Last month we celebrated Teddy’s first birthday. Since then many people have reached out asking where to get nice first birthday outfits and for gift ideas. Today I’ve rounded up a few favorites AND details on our special DIY baby keepsake.

Special First Birthday Outfits

Bella Bliss will always be my favorite for first birthday outfits. I got Maggie’s first birthday outfit from Bella Bliss over 11 years ago and it’s remained my go to ever since. They have so many cute prints for a birthday, the birthday sweaters and fo course an option to monogram many items for your baby’s special birthday.

Special First Birthday Gifts

1. Special Occasion Plate

Teddy got his special occasion plate as a gift when he was born. I had never seen these before but thought it was the sweetest gift! We couldn’t wait to use it on Teddy’s birthday & every year from now on. I am not sure where our exact plate is from but have seen some beautiful ones from Tricia Lowenfield.

2. Personalized Stationary

This is a fun one that people don’t usually think of for a baby but it’s fun for the family to then use for thank you cards. My favorites are from Joy Creative. They have lots of stationary gifts. You can use code CHIRP10 for a discount!

3. Nursery Prints

One of my favorite gifts Teddy got for his 1st birthday was a big framed print for his room. It was from a group of my most favorite ladies who really supported me his first year. So it’s extra special to hang in his room.

We didn’t know gender when we designed our nursery, so a 1st birthday is a perfect time to update with some new art.

One spot that has really cute art for a birthday: Over the Moon. There are letters that you can get 1 or their initials. We just got ELB for Teddy’s room. They also have other really pretty prints for gifts.

A Special DIY Baby Keepsake

And now for a little 1st birthday DIY…….

You can do this at any point with your little one. I found right around 1 to be perfect because of the size of the prints and that they were old enough to keep their hand wide open. I did Teddy’s prints around 10 months and then put this all together right after his 1st birthday.

Step one is to get the clay prints done. If you are local, go to Fire Me Up Studio. They were amazing! If not, see if you have a spot in your area that does any sort of clay or pottery imprints. The spot we went to, Fire Me Up, is a place kids can paint already made pottery and they also do pottery. So just give a call and ask – show them this photo!

I have seen kits where you can do clay imprints at home and mail them back. This tends to be A LOT more expensive and I imagine a lot harder. The sweet ladies at Fire Me Up worked hard and it took a few tries to get Teddy’s prints like this. So if you can, definitely go into a place to do them.

When I picked up Teddy’s prints, they were cut, glazed and ready to go.

Next, grab a shadow box. I got one at Micheals. You can also find them on Amazon. I opted for a square but they would also look really cute in a rectangle.

Next, get some fabric. I wanted yellow gingham to match his room. Pick anything that will match where you’ll display it OR another idea I thought of after making Teddy’s: grab a favorite baby blanket. I’m actually thinking about re-doing this one with one of the many hospital blankets I have saved.

Open up the shadow box and use the fabric to tightly cover the board. Use hot glue or a very strong glue. You want it pulled very tight because when you add the clay prints, they are heavy.

Next glue in the prints. I used E6000 glue for mine. I tried to just use small dabs along the outside of the prints so if I wanted to remove them eventually I could. You do want them to really stick on though because they are heavy and you don’t want them to fall and crack.

Once everything it dried you can put the shadow box back together. You’ve not created a very special keepsake for your little one!

I created a Reel on Instagram that shows somewhat of a “how to” video. You can find it here.