New Baby Picture - Christening Gift

 

This is a Christening gift I made for a friend's baby. I was approached by a company called Fantastic Ribbons which is an online retailer selling a huge range of ribbons and buttons, which you can use for wedding decorations, crafts or gift wrapping. They asked me to choose two items to review, and I immediately knew what I wanted to make.

I was looking on their site for a blue ribbon that would be suitable for a new baby picture and was very pleased to find one with little baby footprints. It was only £2.50 for a 4 metre roll; there was also a blue gingham ribbon I liked. I was also hoping that I would be able to get some blue buttons and the pack I bought, costing £5, was perfect for this project - I received a re-sealable bag with buttons of different shades of blue and in different sizes. I wanted a mis-matched effect so this was ideal.

 Because the buttons were quite thick, I knew a normal picture frame wouldn't work and I needed a box frame, which gives you more space between the picture and the glass, so you can put keepsakes or embellishments on the picture. I was very pleased with the one I bought from Hobbycraft; they had various sizes and I chose 20cmx20cm. The white frame was great as I wanted something neutral and thought this looked nicer than a wood effect,  and at £8 I thought it was good value.

 I also bought some letter stickers from The Works; again these were perfect as the mismatched sizes and colour were just what I wanted. These were £1.49 per pack and I bought a couple of packs to make sure I had enough of each letter.

To make the picture, I started with a large piece of backing card which I picked up from my local card making shop; you can also buy these online. I had a photograph of my friend's baby which I actually printed out from one of her Facebook photos, so I wouldn't have to ask for a picture and spoil the surprise! I trimmed the photo and decided where I wanted to place it on the card and stuck on the lettering to spell the words "cute as a button". Now you can see why I wanted the buttons!

I added the baby photo and glued the baby footprint ribbon around the photo to make a frame. I then stuck a handful of buttons of different sizes and shades in a slightly haphazard fashion around one corner of the photo. Finally I placed the whole thing in the frame. I'm pleased with this and hope my friend liked it!

Thanks to Fantastic Ribbons for sending me the ribbon and buttons.