Baby Keepsakes

Cherish your child's first moments over and over again with our easy baby keepsake ideas.

Using double-sided plastic binder sheets, you can create an easy-to-stash brag book. Fill with snap shots, handwritten recipes, and photo flip books.

Babies grow up so quickly. Keep track of all the major events with a ribbon-tied photo album. Include your little one's first smile, first teeth, first steps, and more.

A time capsule, made in an archival box lined with acid-free paper, can hold your baby's most precious items, from the first pair of baby shoes to disposal diapers. Include important memories too -- photos, videos, and a laminated front page of a local newspaper.

Start your own journal before the baby is born by dressing up a blank book with a simple fabric cover and filling it with a list of prospective baby names. Then write down your thoughts, dreams, and worries during your pregnancy and beyond.

Record your child's growth by tracing your infant's hand across a sheet of watercolor paper with a well-sharpened colored pencil. Repeat with the same hand on the same piece of paper every few months, using a slightly different color each time for a framed memento you can cherish throughout the years.

A crocheted bootie, silver spoon, and lock of hair share honors in these complementary shadow-box frames. Measure the objects' depth before buying frames. Cover the mats with leftover nursery wallpaper, and use archival tape or white craft glue to mount the treasures. Here, the spoon is held in place by metallic thread tightly wound through two small holes in the mat board. Write baby's name in calligraphy on a strip of paper notched like a ribbon, and glue it underneath. 

Can't bear to throw away her first blanket? A baby memory quilt is the perfect way to preserve those special items you can't bear to give or throw away.

Let photographs of your child stick with you all day long. Decorate everyday items like these adorable thumbtacks to remember their cute little faces.

A baby book that feels as sweet and precious as your child's infancy can be made by hand.

Fold four (or more) pieces of paper in half (we used baby blue, 100 percent cotton rag with hand-torn edges); sew along seam on a machine.

When you spread the pages open, they form a playful pinwheel. Create multiple volumes, and indulge every instinct, including a baby's first sock, the label from a favorite jar of fruit, handwritten lyrics from a lullaby. As for closure, what's more fitting than a diaper pin?

Make recordings of your baby singing or babbling on tape or CD; or record her antics on video. Distinguish these archives from the usual entertainment-center clutter with customized covers.

Keepsake journals can hold baby's favorite recipes, along with photographs of her reactions to new foods and pictures of her cake at every birthday. Add a list of food allergies plus tricks for getting her to eat her vegetables and they become practical references for baby-sitters.

A grouping of pictures is worth much more than a thousand words; these were snapped each morning as the baby was awakened; placed side by side in a pale-pink frame, they make a lively decoration for a nursery.

A small journal with accordion-fold pages holds a photographic time line of baby's firsts. Another book contains pockets that can hold handwritten notes for your little one. 

For the covers, we created bands from heavy-weight paper. To make, measure the width of the book, double it, and add two inches; cut paper to size. Trim the edges with scallop shears, if you like. Fold band around the book and glue ends to inside of covers, using archival glue.

Preserve your baby's outfit and some of the other three-dimensional items you want to save in a large, store-bought photo album converted into a scrapbook. 

Add pockets for trinkets, such as newborn caps, hospital ID bracelets, cards of congratulations, and birth announcements.

How to Make a Handmade Baby Scrapbook

Add your baby's first few stuffed animals to a scrapbox. Standing up, they'll add a plush dimension to the box. Have them cozy up beside a snapshot of the baby. Complete the display with illustrated balloons backed with foam board and a "Welcome!" label.