by BlondieWrites on February 24, 2010
There are a lot of things to think about when there’s a baby on the way. You’ve got to come up with the perfect name for your little bundle of joy. You have to line up childcare when it’s time to go back to work, or make plans to stay home with the baby. There are clothes, diapers and supplies to buy. And there’s a nursery to decorate.
Decorating the nursery is a favorite part of new baby preparations for many parents. Until it’s done, you just don’t feel like you’re ready to welcome your child into the world. So many moms- and dads-to-be go all out, buying expensive designer cribs, bedding and décor. But if you’re on a tight budget, that’s money that could be better spent on more practical things.
That doesn’t mean that you can’t decorate your baby’s room in style, though. It just means you’ll need to go about it a little differently. Here are some tips.
* If there’s a certain motif you want to use in the nursery, create a baby registry and make sure that your shower organizer lets invitees know where you’re registered. That way guests will be likely to purchase the items you’ve selected in that motif. But keep in mind that if you choose a lot of expensive items, you might not get them, because your guests may be on a budget too.
* Don’t get your heart set on doing everything in a certain motif. If you don’t get all of the things you want at your shower, you might have to go with something else. If you get some of the items you wanted, however, perhaps you can buy the rest in a color that co-ordinates with them.
* Make some of the items for the nursery yourself. You could buy some fabric featuring the characters you want to feature in the nursery and make all sorts of things out of it. Curtains and blankets are easy if you have a sewing machine. You could also make decoupage wall hangings by cutting the characters out of the fabric and using Mod Podge to adhere them to a piece of wood, then top with another coat of it. And framed pages from children’s books or calendars also make lovely wall art.
* Visit consignment shops, flea markets and yard sales. You can often find great deals on gently used nursery items at these places.
* Go to outlet stores, or shop from the outlet section of your favorite online baby store. There are spectacular deals on new items to be found here. Some might have minor flaws, but in many cases they’ve simply been discontinued by the manufacturer.
Decorating your nursery on the cheap doesn’t mean it won’t be beautiful. With a little creativity, you can make it look just as wonderful as it would if you had spared no expense. And best of all, you’ll have more money to spend on diapers, formula, and those adorable baby clothes!
Popularity: 1% [?]
by BlondieWrites on February 23, 2010
by BlondieWrites on January 30, 2010
by BlondieWrites on December 2, 2009
There are a lot of things to think about when there’s a baby on the way. You’ve got to come up with the perfect name for your little bundle of joy. You have to line up childcare when it’s time to go back to work, or make plans to stay home with the baby. There are clothes, diapers and supplies to buy. And there’s a nursery to decorate.
Decorating the nursery is a favorite part of new baby preparations for many parents. Until it’s done, you just don’t feel like you’re ready to welcome your child into the world. So many moms- and dads-to-be go all out, buying expensive designer cribs, bedding and décor. But if you’re on a tight budget, that’s money that could be better spent on more practical things.
That doesn’t mean that you can’t decorate your baby’s room in style, though. It just means you’ll need to go about it a little differently.
Here are some frugal tips for decorating your baby nursery:
* If there’s a certain motif you want to use in the nursery, create a baby registry and make sure that your shower organizer lets invitees know where you’re registered. That way guests will be likely to purchase the items you’ve selected in that motif. But keep in mind that if you choose a lot of expensive items, you might not get them, because your guests may be on a budget too.
* Don’t get your heart set on doing everything in a certain motif. If you don’t get all of the things you want at your shower, you might have to go with something else. If you get some of the items you wanted, however, perhaps you can buy the rest in a color that co-ordinates with them.
* Make some of the items for the nursery yourself. You could buy some fabric featuring the characters you want to feature in the nursery and make all sorts of things out of it. Curtains and blankets are easy if you have a sewing machine. You could also make decoupage wall hangings by cutting the characters out of the fabric and using Mod Podge to adhere them to a piece of wood, then top with another coat of it. And framed pages from children’s books or calendars also make lovely wall art.
* Visit consignment shops, flea markets and yard sales. You can often find great deals on gently used nursery items at these places.
* Go to outlet stores, or shop from the outlet section of your favorite online baby store. There are spectacular deals on new items to be found here. Some might have minor flaws, but in many cases they’ve simply been discontinued by the manufacturer.
Decorating your nursery on the cheap doesn’t mean it won’t be beautiful. With a little creativity, you can make it look just as wonderful as it would if you had spared no expense. And best of all, you’ll have more money to spend on diapers, formula, and those adorable baby clothes!
Popularity: 3% [?]
by BlondieWrites on October 23, 2009
by BlondieWrites on October 13, 2009
I just recently became a first time grandmother and have been enjoying the new little addition to our family. I am also an avid crafter and seamstress so I can often be found in my craft and sewing room creating some wonderful things for my friends and family.
With the new addition of the baby girl to our family, I decided I wanted to make some homemade baby bibs. I thought the process would be difficult, but once I got started…I realized how easy it was to create my own bibs for our grand-daughter.
Here are the supplies you will need:
1 pre-purchased terry cloth bib to use as a pattern
1 package of double fold bias tape (2 yard package), per bib
sewing machine
sewing thread
1/4 yard of cotton terry cloth fabric
Scissors
Miscellaneous sewing supplies
Note: If you really want to be frugal, you can recycle some old terry cloth bath towels for this project.
Lay your pre-purchased baby bib down on a piece of white paper and trace around the shape using a pencil, then cut out your paper pattern. Next, unroll your bias tape and cut off a piece of bias tape measuring 34″ in length. Pin your paper pattern down onto your terry cloth fabric and pin into place. Cut around the paper pattern and then remove the pins. Cover and pin the bias tape around the raw edges of the sides and bottom of your bib, don’t cover the neck area just yet.
Using your sewing machine, stitch the bias tape into place and fasten off. Cut another piece of bias tape measuring approximately 26″ long. Attach the center of the bias tape to the center neck area of the bib, pin into place. (note: a piece of bias tape about 10″ long is left at both ends of the neck edge for the ties.) Using your sewing machine, stitch around the neck opening so that you are attaching and covering the raw edges.
You can use your pre-purchased one as a guide on how it should be sewn.
Decorations: If desired, you can use 3/4″ wide eyelet lace instead of bias tape in step one of the sewing, but you will still need to use a coordinating color of bias tape for the neck area and ties. You can embroider a name or nice design onto the front of the bib or purchase some cute iron-on appliques.
Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com
Shelly Hill has been working from home in Direct Sales since 1989 and is a Manager with Tupperware. Shelly enjoys crafting, scrapbooking and sewing along with various other crafting mediums. You can visit Shelly online at my.tupperware.com/Ravish30 or her recipe blog at wahmshelly.blogspot.com for some free family recipes.
Popularity: 2% [?]
by BlondieWrites on October 1, 2009
by BlondieWrites on October 1, 2009
by BlondieWrites on October 1, 2009
