Here it is…my confection built of  diapers and receiving blankets and ribbons oh my!  There are tons of great tutorials and advice articles to be had on assembling a diaper cake if you are so inclined to google.  Boy!  Do I love the web for all the sharing that goes on.

But, back to the gift topper…I first created some custom paper in Word to coordinate with the invites and such that were handmade for the shower.   My custom dot paper was printed on one side of white cardstock and then Kelleigh’s perfectly square template was printed on the other side.

Here is the template all cut out and scored.

Then I went to town embellishing the sides of my perfect square to resemble a baby’s block complete with baby-to-be’s initial and mom and dad when they were little.  Aren’t they precious?!  The “N” was cut using the Base Camp cartridge from Cricut and the monkey is from the My Cute Stamps Circus Animals set.  I used my trimmer and a square punch to make chocolate brown cardstock block frames.  A couple of holes in the lid and some brown grosgrain ribbon for a bow and ta da! The perfect gift topper.

When it came time to assemble the box, I used liquid glue to adhere all of the tabs together and then also glued the lid shut.  While this block won’t withstand toddler play, I’m quite certain this would be a fun keepsake in baby’s room to remind him that he is so very loved.

Thanks so much for stopping by today and checking out this project.  It was so fun and easy to make.  OK, I have to run, it’s time for a slice of  {diaper} cake! ; *wink*

If you have yet to try hybrid, you gotta try this project. Most of the creative work is done in Photoshop! Seriously friends, if you haven’t tried a hybrid project yet, you have not experienced the fullness of the joys of digital scrapbooking. Nothing compares to working on something on the computer and then printing it out—the giddiness you feel as the printer starts up, the nervousness you feel as you wait to see your creation come out line by line, the bounciness you feel when you see how awesome it looks in person. It’s wonderful. But I digress…

I learned about making these adorable little diaper bag tags from other crafty ladies about three years ago (wow!) on Splitcoaststampers. I made one for my diaper bag and for a girlfriend when my son was a baby. They are easy, addictive and make fantastic little gifts for a new mom!

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Digital Kit; I used Mari K’s gorgeous new baby girl kit, Sweetie Pie (ps. it’s 20% off today!)
• Ruler; I used my little 6 inch quilting ruler. (I just love using this small, clear ruler for papercrafting! So handy.)
• White cardstock
• Paper trimmer
• A vertical ID badge holder (horizontal ones are cute, too)
• Glue stick
• Key ring (I used this kind, but I would have preferred this kind)
• Ribbons and any other embellishments

STEP 1:

Using a ruler, measure the space where your insert will go in ID badge holder. Mine was about 2 3/4 x 3 1/2. I trimmed a 1/4 inch off this measurement so that I would be sure that my printed paper would fit inside.

STEP 2:

Using the Shape Tool (U), I made two rectangles that were 2 1/2 x 3 1/4. If you don’t know how to get a shape to be a fixed size, look up at your toolbar (when using the Shape Tool; I’m using PS CS2, by the way) and you’ll see this drop down box here:

(If it’s different in PSE, maybe our friends who use it can let us know here in the comments? That would be great!)

Set the Fixed Size to whatever you’d like it to be and simply click on your document to get your perfect rectangle.

STEP 3:

Open up the papers and embellishments from your digital kit that you want to play with and clip them to your shapes:

I reduced the size of my papers (to 40%) and resized my elements to fit the page. I was also worried that the drop shadows would be too black here, so I set them to be a dark green color instead.

STEP 4:

Print out your images onto cardstock and trim them out with your handy-dandy paper trimmer.

If you’d like, at this step here you could add some distressing ink to the edges of the paper. It depends on what sort of look you’re going for on your finished tag.

Also, if you wanted to add any other embellishments (like maybe a paper flower or a rhinestone?) to your tag, now is a good time to do it.

STEP 5:

Glue the two pieces of your tag together.

This is step optional, but probably helpful for the next step—which would be wiggling your cardstock into the ID badge holder.

Before you glue, be sure to check that you have your tags aligned the way you want them to be!

