The sheets of custom printed stickers are available at the same online sites that offer announcements, cards and invites. They may work as your sole announcement or as a supplement. Personally I would get the traditional announcements and use the sticker announcements to place on the back of custom photo books. It would be cheaper to have a sticker than to custom print the photo book cover.

Depending on whether you are buying your guests thank you gifts or favors a sticker with the birth stats on is a nice finishing touch. Think about using them on boxes of candies, backs of photo frames, inside baby books, on the back of photos, as a label on gift baskets, on the bottom of paper weights, flower vases and the inside of keepsake boxes.

The online printers have quite a lot of sticker templates that you can customize as much or as little as you want. Personally a completely custom sticker would be cute but if you have a template that matches your cards and other announcements that may provide a more cohesive look.

For some folks sending birth announcements is either odd or old fashioned. By customizing the birth announcement to suit your personal needs the idea of formally announcing baby becomes more personal. And sticky.

Make your own placemats. There are tons of shower themed kid’s place mats online that you can buy by the dozen but I’m not sure kids will want to create and keep a place mat with babies and alphabet blocks on them. Get some scrapbooking stuff, stiff card and some contact paper. Let them arrange the embellishments and then attach to the card using the contact paper to seal everything together.

I love little potted plants for kids. You can get seeds and create kits consisting of a clay pot, a small bag of soil, some seeds and an instruction sheet. Or you can have kids assemble their plants at the baby shower, taking small plants out of a larger container. Simple step craft projects keep kids quiet and focused. Of course supervision is a must.

Bubbles. Bubbles keep kids distracted and however boisterous they get they can’t do any real damage with bubbles. Add custom labels and choose bottles in the baby shower theme.  Keep them in a basket near the entrance to the venue to encourage the kids to step outside. Again a good babysitter will help parents relax.

Well that’s where I’m at right now. Making kids favors on a budget is fun because you get to think like a child again for a few minutes any way. More ideas coming soon. It’s important to entertain all of your guests.  Brain storm ideas for your next kid friendly shower and share your ideas.

In the olden days, you know the 1880s, it was common practice for little boys to wear dresses rather than pants until they were 6 or 7. So that means boys wearing dresses until they went into first grade. Long hair and shiny pretty shoes were also the norm for little boys. Dresses were light colored and fluffy but at the time not considered feminine. Can you imagine dressing your darling baby boy in a dress? I’m all for equality but wouldn’t that just be confusing?

I should mention white was the color of choice for baby clothes until very recently. White dresses worked for both boys and girls because they bleach easily. In a time when there was no fancy fabric softeners or baby specific laundry detergent hot water and bleach, maybe lye, was the only option. Baby clothes were not designed to indicate baby genders as they are today. Back in the day baby clothes were for convenience. So when did that change?

Colored baby clothes showed up about a century ago roughly in line with changes in the world of industry and consumerism but guess what? In the 1920s the rule was pink for boys and blue for girls. Yes ladies it was the other way around roughly up until the time of World War II. Then the women’s movement of the 1960s changed things up a little with a mix of gender neutral clothing and masculine clothes for girls.

When I was a child growing up in the eighties gender neutral clothing and practical baby clothes (pants instead of dresses) were the norm. Our moms were baby boomers and thought purple and yellow and perhaps even green was the way to go. In the last few years, when you can find out the sex of your child before they are born, gender based clothing has returned to popularity. Our social mores have made pink a feminine color and blue a masculine color. Manufacturers respond to the change and give consumers what they want. Today the gender colors are no big deal and only a part of the whole baby clothing package.

I do not consider myself a very traditional mom but I did dress my little guy in blue from birth and still do today as he becomes a full grown toddler. My nursery colors were raspberry blue and apple green and I don’t think I consciously wanted to make a gender statement they are just the colors I like. Its interesting to know how we got to this point with all the options for babies these days. Its not only birth announcements, custom printing and nice parties, today’s children get beautiful clothes that have come a long way from the unisex white dresses of the past.

Thank goodness for progress. My baby would have trashed a dressed in 2.5 seconds.

