There is no avoiding that we are in a very difficult time. Many of us are having to rethink how we do things and what we want to spend out money on. If you are trying to make savings then read on – this article is for you.

I gave up work when my kids were born and immediately realised that economising was essential – my husband had his own company, but the income was often unpredictable. I didn’t really want people to know that I had no money, I guess it was a sort of denial on my part, but now I realise that most people feel like this at the moment. Here are a couple of ways I saved money without having to feel that I was struggling.

Make Your Own Cards
Cards can get expensive, you may not realise it at the time, but cards and wrapping paper can increase the cost of a gift quite significantly. The first thing I did was to not give cards if I was giving a present. I would instead make a tag and tape it to the gift (instant saving of $3). Then for people who I was sending a card to I make them. The first thing to do is to avoid the card kits – these are expensive and unnecessary. I always look for cheap paper and envelopes. If you can find a little stationary shop you will probably find a box where they have cheap envelopes (often where they are slightly bent) or simply end of stock – when you see these buy them – don’t worry about the size. Do the same for paper. Try to always get colored paper, but just pick up any that you see for a bargain.

Make Your Own Gifts
For me this came after making my own cards – initially I did not have the confidence to make my own gifts, but I quickly realised how easy it could be. You don’t have to be an artist to do this. My first project was t-shirts. I saw a guy at a stall selling a load of kids t-shirts really cheap – it turned out that he had closed his shop and was selling off the stock. I picked up 10 t-shirt in each of the sizes or my kids. Then when they had friends birthdays I would iron on a personalised transfer. The key to successful t-shirts is to keep the design as small as possible (that way you don’t have to worry about the design wrinkling or not sticking properly). I have boys – so I would ask what the kids favourite thing was (usually it would be cars or robots or something like that) then I would find a picture and add the first letter of the kids name and their age to the design. I would usually place this on this on the top left of the t-shirt. After a while I started to add a little logo on the back, just below the neck of the t-shirt. My kids got known for giving these and after a while the birthday child would get really excited, wanting to know what design they had got. I could fit about 8 designs on each piece of transfer paper (make sure that you place your picture in the top corner of the paper so that you minimise wastage). This means that the transfers were costing me about $0.20 each t-shirt. And since I got my t-shirts for just of a dollar each – I could give really cool gifts to kids for sub $1.30!!! Bargain. (Avery T-shirt Transfers for Inkjet Printers)

What You Need
Firstly – keep everything! I have two boxes, one for fabric and one for paper. I never throw anything away.

Secondly, always buy something if you think it is a bargain.

Thirdly, and this is probably the most useful piece of advice I can give you – get inspiration for others. I met someone who designed for the big fashion houses, she created the textile designs and she said that everyone needs inspiration and to look for digital collage. At first I didn’t understand – but now I love them. A friend of mine has just set up a shop – she is really cheap and the ideas are perfect for people like you and me trying to save some money. I have looked at lots of other suppliers, but they seem too complicated. The reason I like Loulou’s prints are because the backgrounds are simple, so they are really easy to cut out and use. (You also get value for money, there are some sheets going for just $3 which have 88 pictures on them.) I use the images for two things, basis for my t-shirts and also for my cards. I cut them out, paint over them, collage them, put them in frames on cards – you name it I use them. The way it works is that you buy the item for $3 and then she sends you a link – you use the link to down load a high quality page full of images, which you can then use over and over again! A great $3 dollar investment. (Here is the link to her shop)  The birds and flowers make great birthday cards.

So saving money doesn’t mean compromising – it is just a different way of thinking.  Good luck and keep checking back for more updates.

Gift Ideas is a post from: Great Baby Supplies

Christmas is a very special time and its great to make your home look Christmassy; but how do you do it safely? If you have pre-school kids you will understand how even the simplest of things can be very dangerous to a baby or toddler.

I love preparing the house for Christmas, but I will never forget the first Christmas with a child – I looked at everything I possessed by way of Christmas decorations and they were all lethal to my baby. I now have a very different attitude to Christmas and my home looks better than ever.

