Baby gifts with a personal touch

Hands-on time: About two hours.
Total time: Add drying time for paint and varnish.
Skill: Moderate.
Cost estimate: $25.

Materials & Tools

• Wooden picture frame (I used a 20cm x 20cm wood frame)
• Sandpaper
• Tack cloth
• Acrylic paints in choice of colours (I used gold for the base coat, turquoise, moss and light blue for the textured pattern)
• Paint tray
• Texturizing paintbrush with a comb/rake tip (Royal Soft-Grip #SG 930, available at Omer DeSerres)
• Varnish, brush-on or spray
• Decorative paper (to make a background for inside the frame)
• Decorative accents (I used a bead with an image and a gold charm)
• Butterfly and fairy rubber stamps
• Gold ink pad

Photos and locks of baby's hair are treasured keepsakes. So why not give a gift in which to place a memento or to proudly display the new family member? Popular baby shower and decor themes for baby girls include butterflies and fairies, enchanting and mystical themes. For boys, teddy bears reign, along with stars, clouds and moons.

To transform a plain frame into a unique gift, use paint and a texturizing brush. A comb- or rake-tipped texturizing brush allows you to create paint effects that simulate grass, wood grain, feathers and fur. By painting with a texturizing brush and applying multiple colours, you can transform a wooden picture frame into a stylish decorative accent.

To prepare the wood picture frame, lightly sand its surface. Then use a tack cloth to wipe the sawdust from the frame. Next, apply your choice of coloured acrylic base coat, and let it dry. Now, you're ready to give the frame some texture. To do this, dab assorted co-ordinating acrylic colours on a paint tray. Prepare a container of water and some paper towels. These are to clean the paintbrush between the different colour applications.

To create a basket-weave pattern, dip the texturized paintbrush into one of the paint colours. Apply one colour of paint at a time. With short strokes, paint around the surface of the frame. Then, clean the brush and dip it into another colour. Paint again, but in the opposite direction from the first colour. Keep overlapping additional colours, alternating the direction of the paint strokes. Set it aside to dry and then varnish.

To embellish the frame, I used a decorative gold charm and a glass nugget with an image of a butterfly stuck on it - but any bead could be used. To display a lock of baby's hair in the frame, you need to create a background to attach it to. Using rubber stamps, I decorated the paper background with butterfly and fairy images. Then I added a mint-coloured bow for the lock of hair. To add to the gift, you can paint a wooden letter of the baby's first initial in the same style and colours as the frame. Also, rather than wrapping the gifts, I made a memory box and placed them inside. A memory box can be made from a shoebox by covering it with paper remnants.

Tip

• In the U.S., scrapbooking is the big trend. This craze is coming north and its influences are seen in a variety of decorative accents. Many of these accents can be used to decorate original gifts, no matter what the occasion.

Variations

• Decorate plain photo booklets with rubber stamps and bows as additional gifts. Or, make a journal for the new mom.