Since the holidays are gone and done with, I’m sure you’re relishing in all the amazing gifts you received. And by you, I mean me. This Christmas wasn’t necessarily a blow out or anything, but the gifts I did receive were thoughtful and down right bitchin’. My creative Mom definitely went all out by making all the girls custom aprons and finding cool scarfs on Etsy, but her best gift was something that I thought I’d share with the blogosphere because of its heart-felt sentiment and simple DIY-ness.
My Mom and Dad recently visited an antique car show, and my Mom had the brilliant idea of taking pictures of numbers on the cars and turning it into a framed piece of artwork with our wedding anniversary date. Now, not only was this genius because it gave her something to do at a car show, but also because it made the perfect gift for my brother, sister and I, all of whom are recently married. You may have seen the trend of architectural letters to spell out names, etc. (which I love as well) but trying to DIY it and find letters hidden in shrubbery and buildings is a bit on the difficult side. Numbers, on the other hand, are everywhere! You could take pictures of unique house numbers, road signs, etc. and plop them into a frame to commemorate any special date. This would be a perfect wedding gift or a gift for new parents with their babe’s birthdate, or even a housewarming gift to new homeowners with their house numbers displayed. The possibilities are endless and the cost is basically at a minimum.
Our wedding date does a nice job of completing our gallery wall in the den, don’t you think? Did any of you receive any super creative/thoughtful gifts that you’d love to share? Sound off!
I came across the site “frame the date” a couple of months ago and saw this idea, but in addition to the three date photos, they have a large picture photo underneath. I thought it would be a great idea for friends and family, but I wasnt too fond of the accompanying price tag! Your mom’s idea is just as good – and much cheaper to boot!
When I started getting in to photography last year, I started snapping pics of interesting letters that I stumbled across – road signs, manhole covers, etc. I have yet to complete the set! One of these days I’d like to try photographing “architectural letters”, but they seem a little more … time consuming. Have you tried doing this?
@Amy: No, I haven’t attempted photographing “architectural letters” yet, but I think it’s something I should try! Maybe I’ll just train myself to keep an eye out for hidden letters where ever I go – they might pop up more than you would think? Not sure. Your collection of letters sounds fun, though. I’d be interested to see what you do with all of them!
Amy, I had seen the same thing. That’s where I got the idea. The numbers were so much easier to find than the architectural letters. It was a fun project! (The mom)
I’m not really sure what I should I do with the letter collection once it is finished – I originally started it just so I could learn about photography, shooting in manual mode, etc. I guess the full set could be kinda cool for a nursery, to help little kiddies learn the alphabet? Or, the letters could be combined to spell out special names, or locations – I think I’ve seem some of these on etsy. Any ideas?
i love that idea! it would be such a thoughtful wedding gift for my friends who just bought a new house.
great stuff here! happy weekend!!
Hi there,
I’d love to include this idea in a roundup of DIY projects for iVillage.com and want to get your permission and a photo of the project. Can you email me asap?
I just say the pic of your framed anniversary date on Pinterest, and it caught my eye because it’s my anniversary date too! Happy early-4-years :) Were did you get married? We were married in Chicago and the fall leaves were GORGEOUS.
@kjc: we got married in Florida and the weather was perfect!
Love this idea. And 11-03-07 is my actual anniversary!
i thought you had a link here to get numbers? I have used it before
@Tina: no link, sorry!