Baby Shower Gifts

Our dear friends and neighbors, Kelly and Brent, are expecting their first child, a little girl, in mid-June.  Dee and I went to Kelly's baby shower recently and it was wonderful -- good food, good folks and lots of pink!

We made two of the gifts we took -- a framed piece with a spot for a newborn photo and the baby's stats; and closet rod organizers.  Brent calls Kelly "Teacup" and she calls him "Bear", so we knew that we wanted to somehow incorporate both a teacup and a bear in the framed piece.  Anyone who knows Kelly knows that she is the Queen of Organization!  I had seen closet rod organizers on the Cricut messageboard several months ago and immediately knew I would be making a set for Kelly.  (For the uninitiated, closet rod organizers or dividers, separate different sized clothing so you know at a glance what sizes you have.)

We purchased the 11 x 14 white frame at Michael's.  The patterned background paper is an embossed "Baby Girl/Stamps" from Heidi Grace Designs.  The solid pink is Bazzill Basics cardstock called "Pinkini".  The green is Bazzil Basics Bling cardstock called "Petty Cash".  All other paper is either leftover scraps or just plain white cardstock.  "Bling" is used in the center of the flowers on the teacup and on the frame corners.  The stats oval was printed from my computer and then run thru the Cricut to cut it out.

Here are the sizes and Cricut cartridges used:

Pink Journey Cartridge:

Picture Frame - 7" w by 5" h.

Scalloped Oval  - 3 7/8" w

Inner Oval - 3 1/2 " w

Tea Cup Floral Flourish - 3 1/4" w

Mother's Day 2010 Cartridge:

Eyelet Lace - 11" w by 2" h

Disney Dreams Come True Cartridge:

Tea Cup - 4" w

Calligraphy Collection Cartridge:

Name (Inspiration Font with Blackout) - 1 3/4" h

Doodlecharms Cartridge:

Teddy Bear - 3 1/4" h

Here are some close-up shots.  (Sorry about the glare -- I took these at about 1:30 AM the morning of the shower, which is when I finally finished it!)

The closet rod organizers are wooden doorknob hangers purchased at our local Michael's.  Dee had to alter them a bit to fit the closet rod in the baby's room.  The hangers had an arched top and would not fit!  So she cut off the arch with her circular saw and then sanded and rounded the edges.  She then gave them a coat or two of paint.  In the meantime, I figured out the dimensions and laid it out in the Cricut Design Studio to cut the front panel out of paper.  Then I cut all of the additional decorations and assembled them.  They turned out so cute and Kelly loved them!  (Brent even said he wanted a set for his closet - just not in pink!)

 

 

The background paper is a double-sided Heidi Grace Designs scrapbook paper called "Baby Girl/New Arrival."  The white paper is standard white cardstock, the pink background paper is Bazzill Basics "Pinkini", the green at the top of the hangers is a Bazzill Basics Bling called "Petty Cash" and all other paper is from a Recollections paper pack purchased at Michael's.  The numbers are stickers also purchased at Michael's.

Here are the cartridges used and the dimensions for the ones I remember to write down:

Lace border - Platntin Schoolbook cut at 3 1/4" wide

Flowers - Walk in My Garden, cut at 1/2"

Giraffe, Elephant, Dog and Birds in the Nest - ZooBalloo

The following are all from the New Arrival cartridge:

Carriage - cut at 2 3/4" h

Baby - 2 1/2" h

Dress - 2 1/2" h

Onesie - 2 1/2" h

Booties - 1 1/2" h

Feet - 1 1/2" h

Little One - 3" w

What I wouldn't have given for a Jukebox for these projects -- I did a lot of "hot swapping" of cartridges!  Thanks for looking and leave me a comment and let me know what you think of the latest project. 

Winnie the Pooh themed Baby Shower

Dee and I threw a baby shower for our daughter Emily this past Sunday.  As I mentioned in a previous post, Pooh bear is a favorite at our house.  So a Pooh themed shower was a must!  And yes, the Cricut was instrumental in creating so many things for Emily's shower -- from the shower invitations, to centerpieces, to decorations, favors and a diaper cake.  So hang on to your hats, this post is full of photos!

Let's start with the door sign welcoming guests to the shower! 

Sorry for the glare!  The plexiglass frame was purchased from our local scrapbook store and your 12 x 12 paper slides in from the side. 

