Keep Calm

Is it just me, or are the Keep Calm and Carry On signs everywhere?  For Valentine's day it was Keep Calm and Love On.  For Thanksgiving: Keep Calm and Gobble On.  And even for St. Patrick's Day I saw Keep Calm and Pinch On. 

Well, I'm not so into pinching, especially with 1st graders, so I decided to make one of my own: Keep Calm and Read On.  I actually saw it in a classroom my team was observing to learn more about Daily 5 and CAFE.  I thought it was adorable and would be easy to re-create.

I put it in a clear sheet protector and, using packing tape, taped it to the side of a bookshelf in my classroom library.  I love it and so do the kids!  I might print another one to display in our large Expedit shelf - It would look great in a white frame!

Make sure to leave a comment with your email address and I will email it to you.  If you'd like it in a different color, just let me know!

What other Keep Calm signs have you seen?

Edit: I just uploaded several new colors to my Scribd account and also pinned them on my Pinterest account.  Thanks!

Giraffe Diaper Cake

I went to a baby shower last week that had jungle animals on the invitation.  So, I thought a giraffe themed diaper cake would be adorable!  My idea was to find a giraffe print fabric for the burp cloth and matching onesie.  I thought the mom would love how graphic it was and that it wouldn't be too babyish.  She also doesn't know what she's having, so the giraffe print would be gender neutral.  I ended up finding a perfect giraffe print flannel at my fav Fabric Depot (where I've gone for fabric for this project and this project).  Here is the onesie and matching burp cloths I made:

I decided to put a star on the onesie, thinking it would be a good graphic for a boy or a girl.  I also sewed on the new fabric labels I just got for my Etsy shop, Pic-Nik Designs.  I got them here.  Super fast shipping from Australia, great prices, and wonderful customer service.  If you want to get customized fabric labels, I highly recommend them!

Back to the diaper cake.  Since the new mommy and daddy-to-be live in Kentucky and requested gifts to be travel friendly, I only made them a one tier cake.  I used a half pack of Seventh Generation diapers and gave them the other half in a  gift bag (so they would see which brand and size the diapers are).  I wrapped the diapers with some giraffe printed ribbon I found at Joann Fabrics and added some green washcloths, folded to look like flowers (I knew from their registry they were going with a gender neutral green color palate for the nursery).  I also added a yellow stuffed giraffe from Target that has a little wind-up thing on the side to make it play lullabies (kinda like this one) and a little giraffe rattle from Babies R Us. This is kinda like the rattle.  Maybe I couldn't find the original one online because I had bought it in the store a couple months ago?

When I walked up to the baby shower, I saw a giant wooden giraffe on display on the front porch, wearing a bib.  "Score," I thought.  "My gift matches that giraffe."  I then got inside and noticed the mommy-to-be was wearing a giraffe printed dress.  Not only did my gift match the decor, it matched the mommy!  Perfect!  500 points for me!

More Owls!

I am officially obsessed with owls.  I found these super cute owl Valentine cards from Living Locurto blog and I HAD to use them for Audrey's little daycare friends.  Since babies can't do the whole Conversation Heart candy thing, I opted to sew them each a little owl.  They turned out so cute!  I got the pattern from the Rubber Punkin.  You can also check out Homemade by Jill's crinkly version.  I used fleece for the bodies (since I already had it) and used felt, ribbon, fabric, and batting that I already had.  Yay to fun and free projects!  The babies all loved them and the daycare lady placed an order for me to make a couple more for her two young grandsons for their Easter baskets.  I can't wait to get started on them!

Aren't they so cute with the ribbons as their little wings and feet??  Notice the feet ribbon from the gift bags at Baby Gap?  I'm officially turning into my MIL and saving WAY too many craft items!  (Love you Patsy! :)