{Homemade Baby Scrapbook}

It seems like there's always a baby being born to someone we know -- part of the deal

when you and most of your friends are in their 30's, I guess.

Mike (David's co-worker) and Crystal are next in line to board the parent express. Their

family will soon grow by one bundle of love who will no doubt be the conductor of all

things in their family for many months to come. Some friends of the mom-to-be threw

her a lovely shower over the weekend. I decided to bring something homemade as their

gift -- an 8x8 scrapbook that they can add their own photos to once the baby arrives.

I used this one, which I made last year, as a guide for about two-thirds of it. Having it for

layout inspiration meant I didn't have to recreate the wheel for every single page, and it

sped things up a little bit. I did my best to use neutral colors since the baby's gender is

going to be a surprise. It was actually more challenging to go neutral than I expected,

but I think it worked in the end.

Each page has a space for photos that are 5x7, 4x6, 3.5x5, or 2x3 wallets. The background

for each picture is slightly larger than the photo. So, it'll create a nice border that helps it

pop off the page.

Blah, blah, blah. Let's get a look at the thing, right?

Your wish is my command ...

I'm loving gray these days. It seemed like a good neutral color for the album cover.

I typed up a "stats" sheet for the parents to fill out once the baby arrives. "The name we

gave you ... your date of birth ... time you took your first breath ... length from tip to toe

... every ounce of you is perfection." It must be so exciting for parents to document the

beginning of a brand new life.

This page will work for photos from the pregnancy, the nursery, her baby showers,

or the day of birth.


A spot for 5x7 photos.


They'll want to document their new family of three!


I imagine a sequence of expressions, crying pictures or sleeping pictures here.


While this will be Mike and Crystal's first human baby, they do already have a four-legged

kiddo at home. He's a gorgeous, sweet black lab named Gauge. This page is for him and

the baby. :) The sticker at bottom left says, "Every child should have two things: A dog

and a mom willing to let him have one." Yes, indeed.


I just love this orange and white paper. It's so fresh and happy. The jungle animals

seemed like a perfect fit since that's the theme they chose for their baby's nursery.


Pride and Joy -- Yeah, I thought that was clever phrasing. :)


This is another page where any photos of the baby will work. Nice and basic.


Had to include a grandparents page. Across the bottom, it says,

"They sprinkle stardust on the lives of little children."


The very last page says, "The only thing worth stealing is a kiss from a sleeping baby."

With that, I just needed to pop it in a box and wrap it for gifting! How adorable are

my sweet, faithful assistants? My goodness, I love those two. :)

I had a great time at the shower. (It was fun to get dressed up and do the party thing.)

You can't go wrong with a chocolate fountain, tons of fresh fruit, beautiful mini cupcakes,

and lovely Bellini's made with bubbly and fresh pureed fruit. Indeed.