Welcome back to the May Arts blog!   It seems as though everywhere I look signs of spring are popping up all over.  Springtime also means new babies and that means I need to have some quick and thrifty gifts on hand.  I was trying to think of something unique and yet useful for the new wee ones when I thought of baby shoes…that was until I saw the prices.  The sticker shock drove me to eBay where I found these nearly new shoes for a fraction of their price new.

Babies rarely wear their shoes out before they outgrow them and these are just like brand new.   Nice but not gift worthy…yet. 

I traded the laces for May Arts Ribbons and look at the transformation!  Aren’t they cute?  I think they look like they came from a fancy baby shop.

I also created a few accessories to go with each pair of shoes for a complete gift set.  The pink “laces” are stamped in white craft ink.  Here’s how I did it.

Supply List:

• Baby shoes (eBay)
• May Arts 3/8” Satin Reversible Stitch Edge (BM17) cut the same length as the original laces
• White craft ink
• Rubber or acrylic stamps (Papertrey Ink)
• Alphabet ribbon slides
• Heat gun or iron set on low
• Matching socks (Target)

Heat seal the ribbon ends by holding over a candle.  Be careful not to get too close.  The ribbon will melt from the heat of the candle.

Stamp the sentiment on the ribbon spacing approximately 2.5” apart.  I heat set the ink with a heat gun. 

Thread the ribbon slides onto the ribbon making sure they are centered then lace the shoes.  That’s it!   I added a little notepad as a gift for the new mom to record precious events that sometimes get forgotten before they find their way into the baby book.  You can find a template for the notepad cover by Nicole Heady here.

Here’s the little boy gift set. 

I used May Arts 3/8” red/white checked ribbon (KB14) for the laces threaded with the same alphabet slides.  A simple card and a set of word blocks that I painted white then decoupaged with Mod Podge and scrapbook paper and rub on letters, complete the set.

The card is 4 ¼” square.  I added a single layer 4 3/8” square of red cardstock to the back of the card make the color pop.

Thanks to May Arts and a little thrifty creating, you can create a gift that looks like it cost much more.  Now that’s enough to make you say, “Oh Baby”!

We appreciate your visits with us and love your questions and comments.

Blog post by: Charlene Driggs

Be sure to check out this week’s giveaway – Jennifer McGuire’s Folded Ribbon Card