I started with a 12x12 canvass, and some printable transfer sheets (and a dream, ha!). First I had to pick a font. This. Was. Hard! There are SO MANY fonts in Word! I don't think I ever knew or cared, but now, well, now I know. Once I finally settled on a font, I started tweaking the size of things, printing them out (killed more trees than I would like to admit), and trying to get an idea of the placement...
My carpet is such a great backdrop ;)
Then I had to get the color juuuuuust right. I decided to stray from the original pin by adding in green to the color scheme, since I knew it would match the nursery.
You can see the 12x12 canvas lying behind the print-outs. Now that everything was sized just right, it was time to print..... CRAP. Insert much weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth. I realized after about 2 hours (embarrassingly enough!) of work, that all of my text needed to be MIRRORED to print onto the iron-on transfer sheets. UGH! Luckily, the hubby stepped in and worked a Photoshop miracle involving PDF's, much googling, and some Charlie Sheen-approved unicorn blood.
Finally! Printer is going! Wait... why didn't it print??? Oh yeah, because I'm a stinking idiot and forgot our printer is LASER and the transfer sheets only work with INK JET printers. Double fail! Enter fantastic roommate who's awesome dad had the foresight (he must have seen this day coming, obviously) to buy her an ink jet printer. A few tense minutes and a sprinkle of pixie dust later and we were in the printing business.
Looking through the back side of the prints to make sure everything is just right (this is where I start to panic, trying to mkae sure I've not made any horrendous misspellings or gotten any info incorrect). Double and triple check the stats and spellings and we're off to heat up the iron!
The 12x12 canvases, although fabric, were not the best material with which to use iron-on transfer sheets. They're really meant for t-shirts, hats, and very unfortunate doggie sweaters (yes, I DID see this idea suggested on the outside of the packaging). I knew it probably wouldn't work perfectly, and it didn't....
After peeling up the non-permanent side of the transfer sheets I still had a wrinkly mess that reminded me of my elementary school Elmer's glue-drowned crafts. Welp, bummer. On to my "fix-it" idea...
Yep, every crafters go-to. Except I'm not a crafter and I barely know what the heck I'm talking about when it comes to being in the craft store. And I certainly didn't know there would be roughly 27 million varieties of modpodge, for crying out loud. I contemplated which to buy for longer than anyone should ever contemplate any sort of glue substance. I settled on the small size of the matte finish in the the name brand. Yep, I'm a brand elitist and I'm a woman on the crafting-edge, so don't mess with my head! *stay AWAY from the crazy blogger on aisle 12!*
After two thin and even coats what looked exactly like Elmer's glue just more expensive and decidedly more confusing, here's what I had...
Wahoo!! I am totally in LOVE with how it looks! What do you guys think? Would you hang something similar on the walls of your child's nursery? Our friends were so pleased with the gift, and it was nice to give something so personal instead of more baby socks (seriously, those things are like crack to me - they so freaking adorable! Anything in miniature makes me do the weird, girly laugh/squeal).
So here's another look at the pin...
And my version...
Yay for actually using Pinterest as an agent for good instead of a giant time-suck! Have a happy Wednesday, friends!
Linking to: Creative Bloggers Party Hop, Just A Girl, Tip me Tuesday, Tell Me Tuesday, Home Stories A to Z, Tuesday's Treasures, Nifty Thrifty Tuesday, Oh How Pinteresting, House of Hepworths, Somewhat Simple, and Decor to Adore.
Oh goodnesss! It's adorable...but the amount of work scares me.
ReplyDeleteIke also thinks baby socks are crack...crack you shove in your mouth and run with. He is constantly trying to steal them off of my niece's feet. I can only imagine if we have children some day...the poor things will always have cold toes!
It turned out very cute!!!
ReplyDeleteI like it!!!
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness what an adorable, peronalized sign. Love, love, love it! Thank you so much for linking up.
ReplyDeleteI meant to write personalized. Oops. :)
ReplyDeleteSuper cute!!! I wish I knew someone having a baby. I'm definitely going to steal this idea. I think it came out brilliant!
ReplyDeleteLeslie
that's so cute!! i do feel like anytime I put anything anywhere about babies i have to preface it like you did! ha :)
ReplyDelete{I've got a Kate Spade giveaway going on right now & would love to see you there! amyreneonline.com}
this is so cool! i must say i have NEVER thought of this. you know how sometimes you think of an idea, then you see someone else has done it? well, this time i can say that this is definitely new to me. and i love that! can't wait to try it for my kiddos...but first i need to buy ink for my printer. xo
ReplyDeleteLove love love it! Love it so much that I want to make one for my baby boy as well! Can I ask which font you used? Charlotte
ReplyDeleteAwww, thanks! I think I used Bordeaux Roman Bold LET in Microsoft Word. Be sure to send me a link when you make yours; I'd love to see it!!
ReplyDeleteApril:
ReplyDeleteWhat size fonts did you use? I'm going to make on similar for my new newphew for Christmas!
Can you please tell me the name of the website where i can buy this. i cannot find it on etsy. thank you!!
ReplyDeleteFirst off I love this! Super cute! Secondly, the closer I looked at the one you made for your friend the more weirded out I got. My daughter was born on the same day (different year), same weight, same length as your friend's baby. How neat is that??
ReplyDeleteThe project is really neat!
