The DSC family is growing!  In case you didn’t hear, our fearless leader Heather recently had a baby!  That makes a total of four boys – and one very busy mommy.  To celebrate, we surprised her with a whole week of baby-related crafts, throwing a virtual baby shower here on the blog.  Did you miss it?  No worries!  Here is a recap of the week: ten fabulous projects for expectant mothers and their tiny new people!

[DIY Ruffled Belly Band by See Kate Sew]

[DIY Cloud Decor by A Nest For All]

[DIY All-Natural Baby Wipes by Evermine Blog]

[Retro Pac Man Baby Blanket by Morena]

[Glittered Pacifiers by Bombshell Bling]

[Baby Footprint Heart Art by Crazy About My Baybah]

[DIY Hanging Soft Toys by Rhonda]

[DIY Sock Monkey by Craft Passion]

[Mustache Pacifiers by Creative Green Living]

[Baby Neckties from Fabric Scraps by The DIY Mommy]

The post 10 Crafts for Babies and Expectant Mothers appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Do you have a fabric problem? If you’re like me, you may not be able to part with your fabric scraps. Or you might have a tendency to buy fat quarters when they are on sale for $1 without any real plan for how to use them. If you’ve got some manly prints in your stash, these little neckties from The DIY Mommy are are the perfect way to use them up! [how to make baby neckties]

Project estimate:

• 1/4 yard cotton quilting fabric, on hand or $1 and up
• 1 inch wide velcro, on hand or $1 and up
• Sewing machine, on hand
• Free pattern (available at The DIY Mommy)

Total: Free and up!

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One of my favorite baby trends of all time is the mustache. Maybe it’s because I live  in Portland. Maybe it’s because my husband has a beard. But either way, I love it and show you how to make them over on Creative Green Living. If you know a little hipster (or a little hipster on the way!), these mustache binkies are perfect! [how to make mustache binkies]

Project estimate:

• Brown craft foam, on hand or $1 and up
• Scissors, on hand
• Binky or pacifier, $1 and up
• Craft Glue, on hand

Total: $1 and up

The post Make Mustache Pacifiers appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

I love hanging toys for babies, the kind that you can velcro around a car seat handle or anything else it will fit around, and nearly every infant I’ve ever met loves them too.  I have to confess that my sewing skills aren’t the greatest (actually, calling them “skills” is kind of a long shot), but I figured that this kind of toy ought to be something I am capable of whipping up on my own.  Not only was I successful, but it actually turned out pretty cute – and if I can do it, anyone can!

Project estimate:

• Baby washcloths, $1
• Sewing machine and/or needle and thread, on hand
• Polyfill, on hand or about $3
• Velcro, on hand or $1
• Template, free

Total:  $1 and up

You can use any soft fabric for this project; I chose to use baby washcloths because I love the colors and they are made from a very soft material.  Fleece would also work well.

Choose a shape – something simple like a star or heart works best – and make a paper template.  I just found a star graphic that I liked and printed it out in the appropriate size.  Remember that your finished shape will be smaller than the ones you initially cut because of seam allowances, so keep that in mind as you are coming up with a template.  Use the template to cut two of the same shape.  I used two different washcloths so the star is a different color on each side, but you can of course do two of the same if you prefer.

Pin the two shapes together.  If your fabric has a front side and a back side, make sure that you pin the shapes with the fronts facing each other.  My washcloths were fuzzier on one side and I wanted that side to face outward on the final project, so at this point in the project I pinned them with the fuzzy sides facing in.  Sew most of the way around, leaving about a 1″ to 2″ unsewn area at what will be the top of the toy.  (I left one of the points of my star unsewn.)  Use that gap to flip the shape right-side-out.

Stuff the shape with Polyfill.  To make a strip for hanging the star, I cut up another washcloth to make a long strip about 3″ wide and 12″-ish long.  (This is also a great time to dig into those fabric scraps!)  Fold the strip in half lengthwise and sew along the long edge to form a tube; also sew one of the short edges to make a finished end.  Turn the strip right-side-out through the unsewn end.  Pin the unsewn end of the strip into the gap at the top of your shape and carefully hand-sew around the rest of the shape, tucking in the raw edges as you go.

Sew a small piece of velcro to the strip for hanging, placing the two parts of the velcro in such a way that when you wrap the end of the strip around something, it forms a loop.  Ideally I would have used white velcro, but the black is what I had on hand, so I just went with it.

The finished toy is ready to entertain baby on the go!  You could even make fun variations on this project – try adding a squeaky insert inside the toy so that it makes noise when you squeeze it, or add elastic to the hanging strip to make the toy bouncy.  There are so many possibilities!

