Basket Baby Carriage

My inspiration for this project was this picture:

No supply list or instructions, just the picture. That was pretty frustrating. I made several changes, one being the basket itself. This was going to be a baby shower decoration and I wanted it to be nice. So why not a nicer basket? Also notice the wheels. Wooden wheels are way cooler than felt ones. I was able to find the wheels and all my other supplies for this project at Hobby Lobby.

In the photo below is my finished basket. Putting it together was pretty dicey there for a while, and I was not sure that the results would be even remotely worthy of a post. So, because of that, I did not take many step-by-step photos. I will definitely do it again sometime, and when I do, I will be more thorough with my instructions.


You will need:

1 basket with handle
1 yd fabric
1/8 yd contrasting fabric
wooden wheels
buttons to cover
1 yd trim
wire
hot glue gun
a scissor
wire cutters
(there is batting in the photo, but I did not end up using it)

Using the wire, we made a frame on one side of the basket. After that, we applied hot glue to the underside of the handle, attached the fabric, and then flipped the fabric it over the wire to make the canopy. Then I tucked under the edges of the fabric around the outside rim of the basket and hot glued it on.
I know, not enough pictures. -sigh-

I covered the buttons with buzzy bee contrasting fabric and glued them onto the wheels. Then I hot glued them onto the basket.


I added trim around the outside of the basket. I used the remainder of the checked fabric to line the inside. I turned the raw edges in and hot glued the lining fabric to the inside rim.

You can then place tiny gifts inside.

Rice Krispie Rattles

For this project, you will need the ingredients for Rice Krispie Treats (below), plus small wooden dowels and ribbon. I found the dowels at Hobby Lobby and Gil cut them in half for me. You can cut these into whatever length you want.


Rice Krispie Treats

1/4 c. butter
1 pkg. (10 oz., about 40) reg. marshmallows or 4 c. miniature marshmallows
1/2 tsp vanilla
6 c. Rice Krispies cereal

Melt butter in large saucepan over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat.
Add Rice Krispies cereal. Stir until well coated.
For the basic treats: Using buttered spatula or waxed paper, press mixture evenly into buttered 13x9x2 inch pan. Cut into squares when cool.
For the Rattles: Pour mixture into a bowl and allow to cool completely. Shape into large balls for the tops of the rattles and flatten each ball on the front and back. Carefully pierce with dowel. Form around the dowel to make it more secure.
Shape a smaller ball for the bottom of the rattle and attach to the dowel.
Tie with ribbon. Store in an airtight container.

Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat:

Add marshmallows and stir until melted. Add vanilla.

Stir in Rice Krispies:


Shape into 10 large balls and flatten for the top of each rattle. Shape into 10 small balls for the bottom. Carefully pierce the balls with the dowel and shape the Rice Krispie balls onto the dowels to secure them into place. Tie with ribbon. (You could also decorate the top with icing if so desired. I would have if I'd had more time).

Serve in a single layer.
One recipe makes 10 rattles.

Washcloth Lollipops

I was helping with a baby shower for a friend and was looking for some fun new project ideas online. I found this one, which is a table decoration using baby washcloths. The directions were pretty sketchy, so I decided to give some detailed instructions on how to make these cute lollipops.

Here is what you will need:

baby washcloths
wooden sticks
needle & thread
scotch tape
shrink wrap
heat gun or blow dryer
ribbon or torn fabric strips
a scissor

Lay out your washcloth:

Begin rolling it up tightly:

Then roll up like a jelly roll:

Secure lightly on the back with a needle and thread. Make sure the stitches are large enough to be removed later by the recipient.

This is what they will look like:

I secured the stick to the back of the lollipop with cellophane tape. Then I neatly covered it with shrink wrap and secured it around the bottom of the lollipop with more tape.

I covered the bottom part of the shrink wrap with a dish towel to prevent the heat gun from shriveling it up. So all I actually used the heat gun for was the part of the shrink wrap that covered the lollipop:

The shrink wrap looks really cool when you are finished. Be careful with it because the heat gun can melt it. (If you don't want to use shrink wrap, just use regular plastic wrap).

You can tie a bow with ribbon around the bottom of the lollipop if you want to:

Instead of ribbon, I ended up tearing some fabric strips which I tied around them. I liked them better for this particular project, but ribbon is also very cute.

I found this small bowl at Walmart, and filled it with individually wrapped lifesavers. Then I placed three lollipops in each bowl. This is great for a table decoration which can be later given to the mother-to-be.

I loved doing this project and will definitely do it again.