Like most first time moms, I had a great fear about SIDS and wanted to know what I could do to help prevent it from happening in our home. When it was time for bed, we laid Brielle down on her back without any blankets or toys with a ceiling fan on low. Knowing that she might still be a bit chilly, I happily tucked her into our HALO SleepSack Swaddle, which was provided by the hospital. (Check out this post where I raved about this particular SleepSack Swaddle design!) Once she outgrew the SleepSack Swaddle design and was transitioned to her crib, I happily switched her over to a regular SleepSack for a good night’s sleep.
Today, I’m excited to share that I’ve teamed up with the great folks of HALO to let you know about a new adorable set of designs that are now available at Pottery Barn Kids! You already know about my love of Pottery Barn Kids patterns, since I used this awesome pink polka dot black out curtains in her nursery. (PS since this photoshoot, we have rearranged the room, switching the changing table with the crib so she’s not near the curtains at night!)
This spring Pottery Barn Kids came out with a whole new collection of adorable bedding designs, which conveniently coordinate with the new HALO SleepSacks!
We were generously donated the pink SleepSack you see above but they also have SleepSack Swaddle designs for smaller babies. They come in both organic cotton or snuggly chamois, and like most Pottery Barn Kids items, can be embroidered with the baby’s name!
Want to know more about these HALO SleepSacks?
HALO Innovation’s SleepSack® wearable blankets have become the standard for hospital nurseries and parents alike. In fact, 1,250 hospital nurseries use the HALO SleepSack Swaddle instead of blankets through the HALO Safer Way to Sleep Initiative. HALO Innovations also offers free Safe Sleep Practices kits to childbirth educators to help further the cause of SIDS prevention. Follow HALO to learn more: Website | Facebook | Pinterest | Twitter
At almost eight months, Brielle now uses her SleepSacks for a long night’s sleep and the occasional nap, if it’s chilly. The best part about these SleepSacks are that they zip up from the bottom to help make those late night diaper changes quick and easy. You can see her demonstrating this in the above photo with a very confused face. 
Good night, sweet baby!
I’m happy to announce that the great folks at HALO have generously offered to sponsor a giveaway to a Spot of Tea Designs reader! To win one of your very own, follow the rafflecopter widget below! One winner will receive 1 SleepSack or Swaddle shipped directly from HALO! Giveaway ends April 20th at Midnight!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Good luck!
Disclosure: I was compensated with a product sample by HALO for this post, but the opinions are all mine! Know that I will only promote items I personally use and stand behind! For more information on my disclosure policy, please visit this page.
Real life conversation with my husband Derek after hearing the “It’s a Girl” announcement:
Derek: “We’re not gonna put one of those things on her are we?”
Me: “What things?”
Derek: “Those strings with the flowers.”
Me: “A headband?”
Derek: “Yeah.”
Me: “Oh yes we are!”
What’s cuter than a bald baby or one with a full head of a hair with a cute headband on top? Since they can’t wear necklaces or bracelets, headbands are the perfect way to accessorize your mini me.
And accessorize I did! She’s worn store bought ones, ones I’ve DIYed, and ones others have made for her (Thanks again Becky!). But the problem lied in how to store them!
After picking up this scalloped picture frame with a 11×14 opening on clearance at Michaels for $8, I got to work making a headband display.
I removed the glass and wrapped the backer in fabric with three pieces of vertically hung ribbon. I sewed on a few buttons to hold the ribbons in place. When she’s older, I can slip in those harder plastic headbands inside within each “loop” that I created.
Derek added hooks at the bottom to hang to longer headbands. I can clip the coordinating clips onto the vertical ribbons.
We hung it up under the floating shelves in her room. Now we can easily coordinate a perfect outfit! In trying to get this shot, I captured the cutest little photo bomb, don’t you think?
Want to see her full nursery, including all the DIY elements created? Click here or the image above!
