Scrap it up

Having a baby is one of the most beautiful events that can take place in a woman's life and it is important that she documents each and every moment of the event from pregnancy through childhood. If you want to give an expecting mother a special baby gift, throw her a scrapbooking party and invite everyone close to her. Although the scrapbook will not be busting at the seams with photos and mementos at this point, it's a great time to get started.

To begin, send out invitations explaining the event and ask invitees to bring things to decorate the scrapbook (tiny charms, stickers, borders, stencils, etc.). If possible, contact the grandmothers of the new baby and ask for baby photos of the expecting parents (this makes a great first page to a baby scrapbook).

Next, contact the father-to-be (or someone close to the mother) and ask him or her to bring any sonogram images they can find to put in the book. On the day of the party, have everyone work together to come up with the layout for a fantastic scrapbook. Using a book with detachable pages works best so everyone can work on a page. Some key pages to include are:

• Birth page with place for certificate and hand and feet prints
• Growth chart page
• First doctor visit
• First hair cut
• First tooth
• First steps
• First words
• General likes and dislikes page
• First day of school
• PLENTY of picture pages

Get creative with the project and make sure that you make pages for all major events and leave space for pages that you may forget.