Imagine That baby gift baskets – Blog

How to Get Creative

So often I hear people say, “I don’t have a creative bone in my body.” Are you one of those people? Would you like to get inspired to create something?  Here’s what I do to get inspired with diaper cakes. You can use the process with just about any creative endeavor.

1. Decide upon a theme. It’s rather like deciding upon a topic for an article, book or magazine. What is your focus? It can be seasonal. It can be decorative and focused on colors, shapes and textures. It can be babies, animals, cars, characters, or foods. It can be an event. It can be anything you want it to be!!  If you need an extra mental push, Google your theme and choose for the results to be shown in images.
2. Gather your materials and begin. You’ll have a general idea of how you want the completed project to look. But, once you’ve begun, you’ll find that something doesn’t look quite the way you’d like and you’ll change it. That’s being creative, my friend! You might decide to discard a part or change its color or texture. Or, you might need to add something more.
3. Evaluate the completed project. Do you need to make further changes? Remember, this is your project and; therefore, it does not have to look like anything you’ve ever seen before. Don’t compare it against what others have done. Judge it solely on what you like.  You are an individual, not a copy of anyone else. Let your project reflect that. It’s called personal style!

Here are some recent inspirations of my own.

Recent Diaper Cakes

Creative Inspiration:
Craft Ideas
Craft Town
Martha Stewart
Woman’s Day
Better Homes and Gardens
Joann Fabric and Craft
Craft Gossip
Fave Crafts
Country Living
Craft Place

Wall Decals for Nursery or Playroom

Make your own wall decals! 

Beach Themed Wall Decals

Here’s a creative and inexpensive way to decorate your child’s room. All you’ll need is a pattern, some clear Contact paper and some scissors. 

If you want to do a trial run, cut out a pattern from a coloring book. Color it with colored pencils, markers, water colors or crayons. If you’re eager to get started decorating an entire wall or room, find a pattern or theme from free online graphics sites, draw your own or use a coloring book. I’ve found the best patterns are fairly large and aren’t finely detailed. The larger patterns expose larger areas for a great pop of color. 

Take out your roll of clear Contact paper. Cut a square large enough to extend beyond your cut pattern by 2 in. Cut out a second square of clear Contact paper measuring the same as the first one. One square will be the back of your decal and the other square will be the protective covering for the front. 

Turn one square over with the blue lined paper side down. Place your pattern in the middle of the square. Peel the blue lined paper away from the second square. Center the sticky side of the square over your pattern and press into place. Tip: It’s best to apply a small area at a time being sure to smooth out any wrinkles or bubbles as you go either with your fingers or a ruler. Trim around the pattern leaving about a ½ in edge. 

To apply your decal, peel away the blue lined paper backing and place the decal onto your wall. The decal will remove easily with no marks or stickiness left behind. 

Flower Garden Wall Decals

Patterns are everywhere! You can trace around wooden puzzle pieces, cookie cutters, wooden cut-outs (found in craft stores) or die cuts (found in scrapbooking stores). How about shapes? Color and cut out various sized circles, rectangles, squares or triangles. Think concentric circles or squares created from four different colored triangles. Have fun with the process!!! 

You don’t have to limit the placement of the decals to walls. Add them to chairs, wooden rockers, toy chests, etc.

Personalized Wall Decal

I plan to give mine to my granddaughters; so, they can decorate a wall over and over again however they wish. Creative play. I’d love to see how you use this idea.

Inspirational Tidbits:

Free Clip Art

 Click “clip art” and then look for these categories: baby, animals, flowers, nature, plants, sports, music or transportation.

Free Coloring Pages

Free coloring pages, including popular characters.

Cute nursery quotes

Celestial Theme 

Nursery Rhyme Coloring Pages

Baby Name Frames

Baby Gift Bags – Personalized

Just Pick a Theme!

Got the baby gift and need to package it? How about a gift bag that is inexpensive, quick and unique? Let’s get started!

Here’s what you will need: a plain white gift bag  ( dollar store or craft store), curling ribbon, scissors, a glue stick or craft glue, oversized stickers from the dollar store or a roll of wallpaper border from the dollar store or home improvement center and plain white index cards for the gift tag . (The size of the index card will depend upon the width and length of the wallpaper border you’ve chosen.) Note: If you get wallpaper borders, choose the samples! Those are the basics. You can embellish the bag with buttons, crepe paper, Sizzix die cuts (craft store), scrapbooking embellishments (craft store), Wallies (home improvement store), stencils, felt stickers (craft store), novelty ribbon (images or wording), hem tape or rickrack (fabric  or craft store). Get creative and have fun! 