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Scrapbooking takes time. You have to take the pictures, then print the pictures, then match them with the best paper/embellishments, then find the time to actually adhere them all down and finally journal! Since I already did most of the work in coordinating papers together, I like to take those scraps and turn them into quick cards.
You’ve already seen me do this with our Engagement Layout to make a Valentine’s Card:
And our Maternity Photo Spread to make a happy thoughts card:
Recently, I completed this layout about Brielle’s fourth month:
Afterwards, I grabbed all those little scraps of colorful papers and put them together to create a few cards with this fun caption bubbles punch!
So next time you’re scrapbooking, don’t throw away those little scraps, get crafting and make a quick card!
Supplies: Patterned paper: Making memories? | Punch: EK Tools | Stamps: Inkadinkado, Hero Arts
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FACT: When I grab a bag of jelly beans, I go through and take out all the black ones and throw them out or put them aside for a certain someone. That someone is my mom.
She’s one of those rare breeds that actually LIKES the black jelly bean taste! I mean there must be more of her kind out there since they sell the black only bags! These oddballs, like my mom, were the inspiration for this latest design. If you know of others like her, check out my Cafepress shop for products featuring this “I’m A Black Jelly Bean Lover” design.
In other news…
HOLLY CRAFT won my WubbaNub giveaway via a random number generator! Thank you to everyone who participated! For those of you expecting a little one in the family or know of friends doing so, you might want to sign up to follow my blog as I’ll be hosting another kid friendly giveaway soon!
Congrats HOLLY!
A few weeks ago, my mom celebrated a milestone birthday. Now I won’t put her age out there on the internet, but you might have a guess after reading about my dad’s recent milestone birthday party. :) She didn’t want a big party, as we just did that for my dad, but instead, she booked an all inclusive vacation for her and my dad so she could escape this horrible Jersey winter.
When trying to think of what to do for her birthday and knowing that she always loves a handmade gift, my sister and I began to put together a Shutterfly photobook
for her.
Growing up, our family seemed to have our own language when it came to some items — most of which involved food. In an attempt to make things more understandable for my younger sister and me, I guess my mom started using very literal terms to describe some foods.
Didn’t you know “orange noodles” was the correct term for mac and cheese? Or “CCs” was canned peaches due to their obvious similarity to the third letter of the alphabet? Most of these terms stuck and I didn’t realize how weird some of them really were until I was in college describing them to Derek or when we started using them for my nephew, Blake.
My sister and I began working on a family dictionary which included all my mom’s silly phrases along with other common words that our family just preferred. Dinner was supper. A pocketbook was our purse. Cream rinse was conditioner.
I’m sure some of that is a regional thing but I highly doubt the rest of the world calls ketchup, Italian dressing or gravy “dip it” and knows which item is which, depending on what is being served, right?
We also added some other words that brought on fun family memories. Like “flashlight” which was “the object which produces a beam of light that one was asked to hold when helping daddy.”
I wrote most of the copy, with suggestions on new terms from my sister, and we both collected images from our pasts or had our kids act out new ones. Overall, my mom got a kick out of our family dictionary and was laughing to tears while trying to read some of the definitions out loud!
If your family is like mine with a language all their own, consider making your mom a family dictionary photobook at Shutterfly for the upcoming Mother’s Day holiday!
Or if your mom is the jewelry loving type, I highly suggest checking out Stampressions, my blog sponsor. I gave my sister one of her hand stamped necklaces last year with her son’s names on it and it was a big hit. Choose one of her beautiful designs as is, or customize with your own names/dates/birth stones! (Pst Become her fan on Facebook, as she usually offers a discount code for fans!)
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Just A GIrl and Her Blog, Ella Claire, DIY Dreamer, Lady Behind the Curtain, JAQs Studio, Cherished Bliss, Artsy Fartsy Mama, All Things With Purpose, Live Laugh Rowe, One Dog Woof, Kitchen Fun with My Three Sons, 30 Handmade Days, Happy and Blessed Home, Craft Dictator, Just Us Four Blog, Just Between Friends, Cheerios and Lattes, Sew Can Do, Two It Yourself,
DISCLOSURE: Some of the links in this post contain affiliate links or those representing a paid sponsor. To learn more about my affiliates, please review my disclosure policy here.
