Kids Decals Make A Baby Gift to Remeber!

Hello, Folks! It's Monday already, Wow, time really does fly. In keeping with our Project - Runway Monday, I decided to show you what I've been up to this past weekend. Some very dear friends of ours just had their second child. As a Baby Gift, I wanted to make them a wall plaque with their precious daughter's initials. The plan was to use some kids decals on the project as well, however, my plaque was too small and looking far too crowded for a decal (disappointing, but I didn't feel like starting over).

I hope though, that you can use this idea as a spring board for the next little baby in your life that needs a sweet welcome into the world gift.

So, here is the run down of how I made this little Baby Plaque.

Step 1:  Gather your supplies. You'll need a wooden plaque - purchased at your local craft stores. This particular plaque is 8x10. I think I would go a bit bigger when I do this again.

Primer - Gray or white
Acrylic paint
Brushes
Pencil
Chalk
Paper plate
 
Step 2: Primer your plaque.
I only used gray primer because it was what I had on hand. If the colors you plan to paint your plaque are light, then go with a white primer. If the colors are darker, you'll save yourself time by using a gray primer because you won't need as many coats to get a true color.

Step 3:  Paint the edges of your plaque the background color of your choice. For this project I used green. Let paint dry!

Step 4: Using a round object, trace half circles... creating a scallop edge... around the outside of your plaque. A few tips: roughly measure out your circles, so that you don't run out of room at the end of the plaque. Try different round objects around your house until you find one that works. I used the bottom of the paint bottles and they worked perfectly.

Step 5: Paint your scalloped edge and the center of your plaque. I suggest 2-3 thinner coats of paint. Let the paint dry! This picture was only after 1 coat of paint.

Step 6: Print out the letters and date from your computer. Pick a font that you like and print it out in the size you want. In order to copy it onto your plaque, rub chalk on the back of the printed paper. Now with a ball-point pen, trace over the printed letters and date. When you're done, you'll have a chalk outline on the plaque of the letters and dates to paint over. The great thing about this is, if you don't get your letters or date centered the first try, you can just wipe the chalk off and go for try #2.

                                                                                   

Step 7: Paint in your letters and date with a coordinating color. I used a darker pink. Note: If you don't have all the exact colors, you can easily mix colors to create the shade you want. I used a little red to darken up the pink that I used for the background. Use a fine point brush for the lettering! Don't worry, if you mess up, keep some background color handy and you can fix up your mistakes with a little of that paint. 

Step 8: Add special touches. This is where you could add childrens wall stickers or use part of the mural stencils from http://www.kidsdecalcorner.com  to add finishing touches to your plaque. I was planning on using some flower kids decals, but they ended up being too large for my project. I just free handed these flowers and I think they turned out pretty cute. Remember, you can always cut your decals to fit too.

Well, I had lots of fun creating this sweet baby gift for our friends! I'd love to see what you design and create for your next baby gift - or any other gift, for that matter!!

That's all for this week's Project-Runway Monday! Next week.... MOOD BOARD # 2 coming down the runway! Have a great week!