Gift Bags Featured Below:

• Fun Floral: Fill with girlie baby items.
• Counting Sheep: Fill with sleepytime gifts.
• Go, Go Cars: Fill with baby boy transportation themed items.

Matching Gift Cards!

Details: Fun Floral has large button centers. The blue borders on Counting Sheep were created with strips of crepe paper. Just had a fun thought! On Go, Go Cars rickrack borders would have inspired winding roadways.

Oh! Another thought! Use letter stickers (craft or office supply store) to create words to capture attention. For Go, Go Cars I could have added zoom, zoom, zoom at the bottom of the bag or for Counting Sheep, I could have added baaa, baaa. Lettering sets come in various colors, fonts and sizes. Click on “letter stickers” above to see a sampling. If you want phrases instead of a few words, try sticker phrases , rub-ons or rubber stamps. All three can be found in the scrapbooking aisle of your favorite craft store.

Now it’s time to Imagine That!

 Note: The links within the article are posted only for imaging purposes to give you an idea of what an item is and possible themes.

Pressed Flower Baby Cards

Themed Baby Announcement

I rediscovered some pressed flowersthat I’d put aside (some years ago).  To my credit, I did actually use some of the flowers on thank-you  cards way back when. Now, I was faced with the decision to keep them and use them or throw them away. I have a new mantra, “Use it or lose it.” So, I decided to photograph them and then toss the flowers. It was great fun placing the flowers into artful arrangements! If you do this, handle the flowers very carefully. They are quite fragile.  The leaves will be especially brittle.

What to do with the preserved images? Can I create a baby item from dried floral images? You bet!! 

I used Paint Shop Pro 7 to create these cards but you could use any graphics program to achieve similar results. To create your own pressed flower baby announcements, follow these steps.

• Pick flowers from your yard. Include weeds and wildflowers, too!
• Press the flowers. You can use old newspapers and a heavy book to weight the pages down or you can purchase a flower pressing kit.
• Be patient. It will take several days for the flowers to dry. The denser the flower, the longer it will take. Some flowers press better than others.
• After the flowers have dried, carefully lift them onto a sheet of white paper and arrange them to your satisfaction.
• Photograph each arrangement and download the photos onto your computer.
• Open your graphics program (CorelDraw, Paint Shop Pro, PhotoShop, The Gimp) and begin the fun!
• Select a pressed flower image. Add text, clipart, borders and perhaps some special effects. The results are limited only to your image resources, your graphics program capabilities and your imagination.

Pressed Flower Baby Announcement

I’d love to see your pressed flower creations! Post them here with a link.

If you’re wondering if you could use photos of living flowers or floral clipart, yes, you can, but the effect will be different.

Fingertip Inspiration

• Personalized Seed Packet Baby Shower Favors
• A Gallery of Handmade Gifts by Martha Stewart
• Pinwheel Hair Bow Tutorial
• Baby Blocks to Sew
• Boo Boo Buddy

Note: Reference Happy Accident 3.01.10

Here is the completed 3 paneled baby afghan. It was indeed a happy accident!

3 Paneled Baby Afghan

A Happy Accident

The rippit stripe!

I’m hoping for a happy accident when this latest crochet project is completed. You know what a happy accident is, right? It’s when a project or situation turns out better than you’d planned, even when “oh, no!” moments occur.
My current project is a baby afghan. I decided upon the pattern stitch, the size crochet hook and the colors. It would be turquoise with a white border. Happy with my vision, I crocheted and crocheted and ooops! “Oh, no!” I ran out of turquoise yarn! No problem. A minor setback. I’ll just go back to the store and purchase more, right?
At the store, I realize there is not enough in the bin to complete the afghan. Now what? Redesign! Searching the yarn bins, I find a nice variegated yarn that includes turquoise as one of its colors. Yea!!! Now, instead of the turquoise and white afghan I’d planned to make, I’ll make a paneled afghan. Two panels will be turquoise and one will be the variegated. Smiles. Happy, happy, happy me! Hmmm…I think I’ll add a picot edging with the variegated yarn.
A few days later, I’m really liking the effect of the variegated panel next to the turquoise one. Just six more rows and the variegated panel will be done and then on to the finish line! Uh, where’s the other skein of variegated yarn? “Oh, no!” Now what!?
I go back to the store for more yarn. They haven’t restocked. So, I go to three more yarn stores in search of the yarn I need. No luck. However, the last store has a terrific selection of yarn. Maybe I can redesign once again with success. I find a yarn called “Angel Fleece”. It has a compatible color and an interesting texture. It will be an accent stripe for the afghan completing the middle (variegated) panel.
This yarn is challenging. It looks like a silky string with nubby yarn wound around it. As I start to crochet with it, I quickly realize it’s like leaving footprints in a snow storm. I can’t see the stitches! I trudge onward feeling my way across the rows, hoping I’ve added just the right amount. Six rows later, the textured stripe is slightly ruffled. ~sigh~ Rippit. Rippit. Rippit. I unravel six rows.
What happens next? I ordered the variegated yarn online and I’m anxiously waiting for it to arrive; so, I can complete this baby afghan. I just know it’s going to be a happy accident!