Okay so I admit my own baby boy is far from a baby these days. 16 month old baby Nik (read his antics at babypile.com) is quickly becoming a toddler. But that doesn’t stop me from finding images of him to fall in love with and wanting to print on something asap so I can share with everyone I know. So for those of us who have a cute photo of our growing baby and have already mailed the birth announcements, here are some possible printed items worth considering.

Oh and of course all these could be birth announcements too right?

For me, the fact that my little guy is sitting in an empty wine box was my inspiration for turning the image into a gift tag for wine based gifts. I could get laser printed stickers made up and attach them to plain luggage tags. If I add a wine charm with a little craft wire I could put the whole thing around the neck of a wine bottle.

If I cut out the background of this image even more, the sepia tone effect I put on the baby’s photo could work well with a vintage style announcement. In my case I think postcards or personalized stationary. Who doesn’t like a picture of a cute baby on the front of their thank you cards? Pretty sure most of you guys will need some thank you cards in the near future. That baby gear is pricey you know.

With a little photoshopping I could turn the wine box in this baby image into a Christmas present or gift box. Baby in a box or basket is such a cute way of letting people know what Santa or the stork brought for you. Remember a good birth announcement has a photograph you love and the rest is theme, background and color palette. A holiday or gift image works for both the birth announcement and the holiday card.

Whether it’s a birth announcement, thank you card, gift tag or holiday card utilizing your favorite images of your child will make you and your friends smile. Children are the keepsakes of our lives so why not share that treasure at every opportunity.

I think I just did.

The birth of a new child is a source of pride and celebration for many members of a family. Grandparents especially are apt to beam at the arrival of their own child’s new offspring. The grandparents may want to send out announcements of their new grandchild as much as the parents want to announce the birth of their new child. There are only a few adjustments necessary for the classic birth announcement to work as a grandparent’s birth announcement.

Wording is key on the grandparent’s birth announcement card. Proofread carefully and make sure all references to the actual birth parents or implications that the card is from the parents are removed from the text areas throughout the card. The parents will probably still be sending their own announcements out and overlapping mailings could confuse. Use the words “grandparents” or variations of the word within the announcement.

The style of the grandparent’s birth announcement can be whatever the grandparents choose but shouldn’t match the parent’s birth announcements. Consider themes that contrast the parent’s birth announcements or go vintage with some mid century images. If you are using a photograph as part of your design be sure to get the parents to approve the image before uploading to the printer.

When deciding who to send the grandparent’s birth announcement to, think about who the parents already have covered. Focus your mailing list on your friends and distant relatives who perhaps don’t have a relationship with your own children. For grandparents, birth announcements are more bragging rights than informative keepsakes. Be sure all your friends get a copy of your cards.

Sometimes more expensive just means better quality. The card may be thicker and laser cut to precision rather than stamped out on an old school stamping machine or hand cut with a table top paper cutter.  Many companies offer archival card stock for baby birth announcements. It’s not cheap but it ensures your images and words will last a lifetime.

The inks used in more expensive baby birth announcements are usually well constructed and resist fading. There’s nothing worse than reminiscing about your little one at their high school graduation party to discover their birth announcement has bled over the edges and the color has faded away. Some companies are offering soy inks for printing these days which means fewer chemicals to interfere with the aging process.

Photo quality is always better on the higher quality higher priced birth announcements. It may be your photograph but the right printer can make it look even better. Enhancements, clear images, fine lines and bright colors are the realm of the more expensive announcement. Anyone who has tried to print a photograph on their home printer will understand the difference between professional and amateur quality photographs.

Most of all, the reason to opt for the more expensive birth announcements are because it’s your baby and they more than deserve it. Forget the bulk packs of announcements at the dollar store and leave your home made announcements for close friends and family. Say to the world my baby is worth every penny with the best and the latest professionally printed birth announcement.

You’ll be glad you did.

Chocolate brown, tangerine orange, apple green and blue raspberry are some of the newer colors to find a foothold in the baby color scheme world. I love apple green and blue raspberry together. This isn’t only the colors of my son’s nursery but the accent tones I chose for his birth announcement cards. It was a good way to show people unfamiliar with the color palette a better idea of what I meant when I used the terms.

Of course try and find colors that suit your personal aesthetic but have in mind the many modern versions of traditional announcements on the market today. Taking traditional patterns such as polka dots and gingham squares and giving them a new spin is quite hot these days. Combining the classic patterns with new colors is often the way to go.

