25 Adorable (and Personal) Mother's Day Gift Ideas

Happy almost Mother's Day!!!
I hope you have grand plans to read a book, have breakfast in bed,
and eat bon bons all day :) But, if you've left making your own mother a gift,
then here are 25 adorable (and personal) Mother's Day gifts!

1. DIY Mini Silhouette Pendant

2. Handprint Calendar

3. Handprint Hoop Art Keepsake

4. Mini Photo Succulent Garden

 5. Handprint Tea Towels

6. Photo Flip Book

7. Quilted Silhouette

8. Wood Slice Handprints

9. DIY Phone Photo Case

10. Footprint Step Stool

 11.Photo Bookmarks

12. DIY Photo Lampshade

13. DIY Bird Nest Mother's Necklace

 14. Thumbprint Heart Pendant

15. Child's Artwork Tea Towel

16. Mom and Me Mother's Day Book

17. Thumbprint Family Tree

18. DIY Glass Tile Photo Pendant

19. Photo Pendant

20. Love U Handprint Art

21. Chalkboard Silhouette Book Marks

 22. Patchwork Photo Pillow

23. Instagram Photo Bean Bags

24. Silhouette Pillows

25. Fingerprint Heart Canvas

Great to be Eight: Newport Beach Temple Photography

One Thursday night back in November I was lying in bed and it came to me

that my JT Boy needed his pictures taken in front of the Newport Beach Temple

for an eight-year-old baptism photography session.

I had been Pinning photos here and there of other kids getting their pictures

taken in front of an LDS temple, but I hadn't done anything about it.

I thought maybe I would take him myself and do it, but I hadn't committed to a plan.

However, in my pregnant insomniac state that night, I knew I had to have them done,

and I knew that I had to involve my talented friend Syl Galloway.

Syl has taken my kids photos on several occasions and I always adore them.

She has such an eye for fantastic shots and I knew she would do an amazing job.

So, on Friday night I sent Syl an email titled "I had a vision . . ." and pitched her my idea

and begged her to come join me in my crazy last minute endeavor to capture

some memories of JT at the Newport Beach Temple before his big day.

And do you know what? Syl said yes.

So Syl and I agreed to meet at the temple grounds about 3:00 on Monday
because we both had a holiday from school and we'd have great light.
When Monday comes, I go and pick up the balloons for the shoot around 2:15
and then we head over to the temple to meet Syl on that beautiful afternoon.

We pull up to the temple and my heart drops.

The gates are closed.

And then it hits me - it's a Monday.

The Newport Beach Temple is closed on Mondays.

I am sick to my stomach. I want to throw up.

Not only am I disappointed that we can't take the pictures and I have 8 

helium balloons for nothing, I am sick that I have had Syl drive down from

Los Angeles on a holiday to help me in my last minute endeavor.

So, I do the only thing there is to do - cry.

Just kidding!!!!

I first tried calling the temple to see if a security guard or a after hours

person is there and wants to take pity on me and let me in.

No one answers the phone.

Next I run over to the gate call box and push the button hoping someone will pick up.

No one does.

I am just about to give up and treat Syl to dinner at Mastro's,

when I see an old Dodge truck starting to leave the temple grounds through the gate.

So, I do the only thing there is to do and I "run" across the parking lot waving

my arms and yelling like only a lunatic pregnant mom can.

I tell the man in the old Dodge truck my whole sad story about being pregnant,

and having my photographer friend drive down from LA,

and I have balloons and it's for my son's baptism pictures and sob, cry, sob.

The man in the Dodge truck takes pity on me and lets us into the temple grounds.

I wish I would have gotten his name so that I could track him down

and bring him a big plate of homemade cookies for saving the day.

I know it seems trivial, but at that moment I knew that my Heavenly Father

was mindful of me, knows my name, and answered my pleas.

Syl did an amazing job and I was thrilled with how the pictures turned out.