The post Tutorial: DIY Hanging Soft Toys appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Babies grow up way too fast, don’t they?  It seems like one minute they’re tiny and helpless, and the next minute they’re walking and talking.  Commemorate your little one’s tininess by making this adorable heart footprint art from Chickie at Crazy About My Baybah.  Make it as a wonderful gift for grandparents or godparents, or create one to add to a display of family photos or memorabilia.  You can even customize the text in the background to make this into a truly personalized, thoughtful gift.  [how to make baby footprint heart art]

Project estimate:

• Ink pad, on hand
• Cardstock, on hand
• Glue, on hand
• Computer and printer, on hand
• Picture frame, on hand or $1
• Baby feet, on hand

Total:  Free and up!

The post Make Baby Footprint Heart Art appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Every girl baby needs a bit of glam. If big, puffy, baby headbands aren’t for you maybe a subtle glitter pacifier is more your style? Sarah from Bombshell Bling shows us how to upgrade boring pacifiers into cute pieces of sparkle with just a few ingredients!  (Mod Podge is non-toxic, so you don’t have to worry about using it in such close proximity to baby’s mouth, and it will also seal in the glitter so your little one won’t become sparkly as well!)   [how to make glittered pacifiers]

Project estimate:

• Pacifier, $1 and up
• Glitter, on hand or $1 and up
• Mod Podge, on hand or $5 and up

Total: $1 and up

The post Make Glittery Pacifiers appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Project estimate:

• Blanket, $1
• Wash clothes, $1 for pack of 4 (I used 2 packs)
• Fusible Web (like Wonder Under), on hand or $2 and up
• Iron, on hand
• Black paint, on hand

Total:  $3 and up

Step one:  Iron the fusible web onto the back of the wash clothes.

Step two:  Use a template to trace the ghosts, PacMan, eyes, and circles on the paper part of the fusible web.

Step three:  Cut out all the pieces, remove the paper backing, and arrange on the blanket.

Step four:  Once you’ve arranged the pieces, iron them on.

Step five:  Use paint to make eyes on the ghosts.

If this blanket will get handled and washed quite a bit, you’ll probably want to stitch around the edges of the appliques to reinforce them.  I think this would make an adorable photo prop, or just a fun play mat for baby to lounge on in style, like my hip nephew Marcel is doing here.

The post Tutorial: Retro PacMan Baby Blanket appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

It seems like these days nearly every product on the shelf at the store has some sort of chemicals added to it.  And when it comes to your precious little bundle of joy, all of those chemicals can be scary!  How do you avoid them?  One way to limit your baby’s expose to chemicals is to DIY many of the products that typically contain them.  Over at Evermine Blog, Stephanie shares a recipe and instructions for making your own, all-natural bay wipes.  While the cost for your first batch of wipes may seem steep because you need to buy a couple of special ingredients, each batch only uses a small amount of these ingredients, so in the long run they should actually cost less than store-bought wipes, and you get the peace of mind that comes with knowing you’re being as gentles as possible to that adorable little bum!  [how to make DIY, all-natural baby wipes]

Project estimate:

• Paper towels, $1
• Large container, on hand or $1
• Distilled water, on hand or $1
• Witch hazel, about $10
• Liquid castile baby soap, about $10

Total:  about $21

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If you love whimsical decor, there is no room in the house that is more fun to decorate than a baby nursery!  After all, who wouldn’t want their infant to be surrounded by a magical dreamland?  Create an ethereal, nature-inspired look with these DIY hanging cloud decorations from Amy at A Nest for All Seasons.  The great thing about this project is its resourcefulness, using whatever you have on hand to create the frame for the clouds; Amy used an old lamp shade and a basket for hers.  She gives some other great suggestions and tips for using repurposed and recycled materials in her post, so make sure you stop by her blog!  [how to make DIY hanging clouds]

Project estimate:

• Lampshade or basket, on hand or $1 and up
• Styrofoam pieces, on hand or $1 and up
• White sheet, on hand
• Batting and/or polyfill, on hand or about $3
• Spray adhesive, on hand or about $3 and up

Total:  Free and up!

The post Make DIY Cloud Decor appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

If you have been pregnant any time in the last five years or so, you are probably well aware of the miracle that is the belly band. If you haven’t been pregnant that recently, let me tell you: it’s awesome! It helps hold up your pants (both maternity and pre-maternity) as well as gives your belly some extra coverage from shirts that are too short to cover. Plain belly bands will cost you upward of $10 each but if you follow the tutorial on See Kate Sew, you can make your own for just a few dollars (or even for free if you use an old t-shirt!). [how to make a ruffled pregnancy belly band]

Project estimate:

• 1/2 yard stretchy knit fabric OR a stretchy t-shirt, on hand or $3 and up
• Sewing machine, on hand

Total: Free and up!

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