DIY New Mom Notebook Gift {Tutorial}
Turn your favorite quote or song lyric into a personalized ‘new mom notebook’ using today’s Cricut tutorial. Create custom baby shower & Mother’s Day gifts in minutes!
Those first few hours, days and even weeks after becoming a new mom are a blur. I don’t know about you, but I found myself having to write down a lot of life’s details to keep my ‘mom brain’ from totally losing it. A ‘new mom’ notebook would have come in real handy!
Record Special Moments with a New Mom Notebook
I cannot emphasize enough how helpful a simple notebook and pen were when I became a new mom. I felt like I needed to write down everything in the beginning:
How often was my baby…eating…napping…filling diapers. How many ounces was he eating at each feeding? Who visited and brought a gift that I needed to still write a thank you note for? When is the next doctor’s appointment?
And even as baby got older, I still found myself jotting down notes to later be transferred into his baby book.
At the time, I just used whatever scrap of paper I had on hand, but I would have loved a new mom notebook of my own!
How to Personalize Your New Mom Notebook
Any old notebook would suffice, but why not kick it up a notch and make a customized notebook with a favorite mom-related quote or song lyric?
Let me fill you in a little on the backstory for this particular customized new mom notebook I created for my college roommate…
Do you ever hear a song and it automatically takes you back to a different place and time? I don’t think there is a day that goes by that I don’t have this happen.
In 2001 I hit the freshman year roommate jackpot. I didn’t know a soul at the college I was attending, so obviously I didn’t have a roommate all lined-up.
I was nervous. I was really nervous. But in walked a spunky, super friendly Big City Girl and I was immediately at ease.
She introduced this Small Town Girl to all sorts of things – chief among them – Enrique Iglesias. That CD was on repeat in our dorm room the better part of the year, and now every time I hear a song from his Escape album, I travel back in time to us dancing at frat parties, taking road trips to our respective home towns, and of course staying up til all hours and laughing.
Ohhhh the laughing.
Now Fast-forward to Present Day…
And now that Big City Girl is back in her big city (and I in my small town) and she’s getting ready to welcome her first baby just in time for Mother’s Day.
I could not be more excited for her! Of course I raided her baby registry for her shower, but I also wanted to include some personalized items because hey, that’s what I do.
So I whipped up this little notebook for her to jot down to-do lists or notes to herself because pregnancy brain is REAL and doesn’t end when the baby arrives.
Or in my case, ever.
I added this cheeky lyric from one of her favorite Enrique songs from back in the day and added a little mommy spin. If you’d like to make one too – it’s super easy. Follow along below and let me know how it turns out!
If you are searching for other fabulous Mother’s Day gifts, scroll down and check out the linky party hosted by Angie at The Country Chic Cottage at the end of my post – featuring tons of projects and inspiration!
This post contains affiliate links, which means if you make a purchase through them, I may receive a small commission from a third party at no extra cost to you. All opinions are my own and I only share links to products I personally use, love and trust.
Customize Your Own New Mom Notebook with My Cricut Tutorial
So now that you know the why I find these new mom notebooks so important, here’s how to actually make one of your very own!
Step 1: Gather your supplies
- blank notebook
- Cricut permanent vinyl in white (or your favorite vinyl)
- Vinyl transfer tape
- Cricut Explore Air 2 and cutting mat
- Weeding tools
- Light box (optional)
- additional fonts (See step 2)
Step 2: Download fonts & upload them to Cricut
I used two fonts that do not come standard with Cricut Design Space: Sallita and Bebas Neue from dafont.com*.
As you can see from the screen shots and finished photos, Sallita is a sweet little font that is quickly becoming one of my favorites.
And Bebas Neue? Well, if you’ve been following along, you’ll see I have used it for a lot of projects like my They See Me Rollin’ t-shirt and my Baby’s Best Friend onesie.
Anyway, you can get both fonts for free (for personal use) from dafont.com and upload them to Design Space.
*Always double-check the licensing for the fonts you download. I am using this font for personal use and will not be selling these personalized items for profit.
Here’s how:
Download directions:
- Go to Dafont.com and search for both fonts by name (or use the links above) and click on the gray “download” button to the right of the fonts.
- Once the zip files download to your computer, open the files and double-click on the TrueType font files to open them.
- Then hit the “install” button at the top of the document.
- Once the installs are complete, open Cricut Design Space and select your new fonts from the font drop-down menu. (If you are already working in Design Space, you’ll want to refresh it or log out and back in so you can see the new font selection).
Step 3: Layout the words to your favorite quote or lyrics
Using the Sallita font, I typed up the quote I wanted to use:
You can run. You can hide. But you can’t escape my love. – Mommy
You’ll want to:
- “Ungroup” each word individually
- Adjust the letter space of each word to bring the letters together to mimic cursive
- Offset each word at an angle
- Play around with line spacing to give an imperfect text appearance
- I wanted the “- Mommy” to be in a different text, so I used Bebas Neue for this word
Just play around and have fun with it! I love the look of offset lettering, so the more you adjust each letter, the more it looks like actual handwriting. Once you are happy with the layout of the words, “Weld” all the letters together so your Cricut will not cut out each letter individually.
Step 4: Cut, transfer & adhere
Using your Cricut, cut your project and use Cricut transfer tape to transfer the image to your notebook. Viola! All done.
I hope this little notebook reminds my friend that we used to be cool once – before 8 pm bedtimes and 3 am feedings.
What’s the song that takes you back? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below!
STEP 5: SHARE YOUR CREATION WITH ME!
I’d love to see how you recreate this concept of a new mom notebook using your favorite quote or song lyric! If you make your own, please share photos on Instagram (and tag me) or leave me a comment below!
And now for some Linky Party fun!
As promised – here are some more fantastic Mother’s Day ideas courtesy of some really lovely creatives. And be sure to sign up for the fantastic Cricut give-away – win a Cricut Explore Air 2 and one for your mom! Plus $125 EACH to go with it! Nothing says “I love you, mom!” than and new Cricut and some mullah 🙂
AS ALWAYS – IF YOU NEED HELP BRAINSTORMING OR CREATING A CUSTOM GIFT, PLEASE REACH OUT TO ME! I’D LOVE TO HELP!
More later! The craft room is calling, and I must go…
OTHER GIFTS YOU WILL LOVE:
As someone who is notebook obsessed this is a gift I would love to open. I love that you personalized it with a quote.
I hope the recipient likes it as much as you do! Thanks for the kind words, Blanca!