I'll be forever grateful to the man in the old Dodge truck that saved the day,

and to a childhood friend that went along with my pregnancy induced vision

and created beautiful images that will remind me of the days when my

baby boy was eight and chose to be baptized a member of the

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Five Tips for DIY Birth Announcements

When Grace was born, I knew I wanted to design her birth announcement myself.
I designed the birth announcements for both JT and Isabella,
and I wanted to make something special for Grace too
.
JT's was an actual paper craft announcement that had little polka dots in
various sizes that were hand punched by my fantastic mother.
It was a square design and I loved them.
They were totally a labor of love.
I need to find one and show you all!

Isabella's was a digital design that I made in Photoshop.
I totally stressed taking the picture for the announcement,
because newborn photography ain't no joke!
She wouldn't stay just so, I couldn't get the lighting right,
my black Moby wasn't cutting it as a backdrop and my postpartum
emotions were running on HIGH!!!



I decided that I would have Grace's newborn pictures taken by someone
more qualified than myself and save myself the stress this time.
Luckily, my friend Tiffany is a fantastic photographer,
lives down the street and is co-room mom with me and is all around
about the sweetest lady you'll ever meet.

Guess what? Even though I didn't take the pictures,
the whole shoot was still stressful!
Grace did not want to cooperate and refused to stay asleep and let us
mold her into the adorable newborn poses I had pinned on Pinterest.
She was wiggly and wanted her pluggy and it wasn't anything like I imagined.
Tiffany, on the other hand, was cool and collected and had done her
homework, so she knew that Grace most likely wouldn't cooperate.
Guess what? The photos still turned out adorable.



Her little personality shone through and when I got the images back from Tiffany,
my heart was full with memories of those first few days with my
squishy little newborn baby girl and all her personality.



I am so grateful for Tiffany and her patience with us that day.
I showed up an hour late and then I had to feed Grace because she was
already starving again after our 5 minutes car drive.
Tiffany spent a good two hours with us and all the time
she put me at ease and told me not to worry.
They were just the words I needed to hear at that point of being a new mom again.



The other great thing about having Tiffany do the shoot, was I got some pictures
of Grace and myself together.
::GASP::
I let someone take pictures of me?!
True. Story.
I was hesitant to do it, because on a normal day I don't pose for pictures,
let alone 9 days after having a baby.
However, I'm so glad I let her snap a few of us together.



This way, at least Grace will know she had a mother when she was born.
Maybe not when she's 5 because I never appear in any photos, but
at least there is proof I was there when she was a teeny tiny newborn.



After I got the photos back, I hunted around on Pinterest for design ideas.
I wanted something simple and sweet.
I also wanted a two-sided design so I could show off more of Tiffany's great photos.
Below is the final design.



So, my five tips for DIYing your own Birth Announcements are:

1. Have someone else take the pictures!
Even if it is just a tourist you find at Disneyland that has a fancy camera,
let someone else take the pictures and you be in charge of choosing
which cute headband the baby is going to wear.

2. Take the pictures within the first two weeks.
I'd say the first week if you're up for it, because my little Gracie
was already too alert by day 10 of life to be mold-able and so all the
fancy tricks I'd seen on Pinterest.

3. Search on Pinterest for design ideas.
There are so many great ideas out there that it can be overwhelming.
Perusing Pinterest while nursing in the middle of the night
 for ideas that others have pinned is a great way to narrow down to what
direction you want to go is a great way to pass the time.

4. Print double sided.
Do one large photo on the front to give Grandma the close
up she's been waiting to see and a collage on the back so you can
show off all the great pictures your friend Tiffany took for you.

5. Send a digital copy to local friends.
Stamps are EXPENSIVE!
Save some cash and email out a digital copy to people you see on a daily/weekly basis.
They've heard the birth story and seen your squishy a million times.
Send the hard copy to Grandma and Aunt Ida.
They appreciate the hard copy and will put it in their journal,
while your local friend will toss it next time they clean off the fridge.