Tag Archives: Gracie

Newborn Baby Shadowbox

DIY newborn baby shadowbox- Great tips! | gracefulmommy.com

DIY newborn baby shadow box- Great ideas! | gracefulmommy.com

Don’t keep baby’s newborn mementos in a box under the bed- display them in a beautiful shadowbox!

I always heard moms say how fast time flies with kids. I get it now. Time really does speed by! I can’t believe Gracie is almost five months old. I wanted to make a shadowbox that would hold all of the memories from Gracie’s birth so I can always remember that special day. When I was making this shadowbox, memories of her birth came rushing back to me! That’s why I love this project. I’m going to hang it in Gracie’s nursery so I can always have these memories to look at! It’s just so beautiful!

diy newborn baby shadow box - Great tips! | gracefulmommy.com

Materials You Need

Shadowbox- Mine opens from the front, but you can get any type.

Sewing pins- They are prettier than thumbtacks and they come in different colors.

Background Paper- Gracie’s new nursery theme will be white and gold so I wanted it to match. Burlap would also be cool! Pick something that is neutral or goes with the nursery. 

(Side note: I got all of my materials at Hobby Lobby. They have some really cute shadowboxes!)

Mementos from birth- See the list below for some good ideas! 

DIY newborn baby shadowbox- Great tips! | gracefulmommy.com

Baby Items I Included

Going home outfit

Baby’s hospital bracelet

Photo from hospital

Newborn hat

Baby blanket

Sock

Footprints- I scanned Gracie’s footprints to reduce the size of them to fit!

Shower invitation

Ultrasound photo

DIY newborn baby shadowbox- Great tips! | gracefulmommy.com

DIY newborn baby shadowbox- Great tips! | gracefulmommy.com

Other Items to Include 

Pacifier

Handprints

Birth Announcement

Hospital bassinet card

Newborn diaper

How To Layer Items

It was really tricky to fit everything I wanted inside the shadowbox. Make two piles of your baby mementos. One pile of things you must include and one pile of maybe items. Start with the big items first- like the going home outfit and the baby blanket. The shadowbox I got was not a very deep one, so it was tricky getting everything in. I cut the blanket into a square so it would fit. And it took a couple of tries to fold the newborn outfit just perfect to fit. Play around with it until you get it right. Start putting the items down and rearrange them until the shadowbox looks good. Once you like the way it looks, start pinning stuff down! Remember, you can always rearrange stuff!

DIY newborn baby shadowbox- Great tips! | gracefulmommy.com

I love this project because Gracie’s beautiful keepsakes from her birth are now beautifully displayed. And yes… I get a little teary eyed every time I look at it! *Special thanks to my mom-in-law (Grandma!) for her help with the project!*

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What did you do with all of your newborn’s mementos?

 

Document baby’s first year: A photo a day

Having a new baby has been the most exciting time of my life! Each day is filled with moments that I never want to forget. The days are going by so fast and I don’t want to miss out on anything! I found a way to document all of Gracie’s funny faces, smiles, laughs, and yes… even her cries. I was first just testing out a new app I found in the app store, and it turned out to be one of my favorite parts of my day! This simple project is a great way to document your baby’s first year of life… by choosing one photo a day.

Documenting baby's first year: A photo a day project | www.gracefulmommy.com

To do this photo journal project, you need to download the collect app. It’s technically called collect-photo journal in the app store. It isn’t free… it costs $1.99- but it is so worth it. You won’t regret it. Simply take a photo every day of your baby. If you are like me, you probably take like 1,000 photos a day. HA! But seriously. You can only choose one a day. That’s the hard part- choosing the one photo that sums up that day. But I also like that about this app. It simplifies all my photos to just my favorite one of the day.

Documenting baby's first year: A photo a day project | www.gracefulmommy.com

Everytime you upload a picture, you can journal a few sentences to remind yourself of what you did that day. I don’t know about you, but this is just an easy way to journal! I know I will be happy with myself that I took the time to document what happened each day. Now I won’t have to say… hmm.. when did Gracie first roll over? I can just look in my app!

