Free Download: Baby Care Chart

Are you a bleary-eyed and sleep-deprived parent of a newborn (as I soon will be, come August)? Track your baby's feeding, diapering and sleeping patterns. These are handy to take to your pediatrician appointments in the early weeks when you can't even remember what you had for dinner, let alone the 10 times your baby ate that day!

I've made these charts available in three different colors; just print off several copies and fill in.

• Pink chart
• Green chart
• Blue chart

Old Window Shutters

If you find some old plantation shutters at a rummage sale or antique store (or, in my case, if your mom has a few extra taken off the windows from her 1930s home), consider this simple project.

1) Clean with a mild bleach solution and consider repainting depending on the shutters' condition.

2) Hinge the shutters together to span the desired length for your wall hanging. I wanted my shutters to afford our queen-size bed a more substantial-looking headboard, so I had my husband attach 4 medium width panels and 2 small width panels together.

3) Drill pilot holes in wall, and using anchors, screw in all four corners. You'll need to add more screws in the middle of the wall hanging if you want it flush. Otherwise, leaving it loose in the middle will achieve a more multi-dimensional look (almost like there is a window behind the slightly ajar shutters).

Father's Day Photo Display

This photo display will be a surprise for Father's Day; it's a collection of endearing moments between daughter and daddy. It could also be adapted for a graduation display, baby shower, birthday or any other holiday. Here are the steps to this easy project:

1) Collect an assortment of clear jars (e.g., pickle, jam, olive, applesauce, etc.).
2) Thoroughly clean jars.
3) Remove the labels by soaking in vinegar and water .
4) Let jars air dry.
5) Measure the approximate height and width of each jar. Don't worry about being perfectly accurate, because you can always trim the photos to fit later.
6) Select your favorite digital photos and convert them to black and white for a gallery effect.
7) Re-size them to the custom sizes in Photoshop (or another photo editing program) to fit the jars.
8) Print out the photos on photo paper at home.
9) Slip the photos into the jars.
10) Arrange on table, shelf, window sill or mantle to display.

Citrus Infusion

What do you get when you combine a 99-cent bag of lemons and a homeowner who's ready for some summer color?

Citrus-inspired redecorating, my friend, and all on the cheap! Here are all my "supplies," purchased from a dollar store and fabric clearance store that totaled $30. I knew that I could incorporate these tangerine, lemon and turquoise accents into my neutral living and dining rooms to usher in a fresh, summery look--and I wanted to share the results.

1) Cover accent pillows with new fabric. I used no-sew ironing hem tape to temporarily cover these pillows (admittedly, I'm not handy with a sewing machine...yet!)

2) Change out candles and fill glass containers with fresh fruit. My mantel got the easiest treatment, but with big impact. The fruit and candles add nice color and wonderful fragrance, too. These lemons will make great lemonade in a week or so, and I can always swap them out for some oranges or another inexpensive, seasonal fruit.

3) Add accents in the center of the room and at the corners of adjoining rooms. On the coffee table (left), I positioned this orange and white kitchen towel under the glass of a serving tray and topped it off with a tea light candle and yellow daisies in a decorative pot with river rocks as mulch. A sea-blue accent filled with potpourri sits on our record player (right), dividing the living and dining rooms.

4) Use potted annuals for pops of color that last longer than cut flowers. Reserving the brighter colors for the living room, I still wanted to freshen up the adjoining dining room, but with a more subtle palette. I brought in the outdoors with this centerpiece. A small, natural weave rug anchors the planter I found in my garage, which holds three potted flowers nestled in a row. The foliage and blossoms serve to fill in the gaps on the edges of the container without having to add extra soil.

5) Enlist the help of an adorable toddler. Here, my 2-year-old daughter reveals a shot of the whole room for you all. She loved counting the lemons to put in the glass vase and bowl, and in spite of Mommy's instructions not to touch the flowers, she's still bringing me daisy blossoms she has plucked from the arrangements...sigh. I don't really mind. :)

Double Duty

Admittedly, at two years old, my baby girl is no longer a baby, so we recently transitioned her out of her crib into a full-size bed. We used her old crib to make a headboard for the new bed, even though it wasn't a convertible crib, per se.

This repurposing project worked out great because even though we have a baby on the way who will need a crib, our old crib was a drop-side, used crib that we were no longer comfortable with due to all the crib recalls and safety issues. I feel perfectly justified buying a new crib for the new baby, especially since we were able to repurpose the old one instead of tossing it.
Here's the finished headboard. Basically, my husband took the two ends of the crib and used metal brackets to attach them at the back. Then, he used furniture wall straps to tether the headboard to the wall--nice and secure. This headboard could fit up to a queen-size bed, and I love that my daughter still has a piece of her babyhood with her as she sleeps.

Potato Stamped Towels

• 2 potatoes, cut in half and carved for stamps
• assorted fabric paint colors
• 4-pack white flour sack towels ($9.99 at World Market)

Crafting is simply more fun with a toddler involved. (Plus, it gives you an excuse if the results aren't magazine-page perfect!) For Mother's Day, my 2-year-old and I used potato stamps for creating gifts. She loved following my instructions to dip the potato in the paint and repeat the same pattern all along the hemline. We ended up with some whimsical, one-of-a-kind dish towels.

P.S. I apologize for the long hiatus in posting this spring! From moving into a new house to approaching my third trimester with Baby #2, I've been pretty busy (and tired). Hopefully, I'll be able to return to monthly posts from here on out. Happy Mother's Day to all! :)

Handprint Keepsake

This was my daughter's Christmas gift to her grandmothers--a handprint keepsake. First, I gathered these supplies:

• 5x5 photo frame (preferably with a complementary mat)
• sturdy fabric on which to stitch handprint
• fabric marker one shade deeper than the fabric you've chosen
• contrasting thread (I used cross-stitching floss)

Then, I traced my daughter's hand with the fabric marker to give myself a template to stitch around. I didn't worry too much about getting every stitch perfect, and I was pleased by the casual and homemade results.

After finishing the border, I filled in the inside with the same fabric marker for a little more contrast. Then I mounted it in the photo frame (you could do a custom size if you wanted to), and the gift was complete! I also made sure to date the back of the frame with "Christmas 2009."

Because I used scrap fabric and thread, the only cost came from purchasing the photo frame, which was on sale for $5 at a local craft store. It was a simple project that took very little time and cash, but brought joyful tears to Nana's eyes and will be a keepsake for years to come. :)