STEP 6:

Wiggle your tag into the badge holder. Add the key ring to the top.

For fun, add some ribbons, too! I looked through my stash and I decided to just use one big white bow for my tag.

I tied it to the key ring—but if your badge holder is like mine, you’ll also have a few holes on the badge itself. You could tie several ribbons here as well. It all depends on what you think looks good.

Here’s my finished tag:

Perfect! And just ready to be placed on my new diaper bag from my friends at the Digichick!

But now to the important part of today’s post…the WINNERS!  Each hostess has randomly chosen their winner from the comments posted.  Each hostess will be contacting their winner via email to get their address.  Here we go…

Sat June 20: baby shoe favors …#10 Judy Stocker

Mon June 22: $5 gift card to Kelleigh Ratzlaff’s store…# 4 Char-D

Tues June 23: baby announcement book…#8 Angie Britt

Wed June 24: Baby Albums…
# 9 : Baby Girl Album: Dawn
# 16 : Baby Boy Album: Cristina

Thurs June 25: altered picture frame…Michelle A

Fri June 26: $5 gift card to Kelleigh Ratzlaff’s store…#2 – Karen

Sat June 27: Uh-Oh Box…#5 Teri

Congratulations to all of our winners.  And a big thanks to everyone who came to look, comment, and be inspired!  If you are a winner, your hostess will be contacting you soon to get your address so your prize can be mailed! 

For this project I didn’t stop to plan everything out and just grabbed things as I went along (I even cleaned up my work space a bit first so I could find everything!) so even though only the box itself is pictured, I ended up using the following supplies:

What I Used:

• Photo storage box (from Michael’s)
• Little Sugar Mini Kit by Elise’s Pieces at  The DigiChick
• 65 lb. white paper
• Making Memories acrylic paint
• Paper Mod Podge
• Colorbox Chalk ink
• Offray white ribbons
• Prima flowers (green)
• Making Memories flower (white)
• Clear button
• Glue Dots
• Memory Stor tape runner

The first thing I did was measure out the dimensions of the box so that I would know how big to create my Photoshop documents. The lid was 11.25 inches long so even if I did have a borderless printer, I knew that I would be able to print a document big enough to cover the whole thing. Instead of piecing something together out of multiple print-outs, I decided that I would simply leave a white border around the edge of the box.

So I pulled out some of the acrylic paint and got to work painting around the edges.  The box soaked up the paint a bit, and it took about three coats to completely cover the bright pink of the lid. I think next time I’d give the lid a quick once-over with ModPodge to seal if first.

In between coats, I began creating my Photoshop documents and deciding which papers and elements I wanted to use. After getting it all set, I began to print. Apparently I didn’t measure quite as accurately as I thought that I had however, and some of the sizes had to be adjusted and reprinted. Whenever that happens though, I just set aside those first pages so that I can go back later and cut out the printed pieces to make cards or other projects out of. Since measuring is not really my strong point, I have quite the stack of rejects waiting to be recycled!

After I printed the papers for the lid, I discovered that the green in them was a perfect match for the bottom of the box. I was originally planning to cover the whole thing, but this happy accident saved me quite a bit of work. I started by covering the sides in the strips that I had printed, matching up the pattern as I went along.

I started at a short end and wrapped the paper the whole length and then folded onto each of the long sides. I figured that the edges would stay neater if the ends didn’t meet there. I used Mod Podge for my adhesive and just smoothed it onto the box as I went. After I got all the sides covered I let it dry for a few minutes, then turned it upside down, cut the corners and started folding it over, again using Mod Podge to glue it. My reverse tweezers came in handy here to help hold the paper down while it was drying. As you can see, even after I remeasured, I still didn’t print off big enough strips of paper to cover all of the pink that was originally there.

To make it look neater inside, after my fold had dried, I grabbed the original printout that I had set aside and used those strips to finish the covering job. Then I added a spot on the inside of the lid for jotting down important phone numbers, like the pediatrician, as well as a spot for a baby photo and a little embellishment from the kit. I used my tape runner to glue down the journaling spot so that a photo could be slipped underneath the top of it, like a photo pocket.