The first thing I did was to remove all the baubles off the Christmas tree. There are three basic problems with these. Firstly, the small ones are a choking hazard. Secondly, if they break thay are really sharp. And finally, the loop is usually held in place with a metal collar – these are quite easy to pull off to reveal the sharp ends of the loop, the sharp edge of the bauble and the sharp edge of the collar! Basically, Christmas baubles and babies don’t mix well.

I guess you are probably wondering how on earth I actually decorated a Christmas tree? Simple, and really good fun at the same time.

Paper Stars
I invested in these really cool Froebel stars. They are three dimensional stars and you can buy them online. The great thing is that they are paper – and totally harmless; even if they are chewed.  This is the link to where I get these from.  I used to just email her – but she has just set up an online shop – she still says just to message her with the number and size of what you think you may want and she will give you a quote – works out cheaper than buying what is in her store!!! (I’m giving away all my secrets …..)

Paper Snowflakes
I loved making snowflakes as a child, and I rediscovered this when I had a my first child. They can be absolutely amazing, they can be as complex or as simple as you like, so use your imagination and you are bound to end up with something rather special.

Oranges
I made two decorations from oranges. Initially I sliced some up and put them in a low oven to dry them out and then I made a small hole with a knife and threaded pretty ribbons through them, made a bow and a loop and hung them on the Christmas tree. The second decoration I made was to take whole oranges, and tie ribbon around them. I used whole cloves to hold the ribbon in place and simply hung them on the tree (make sure that you get small oranges or they get rather heavy).

So that’s your Christmas tree decorations, but how do you make the nursery look special? Answer: use all the same things.

First, I get lots of Froebel stars and with a piece of sewing cotton I string them together. Underneath each star you will need to make a little knot to stop the stars from all slipping to the end of the cotton. Then I stick them (with scotch tape) to the walls and I also hang a couple of the light shade in the nursery.

Secondly, I make lots of snowflakes, and I string these together and hang them infront of the window. It makes wonderful patterns on the other walls when the sun comes through, and helps make the room look really special.

So all in you can have an amazingly Christmassy home with great nursery decorations which are also safe for your family.

Nursery decoration is a post from: Great Baby Supplies

You may have already read my post about Christmas decorations (here it is if you missed it), and now you may be wondering how on earth you are going to have a paper decorated tree.  Here are two answers to that question:

1. Make them.  Making Christmas decorations is fun, they may not be perfect, but do they really have to be?  There are loads of instructions and video guides online to help you find out how to produce some of these works of art.  There are even projects which have been simplified so the kids can get involved as well.  Here are some ideas to get you inspired.
2. You can buy them.  Technically this should be the easier option – and for you it will be.  The problem which many people have is finding good quality decorations which are safe.  So I am going to help you out and give you the link to a little shop I have found.  They have only just opened online, so be patient and keep checking back for new products – be sure to book mark their page to make sure that you can find them again (they have just created a facebook page – but sure to like it to let them know that you are interested – and this way you will be able to see when new products are added).  I am sure with a bit of hunting around you can more places like this one, but I know that these people really do care and have kids, so they know all the problems you face.

Please message me back with any other ideas you have – I am always interested in new discoveries and sites.

Baby Safe Ornaments is a post from: Great Baby Supplies

Christmas with babies and infants is a wonderful time, but it can also be a worrying time. All children put things in their mouths, its normal. However, at Christmas, there is so much more for them to grab and stick in their mouths, so how do you make your home safe at Christmas?

There are two areas you need to look at. The first is the decorations you are going to put up. The second is how you put these up.

We all want a pretty Christmas tree and an attractive and festive home for the holidays, but when you have kids you have to change how you achieve this.

Small baubles are the first danger to consider. You can still use these, but they must be at the top of the tree, well out of reach. In fact, the top of the tree is for all the really shiny and sparkling things. Think of your tree decorations as being in two sections; one which works down from the top and one which works up from the bottom. The top is for the more adult (aka ‘dangerous to baby’ Christmas ornaments) while the bottom half of the tree is all about color and texture.