Document baby's first year | www.gracefulmommy.comDocument baby's first year | www.gracefulmommy.com

This app puts the photos into a calendar format. I love this! It is so organized and easy to look at. I love going back and looking at past months. Gracie is almost 5 months old and it is so much fun to look back at how much she has already changed.

Documenting baby's first year | www.gracefulmommy.com

Once the month is over (side note: did I mention how fast time goes??!?), I use another app to edit my calendar to make it a little prettier. The collect app has the option to do this, but you have to pay extra. I already had an editing app that I love so I went with that one. I use the Rhonna Designs app ($1.99) to edit the month photo.

To edit the month, click the share button in the collect app. Click create collage and choose a collage design. I always choose the basic one so I can add designs in my editing app. You can also just choose the one that already has the month and the year. If you want to edit your calendar more, open up your photo in the Rhonna Designs app. I always make sure to add the month and the year to my photos. Then, I usually add a few little designs to make it more fun. And there you go! You finished one month of your photo journal! Keep it up every day for 11 more months and you officially documented your baby’s first year of life with a photo a day!

I’ve already done 4 and half months of photo journaling with this app. I am planning on doing it as long as I can- even past Gracie’s first birthday! I think I will get the first 12 months printed out and make a book out of them! Stay tuned for a future blog post with her finished book!

Documenting baby's first year | www.gracefulmommy.com

Do you have any questions on how to do this project? How did you document your baby’s first year of life? I’d love to hear other ideas!

REVIEW: solly baby wrap

Solly Baby Wrap review | www.gracefulmommy.com

Solly Baby Wrap review | www.gracefulmommy.com

What is the Solly Baby Wrap? 

The Solly Baby Wrap is a long piece of stretchy, knit, fabric that allows you to wear your baby close to your body.

What is different? 

There are a lot of baby carriers out there- the Moby, Ergo, the ring sling, and a lot more. The Solly Wrap is different because of the material it is made out of. This wrap is made from a super stretchy, super thin material. It also comes in tons of colors!

Solly Baby Wrap review | www.gracefulmommy.com

The Good?

I absolutely love how thin this wrap is. Being in south Florida makes wearing your baby hard. In other carriers I try, I am instantly sweating. This one is awesome because the fabric is super breathable. I especially love the gray and white stripe design. It is so classic + beautiful. The Solly wrap is small enough that it can fit inside my diaper bag. The creator of Solly Wrap has her own YouTube channel where she shows you how to put it on. Love this! Another good thing is this doubles as a blanket or even a nursing cover if you need to! And… it’s just beautiful. It makes any outfit instantly cuter.

The Bad?

The YouTube videos definitely help when you are learning how to put this thing on, but it still is difficult the first couple of times. It took me about three times to feel confident in putting Gracie in. One thing I noticed is that I get a little tired after wearing Gracie in this after a while. Also, I think it would be hard to nurse while wearing baby in the wrap- although I bet you could.

Best for?

The Solly Baby Wrap is great for a baby’s first year or up to 25 lbs. I think it is best for babies up to 6 months. After 6 months I think Gracie may be a little heavy for me in this wrap. This wrap is perfect for moms that want to get stuff done, but don’t want to always put baby down to do things. I would also say its best for moms but dads can TOTALLY rock it!

Solly Baby Wrap review | www.gracefulmommy.com

Where? 

I bought mine at Sollybaby.com . It was so hard to pick which one because they are all SO cute!

Overall?

The Wrap is kinda pricey at $65, but SO worth it! I love putting Gracie in this wrap to shop, do housework, or just to calm her down. She instantly is at peace in the Solly and usually falls right asleep. I would definitely recommend getting one!

Solly Baby Wrap review | www.gracefulmommy.com

My vote?

You need one!

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