1st Birthday Paintings
HAPPY Motivation Monday!
We struggle with finding the right, cool art for our home that not only goes with our aesthetic/decor, but has meaning and isn’t $1M! Finding something we actually WANT to look at all the time that makes us happy for any particular reason. In our old house we were building our collection as we started to build our family so naturally we had a lot of walls to fill. One of the first big parties we threw was for Lucy’s 1st Birthday. It was a blast - an ice cream and beer themed shin-dig with a make-your-own homemade ice cream sundae bar and 2 kegs of homemade beer. She has a July bday so the weather was great and everyone stuffed their faces and had a ball. Including Lucy. Especially Lucy, actually! She actually took her first steps that day!
As we planned the party we tried to think of something that would be a keepsake for Lucy from that celebration. We wanted it to be something that had meaning and wouldn’t end up in a keepsake box. We decided to get a canvas (we chose size ) and section off boxes. We asked each family there to pick a square and paint a little picture message for Lu. Not only was this a great way to commemorate a special event/occasion, but it was a way for Lucy to know who was there to help her celebrate! It was easy, simple and something we’ve enjoyed ever since. We did the same at Greer’s 1st Birthday party (a make-your-own french fry bar and homemade beer party b/c we call her “Small Fry”!). Today, these paintings hang in our Dollhouse/back staircase - a space we pass a million times a day. They are bright, cheerful and inspiring! And best of all they remind us of those that love us the most. Who wouldn’t want to look at something like that every single day?!
Apologies on the lighting in these photos. The space these paintings live in is very dark and our lighting makes it worse when trying to capture their beauty! So this was the best we could manage, but at least you get the idea!
We’ve listed all resources for the canvas and paints at the end of the post!
FYI - for Greer’s I neglected to leave out the color black in the paint options. I was a little bummed by my over-sight after her party to see that hers has different shade variations than Lucy’s. However, as we’ve grown I actually like it this way better. Each painting truly shows each of their personalities. They set them apart while also joining them together. Sisters. Hah! You can decide a color palette if desired - up to you!