After the sides had dried, I inked the edges with a creamy brown color, and set to work on the top. I inked around the edges of the cover and then, using the Mod Podge again, glued it down. I didn’t think that the polka dot letters stood out enough against the polka dot background paper, so I added a second piece of solid, neutral paper to the top with the title on that instead.

Then I started digging around for some matching embellishments and found some flowers, a bit of white ribbon, and a clear button. I stacked up my flowers, threaded my button and stuck them all together with glue dots. Then I slipped a piece of paper behind the label and added some folded ribbons to the front. Voila! All finished…

But wait… I’m giving this project away! Plus, I’ll even throw in a couple of diapers and two coordinated onesies, so all you’ll have to do for the perfect baby gift is add your own creative items to the box! Just leave a comment to this post for your chance to win it. If you want to double your chances of winning then make your own blog, Twitter or Facebook post telling everyone about the Baby Shower we’re having here at The Hybrid Chick and post a link!

• A blank picture frame
• A digital kit
• Adhesive
• Miscellaneous embellishments if you would like to add some.

For my project I used Mari’s Luvbug kit and an unfinished wooden frame found at my local craft store.

To begin, I measured the sides of the frame to see how much paper I would need to cover them. I then digitally cut and pasted strips of paper from the kit onto a page to be printed. I also selected the digital elements that I wanted to use, copied and pasted onto another page to print.

Once printed, I cut out the strips of paper. I cut the top and bottom strips diagonal on the sides to make the edges meet. I then used Xyron adhesive to adhere the strips to the sides of the frame and used sandpaper to remove the excess paper from the sides. I also added a little chalk ink to the edges for a distressed look.

Next I cut out the elements that I had printed from the kit and glued them to the frame. In addition to the digital elements, I decided to add a bit of ribbon, chipboard and a button as shown.

All done! But wait… I’m giving this project away! Just leave a comment to this post for your chance to win it. If you want to double your chances of winning then make your own blog, Twitter or Facebook post telling everyone about the Baby Shower we’re having here at The Hybrid Chick and post a link!

Winners will be announced on June 28th. Keep checking daily for more prizes!!!

This first baby shower favor I created used a free baby diaper invitation template that I found online simply by typing baby diaper invitation into my search box. DigiChick Designer Kelleigh Ratzlaff created a fabulous Baby Themed Shaped Cards Template Set that would work perfectly for this also!

This was an easy favor to make. Open the template in your photo-editing program and choose a paper for your diaper. I used papers from Dawn Inskip’s Welcome to the World kit.

Clip your paper to the template and then print using your printer’s best print option. I printed mine on matte presentation paper. Cut around the edges and score your fold lines.

Glue small sized eyelet around the leg opening and then a small piece on the inside of the waist of the diaper. Fold the sides of the diaper in and pin in place with, what else? A diaper pin!

This next baby shower favor I have for you was also relatively simple to make. For these favors, I used papers from Mira Designs’ Baby Days kit, baby elements from Dawn Inskip’s Welcome to the World kit, and Precious Sentiments Baby Word Art by Danielle Engebretson.

I purchased the empty baby bottles at our local party store. First, I measured the surface of one sides of the baby bottle so that I could create your own label. My measurements were 2.5” x 2.25”. I decided to go with an oval shaped label so that the bath salts in the baby bottle would show.

I used my photo editing program to create my label. I was able to print about 25 oval shaped labels on Avery white full sheet label paper. I used Fiskars Scallop scissors to cut around the outside of my labels. Peel and stick one to each of your baby bottles.

For the bath salts, I purchased a bag of Epsom salts. Pour into a large bowl and add a few drops of food coloring to tint the salts. Once mixed well, add a few drops of scented essential oils and mix well.

Fill your bottles and cap tightly. Aren’t they adorable?

The last baby shower favor I have to share with you is a little more time consuming than the other favors. These are definitely favors you don’t want to wait until last minute to create!

