Just the other day, my good friend Vicki had her *ahem* 20 birthday. I thought about what to get her for two weeks and then I actually remembered something. It seems my memory fails me often these days so I was tickled to remember. Anyways, we had been browsing a local store, Vicki’s Gifts, when she saw this one item and made a statement about how much she’d like to have one. **light bulb!** I decided to make one for her. I mean, it’s not a traditional type craft I suppose but it is made (put together) by me for the most part so that counts right?
I don’t know if you’ve heard of the Alphabet art photography but it’s pretty cool. You simply take a photo walk to find objects that resemble a letter of the alphabet. Vicki’s family name is Foust so that’s obviously, I started with F. I could have used a number of gates and pipes to photograph an F but wanted something more unique. I was staring down at my okra I have planted, looked up to the trees and saw the F. It’s probably a bit more difficult to ‘see’ than the other letters but it’s there.
I set out to find an O. There were tons of choices when it came to this letter but I settled on one of my wagon wheels. I rolled it out to the pasture and snapped a shot of it.
Next up, U. While a little more difficult than the O, I still had a fairly easy time with it. My husband sometimes will shoe a horse or two so we have a pretty good pile of horseshoes. I simple left the pile in tack but moved one of the horseshoes upside to resemble a U. I love this….
The letter S was probably the hardest for me. I found a couple that were okay but didn’t fit the nature/rustic theme so I decided to ‘fake it’. I took my husband’s spurs and made them into an S. This is probably my most favorite. In fact, I wish I had an S in Falcon just so I could have it in my name!
Finally I had reached the last letter of her family name, T. SUPER easy!!! And what made it really super duper easy is that she (and her family) live for the Lord. I knew a cross would be perfect. I had just been in Bentonville and taken a photo of a huge wooden cross. I just used that.
That completes the name. I turned them into an antique black & white and uploaded the photos to Walmart to be picked up the next day. Actually, I could have picked them up in an hour but didn’t have time to do so. It cost me $14.97 to get 5 8×10 photos (in an hour). I thought that was a good price.
I had them printed into the 8×10 which meant my frame would need to be at least 40″ wide. There’s a huge assortment of frames these days so it really wasn’t a problem to find. You know the inside fake family template that comes with frames? I just used that as a guide to place my photos on. I made sure they’d stay in place by using a glue stick. VIOLA!
Frame was $29.99 so in just under $45 bucks, you can have a fabulous gift, a gift made with love.
What photo gift would you make?
Cat Davis - Food Family Finds says
Wow Lori, that is really thoughtful and beautiful! She’s lucky to have you as a friend.
A Cowboy's Wife says
Awww, thanks Cat but I’m actually the lucky one. ;)
Monica says
LOVE LOVE LOVE!!! This is so awesome!!! Very thoughtful and a gift that will be treasured!!!! I may have to *steal* this idea from you :) LOL
A Cowboy's Wife says
Thanks Monica! I ‘stole’ it from somewhere but have no clue! I think it’s just one of the newest things in photography:)
monstergirlee says
Wow, that is super cool. Very nicely done, and so thoughtful!
Vicki says
Thoughtful indeed!!! Talk about making a girl feel special! You are the best Lori!! I love you girl!!
Sheena Tatum says
I LOVE THIS! What a thoughtful gift, I would have cried!
Lauralee Hensley says
Wow, and even more special in the Black & White, because it really helps the letters stand out. Great job.
Charla @ Healthy Home Blog says
Lori, this is so awesome! You did a great job on it, too! This gave me an idea…I may try to make a smaller version for our new granddaughter who is due next month. I love the cross at the end! :)
Sunnie says
This is so awesome and sweet! Its really cool that its totally original. I like the spurs too! Great job mama! Oh, the other day I was in the grocery store, I live out in the country and the store was in a small town. Anyways, there was a lady there that looked kinda like you, I smiled real big at her, she just smiled back! (Thankfully!)