One of my best friends is having her first baby in August. For her baby shower, I wanted to hand make her something special. Something that could be treasured for a long time. Something personalized, just for her new baby boy. An idea came to me as I was walking through Micheal's, one of my favorite craft stores. While stumbling through the wood working aisle, I saw this "Do It Yourself" picture frame and thought, "PERFECT, I will make her a frame to put the baby's picture in over the years. 
The frame looked simple enough. A little paint, a few embellishments and Waah-Laah--a personalized handmade gift for my new nephew!
Baby Kyle's room is being decorated in turtle's so I searched high and low for any turtle that I could put on this frame. After frantically searching, I found one...YIPPEE!!! But upon closer inspection, the turtle's shell was PINK! Not Gonna WORK!...So I keep looking. A few minutes more of unsuccessful searching and I give up. Normally I'm not a quitter. I would have marched over to another store and found a suitable turtle but this time, time was not on my side. So I go with the next best thing, a FROG! Turtles and Frogs play well together, right?! PLUS, everyone knows that I love frogs! I know..I know...It's not about me, its about the baby and his room theme is TURTLES!!! So I justify my decision with the I believe things happen for a reason. The more I thought about it, not finding a suitable turtle turned out to be a good thing. I was so caught up in looking for turtles that I lost sight of looking for something would make this gift special. The frog was really more of what I was looking for anyway -because it hold a special message to me that I can now share with him. Now, not only does baby Kyle's frame has an Aunt Carmen flair to it -my signature horrible paint job (the part that looks great, the yellow frame, my daughter painted for me), it also has my favorite reminder.... to Forever Rely On God! PERFECT!!!
Although, it is not exactly how I envisioned it in the beginning, I think it turned out pretty well. It is handmade by me. Personalized just for baby Kyle and contains a special message that I hope will brighten both baby and mommy's day every time they see it.
Stay Blessed, Carmen
How It's Crafted...
- 4x6 Unfinished Wooden picture frame (Michael's)
- 'K' Unfinished Wooden letter (Michael's)
- Wooden Pre-painted Frog (Michael's)
- Yellow acrylic paint (Wal-Mart)
- Blue acrylic paint (Wal-Mart)
- Metallic Green acrylic paint (Wal-Mart)
- Super Sticky Tape (ACMoore)
- Paint brush
- Bone folder or Popsicle stick
- Printed Paper (optional)
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Step 1: Paint frame with yellow acrylic paint. It may need a few coats. 3 coats was used here to get desired color. Let dry completely.
Step 2: Paint letter with metallic green acrylic paint. It too may need a few coats. I use 4 coats to get the metallic-look to show well. Set aside to dry.
Step 3: When the frame is dry to the touch. Paint on name. Stickers could also be used .
Step 4: Wait for frame and letter to dry completely. Should only be a few minutes. Acrylic paint tends to dry quickly.
Step 5: Remove the backing of one side to the super sticky tape and apply it to the back of wooden letter and frog. Before removing the backing on the second side, varnish the tape with a bone folder or popsicle stick to ensure a good hold. Your fingernail may also work. Just be careful. Push hard enough that it sticks but not hard enough to break your nail.
Step 6: Remove backing and apply letter and frog to dry frame.
Optional: I did not remove the center cardboard that came with the frame so it got a lot of paint on it. To cover this up, I cut a piece of paper to fit (4x6) and inserted it into frame. If you want to use the original insert, either remove it before you paint or cover it up with a sheet of scrap paper before painting.
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