This is a baby shower favor I made out of a styrofoam cup. I found the instructions online and tweaked it for a better looking shoe!

I wanted my baby shoe to be a lace up version. Here’s where I tweaked the instructions. When bringing the sides in to create the flaps over the tongue, I cut those flaps vertically and parallel to each other to form the part for the holes for my lacings. I punched 2 holes in each flap. I then rounded and reshaped the top part of the shoe for a nicer, more realistic looking shoe. Here’s what it looked like before it’s laced up.

I did not use clear nail polish around the punched holes. None of the punched holes ripped or tore. Cut 15” pieces of ribbon and lace up your baby shoe. I tied a knot in my ribbon before finishing the laces with a pretty bow.

I created a 1 ½” round tag and then used my scallop scissors to cut out the tag. I used my Crop-o-dile to punch a small hole in the top of the tag and hung the tag from the laces using a small piece of ball chain.

The tag also uses Mira Designs’ Baby Days kit, baby elements from Dawn Inskip’s Welcome to the World kit, and Precious Sentiments Baby Word Art by Danielle Engebretson.

Kind of resembles a Cabbage Patch doll shoe, doesn’t it???

Fill with candy, peanuts, butter candies, or whatever you want! And these are just as adorable without the hanging tag – and my recommendation if you are creating these favors for a large sized baby shower!!!

My giveaway is this: I will create for you up to 100 of these baby shoe favors:

You chose the color of the ribbon for the laces. They will arrive all laced up and ready to fill with goodies of your choice.

* please note – there will be no hanging tags on the ones you receive! *

All you have to do to be eligible to win is leave a comment here on this post! If you’d like to double your chances, you can receive an additional entry by mentioning this post on your blog, Twitter or Facebook. Come back and comment again with the link to your posting. All winners will be announced on June 28th!

Good Luck!

I measured my little hangers (I do still have some of those around!) and decided I wanted my tags to be about an 1.5 inches in height and 3.5 inches wide.  That way when I folded them around the hanger, they would stick out enough to see and not enough to be in the way. 

I knew I wanted to use Mari Koegelenberg’s new kit, LuvBug, available now at The Digi Chick.  It has the cutest little elements and that ‘aged’ paper look I love.  I chose some of my favorite papers and elements from the kit and I designed my little tag, making sure to keep the elements away from the middle, giving me plenty of room to fold. 

I printed several out on Epson Matte Presentation Paper (a hybrid must!).  Then I just cut them out, and using a bit of scrapbook glue, adhered them around the hanger.  I decided against scoring them first, as this is more of a rounded fold than a crisp one.

These would be such a cute shower gift!  And making a dozen, even two, would be so inexpensive and a very usable, personal gift.  They could be used on every hanger to easily see the size of the outfit, or used as dividers on the rod (for the very organized!). 

I’ll be giving away a set of these tags with the hangers!  Just leave a comment in this blog post to be entered to win. You’ll receive an additional entry for linking to this post on your blog, on Facebook, or Twitter!  All winners will be announced on June 28th.

Supplies:

• wooden craft shapes
• Mod Podge (I like Matte)
• Spray acrylic clear sealer
• acrylic paint
• digital kit in theme with your shapes – I used the FABULOUS Flight of Fancy by Elise Hansen
• foam brushes
• buttons
• twine
• permanent ink pad ( I used StazOn)
• Permanent ink pen
• pencil
• glossy accents
• clothespins

Let’s get started!

Based on the measurements of the wood pieces, I cut and pasted the images from the digital kit that I needed into a Word document.  I resized the designer papers so I had just what I needed and no waste.  I also pulled in the airplane image and two banners.  The “special delivery” letters and the “Name:” and “Born:” were text boxes that I could move and layer over the banners.  The Special Delivery, while destined to be a message in the cloud shaped sky, was left to print on the white cardstock so I could hand trim those letters to be small rectangles.  Once I had everything I needed, I hit print and I was on my way.

