How To Create a DIY Baby Book / Journal

Using cardstock, a printer, scissors, scrapbooking sticky squares (I don't know what the technical name), and a skinny sharpie, I am in the process of creating a DIY baby book/journal for Baby P. 

For several reasons, this seemed like the best option for me and for this particular baby.

If you are interested in doing something similar, here are a few tips:

• Search “printable” or “download” on Pinterest. 
• Once I found something that I liked and that seemed appropriate or adaptable to the baby book, I printed.  

• Try to keep an open mind concerning the intended use of the printable item.
  
  • The front page of Baby P.’s book was intended to be a Save The Date card for a wedding.  Instead, I used it as a way to mark his due date.
• Use the printable items as inspiration for topics to include in your baby book. 
  •  I used a list printable to keep track of our favorite baby names.      
  •  I used a travel printable to journal about the trips that we went on during the pregnancy.
• Browse through traditional baby books at the bookstore to get ideas for other pages to create in your personalized book.
• One book that I looked through had a blank monthly calendar.  I searched for something similar online and found an adorable (brightly colored!) blank calendar that I plan to use to keep track of important activities that occur.
• Most of the books that I have browsed have had a place for baby's footprint.  I plan to bring some blank cardstock to the hospital for the same purpose and to make a cute title for the page using Microsoft Word or Power Point.  

• Print out lined or blank pages for yourself (or others) to journal about your pregnancy or to write letters to the baby.  

• If you will have any baby showers during (or after) your pregnancy, ask the hostess to include an activity that will allow others to add to your baby book.
  • At one of my baby showers, each guest was asked to write a note to Baby P. that I later added to his book.
  
  **This is the second post in a three part series about creating a "do it yourself" version of a baby book/journal.  Part one explains why I created my own baby book and part three shows some photos of the project!