There must be something in the air, because where I am, it seems to be raining babies! The cost of baby shower gifts can certainly add up, so I am always on the lookout for inexpensive, yet unique and thoughtful, gifts for Mama and Baby. For today’s installment of Creating in a Crunch, I’ll show you how to upcycle an item you might very well already have on hand to create a super sweet gift!
For this project, you will need…
An empty beverage carrier
Coordinating patterned papers
Scrapbooking adhesive and/or glue
Paper trimmer and scissors
Ruler and pencil
Chipboard letters and/or letter stickers
Ribbon
Gift items to fill your finished carrier (see below for some ideas)
step 1 / Measure the length and width of all of the sides of your beverage carrier, and trim pieces of patterned paper to these dimensions. Also measure the length and width of the rectangle surrounding the carrying handle of the your holder, as seen below, and trim 2 pieces of paper to these dimensions, one for the front and the back. If one of the sides if your carrier is oddly shaped as mine was, trace the side onto the back of your patterned paper.
step 2 / Trim the flaps away from the carrying handle of your carrier, as shown. Cut out all of the remaining traced pieces, if you haven’t already.
step 3 / Precisely align one of the small handle rectangles in the handle portion of your carrier, with the right side of your paper facing out. Use a pencil to trace the shape of the handle, and then trim this piece away. Adhere this handle piece to your carrier. Repeat on the side of the handle.
step 4 / Adhere your remaining to paper pieces to your carrier to their respective sides in a similar manner, taking care to ensure all sides are precisely aligned. At this point, you can be finished, or you can continue to step 5 and gussy you carrier up a bit!
step 5 / Apply strips of coordinating patterned paper to all sides of your carrier, if desired. (Just be sure when using strips that they are all lined up at each corner of your carrier!) Now, apply chipboard letters and/or letter stickers to the front and back of your carrier. Because I wanted one side of the carrier’s content to be filled with items for Mama and the other with items for Baby, I decided to label mine, “For You,” and “For Baby.” Use your imagination! Finish everything up with a bright bow. Your carrier is finished!
Having grown up in a home brimming with sewing notions and paintbrushes, Amy has a deep love for all things creative. On any given day, you’ll find her knee-deep in her latest creative endeavor, with projects ranging from sewing and crafts to home decor and kid-friendly ideas. Amy believes that everyone, regardless of skill level or experience, possesses the ability to create something beautiful, and Positively Splendid was born of her passion for helping others harness their innate creative potential.
What a great idea!! {slaps self on head} Why didn’t I think of that?? 🙂
This is an adorable idea. I love it!
Adorable! Love the colors you chose! Think I will be making this for a shower gift next month!
Love this! Im definitely going to do this for my next baby shower! I stumbled your post too!
love the paper you chose! this came out sooo pretty:D
So cute and such a great gift idea!
Amy,
I absolutely LOVE your style! This baby gift is perfect!
Thats a cute idea!
That is awesome! I always love the color combinations that you come up with and patterns. Such class.
SUUUUUUPER cute! I love this! Such an amazing job on the color combo….to start….and the idea is awesome! I am ALWAYS looking for cool ways to give a gift without having to buy expensive boxes and bags. You’re brilliant. Again!
Adorable with some serious moxy! Love the repurposing angle on this project. Cute and responsible!
love this idea! You also have a great eye for color/pattern combos 🙂
SO cute!!
I’m so in love with this! Gonna try to re-create this for a cute wedding gift… one side “his” & the other “hers”. Thanks for the idea!!!
This is darling. I am a big fan of lime green and black & white. Now if only I could create more time during the day…
WOW! I love this! Great tutorial – thanks for sharing!
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Thank you so much for sharing this! You posted it on the perfect day too because one of my really good friends had a baby Feb.28, so I put your tutorial to work right away! My version is definitely not as cute as yours, but I was in a hurry (is that a good enough excuse?). If you want to see mine, it’s on my blog here:
http://someonesgottapay.wordpress.com/2011/03/01/making-old-things-new-creative-gift-wrapping-edition/
Thanks again!
What a cute idea!!! I will have to remember it when all of my friends start having their babies in the fall. Thanks for sharing. Chelsea at onehotcrafty-mama.blogspot.com
just posted pics of mine! i tried to email you but it came back :/ i put a link to your blog! i’m new to blog world…
http://sharpexpressions.wordpress.com/
OMG This is Amazing!! I love it and for sure am filing it away in my mind for the next baby gift.
http://itsybitsypaper.blogspot.com
What a fab idea! Thanks for sharing will have to remember next time I have a baby shower gift to come up with
We love our miracle babies! Here’s a $5 off coupon from My Miracle Baby.com to celebrate! $5 off your purchase of $30 or more.Use coupon code: COUPON05. This seems to be a great site which offers variety of baby gifts, children’s gifts, unique newborn baby gifts including Personalized Gifts, new baby gift. etc.I had been relying on http://www.mymiraclebaby.com earlier and they too offered good stuff.
I did this last night for my boss’s baby shower today. It came out GREAT!!! Thanks for the awesome idea! I have two more baby showers to attend in the next couple months so I will be creating a couple more of these in different designs!!!!!!
I LOVE this gift idea… I came up with a variation using a wine carrier. I linked to your blog 🙂 Would you consider linking to my variation? Either way, I love your blog and plan on visiting back regularly!
http://thirty-one10.com/featured/baby-shower-gift-pamper-kit-for-mama-and-baby/
Toodles!
Yours turned out fabulous, Tasha! Thanks for sharing it with me!