Last month, some friends and I threw a dinner to celebrate a baby whose arrival is now imminent—and his or her mother-to-be. I shared some photos of the simple, olive table garland from that night, but my favorite project was actually this craft, a compilation of wishes for the baby gathered from friends and family, and inspired by the Portuguese children’s book, When I Was Born

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It’s a wonderful book: it tells the story of a baby, a child, discovering the world through all of his or her senses. Where once there was darkness, now there is light! And laughter! And love!

I’m afraid I can’t recall the source, but once I saw that someone had made something like this for her sister and I’d always thought about it.  So, I asked my friend’s husband to help me get in touch with some of her close friends and family, and then everyone sent a description of something they couldn’t wait for the baby to experience (like the embrace of his or her two sisters, or sitting in grasses full of fireflies). I transcribed the wishes (sometimes abbreviated) onto birds cut to look like the ones illustrated in the book to make them into a gift to give at the shower.

The birds take a little practice, and you really do need to ask for short phrases if you’re hoping to fit them, but I was really happy with how it turned out. And I think the book is so sweet.

I found a frame

that opens up to store something inside. I stowed the book and the shower invite, but you could slip in handwritten wishes or cards or anything else. It’s actually a cool idea for rotating displays of kids’ artwork (while storing the rest).

P.S. The beautiful baby shower my friends threw for me.

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