We Love You Because...

A few days ago, I fell in love with something I found on pinterest.  And then I traced it back to this blog, where I fell in love with it even more.

Anddd I had to have it. 

 Image from eighteen25

I considered buying the print, but then I realized it would be super easy to make.  And also super cheap.

So last night, Adam and I headed out to Michaels with a 40% off coupon (well, two actually...I always bring Adam in case I want to be able to use both coupons, therefore needing to make two separate purchases.  I know, sneaky).  I wanted a simple white frame like in the picture, but I also wanted it to be cheap.  I was over the moon excited when we scored a perfect white frame on clearance for $9.99.  And I didn't even need to use my coupon!

Then, this afternoon I stopped by Craft Warehouse and picked up a sheet of black craft paper (.50 cents) and two sheets of clear vellum paper (.50 cents each....I only needed one, but hey, a backup is always good).  I also picked up a black mat on clearance for $2.50.

Armed with my supplies, I sat down and created a very simple template in Word.  I changed the wording of the original print, because I wanted ours to read "we love you because..." rather than "i love you because".  I also changed the color of the font from white to a light green to better match Blake's nursery color scheme.  After printing several test copies and satisfying myself that it was how I wanted it/it would fit in the frame correctly, I printed it on the vellum paper and set to work putting it together.

This is what I came up with:

 
Different from the original, yes...but we love it.  And it was so simple to create. 

I immediately wrote my first message:

So true.  

The dry erase board marker wipes right off the glass.  It's amazing, and I love how interactive it will be for baby Blake.  I have visions of making these for each of our babies and hanging them in some sort of art display in a hallway, so our loves will know each and every single day a different reason that mommy and daddy are head over heals in love with them.  I just love it.  For Blake, Adam and I want him to know each and every moment of his life how much he is loved and treasured and adored, and I hope that someday this will be a special memory for him.  It already is for us.

We decided to hang the finished piece on the wall right next to Blake's door.  I wanted it to be somewhere we could easily reach it to change the message (...which you can see daddy Adam already did!) and this was the perfect place.  

I'm so happy with how this turned out, and when all was said and done, we spent less than $15.  I'm already planning out all the things I'll someday write on that message board....what sweet anticipation!