DIY: Decor Ideas

Embroidery Handprints: Use a fabric pencil to trace your child's hand onto cotton fabric, and write his or her name and the year underneath. Then stretch the fabric on an embroidery hoop (plain 7- and 8 1/2-inch wooden versions, we painted ours red). Finally, trim the excess fabric and stitch along your pencil lines with a needle and embroidery floss. Found at easydiyathome.com

Bird Mobile How-To

1. Print templates onto heavyweight paper. Cut out shapes with a craft knife. Punch holes where marked.

2. Assemble birds, running white glue along the slits to secure pieces in place. Thread a 6- to 12-inch (depending on how low/high you want your bird to hang) length of embroidery floss through each hole.

3. Cut 12- to 18-inch lengths of 1/8-inch armature wire with wire clippers. Wrap with brown floral tape. Repeat with a couple different lengths of armature wire. Attach 3 to 4 lengths together to form branches.

4. Punch flowers from pink card stock. Punch leaves from green card stock. Punch a hole in the center of each flower and bend petals upwards.

5. Double-knot embroidery floss a quarter inch from one end, then cut 2 inches down from knot, creating a stamen (knot and above) and a stem (below the knot). To stiffen embroidery floss, dip it into glue and run through your fingers to spread glue down floss; let dry.

6. Feed the "stems" through the holes in the center of the petals to create small flowers. Hold a flower upside-down by stem, put a dab of hot glue onto the underside of the hole, and add a leaf. Repeat with all punched flowers.

7. Use floral tape to attach flowers to branches. Tie birds to branches, balancing against each other, to finish mobile. Tie a length of embroidery floss or monofilament to the center of the mobile to hang.

For complete DIY tutorial visit Martha Stewart.

Sisters Stuff gives instructions on how to make this name decor.