I wasn’t sure if my inkjet printer ink would be able to withstand a layer of mod podge without smearing so I sprayed a portion of my printed sheet with a fine mist of clear acrylic spray.  The Scrapbook Spray was something I had on hand, but a plain old clear finish spray paint would do the trick as well I think.

It’s very slight, but if you enlarge the above photo, you will see that the “Born:” type that was not first sprayed with an acrylic sealer smeared when I foam brushed on the Mod Podge.  I set about clear sealing the rest of the page and reprinted the “Born:” banner.

Once everything was clear sealed, I brushed on Mod Podge in smooth, same direction strokes.  Be as consistent as possible since your stroke lines will be present when the Mod Podge dries.

While your page of Mod Podged items is drying, paint your wooden shapes.  I used acrylic craft paint I had on hand.  I painted two coats on the back of the shapes as this layer will show in the finished product.  I also painted the edges and towards the middle of the front of the shapes.

Be sure to get the edges painted and clean off any pools of paint in the crevices.

Once the images and the Mod Podged page are TOTALLY dry, trace the shapes on the portions of the printed image sheet that will serve as the background paper to the wooden shapes.  The Mod Podged image sheet, once dry, takes on a feel of wallpaper and is very easy to write on and cut out.

Of course, since my images were already painted, I had to ERASE the pencil marks after tracing.  WHOOPS!  If possible, trace your images onto the dry mod podged image sheet before painting them!

So here they are, painted wood shapes and their matching cutout papers.

Next, apply a layer of Mod Podge to the front of the wooden shape and smooth the matching paper image over the top.

Let the images dry completely on the wooden shapes.

I sponged Timber Brown Staz on around the edges for a more rustic feel.

Next I applied the small images by brushing Mod Podge to the back of the cut out images and smoothing them on with a baby wipe to help clean up the edges where extra Mod Podgehad escaped.  A damp paper towel would work well too.  A final layer of Mod Podge was applied to the whole shape to further seal the project.

Add fine details with a slick writer or other permanent marker…in this case, black lines to connect the “Special Delivery” sign.

Next I chose some coordinating buttons and a length of twine to string my items together.

I wove the hemp twine in and out of the buttons down to the bottom of the airplane.  Any open button holes were filled with a short piece of twine and tied for decoration.

Slide the buttons to make room for the cloud and the airplane and then use invisible tape to temporarily hold the images in place.  I held the string of items against a wall to see that everything was balanced the way I was hoping.

Carefully fold back areas of tape to clothespin the twine to the shapes in preparation for the liquid glue.

With the twine arranged and held in place, use glossy accents to run a bead of glue down the length of twine on the backs of the cloud and the airplane.

Here’s how it looks right after applying the glue.  Then leave it alone while it dries.  Mine took about an hour but more dry time would be better

That’s it!  Here it is hanging on baby’s wall!  The parents can personalize it with a sharpie marker or you can deliver it personalized by adding another layer of mod podge and little letters like in the cloud above.    This keepsake easily moves from gift bag or box, to wall, to baby’s scrapbook or ???  So many fun possibilities with this one!  A note: wood contains lignin which produces an acidic environment as it ages.  Even though this piece is well sealed with mod podge and paint, take care in allowing wood to touch irreplaceable photos in scrapbooks.  With the ease of digital photography, I feel very free in using almost anything in my scrapbooks but I felt it fair to issue the warning just in case

I hope this tutorial finds it’s way to your creative space.  I can’t wait to see what else can be done with these wooden shapes as this is, no doubt, only a few of the many, many wonderful ideas out there.  Please feel free to ask any questions that I have not answered here in the comments or on my blog.  I will be happy to answer them. 

How about a giveaway?  This project will be part of the door prize gifts that will be given away to lucky random posters throughout the week.  Please enter you comment here to be eligible.  Also, you can get an extra chance to win if you blog, twitter, or mention our baby shower on Facebook and link us up just like we did for NSD - please spread the word about what’s happening here at The Hybrid Chick

Thanks so much for visiting today and I hope you’ll be back for MORE amazing gift and project ideas this week and next, all about sweet babies!  Can you smell the pink lotion and baby powder yet?