I think that every tree should have some paperchains. These are a great way to define the lower branches of the tree. Be sure to use lots of short ones rather than one long one, as you toddler is likely to try to pull these off, and you don’t want them to end up pulling the tree down; so lots of short paperchains of a foot or so each is ideal.

I only use paper ornaments on the lower half of the tree. I get lots of colored paper stars in different sizes. I have a high density of them at the bottom of the try and these sort of petter out as you go up the tree. I also use larger stars at the bottom and smaller ones at the top. This stops the tree looking like it has been cut in half! The other way to create a great effect is to have bright colors which your baby will like at the bottom such as purples, blues, pinks, greens, and then as you progress up the tree start to reduce these colors and increase the orange, yellow, gold and silver stars.

It is important that you keep an eye out for dribble or teeth marks on your paper ornaments as this is a good way to constantly remind baby that they should not put the stuff in their mouth. Of course, putting paper in their mouth will not hurt them, but they will start to learn important lessons while being completely safe.

A safe Christmas with your baby or toddler does not mean that you have to give things up, but it does mean that you have to adapt and adjust for new and different concerns.

Finally make sure that you tree is placed near a plug socket so that you don’t have any trailing wires for your lights which your baby or toddler could access.

Christmas Ornaments is a post from: Great Baby Supplies

Advantages Of Sterling Silver Baby Gifts
If you are the god parent then one of the big advantages of sterling silver baby gifts is that it is hard to go wrong if you stay traditional in your choice.  Traditional sterling silver baby gifts would usually be a spoon, napkin ring, trinket box or charm.  All of these are quite small and will be able to be kept safe until the baby is older.  Some of these will be able to be personalized with engraved initials which will probably bring a tear to the eye of any new parent.  With sterling silver baby gifts you don’t have to worry about getting the wrong style, size, colour etc, because it is the gesture which is appreciated.

Disadvantages Of Sterling Silver Baby Gifts

So you have just chosen the perfect of little sterling silver baby gifts and given it to the parents.  Then of course a couple of years down the line they have another child, do you keep buying the same for every child?  If it is a niece or nephew, have you set a standard which will start to get expensive to continue?  So you have decided to go for one of the sterling silver baby gifts, do you get it engraved?  If it is a boy that is simple, initials are not going to change.  For a girl, do you choose initials with the surname, or stop at the Christian names?  Or perhaps you want to go for the date, should it be the date of their birth or their christening?  How many women avoid the issue of their age to their children, just for the kids to find their engraved napkin ring and work out their mum’s age in about thirty seconds!

Where To Buy Sterling Silver Baby Gifts.

Where you buy your sterling silver baby gifts rather depends on your budget.  For unlimited or high budgets, the top jewellers always have a fabulous range of gifts for babies, they will also offer engraving services and gift wrap, as well as any thing else you can think of!  If however, you are looking for something special, but have a bit of a limited budget, then there are always the antique shops, car boot sales or the ever present e-bay.  With a bit of time all of these will offer some amazing sterling silver baby gifts which are within almost any budget.  Many sterling silver gifts will come onto the market having never been engraved, so you with careful selection you will still be able to have a personalized present if that is what you are after!

Finally just remember not to get too stressed about the present, after all it is the thought that counts and most parents just want their new bundle to be acknowledged.

Sterling Silver Baby Gifts is a post from: Great Baby Supplies

Packing for hospital for baby is an important task. You don’t want to be worrying about anything after the birth, you simply want to be able to enjoy your new baby. As you cannot predict the type of labour or birth you will have it is necessary to be prepared for several options when packing for hospital for baby. If you have a natural straight forward birth you will usually be out of the hospital in about twenty four hours, if you have a caesarian you will be in at least three days. A baby can sometimes go a whole day in the same clothes, equally, you may get them wet when trying to wipe the meconium of during a nappy change and have to change the whole outfit …

When packing for hospital for baby there is another important aspect to consider – you do not know how big your baby is, and what size clothes they will need. Usually babies will fit into newborn size, however, there is nothing standard about baby clothes sizing. There are quite a few French companies who make beautiful baby clothes, however, they seem to be smaller than the British and American sizes, (for my second child I was given some beautiful French clothes which my son was too big to ever fit into).

