plane could be cute?

Hm.

Now how to hang the guy.

Here’s what we did

We took a teeny tiny drill bit and drilled two holes.

A tiny hole into the tail of the plane.

And a tiny hole right into the middle of the plane.

The middle hole got a screw-eye attached to it.

Then both of them had string strung through them to attach to that middle screw-eye in the front of the "E’.

Hanging the plane from the E was the easiest part

Whew.

After all that wordiness and strings being strung,

are you ready to see the final result??

Here ya go:

Isn’t it stunning?

I love the playfulness of the fabric against the flying plane.

So fun.

And, of course, an aerial view…

Isn’t it a fun way to incorporate a little bit of her daddy into her nursery??
I’m so glad my friend wanted to add the plane in-

definitely gave it a lot of personality!!

What do you think?

Did we succeed in girlifying a C-130 into a nursery-worthy mobile?

Thanks again, Natalie, for letting me hang out on your lovely blog for a bit!!

Hope you guys enjoyed my fabric mobile

and I’d love to have you visit me over at my blog or on Facebook too!!

Filed Under: Guest Post, Tutorial

Little Mister Mustache Bash Baby Shower {All Things Baby Guest Post}

August 10, 2012 2 Comments

Hi JIAD readers!
My name is Kara and I’m a creative mommy blogger over at Mine for the Making.

I love sharing tutorials, recipes, printables, frugal decor ideas, mommy adventures, fashion, and all things DIY. I enjoy painting and designing wooden signs and I also LOVE making jewelry and hair accessories for my shop. Today I am here to share the baby shower I threw for my sister back in June.

Let’s check out the Little Mister Mustache Bash{baby shower}…

Almost every decoration was designed or mad by me. I spray painted and antiqued cheap frames, turned my Spring Wreath into the shower wreath, used my silhouette to cut out mustaches, and designed the prints that are in the frames on my computer. I also made chocolate mustaches for party favors for our guests…they turned out WAY cute.

Streamers, tissue paper pom-poms, a mustache chandi, washi tape pennant banners, and a collage of weekly baby bump photos…plus a lot of little details (love the little details).

We had an awesome spread of food. My husband made salsa and a pretty fruit tray, my mom brought a cheese and crackers tray, meatballs, and chips; a friend made cupcakes; I hand dipped strawberries in chocolate, made Chicken Cabbage Salad, and Key Lime Cheesecake Bars.

I had 4 fun games planned and a diaper raffle. My mom bought 4 gift cards for the game winners and I put together a gift bag of some of my handmade jewelry for the raffle winner.

-Don’t say BABY!

(Give guest mini clothes pins to clip to their clothing. If you hear someone say BABY, steal their clothes pin. Whoever has the most at the end of the shower wins.)

-Sculpt a BABY!

(All guests are given a small container of Play Doh and a baking cup. Guests have 5 minutes to sculpt a baby. The mommy-to-be decides who made the most life-like baby.)

-How big is the momma?

(Guests use a piece of yarn to guestimate how big around the mommy-to-be is.)

-Draw a BABY!

(Guest are given a marker and small piece of paper. They place the paper on their head and draw a baby without looking, within 2 minutes…NO peeking! The mommy-to-be decides who drew the cutest baby.)

My sister made out well in the gift department. Most everyone brought a book for baby rather than a card and wrote a message inside (suggested on the invite) and diapers for the raffle, which was GREAT! She got a ton of cute clothes, blankets, a stroller, carseat, swing, and lots of other baby essentials. Talk about blessed! And of course my nephew got a ton of handmade items from his auntie, including that bow tie onesie. LOVE.

Lots of friends and family which is what really made this a celebration.

We all love my sister and her little mister so much.

It was a blast preparing and planning this shower and my sister had a great time, so I consider this shower a SUCCESS. *Pats self on back*

What do YOU think about the shower?
I would love your feedback.
If you are interested in the baby shower party prints, click HERE.So happy I was able to hang out at JIAD today! I just love Miss Natalie to pieces. Such a crafty, creative, inspirational momma she is…and a wonderful friend to me as well.
Come say hi sometime!

