Especially if you cloth diaper and use wool longies, it can be hard to find diaper shirts for babies that aren’t plain boring white. So brighten up your baby’s wardrobe with some fun tie dye shirts.
Here’s a tutorial on how to tie dye an article of clothing.Celebrating 30 Years of ICAN: 30 Crafts–Decorating Onesies (with siblings)
by Heidi Thaden-Pierce
Reprinted from her website with permission.
Celebrating 30 Years of ICAN: 30 Crafts–Birthing Wreath or Basket
Mother Blessing Ritual: Birthing Wreath or Basket
The creation of a birthing wreath or basket can be done in place of the Birthing Necklace or in addition to it. You can either make your own wreath or buy one from a craft store. If you choose to do a basket, you most likely will want to buy one. Whether it is a basket or wreath, it should be made from natural materials, ideally You will need:
- Guests who have brought beads or trinkets OR
- Small slips of paper nice paper (such as scrapbook paper) and pens
- A natural fiber wreath or basket, from craft supply store
- Craft wire, beading thread or ribbons to attach trinkets or wishes to wreath or basket
How To Make A Birthing Wreath or Basket
If you wish to decorate the wreath with trinkets, on the invitation, ask each guest to bring a small trinket or bead that symbolizes their wish for the mother and baby in labor and birth. If you are already doing a birthing necklace and do not want guests to have to bring two trinkets, you can simply have guests write their wishes on a slip of paper and attach that to the wreath. You can always have some paper and ribbons on hand so that if any guests forget to bring a trinket they can still participate in this activity.
At the Mother Blessing, going clockwise around the circle, have each guest explain the significance of their bead or share their wish they have written on paper and then attach the trinket or paper to the wreath. The result is a wreath or basket full of good wishes for the mother to focus on while she is in labor. A wreath should be hung in the room where the mother plans to do most of her laboring, in a spot where she will easily be able to view it.
TIPS:
- If the expecting mother is planning to give birth at a hospital or birthing center, a basket may be more practical as it can be carried more easily and be set down on a table or chair (the hospital probably isn’t going to let you hang a wreath in the labor room!). A basket can also be packed with other labor easing items such as aromatherapy misters and labor-friendly aromatherapy essential oils to bring to the hospital.
- You can decorate the wreath or basket with beads and trinkets that your guests have brought OR you can have them write a wish for the mother’s labor on a small slip of paper (with a hole punched in it) and tie those to the basket or wreath with a ribbon.
- If you are using paper wishes, as you have your guests write their wishes on paper, make sure you point out that they will be expected to read their wish aloud to the group.
For the details, please go to this link.
Have a great 15th February and birthing wreath making!
For the month of February, I have the help of several volunteers who kindly offered to guest post many of the remaining craft posts for this month. I would like to personally thank them here, on the blog–dc, Heidi, Christine, and members of the ICAN Board, your assistance is much appreciated!
Celebrating 30 Years of ICAN: 30 Crafts–Love Letters
“Love Letters”
In honor of Valentine’s Day, today’s #30Crafts theme is focused on LOVE. Although technically the idea is really more of an activity, it can easily be turned into a project of “Love Letters.”
During my Bradley Method childbirth class, our teacher had us do a wonderful exercise with our partner: to list 5 things they were doing great, or 5 things we loved about our partner in regard to our pregnancy. As a pregnant momma, I had been so focused on what I needed (which for any momma can feel like quite a bit, and especially when I was fighting for a VBAC) that I had my list all ready of things I would like to see my partner improve upon (practice relaxation with me, etc). This was a formal yet gentle redirection. This was a dedicated time for me to remember all the reasons (or at least 5 reasons) I was so grateful to have my partner’s love and support. And what a powerful exercise it can be, sitting together face to face, with no distractions, to hear your partner tell you 5 things they love about you in return! Emotionally, I felt so much more connected, so much more patient, so much more powerful! And most importantly: so much more a team.
Another fun “Love Letter” idea is inspired by these “dear baby” posts from a pregnant momma to her unborn baby. Moms and Dads – take a few minutes and write a love letter to your baby. Whether it’s a simple “I can’t wait to meet you,” or a more detailed storytelling of current family events and wishes- these letters may be enjoyed by your child when they are older… or they could be a way to record precious memories which are so easily forgotten over time. Scrapbook, baby keepsake box, or blogging are all easy ways to save these letters!
So today, even if you prefer to boycott the usual icons and practices of this holiday, I encourage you to take a dedicated moment to share your own personal, honest and heartfelt “Love Letter” with the special people in your life. As Malvina Reynolds wrote (and my daughter loves to sing) “love is something if you give it away, you end up having more.”
Celebrating 30 Years of ICAN: 30 Crafts–New Mom Affirmation Cards
One thing I love about this craft is how very personal you can make it. The creation of the cards can be a reflection on your own unique style, and the messages you put on the cards can be really personalized to the recipient of the affirmations. From simple messages like “I am a wonderful mother!” or “I am doing a wonderful job caring for my baby” to deeper, more personal messages that you want a mom to remember, these cards are great for providing positive little reminders and encouragement to a new mom who needs it.
The presentation of these cards is really up to you–you can create a big posterboard with premounted cards affixed to it, you can individually create each little card using index cards, card stock or construction paper (you could maybe even laminate them!!! Everyone loves lamination, and it would increase the cards’ durability!) so mom can carry some or all of them with her whenever she needs or wants to or post them in different places throughout her house, or you could create a ring of individual cards. The possibilities are really endless!
A quick google search of “affirmation cards” pulls up tons of different sites with various ideas and directions for creating affirmation cards. If you’re super crafty, you probably won’t need as much direction, but if, like me, you need step by step directions to cut and paste things on to paper with a glue stick, here are a few great links to get you started!
A how to instructional video
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