As a crafter, I know how long it takes to make some handmade gifts. Items I receive need more than the few minutes of love I can give it, so I’m happy to post these Handmade with Love posts that showcase great handmade cards or gifts I have received.
Allie recently broke out her knitting needles to create yet another beautiful creation for miss Brielle! She knit this colorful striped hat and gave it to me saying “I hope it doesn’t look too much like an Easter Egg.” I told her “I hope it does! It’s perfect for Easter!”
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My birthday wasn’t really anything special this year (is 32 really something to celebrate?). But a few friends and family worked their crafty magic to make some handmade cards, such as Liz’s pretty creation seen above!
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Here are a few more pages from Brielle’s Baby Scrapbook:
Each month of her first year, I plan to go through the VERY HARD task of looking at all the photos taken that month and picking out my favorites for a two page spread. In addition, I’ve been keeping a Google Document of all her milestones as they happen that I can easily access from my phone or on the computer. At the end of each month, I summed up the milestones and highlights that I can add to her growing scrapbook. Even if I fall behind on scrapbooking the pages, everything is already set up for me to write about it! Here are the layouts from the first few months:
Month 1: Basically everything is a first! I loved how many shots we got WITH her instead of just OF her. I also started the tradition of taking her monthly photos in labeled onesies! (and subsequently she started the tradition of soiling each of these onesies just after or during the photoshoot! Ahh motherhood.)
Supplies: Patterned Paper: Pink Paislee Cupid Collection, Martha Stewart Crafts | Chipboard Numbers: Heidi Swapp | Punch: EK Tools
Month 2 included a lot of growth! She was giving us these adorable smiles and silly faces that we captured often! I also moved her monthly photo shoots into her nursery on the pink rocking chair. I loved the one shot (seen second from the left) showing her little body in the big chair. I will make sure to capture this each month so we can see her grow into the chair!
Supplies: Patterned Paper: Making Memories | Punches: EK Tools, Creative Memories | Chipboard Shapes: Ek Success
Month 3 had lots of fun adventures with cousins, including attending Logan’s Baptism and her first Halloween with her cousin Brinley. I love how animated she seems (and was) during all the photos from this month.
Supplies: Patterned Paper: Bo Bunny It’s My Party Time, Martha Stewart Crafts | Chipboard Letters and Shapes: K&Company
Don’t forget to enter my giveaway for a free WubbaNub Infant Pacifier before March 31st!
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I’m VERY excited about today’s post and I think you will be too! You may remember this post a few months back:
In the post I shared Brielle’s favorite baby items from her first four months as my beautiful baby girl. You may also remember that a WubbaNub was one of the beloved items on this list. What’s a WubbaNub you ask? A WubbaNub is a little bean bag stuffed animal attached to a soothe pacifier. It helps newborns learn to hold the pacifier and put it back in when it falls out.
As you can see, Brielle was a big fan, using her WubbaNub when in her Rock N’ Play for naps, going for a stroller ride (we used to refer to this as “taking her puppy for a walk”) or hanging out in the Ergo baby carrier. Now that she’s a little older, she still uses her WubbaNub, but more like a toy stuffed animal that’s just her size! Brielle loves her Tabby Kitten and Red Dog, but you can see from this product page that the WubbaNub team has lots more animal designs to love!
Well the generous folks at WubbaNub have agreed to offer one Spot of Tea Designs follower their very own WubbaNub to be loved just as much as Brielle loves hers!
Enter to win via the Rafflecopter Widget below by March 31st. One winner (selected via a random number generator) will win one WubbaNub of their choice, shipped directly from the great folks at WubbaNub! Please note: US residents only.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Good luck!
The winner of the WubbaNub giveaway was HOLLY CRAFT!!!
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