Baby Bride and Bungalow's Crafty Products

Never heard of Baby Bride and Bungalow?  Well, it's about time that you did!  My friend Christy, interior designer turned Entrepreneur, started a small creative business, and she can make just about anything.  Her creations are chic, trendy, and super cool!  Christy specializes in invitations and printed products, but she has several other items as well.  The following are some of the things that she has made for me.  You can find her store on Etsy at www.babybrideandbungalow.com. 

Baby Silhouette Keepsake

 

I asked Christy, of Baby Bride and Bungalow, to make something special for my brother and sister-in-law containing my niece's silhouette and hand prints and footprints.  I took a profile picture, stamped my niece's tiny hands and feet on a piece of paper, and then Christy went to work.  The artwork above is what she created.  It turned out beautifully!  My sister-in-law even cried when I gave it to her, she was so touched!

Framed Poem

My brother wrote a poem for my sister-in-law and niece that he wanted to give to them for Christmas.  He wanted to have it printed so that it could be displayed in his house.  Rather than type the poem himself on Microsoft Word, he got it done Baby Bride and Bungalow style!  Christy typed poem using a lovely font and then enhanced it by by adding graphics that corresponded with the message of the poem as a washout in the background.  She then had poem printed and framed it.  The frame that she chose matches the one used in the Baby Silhouette Keepsake pictured above. 

Alphabet Canvas Wall Art

Before my son was born, my friends surprised me with a sprinkle (a small shower for your second child).  Christy made this 16" x 20" alphabet canvas wall art for me.  It is so adorable and looks great in my son's bedroom!  It would make a perfect addition to any child's bedroom or toy room.

Wooden Letter "G"

I wanted to purchase a large wooden "G" to place on a shelf in my son's bedroom.  I was shopping all around for the perfect wooden letter, when Christy said that she could make one for me.  I even got to pick the font style!  The letter is about 24" tall and is made out of solid wood.  I painted it blue and distressed it by sanding the edges.

Personal Gift - Wooden Silhouette Art

I saw this really cool painted sign in a FrogTape advertisement in a "This Old House" magazine.  I instantly wanted to try to recreate one for myself.  Instead of making a sign, though, I decided to create silhouette art of my children and niece for my mom for Mother's Day.  I think the artwork turned out really well and my mom loved the sentimental gift!
 

The Sign That Inspired My Silhouette Art!

 

FrogTape Ad from "This Old House"

My Completed Silhouette Art

 

How to Make Wooden Silhouette Art

 

Step 1: Cut, Sand, and Stain Wood

 

Get a piece of wood at a hardware store or use an old piece that you might have lying around. I used a piece of pine that I purchased from Home Depot. I figured out how big I wanted each silhouette to be, then I cut the piece of wood to a size that would look good with my three silhouettes.
 

After cutting the wood, I sanded the surface of the board and the edges using an orbital sander with fine sand paper. Be careful not to use a sandpaper with a large grit because it will leave scratches on the wood that will show up after applying the stain.

 

Step 2: Create the Silhouettes

 

I took profile pictures of my children and my niece.  As you can see, the quality of these pictures is not really important.  If you can have the subject in front of a solid background that makes creating the silhouette easier.  After taking the profile pictures, use Photoshop to create a silhouette.  Once the silhouette is created and sized appropriately, print it out on card stock and cut it out.  If you do not have Photoshop you could simply enlarge the picture so that each head (or whatever you are using for the silhouette) is the size that you would like it to be on the completed board.  Have the picture printed and carefully cut the profile out.

 

Originally, I also created the names on Photoshop.  But when I printed them on card stock and attempted to cut them they were really small, and I thought the letters might lose some of their smoothness as I attempted to cut them twice (you will be cutting vinyl in step 3).  I then decided to create the names by cutting vinyl letters with my Cricut machine.
 

Pictures of the Silhouettes I Created

 

 

 

After the Silhouettes Were Printed on Card stock and Cut



Step 3: Trace the Silhouette on Vinyl and Cut

 

Place the card stock silhouettes on a piece of contact paper or vinyl and trace the outline carefully.  Then cut the contact paper very precisely; the way that you cut it will be exactly how the final product will look.  At this point you will also need to cut the names and ages out of the vinyl by hand or with a cutting machine, like the Cricut.

 

Step 4: Stick the Vinyl on the Board

 

 

In this step you will need to remove the backing from the contact paper and attach the vinyl to the board.  Make sure that the stain is completely dry before completing this step.  After attaching the silhouettes, names, and ages to the board, use the edge of a ruler to smooth any bubbles and to make sure that all of the edges are stuck tightly to the board. 

In the picture above the silhouettes are cut out of contact paper and the names and ages are cut out of red vinyl that I use for my Cricut machine (in case you were wondering why the colors are different!).