Additional hardware such as ribbons, eyelets, raised images or recessed patterns are a part of the change in baby announcement cards. This layering of texture is popular on the traditional fold over card whereas postcards styles tend to be thick, clean cut and glossy.

The basic idea about discussing these new color trends is to make you realize you are not limited to pastel pink or baby blue anymore. Those colors still work but are best combined with deeper tones of the same color. Baby blue and sea blue work well together as do dark dusty pink and pastel pink. Never finalize your birth announcement order until you are really happy with the colors you have chosen.

Remember there are other options; play with it for a while.

Having a baby is hard work. It may be the hardest few hours (if you are lucky) you’ll ever have in your life. In this modern age of high tech medical equipment and round the clock specialists, most women are discharged from the maternity ward after 48 hours. That certainly isn’t long enough for your body or your mind to recover from the exhaustion of giving birth. A house full of guests is a bit much so why not use the birth announcement as a way of getting yourself some recovery time?

Whether it’s on the actual birth announcement as a handwritten note or an inserted note card or appointment card, you can send a message to your friends and family about visiting. A simple note such as: “please call before coming to visit” with a smiley face symbol may be all you need but a formal option is available.

Consider having appointment cards (business cards with appointment information on them) made up and insert them in the birth announcement. You can make a joke of it and remind people you are exhausted without being rude.

“Mom and baby are still resting. Please return this card or give us a call to schedule a brief visit.”

Remember to follow up your printed announcements by updating your baby website, social networking sites and sending a bulk e-mail regarding your availability. People get so excited about wanting to see the new baby they forget how exhausted they were after giving birth. A gentle reminder, whether handwritten, typed or printed, can create precious hours for sleeping and resting.

And you are going to need all the rest you can get.

Think about those recipe cards people send out just before the bridal shower and turn that concept into advice cards for new parents. It’s just a formal way of introducing the subject of parenting advice. I mean, its going to happen right? After you deliver your new baby everyone will call or e-mail their congratulations with not too subtle parenting advice delivered in the last paragraph:

“Remember to get some rest!”

“Babies can cry themselves to sleep so relax”

“The first of many we hope!”

“Remember to establish that routine as quickly as possible so you can still have quality time ”

“Dad needs sleep too!”

Aaah sleep. It was nice while it lasted. Now you are up all night anyway why not design your own advice cards to go inside your birth announcement? You could include wording to indicate what you want (“please share your best advice for Molly and James here”) and a self addressed return envelope to ensure a reply.

It may sound a little kooky at first but I assure you that friends and family will have lots of fun advice to give you and will enjoy writing it up. And for you, it’s a set of words you can read through when you need a little parenting strength. It’ll be great to get through those times without having to call for advice. The card means you can keep your lack of knowledge to yourself (which is always nice I think).

Have fun with advice cards inside birth announcements. Add a social networking page for wall advice and you are good to go.

Besides announcing the pregnancy and announcing the birth, the expectant mom has other options. For the mother with a scheduled c-section, the professionally printed “save the date” card informs friends and family of your due date and adds a touch of whimsy and creativity to the birthing process.

Every mom to be is given an expected date of delivery but some mothers schedule a c-section. There reasons for doing so are numerous but the fact is they know the exact date and roughly the right time that they will be giving birth. What an excellent opportunity for a little fun. Even if you only have a rough estimate of your due date, the “save the date” card is still a cute touch and makes a great pre birth announcement post pregnancy announcement card.

You can purchase save the date cards at online printers or have them made up at your local print shop. You could use actual “save the date” cards or buy a pack of plain greeting cards and place converted business cards inside. Or, you could place the business card (or an appointment card) in one of those gift card holders. The cheapest way would probably be a “save the date” card template online.

Create your wording and choose a design for your “save the date” or “due on this date” card.  You should probably include the due date, child’s sex, any chosen names, the hospital or birth center’s basic address and a contact point such as an e-mail, web site or cell phone number.

The “save the date” due date card is one more way to extend the celebration that is a child’s birth. Consider it, play with the idea online and think about what a fun thingit would be for the baby’s scrap book.