Blog | Shop | Facebook | Pinterest

How cute was that baby shower?!?
Thank you so much Kara for sharing your wonderful ideas with us today!

Filed Under: Guest Post

Appliqued Onesies Tutorial {All Things Baby Guest Post}

August 8, 2012 3 Comments

Hi all, I’m Emily from Home Made Lovely and am really excited to be here today sharing one of my favorite baby projects, appliqued onesies, while Natalie is soaking up time with baby Hollis and family.

I’m far from the first person to think of appliqueing a onesie, but I just love the effect and the endless possibilities to be creative with the design and fabric. Plus it is just so easy which is exactly the kind of project I was looking for after my daughter was born.

Here’s what you’ll need:
A onesie or t-shirt
Fusible Interfacing such as Heat ‘n Bond
Fabric
A simple design

To start trace or draw your design onto a piece of paper and cut it out. I made a simple robot and rocket ship. Then cut a piece of fusible interfacing big enough for your design and iron it on to the wrong side of your fabric.

Trace your design onto the interfacing. Remember that this is the wrong side of the fabric so your image will be mirrored when you see the right side.

Cut out your designs and peel the back off of the interfacing (this is seriously the hardest part of the whole thing for me… apparently I have some fat fingers!) Position your pieces onto the onesie or shirt. Once you iron them down you won’t be able to move them so make sure they are right where you want them. I layered fabrics on both the rocket ship and robot designs, but ironed them down all at the same time to make sure they were positioned correctly.

Now simple run a hot-dry iron over your design and it will fuse to the onesie or shirt.

Finally sew around the edge of your design. You could use any stitch, but I chose just a straight stitch. I also added some buttons for the robot’s eyes. Make sure not to sew through both layers of the onesie or shirt.

And there you have your final product, a super cute and custom shirt for a little one. These two onesies are going to my nephew who is due to arrive in September.

I hope you enjoyed my favorite baby project and thanks to Natalie for inviting me to share it with you.

Filed Under: Applique, Guest Post, Tutorial

Taggy Toy Tutorial {All Things Baby Guest Post}

August 6, 2012 2 Comments

Hey JIAD readers!

I’m Rhiannon from My Handcrafted Home, and I am thrilled to be able to share a project on here while Natalie is spending precious time with baby Hollis.

I actually have an auntie who is having a baby girl this month too! So I thought a girly little toy would be the perfect thing to share, and at the same time get a gift made.

I made one of these taggie toys as my first ever sewing project after getting my machine a year and a half ago, so you CAN do this. Even if you don’t have a machine this could easily be a hand sewn project. Seriously, the hardest part is probably cutting the squares straight!

Start with six squares of fabric, (this is also an awesome scrap buster, as you can see!) you can make this for any gender too, I made a lion one for my son with yellows and greys and he loves it as much as my daughter loves her owl one.

Now think high school and set your squares out like a net you’d make for a dice in maths. (just me?) The middle plain one is the face or front.

Choose a plain fabric for the face and embroider on a simple animal face, I chose a cat for this one. Then decide which features to add with ribbon scraps. I chose whiskers and ears on my cat. Pin them facing inwards.

Don’t worry about my ribbons here, I was going to do another owl, but changed my mind when it was nearly all done! But it does show how to pin them inwards. I actually chose three for each side of whiskers and two for ears onto the face square, but change it for whatever animal you want.

Then start sewing!

Sew into a box leaving a two inch gap at the back bottom square for turning. Don’t worry if it looks messy now! You can see where the ribbons are facing inwards too here.

Turn, stuff and either whip stitch closed if you’re good at that, or just use your machine like me. (left of the tail here) My whip stitch never ends up being very secure, so for a baby’s toy machine stitch is safer.

Then admire your work.

I do love these simple toys as they have a lot of longevity. My four year old daughter requested her own last Christmas and still loves it.

Plus it’s also a cute accessory to a kids room as they grow out of playing with it.

To make it an even better gift you could do a birth stats printable too!

And if you’d like a how to I wrote one just recently here!

Thanks Natalie for letting me share! If you’re in the mood for more cute and easy projects stop by my blog, anytime!