Baby gifts

It seems like everyone I know is popping out babies right now and therefore the topic of baby gifts has come up recently. B's sister had a beautiful baby last year - the first grandchild in the family and really the first baby we really knew at the time.

Here are a few of the gifts we bought for Olivia, and which will surely be on my go-to list from here on out:



From left to right: Sophie la Giraffe (brilliant French teether, handmade in the Alps), adorable pink baby crocs (smallest size they had - she just grew into them at about 11 months), and the softest blanket ever.

However, we didn't want to add too many store-bought gifts to the growing mass of toys, supplies and outfits that B's sis and brother-in-law were inevitably receiving from B's large extended family. Instead, we wanted to give a gift that was really personalized for the new threesome.

B's sister and brother-in-law have a Boston Terrier and a Bull Terrier, so we thought of incorporating them into something every baby needs - basic onesies.

I bought a short sleeve onesie and a long sleeve t-shirt, each in a different size (banking that she'd be growing fast). Even buying two separate sizes/styles was still under $10 - gotta love Tarjay. Then, using a project I saw on Martha (see the full instructions and video here), I set out to make these one evening after work. I first bought fun fabric from JoAnn Fabrics that I thought would work well for each of the dogs (pink damask for the female Boston Terrier and a graphic black-and-white print for the manly Bull Terrier). When I got home, I simply Google-image-searched their two types of dogs. When I found good images (side shots and with minimal background clutter), I printed them out and trimmed out the outline for each of the two dogs. I then ironed the paper cut-outs onto Wonder Under (a cool webbing/applique product that I purchased for less than $10, also from JoAnn) and ironed my newly made appliques onto the onesie and t-shirt, respectively. I would've followed up with a topstitch to really secure the appliques and give it that finished look - like Martha did - but I don't have a sewing machine, so the ironed-on appliques were where I stopped. Sorry baby O. Nonetheless, the onesie and tee looked adorable and made for a very personalized gift with only medium (perhaps even minimal the second time around) effort. Here are some (poorly lit) photos (I really need to set a better flash level on my camera):







We also made a trio of silhouette portraits of his sister, brother-in-law and the new baby, which we framed, but I can post about that project another day if anyone is interested. If you want further instructions for the onesies, let me know or check out the Martha link. Happy gifting!