If you want to keep it simple, sometimes it is easiest to buy specifically for packing for hospital for baby, this way you can leave the designer, special gifts at home which your baby can wear when all the visitors come around. The brand name sizes are more standard and usually have a simple envelope neck opening with poppers and no ties or buttons. Simple is often the easiest when in hospital.

Essentials when packing for hospital for baby include: vests (easiest is the envelope neck opening), sleepsuits (try to get the ones with scratch mitts which pull over the hands –scratch mitts are very difficult to get on a baby or to keep on a baby), hat, snugglesuit (the baby will need an extra layer on when leaving to hospital), blanket and nappies.

After you have packed for baby there is another important task – packing for hospital for mother. Don’t forget about yourself, if you are uncomfortable then everything will seem harder.

Good luck in your new roll as mother and be prepared as much as you can, if you have forgotten something in the packing for hospital for baby or for mother, Hopefully,someone will be able to bring it to you during your stay at the hospital.

Packing For Hospital For Baby is a post from: Great Baby Supplies

Starting Making Baby Gifts

If you are thinking of making baby gifts then you have to make something which you are good at.  This may sound obvious, but you would be amazed how many people have these great ideas, but they have to learn a whole new skill before they start.  Base your making baby gifts around something which you really enjoy; sewing, painting, cooking, arts and crafts, etc.  Are you planning on making one for a special baby or are you thinking about starting a mini business or perhaps just having something for friends and family?  It is important to think about this as whatever you make will need some sort of supplies and you want to know how much to buy and how much time to spend sourcing the necessary bits and pieces.  If you are only looking to make one, you can pretty much use whatever materials you like as your outlay will be limited by the fact that it is a one off.  If you are thinking of starting a mini business then it is worth looking into the costs of make more, buying in bulk as all this will be important information for the future and will be necessary for your business plan, which will be essential if you have to borrow any money to get the business up and running.

What Is Special About Your Baby Gifts.

There are a lot of baby gifts out there and if you are thinking of making baby gifts and selling them there has to be something special about yours.  Will they be personalized, one-off productions, or perhaps they will just be easy for people to choose, buy and send direct without even leaving their desk.  Whatever it is you decided, this will be as important as making baby gifts themselves.  Without that extra something, you may find that you don’t have a business at all.

Successful Baby Gifts

If you are making baby gifts then you will need to make sure that the gifts are appreciated.  This means that you will need to be sure that you have understood what parents want to receive when their baby is born.  If you are trying to create something really special which you will want parents to keep for ever in their keepsake boxes, then the gift must last well and also not take up much space, bulky toys or gifts are rarely kept as it all starts to get out of control if you try to keep too much.

Finally, before you start making baby gifts you should have a few sample ones to give to friends who will give you an honest opinion.

Making Baby Gifts is a post from: Great Baby Supplies

Finding Handmade Baby Gifts

Finding the right supplier of your handmade baby gifts can be a daunting task.  If you don’t know the maker, it is hard to be sure that you are not just buying from someone with clever marketing, or that the goods are not outsourced to a third world country and handmade on the cheap!  The only way to be really sure is to either know the maker or go on recommendation, hence the reason for this article.  When my second child was born, we received a lot of hand me downs, however a kind relative and godmother, sent a lovely vest – also one of the sweetest examples of handmade baby gifts I have ever come across.

Knowing That You Really Are Getting Handmade Baby Gifts

Grandy and Baa was created by a mother, who had previously worked as a nanny and decided not to return to work once she had started her family.  She had a great talent for sewing and chose to try to use this to build a home business which would not affect her time with her children.  Her handmade baby gifts are great; she has an impressive eye for simple designs which look wonderful on kids.

There is another great touch, the designs are all named.  Each of the designs is associated with children who she has know and/ or looked after.  Sometimes it is the little touches which remind you how individual your handmade baby gifts are.

