Jul
06
The summer appears to be flying by at warp-speed. June was just a blur. I headed down the 401 to Guelph, my hometown, nearly every weekend in June to spend my Sundays with brides and babies. Well, it’s really just one bride (my friend Leanne who’s getting married in a couple of weeks) but two babies. One has yet to make an appearance — my friend Nathalie is nine months pregnant with a baby girl and we feted her yesterday at an afternoon baby shower — and the other is my gorgeous niece, Lucy.
Lucy has bright blue eyes and thick sandy hair that has finally decided to lie flat instead of standing up in all directions, not unlike a Fraggle if you remember Fraggle Rock. She is curious and precocious and she has my mom and dad, her Nonna and Poppa, wrapped around her cute little finger. It was love at first sight for me, too, when I held her for the first time last August; now, if she asked me for a race car or a pony or a house in the Muskokas, I’d figure out a way to get it for her. Not that she talks yet, but you get the point.
So — in honour of brides and babies — here’s the easiest, tear-jerking, crowd-pleasing baby shower craft ever: a ‘holy crap, you’re here!’ present that summarizes the first day of a new baby’s life (in this case, the first day of Lucy’s life). I didn’t make it this weekend, obviously, but summer seems to be the time for babies, so I borrowed it from my crafty archives.
Lucy's first day
I bought a floating glass frame and a single piece of ecru scrap-booking paper, as well as a few butterfly stickers from DeSerres. Then I clipped the headlines from the NY Times, from the day Lucy was born (she was born during the Olympics and Obama-mania last summer) and added pictures of her mom and dad as babies. The coolest part, I think, are the pictures of the text messages my brother, Matt, sent me while my sister-in-law, Tracy, was in labour: “Tell Mom we’re pushing!” and “Done!” You can add any numbers of things: a footprint if you can finagle one, the hospital bracelet, the birth announcement, etc.
And I added a little sparkle — because who doesn’t like a little sparkle?
Voila. Easy peasy, and a keepsake that will last long after she outgrows her baby clothes.
3 Responses to “ Brides and babies ”
This sounds great. I’ve done things like this with wedding invitations, too.
It works best with a great frame that’s double the size of the invitation. Place the invite (usually in the center) then decorate around it with personal things.
You can use ribbon from her bouquet (snagged some from their florist), dried and pressed flowers that will be in her bouquet (again, ask the florist), an engagement announcement if available, and wedding items from the craft store such as two little golden rings, bells, etc. Just about any personal things will work as long as they can be flattened. Stickers can look nice too as long as they’re not too gaudy.
I then take the framed invitation along to the wedding reception and place it on the table with the guest book. Every bride I’ve done this for just loves it ~~ they take so much time to select their invites and this way they can be properly displayed with pride.
By Jonikas on Jul 9, 2009
This sounds wonderful, I have a Wedding in September and I am going to try and adapt the invitation to suit, although I am not close enough to get all particulars I am sure I can come up with something. A wonderful idea.
By Maureen (NS) on Jul 9, 2009