Fingertip Inspiration

Keepsake Card
The front of this card (little girl) made me think how perfect this would be as a nursery accent. Just change the theme from gardening to baby and voila!
Baby Sock Rattle
Recycle Knit Dress into Baby Hat
Crocheted Baby Quilt
Plastic Canvas Baby Blocks

Nursery Mobiles – Get Inspired and Do It Yourself!

Imaginative Baby Mobiles

Decorating a nursery? A mobile for the crib is a must! Your baby will be delighted by whatever you choose to entertain him. Will you do abstract designs, a nursery rhyme theme, something whimsical or a recycled creation? The choice is totally yours, personal and so much fun!

Here are 18 baby nursery mobiles to inspire you. Have fun and let us know how your project turns out!

This Little Piggy Crib Mobile
Cards and Plastic Tubing Mobile
Baby Blocks Mobile
Origami Fish Mobile
Cute Pac Man Mobile
Crib Mobile Elephants
Polka Dot Baby Crib Mobile
Sock Owl Mobile
 Paper Mache Bird Baby Mobile
Knitted Bunny Mobile
Embroidery Hoop Mobile
Paper Lantern Mobile
Butterfly Mobile
Squares ‘N Balls Mobile
Felt Safari Mobile
Bamboo Mobile
Clip It Mobile
Build Your Own DecoMobile

Fingertip Inspiration

Simple Snuggly Baby Blanket
Ribbon Pacifier Clip
Toddler Crocheted Scarf
Fleece Baby Bonnet
I love how she created this pattern!
Cute Reuseable Potty Chart

Have a Ball, Ya’ll!!

A Ball: part 1 and part 2

Hmmmm. Well I can crochet booties that are sized the same, left foot bootie and right foot booties match. So, I should be able to make two halves of a ball match, right? You bet! And so, voila! I present to you my first and second crocheted balls. 

Variegated Crocheted Baby Balls - My First!

Yes, the second ball is larger than the first one. I used a larger hook for the second one. 

I have to ask. How do you keep up with stitches and rows completed? Do you use a stitch counter? Or, do you do it like I do with pen and pad? I find it helps my concentration to actually write it down. 

Keeping Track

Fingertip Inspiration

Felt Baby Booties
Knit Frog Suit with Hood
Baby Burp Cloth Tutorial
Pacifier Clip Tutorial
Organic Bottle Covers

Granny Square Baby Sacque

Here is my latest crafty endeavor, the Snowflake Holiday sacque.

Granny Square Baby Sacque

If you are a beginning crocheter, I would highly recommend learning how to make granny squares. This is actually the way I learned! Granny squares make up quickly and give you a sense of accomplishment. Once the squares are made, you can manuever them to create anything from a bootie to an afghan. It all depends upon the sizing and number of squares you crochet. You, the beginning crocheter, are in total control of your project. Yea!

Fingertip Inspiration

Tutorial for Baby Onesie Card
Free Diaper Bag Pattern
Hankie Baby Bonnet
Tee Shirt to Newborn Gown Tutorial
Eco-Friendly Baby Rattle

About

This blog is an off-shoot of Imagine That! baby gift baskets. Imagine That offers themed baby gift baskets, diaper cakes and handcrafted baby gifts. Every basket features hand picked products which have been reviewed for their safety features and developmental appropriateness. I hope the Imagine That blog will further inspire and assist you to present a mom with a lovely baby gift especially from you.