This post originally appeared on our old blog Born to be a Bride.
I’ve always been a scrapbooker, but the daily chaos of working, planning a wedding, and having a baby in recent years means lots of bags or boxes full of scrappable items and one daunting list of to-do’s. However, I have this weak spot when it comes to Willow and so far I’ve been very good about her stuff. She has a newborn box filled with treasures from her first week of life, a journal in which I write letters to her about her progress and my dreams for her, and of course, the nursery that I poured all that time and love into.
But when we moved from Bethesda, watching her little room get dismantled was truly jarring. I was excited about the opportunity to decorate a new, larger nursery with tons of light and wall space. And to do it as a non-nine months pregnant person. But I was sad to say goodbye to Willow’s first room. So I decided to make the world’s laziest shadowbox, but what full-time-work-from-home nursing mama to an almost-six-month-old has time for nails or proper measurements? I absolutely love how this turned out and will definitely be making one in the future for the rest of the babies. (Yes, Josh, if you are reading this, I am still planning on having more babies, plural.)
Here’s what you need:
nontoxic kids’ craft paint (I like Crayola because you can take it right off with a baby wipe)paint brushcard stockprinted photograph(s)paint pen or Sharpieany paper memorabilia you’d like to includeyour baby’s feet (the whole baby is great, but we just need the feet here)a picture frame (ours was $5 at Target)washable glue (I’m paranoid about chemicals — I went with Elmer’s clear)
When using Willow in an actual craft, I like to take care of her portion of the program first. This way, the rest of the piece will be built around wherever her little wiggly feet went, rather than trying to get them to conform to a layout that’s already set.
One foot at a time, dip your paintbrush into the paint and lightly spread upon the sole of the foot. Bring the card stock to the baby, rather than the other way around, line up where you’d like it to go, and swiftly press paper into foot. Hold still to secure the imprint for a couple of seconds and then release straight away. Repeat with other foot (or hand) as desired. Clean baby off.
Assemble the rest of the items (I used a gold dot wall decal from Willow’s original nursery and a picture of her in her crib) on cardstock and glue. Leave out to dry 24 hours to ensure there are no bumps. Write something meaningful that will help you remember the time. In this case, “Willow’s First Nursery” did it for me. Pop it in the frame and you’re done. Seriously, was that not the laziest craft ever?
PS. These are also really nice ways to slap your wedding memories up. You could write out your vows, include a couple of photos, and in lieu of the baby foot prints, make a print of something else like your rings.