How To Buy These Handmade Baby Gifts

Grandy and Baa is based in Sydney Australia, but she will happily ship (at very reasonable prices) to anywhere in the world.

Do They Wear Well?

The all important question – do they wear well?  I so liked my Edmund Elephant and wanted to make sure that my son got as much wear out of it as possible so it got worn, washed, dried and worn again – I barely made it into the drawer.  Also I weaned my son during this time and it still survived with such vibrant colours that I am considering framing and hanging it in his bedroom as I don’t like the idea of Edmund Elephant being shut away.

Having received one of these handmade baby gifts, I am certain that any mother would appreciate them.

Handmade Baby Gifts is a post from: Great Baby Supplies

If you have never had children then there is a whole world of gifts for newborns which is about to baffle you.  The toy and marketing industry have come up with more ideas for newborns than any parent could; admittedly a lot of them are based on just a few simple ideas, also be warned that almost all toy gifts for newborns comes in three colours, boy colours, girl colours and the ‘we don’t yet know the sex of the baby’.  In reality it is a little while before a newborn baby can hold a toy, so anything you buy is going to be for use in a few months time at the earliest, and some of the plastic and wooden toys will not be used until the baby is either sitting or crawling well and they are able to not fall on top of the toy and hurt themselves.  So for earliest play you will need to choose from the range of soft toy gifts for newborns.

If you think that the baby will be inundated with toys then you may want your gift for baby to be clothes.  Newborns only need a fairly small range of styles; vests, baby grows, snuggle suits and hats.  If you want to buy some more exciting clothes then it is best to buy a larger size for the baby to grow into.  Also if you are buying clothes gifts for newborns then it is worth remembering that the parents may have bought plenty of newborn size clothes in preparation.

Baffled by buying gifts for newborns, what about buying something which is for mother and baby?  There are little bath set gifts which you may think will be nice for mum or dad to use when bathing the baby.  Unfortunately these, regardless of what the packaging says, may not be suitable for a newborns sensitive skin, also mum may worry about putting anything on her babies skin and therefore may choose the just wash the baby with warm water.

Finally instead of trying to master the maze of gifts for newborns you could simply buy for mum and dad.  Sometimes a little luxury item will go along way.  Perhaps a bottle of champagne to share and then a bath soak for tired mum. If mum is breastfeed or has had stitches it is important to choose a suitable product.  Lavender is a natural antiseptic which is now recommended by midwives to put in baths instead of the old fashioned salt bath which previous generations had to endure.  So this is a safe, healing and natural ingredient which mum will appreciate.

Gifts For Newborns is a post from: Great Baby Supplies

Discount baby clothes come in two forms; second hand or sales. The first size that your baby will probably wear is a newborn size, then after a couple of weeks moving onto 0 – 3 month size. Secondhand discount baby clothes for newborns have often barely been worn. With all the gifts that you are given for a new born baby, it is often the case that clothes are only worn once or twice before the baby has grown out of them, hence second hand newborn clothes are usually in exceptional condition. Once your child moves up a size to 0-3 months you will find that the clothes have been worn more and are not quite as pristine. Once you get beyond the 3 month mark you will know more about the style of clothes you like and find the easiest – for example some parents swear by dungaree while others find them a nuisance. With this in mind you can be more selective when choosing your discount baby clothes. There are second hand shops around (sometimes they need a little searching out!) which specialize in discount baby clothes from known brand name only. Once you have found one of these or if you live near one, you will probably be a regular visitor.

If you are looking to buy your discount baby clothes new then there are two options. Firstly visit an outlet centre, otherwise, buy in the sales. Buying in the sales means that you will always be buying in advance; when the winter clothes are on sale, you will be buying for the following winter! Using this method you can have a whole wardrobe for your child of new discount baby clothes, so long as you plan. Most of the factory outlets are outside towns, so they are not somewhere you could just pop along to, therefore this method also require planning, but you will probably be able to buy for the current season.

Discount Baby Clothes is a post from: Great Baby Supplies