My "Babies"

I love babies. And my husband and I can't wait to have one of our own, but until then, I love being able to share in the special baby events for other families. My first opportunity came just over a year ago when my little nephew Matthew came into our lives. His daddy, my brother, is a firefighter, his lifelong passion, so I offered to do their birth announcements, in a firefighter theme, of course. :)

 

It was such a joy to be a part of this special life. Fast forward what seemed like only a few months, and this little guy is already having his first birthday! Lesson number one with babies: they grow up WAY too fast! But they are a lot of fun at that age too! :) So, I was asked to do his first birthday party invitations. His parents debated between a John Deere theme and a firefighter theme, but ultimately chose the firefighter theme.

 

 

I had so much fun working on these, and was even more excited at how much his parents liked them. For me, the greatest pleasure in creating these one-of-a-kind pieces is how much the recipient likes the finished product.

 

My latest creation in honor of babies was for my husband's niece, who is having a baby shower in anticipation of her little boy. She, too, debated with a "theme," finally told me "teddy bear sports," and left it open to me for interpretation. Yikes. But the end result was a huge hit with mommy-to-be and her family, so I was super excited.

 

Each of these was an evolution of an idea. I start with a sketch--a concept--and begin the "construction" of the layout, but as it progresses, it develops into something more than what I had originally imagined. And with the first birthday invitations, a problem in production led to a much better solution. So I never really know how something will turn out, because what I imagine it to be often becomes something so much more, and it's great. I love that evolutionary process. It makes me anticipate the end to see what it will become. These are all my babies...a little piece of me that I nurture and help cultivate, and when I see the end product, I am filled with joy, especially when I know how happy the client is.

 

Until next time....