Making Baby Gifts

Recently, one of my favorite things to do has been making baby gifts for all of these babies being born.  It seems like everyone I know is pregnant or has just had a baby.  Unfortunately, I don't always have time to do sew for every friend's baby, but when I can, I love making personalized burp cloths for little ones.

Here are my latest homemade baby gifts.

Burp Cloths

 
I made these burp cloths for my friend Laura's little girl, Tenley, who is due to arrive in about a month.  I received a similar burp cloth in pink gingham when I was pregnant with Isabelle, and I just love it.  They're not a "must have" baby gift, but they're a nice posh baby gift.  I always make one fancy one that I get embroidered, and another simple one that's nice and functional.  I'm not sure if you can ever have too many burp cloths.  I probably have at least 20, and every single one of them has been used.  It's always sweet when I pull out a burp cloth made by Melody or Karen, and think of the time they spent sewing these for my daughter.

I sewed the fabric onto the bottom of a new, thick cloth diaper and then added the cute fringe.  I don't have an embroidery machine, so I usually bring my burp cloths to Karen R.'s embroidery shop, Texarkana Embroidery.  They have the absolute best prices in town and always do an excellent job.  Karen tried out several fonts to make sure the name "Tenley" looked pretty written out.  She wanted to make sure the T and y looked elegant.  I chose this fabric because I knew Tenley's nursery is pink and green, and I also already had both the fabric and fringe.  I love love LOVE this fabric.  I think it would make a great pillowcase dress.

Bow Holder

This was a fun project to do for Little Miss Tenley.  It was relatively easy.  I got the idea from my friend Leslie's blog.  Check out the one she made for her daughter, Ella.  So pretty!  She handpainted that beautiful E on the wooden piece.  Well I'm not Leslie Campbell, and I'm not used to wielding a paint brush, so I opted for a chipboard sticker instead.  I found this T in the scrapbook section at Hobby Lobby.  I called Leslie in the store for tips on how to make it.  She advised using a staple gun to attach the ribbon and then covering the back with felt for a more finished look.  Incidentally, I should mention that I made another craft from her blog as a Mother's Day gift for my step-mom.  I made this cute Potted Pin Cushion, since she sews and is able to keep her sewing machine out all the time.       

All in all, I was pleased with the way my baby gifts came out.  Making baby gifts doesn't really save me any money.  Paying for the embroidery brings the price up considerably, and ribbon can be a bit pricey.  Also, I always love getting something off the registry that the mom really needs or wants.  But making baby gifts is fun and a way of showing love for someone's new little one.  It also enables me to get more gifts for the person because it stretches my gift budget.  If I bought burp cloths, had them embroidered, and purchased a bow holder, that would've been all the gifts I could've afforded.  I just hope I have the time and energy to make more gifts for the other babies that are due in the next few months!!  I'll need to get started soon!