Super Mario Baby Shower, Plus DIY Onesies and Mobile
My brother and his wife are due to have their first baby at the end of March. They are expecting a baby boy, who will be our first nephew on my side of the family. I can't wait to meet him. My brother decided on an awesome theme for the baby's nursery: Super Mario Bros. 3 (which, we both agree was the best video game ever made). We used to wake up early on Saturday mornings just to play (and beat) the game. So, to go along with the nursery theme, I decided that the baby shower my mom and I threw should also have some Super Mario Bros. flair. It started with the invitations...
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I had seen something similar online when I was looking up ideas, but the example I saw was Super Mario Bros. 1. So, I found an image online with the opening screen of the game, and just Photoshopped out the Mario data and replaced it with the baby shower information. I discovered that there are multiple Super Mario Bros. fonts available free for personal use. I ended up using the one that I thought best mimicked the font in SMB3. **UPDATE: Click here for downloadable files and how-to instructions on creating your own Super Mario Bros. baby shower invitations!
The envelopes were for invites were sky blue, with a cheery Mario star tacked on (I just used a star-shaped paper punch on yellow cardstock, and colored in eyes with a Sharpie).
Next, I made some question mark blocks / gift boxes to use for the game prizes. These were just some cardboard boxes in varying sizes that I picked up from Hobby Lobby. I painted them the yellow color first then just free-handed the question marks. They turned out better than I expected!
We also had some of those chocolate "gold coins" adorning the tables as a favor (my mom's idea!), and some of the Mario icons on the game sheets we handed out (a baby trivia game and baby gift bingo).
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| The smiley cloud from Super Mario Bros. 3 |
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| Super Mario Bros. Star |
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| And... my brother is obsessed with Batman, so I had to throw this in for good measure |
I made the danglers out of felt (just free-handed some stencils), and did a blanket stitch around the edges, similar to the onesies.
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| Felt danglers for the Mario-themed baby crib mobile -- before the stitching |
He came with a spiny, but it was dangling where the felt icons were going to hang, and the spiny was pretty big...he just wouldn't have fit in with the rest of the mobile. So, he had to be cut loose, and can be used as a toy, I guess. Also, see that little white box next to Lakitu? This is perhaps the best part. You can record music on there by hooking it up to your computer, and then you just hit the button to start/stop playing. It can play up to about a minute and a half. I really wanted the mobile to be musical, but had no idea how to do it. After some research, I found this little box on Amazon, which it looks like a lot of people use for "talking" stuffed animals. Me? I downloaded some Mario music and now when you push the button, it plays the "Music Box" song -- which was the most "soothing" Mario music I could find (which is not saying much), and apropos for a nursery, especially considering the center dangler is the music box. I had to do some surgery on Lakitu and inserted the music box in the front tip of the cloud. Just push to play and push to stop! I don't know that I remembered to take a video of this...I will have to do that at a later date so you can hear it!
Next came the actual assembly of the mobile. I got some wooden dowels and end caps and painted those white, then glued those perpendicular, on the underside of the Lakitu. I actually ended up using both hot glue and thread to sew around the dowels where they crossed for extra reinforcement.
Finally, I attached each of the danglers to the dowels with a coordinating color of embroidery floss. I just tied them, but realized during transport across the state that they really need to be reinforced with some glue to be sure the knots don't come undone. I had also ordered a crib attachment off Amazon that is meant to hang mobiles from. I attached the mobile to that, which has a clamp to attach the whole thing to the frame of the crib.
All in all, I'm very pleased with the result, and I hope that my nephew enjoys it!
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| Finished! Hand-made Super Mario Bros. 3 mobile for baby nephew's crib |
ABOUTME
Hi there! My name is Dana and I live in West Michigan with my husband, Tom and our dog Copernicus. I created this space as a place to share the things I learn along this journey I call life. I work in marketing and I'm a sort of Jane of All Trades, interested in all things nature, gardening, cooking, exploring and learning new things. This blog is a conglomeration of my interests, hobbies, life and life lessons. Thanks for stopping by!