Step 5: Apply Clear Coat to Seal Vinyl

**THIS STEP IS VERY IMPORTANT!

Get a small can of a Clear Protector from a hardware store.  Using a foam brush apply a coat of the Clear Protector over all of the edges of the vinyl.  This will create a seal so that paint will not seep under the vinyl. 

Step 6: Paint the Board

 

Using a foam roller and foam brush (these will not show brush strokes) paint the entire board.  If you chose not to paint the back of the board you might want to use FrogTape so that you don't have to worry about paint from the edges running onto the back.

 

Allow the paint to dry completely before moving on top step 7.

 

Step 7: Tape the Chevron Pattern, Paint, and Remove Tape

 

After the paint has dried completely, apply FrogTape in a Chevron (zigzag) pattern.  In order to tape my board I did a lot of measuring and marking with a pencil so that I made sure my tape was applied evenly.  Immediately after taping, paint the board with a different color paint.  After the paint has been applied, carefully remove the tape.  You will then have something that looks similar to the picture below. 

 

You will notice in this picture that when I removed the tape a little bit of my white paint pulled off as well.  I had to lightly sand that area then reapply white paint.  This happened because I did not allow the white paint to cure before applying the FrogTape.

 

Step 8: Remove the Vinyl

 

This step is very tedious because you must cut around the vinyl using a Xacto knife to break the seal that was created from the Clear Protector.  Do this step very slowly and carefully so that you do not peel off any of the paint.  After removing all of the vinyl your artwork should look similar to the picture above.

 

Step 9: Distress, if Desired

 

If you like a more rustic look, you have the option to distress the edges of the board.  To distress the board, use a fine grit sandpaper and an orbital sander.  If you attempt to sand the surface of the board, be very careful around the silhouette as the paint might pull away from the board.  Good luck!



Neat Sentimental Gift for Grandparent - "Reasons We Love You"

My grandma has always been a very special and important person to me and my cousins.  For her 84th birthday we decided to give her a meaningful, heartfelt gift to remind her how much we love her.  We heard about a really cool idea...write down 84 (or the age of your loved one) reasons why you love your grandma (or anyone else that you choose).  Put those reasons in a jar and have your loved one pull one message out each day until they are gone.  In our case my grandma had 84 days of little messages from me and my cousins. 

Continue reading for details on how to make this special gift for your loved one!

The Messages

First of all you need to determine how many people will be writing messages.  I asked five of my cousins to participate in this project for our grandma.  My grandma was turning 84 years old, so I asked each of my cousins to write and email me 14 messages about why they love our grandma.  I also typed up 14 messages.  We wrote about memories of times spent with her, about her character, about family trips and holidays, and much more.  We (the cousins) allowed our spouses and children to add their own messages too.

I created a table on Microsoft word and inserted each of the 84 messages.  I formatted the text so that the fonts and sizes were all the same.  Choose a font size that is relatively small (because you might have a lot of messages to fit in the frame) but that is also large enough for people to read when the frame is hanging.  I also added each cousin's name after the message so that my grandma would know who wrote it.  Check out this sample...

You will then need to print the messages on some sort of cardstock.  I used an ivory color because it looked nice with the background scrapbook paper I used on the frame.  I cut each message out using the guidelines from the table.  I then mounted each message on a colored piece of cardstock.  I used a different color for each cousin.  After the messages are all prepared, lay them out to determine the size of frame that you will need to purchase.

The Frame

Purchase a picture frame that will be large enough to hold all of the messages that you printed above.  Prepare the frame by removing the glass.  Cut a thin piece of cardboard to fit inside of the picture frame.  (Make sure that the cardboard is not too large to fit the glass back in the frame with it.)  Cover the cardboard with scrapbook paper.  It does not matter if there are seams because the messages will eventually cover them. 

Add a title at the top of the frame.  I created the title for my grandma's frame by using decorative adhesive letters.  I placed the letters on a piece of cardstock that matched what I used to print the messages.  I then mounted the title on two pieces of colored cardstock that matched the ones used behind the messages.  It looked like this...

 Creating the Gift

Buy a small cookie jar (glass allows the messages to be seen through it).  Place all of the messages in the jar.  Tie a ribbon around the neck of the jar and attach a tag.  Our tag said,

"84 Reasons We Love You!  Happy Birthday Gram!  Love, Nick, Dusty, Maggie, Katie, Alana, and Shawna.  August 8, 2011."   

We then wrapped the jar and the frame and gave it to my grandma for her birthday.  She was very touched by our thoughtful gift!  We had her pull her first message and read it for everyone.  Be sure to have some double stick tape on hand so that the message can be placed on the frame.  Use only a small piece of tape in case the message needs to be moved later. 

Finished Frame with Messages

After 84 days of opening messages from each of her grandchildren, my grandma's frame is complete. With her frame hanging on a wall in her home she can continue to cherish the messages from each of us!