Paper - Blue 12 x 12 Bazzill Basics (not sure which shade, I lost the sticker!); all other paper was from a Recollections paper pack purchased at Michael's or from my scraps stash.

Cricut cartridges used:

Pooh and Friends -   Pooh was cut at 10 1/4" and the Hundred Acre Wood sign is 3 1/2" tall.

Calligraphy Collection - Welcome is approx. 1 3/4" tall.

Everyday Paper Dolls - Clouds cut at 5 1/2" and 4" wide.  Grass cut at 11 1/2" wide.

Centerpieces were created for the tables using papier mache flower pots purchased at Michael's, painted white, and embellished with a sage and white polka-dotted ribbon.  Inside the pot is floral foam and natural basket shreds to simulate soil.  The die cuts were all cut from either the Pooh & Friends cartridge or the Walk in My Garden cartridge.  They were hot glued to covered floral wire and arranged in the pots.  All paper used was either from my scrap stash or from the Recollections paper pack.

One of the fun things we had our guests do was write advice or well-wishes for the new Mommy and Daddy on onesies and overalls cut with the Cricut.  The onesies were cut from white cardstock using the New Arrivals cartridge and the overalls from a pale blue using the Everyday Paper Dolls cartridge.  We strung a thin rope between two artificial trees at the shower location and pinned them on using small blue clothespins purchased at a local party supplies store.  These will make a wonderful addition to the baby's scrapbook!

Emily's shower favors were her favorite candy -- Hershey's Kisses!  We put them in pale blue organza bags and added a tag.  The tag is a 2" circle cut from the George & Basic Shapes cartridge.  The Pooh face is from the Pooh & Friends cartridge and is cut at 1 7/8".  The back of the tag was created on my computer, printed out and punched using a hand-held punch.

And what is a shower without a diaper cake!  We found this wonderful stuffed Pooh bear for the top -- one problem, this Pooh has a really big butt!  So instead of a three-tiered diaper cake, we made it two-tiered and broader than we normally do to give Pooh some extra sitting room.  All of the die cuts on this cake were made using the Pooh Font cartridge.  (It has all the Pooh and friends as babies as well as the wonderful "wood" font!)

Now for the sizes! 

Bathtub Pooh - 4 1/2" tall

Piglet & Teddy - 4 1/4" tall

Tigger - 5" tall

Eeyore w/Ball - 4" tall

Sitting Eeyore - 4 3/4" tall

Bouncing Tigger - 5 1/2" tall

Sitting Piglet - 4 1/4" tall

Sleeping Pooh - 3 1/2" tall

Thoughtful Pooh - 4 3/4" tall

Tigger w/ Ducky - 3 1/4" tall

"Wooden" letters - 4 7/8" tall (at the tallest letter)

All of the diecuts on the diaper cake and ceterpieces were adhered so they could be removed and used in the baby's scrapbook! 

It wouldn't be a party without refreshments!  We had fresh lemonade and Dee made another wonderful cake!  This was the first time she has made a square tier and covered it in fondant!  The bottom (square) tier is white cake and the top (round) tier is chocolate; iced and filled with buttercream and covered in fondant.  The grass is tinted buttercream with sugar daisies.  The large polka dots are fondant and the small dots are buttercream.  The baby's name is cut from fondant as well.  The topper is plastic and was purchased from a local bakery.

Emily received so many nice things for the baby.  And now all we have to do is wait . . . . . the doctors predict he'll arrive sometime around the first of May.  His Nana and Grammy just can't wait to cuddle and spoil the newest member of the family -- oh, and AUNT Demi is super excited too!

And now we are 6!

Demi recently celebrated her 6th birthday.  I'm not sure how we got to six so quickly . . . it was just yesterday that she was born, wasn't it?  Time is flying by so rapidly.  Our baby is almost finished with Kindergarten and before we know it she'll be graduating from high school.  OK!  Enough of that or I'll start cyring!

Anyway, as I was saying, Demi just turned six and we celebrated with a small family party.  Dee made the most delicious and gorgeous cake!  Three tiers -- one white, one chocolate and one funfetti (Dem's favorite).  All filled with buttercream and covered in fondant -- one tier pastel pink, another pastel yellow, and the third a pastel green.  The stars are fondant cut-outs and have cake sparkles covering them (can't tell it from my photos, though).  The cupcakes were baked in silicone baking cups, iced with buttercream, topped with sprinkles and a smiley face candle. YUMMY!"

 

P.S.  The only Cricut-ing done to this cake was the stars!