Monday, April 11, 2011

Creative Mommy | Janine Costello


This is Janine and her adorable son Isaiah!

Janine is a
GREAT example of a "Creative Mommy on a Budget" as she has completed many beautiful DIY projects to giver her son's nursery a unique, custom, homey and inviting feel that looks so high-end but is in-fact DIY on a budget. She has also created some adorable clothing items for her son that make him the most stylish baby in town!

Below are photos and descriptions of her awesome projects! And be sure to see the photos at the end of the post of how the overall nursery came together!

Baby Quilt|

I bought half a meter of 6 different materials, and two meters of a solid material for the back. I also bought piping for the edges. I cut the squares 6x6 and arranged them all on the floor. Then starting at the top I sewed row by row. I then cut the back panel 3 inches larger than the front panel on all sides. I placed quilt batting between the two layers and attached the edges of the back to the front using piping. I then top-stitched about one inch from the edge.

The material was about $10 a meter on average so I spent about $50 on material, $15 on piping, $7 on batting and $3 on thread. So the total for this project was about $75. However, I had extra material left over that I was able to make other projects for the nursery with.

I used ideas from three different quilts I found online to create mine, taking different aspects that I liked from each of them. They ranged from $120-$200 in cost!

Savings: $175.00!

Jungle Paintings|

I found a picture of similar paintings on the Internet and printed it off.
I bought 3 white canvases and drew the pictures directly onto each canvas and then painted the pictures.

The cost was $10 for the canvases (I already had paint and brushes).

Similar paintings retail for about $50 for the collection!

Savings: $40.00

Wooden Baby Name Letters |

I purchased the letters for my son’s name at Dollar Giant and painted them green. I bought brown ribbon from Walmart and cut 1-foot pieces (2 for each letter). Using a hot glue gun, I glued one end of each ribbon to the back of the letters, so each letter had two long pieces hanging off. I then tied the two pieces in a bow.

Buying custom wooden letters online cost anywhere from 6$-8$ per letter which would mean Isaiah's name would cost on average $42.00 plus shipping!

Savings: $32.00


Toy Sling |

I used left over material from the quilt to make this awesome Toy Sling for the side of Isaiah's Crib.

1. I sewed two large half circles together, leaving the flat edge open.

2. I took 2 long pieces of material (about 4 feet long each) and folded

them in half (pretty sides together) and sewed along the open seam

3. Then, using a safety pin, I pulled the material through so the right sides were facing out making 2 tubes.

4. I then attached piping to each side of the half circles’ open edges.

5. I centered and pinned the tubes on the half circles so about 1 foot of material was hanging from each side.

6. I attached the tubes to the other side of the piping. The tubes work as the ties to attach the sling to the crib.

Since I used leftover material the cost was $0!!

However, about 1 meter of solid material would be needed for the sling and approx. half a meter for the ties and some piping. So it would around $15-$20 to make if you have to buy the material.

Toy slings cost about $60 at Sears.

My Savings: $60.00!

Your Savings (if material needed to be purchased): $40.00

Personalized Laundry Bag |

My son had no place for dirty laundry in his room, so using leftover material from the quilt, I sewed a large drawstring bag.
I personalized it by adding a block with the letter “I” for my son’s name.
I top stitched the block and letter on to the bag.

The cost of the project was $0 as I used scrap material!

However it would probably cost around $10 if one had to buy the material.

Handemade Baby Laundry bags on Etsy cost $40.00 on average.

My Savings: $40.00

Your Savings (If materials need to be purchased): $30.00


Snake Stuffed Animal |


For Valentine’s Day I decided to make by son a homemade gift.
I had left over material from curtains I sewed for his room, the material reminded me of a snake, and since his room was jungle themed I decided to make him a giant stuffed snake.

I cut two long pieces of material in the shape of a wide snake. Then placing right sides together I sewed the pieces together but left the mouth opening un-sewn. I then top stitched a heart on the side of the snake and hand stitched the eyes on (I used beads). I then took 2 pieces of material and sewed a tongue and attached it to the center of the mouth. I then stuffed the snake and hand stitched the mouth closed.

This project would cost approximately $10-15 for material and stuffing.

I found a similar Snake Sutffed animal on Etsy for $19.00 plus $12.00 shipping ($31.00)

My Savings: $31.00

Your Savings (If material needs to be purchased): $21-$16


Little Man's Hat & Tie |


For Easter I wanted to dress my little boy up for church. So I decided to make him a hat and tie.
I bought a pattern on Etsy for $8, the pattern included both the hate and tie.
I found the patterns to be VERY easy to follow taking me about 3 hours to complete both projects.

The cost was about $20 total, for the pattern, material and notions. I purchased the amount of material recommended by the pattern and have PLENTLY left over so I plan to make some hats and ties for gifts in the future.

To buy a hat and tie like this would be an average $40.00

Savings: $20.00


Tie Onesie |


I bought a package of plain white onesies and using left over material from another project cut the material in the shape of a tie.
I then zigzagged the “tie” to the onesie.
VERY easy to make.

I have seen these sold at craft sales and mom to mom shows. They usually cost between $10-20. I bought a package of 6 onesies for $12 and used scrap material for the tie. So the cost per shirt was about $2 a great gift idea!

Savings: $10

Brown Dress Pants |

I had left over material from the hat and decided to make matching pants. I bought a pattern from Etsy, the pants were VERY easy to make, taking less than 2 hours.

I added a blue trim to the pockets to match them with the tie and hat I had already made.

The pattern cost $4 and I bought elastic for the waistline.

Using left over material this project cost me $5. Most baby pants cost about $15.

Savings: $10


My Total Savings on all of these awesome DIY projects: $418.00!

WOW Janine, you have done a fabulous job in creating some awesome, custom & unique items for your sweet baby and I am sure you are an inspiration to young moms everywhere showing them that they can DIY on a budget to get high end looks for their babies at a lower cost.

I am sure Isaiah will grow up knowing that he is truly loved and cared about because of all of the time and effort you put into hand-making all of these items especially for him!


Check out Janine's Blog HERE

No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

The Before & Afters of our Home


Home Improvements Slide Show

Click on the slideshow to open up a 'Gallery' mode where you can scroll through the images.

"Befores" - Images of our home when we bought it

In Front Of Our New Home!

In Front Of Our New Home!

Wish List For Our Home:

Wish List For Our Home:

Our New Home Songs |