Book Review
The projects in Beautiful Home-made Gifts for a Baby are divided
into four categories/chapters: New Arrivals, The Nursery, Special
Occasions (i.e. Christening) and Baby Days. The gifts in this book
involve a wide variety of techniques, which is where the varying
levels of difficulty rating comes into play. The techniques include
paper mache, potato printing, cross-stitch, decoupage, sponging,
crochet, knitting, collage, appliqué, tie-dye, sewing and
woodworking.
The gifts include cards, clothing and accessories (blankets, sleepers,
aprons, towels, mitts, jackets, tops, booties, slippers, bibs, sweaters,
hats, bags, a costume and a headband) and toys (stuffed, wooden,
puzzles, mobiles, play mats, dolls, bears, books, play cubes, blocks
and puppets). There are also furniture and accessories projects
(mirrors, bumper pads, curtains, book ends, flower arrangements,
frames, sachets, egg cosies, cushions, a wreath, a garland, a lampshade
and storage solutions) as well as miscellaneous items (shower favors,
a memento holder, an album and a cake). I especially like the number
of educational toys (mobiles, play cubes, fabric book, play panel,
picture blocks, counting book, alphabet blocks, stacking boxes,
doing doll, shape matcher, train jigsaw (puzzle), playdough and
shoe lacer).
The step-by-step instructions for the projects are clear and accompanied
by photos demonstrating the step as well as the final product. I
like that the templates or patterns and stitch demonstrations are
included with the project instructions but they need to be enlarged.
I also like that there are age recommendations for the clothing
that will only fit certain sizes and for the toys that are suitable
for specific age groups |