The original one I saw on Etsy is gone, but here are links to three similar ones...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.etsy.com/listing/84199473/adorable-birth-stat-print?ref=sr_gallery_10&ga_search_submit=&ga_search_query=birth+stats&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_facet=handmade
http://www.etsy.com/listing/80821291/birth-stats-baby-nursery-print?ref=sr_gallery_17&ga_search_submit=&ga_search_query=birth+stats&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_facet=handmade
http://www.etsy.com/listing/72117795/custom-printed-birth-announcement-birth?ref=sr_gallery_23&ga_search_submit=&ga_search_query=birth+stats&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_facet=handmade
I think that the last one is the most similar to mine.
Wow, that's crazy! What a fun coincidence! =)
ReplyDeleteWhat were the sizes and fonts that you used? I am wanting to do the same. I saw the original on Etsy and knew I could make it. I would like to save some trees rather than tinkering with sizes. I want to make these for Christening gifts. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteApril thanks for the inspiration. I borrowed your idea and handpainted a baby stats plaque here:
ReplyDeletehttp://thatsmyletter.blogspot.com/2011/11/b-is-for-baby.html
Hi there, Anonymous - Sorry, but I don't have the font sizes... I ended up stretching the fonts in photoshop :-/ Good luck, though - and like back here if you post about it!
ReplyDeleteCan you tell me what brand of transfer paper you used? I attempted making this last weekend for my son and my friend who just had a baby and it did not turn out at all?
ReplyDeleteHi there - I can't remember the brand of transfer paper I used, but mine didn't come out well either, I had to mod-podge over the whole thing to make it look "on purpose." You could also cut the letter and numbers out of paper and mod-podge them directly to the canvass without transfer paper. I can tell you that I picked mine up at Michael's arts and crafts. i hope this helps!
ReplyDeleteThis is so adorable! Not very crafty either but I'm tempted into trying this!! Wonder if you could just skip the iron-on transfer paper and go straight into mod-podging regular printer paper onto the canvas?
ReplyDeleteJust be careful as a smaller mock version I did smeared the ink a tad.
DeleteI love love love it that I did it for a friend, she just had her baby. I will post pic soon. Thanks for your help
ReplyDeleteI'm curious how yours turned out, Im soooo wanting to make this for a friend, but am a little scared...any tips :)
DeleteHi April - I am going to attempt this, but am pretty sure that I will end up abandoning the project with frustration. =) Gotta try though. I was wondering if you did anything to your canvas first (paint it white, etc.)? If so, did you just paint the sides or the top of the canvas too? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHi there! Oh I hope you don't abandon it - it turs out so cute in the end! I didn't do anything special to the canvass, I just jumped right in. Hope this helps!!
ReplyDeleteLove this!! Definitely making one for my little guy in a few months :)
ReplyDeleteLove this! I am attempting to paint it on...or use my cricut and pog it on....cricut sounds easier!
ReplyDeleteThats what I just did! Used my Cricut and Modpodge! It turned out great!
DeleteYou could always put the transfers onto white fabric, then stretch the fabric over the canvas, stapling it to the back as if you were upholstering it. The transfers should work better that way (fabric vs. canvas) while still having that canvas look.
ReplyDeleteIf you print on white tissue paper, u can mod podge the tissue paper on the canvas. That way u get the canvas feel and look! Also cheaper than transfer paper! Hope this helps everyone!
ReplyDeleteI also saw this on Pinterest. If you use word art in Word you can manipulate the font and print it all on one piece without having to cut it and put it together. My ink ran with mod podge so I just framed it instead. Looks very cute.
ReplyDeleteI love this project and can't wait for my grandson to be born so I can try and do this project.
ReplyDeleteI am going to practice before his birth so I will have all the kinks worked out before I need to do his.
Thanks for your directions.
Im going to attempt this too...it's sooo very cute but looks so hard!
ReplyDeleteI just saw this on Pinterest - and totally liked it. But a little freaked out -- I also have an Elias John -- born May 14, 2010! totwinfinityandbeyond.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteI love this as well! I am going to try this using my Cricut.
ReplyDeleteLove your detailed decscription on this whole process. Also love the outcome and may even get around to doing it myself.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing
OMG...I love this! My best friend is having her first baby in August and I am totally making this for her. I might have to make one for my daughter as a trial run. Thanks for the great tutorial.
ReplyDeleteLove this. One option to make it easier would be to iron the transfer onto white fabric and the stratch and staple to the back of the canvas, or print the letters onto acetate, cut out with a scalpel, spray adhesive to fix in place on the canvas and paint it.
ReplyDeleteGonna try this for a friend of mine, thanks for sharing your hard work!
Love this idea. I have "worked" all day trying to get the proper sizes and had no luck. I'm ready to give up. Could you give the measurements of each block of text or at least approximate inches and also the font that you used? Did you first create it in Microsoft Word or what program? It sure would be a big help.
ReplyDeleteThanks,
You did a marvelous job! Yes I would have hung it up in the nursery no matter what. A personal gift is a gift twice over!
ReplyDeleteYou also did a great job writing the tutorial! I.Was.Laughing!
By far the most useless walk through, you dumped it all and went with some hack job solution and didn't provide details and can't even tell us the font...
ReplyDeleteIt is beautiful; you are amazing to stick with it considering all the hiccups. I am going to make one for my first granddaughter, expected in June, 2013. Thanks for the inspirations and the laughs you are also very hilarious, I enjoyed reading this tute.
ReplyDeleteWhen you say mirror your font....How would I do that so not to make your mistake....My husband wouldn't know how to help me out? :) Thanks.... It is unique and special
ReplyDeleteCindy
Love this keepsake! I shared it on my blog. Here is a link.
ReplyDeletehttp://mossycouture.blogspot.com/2013/03/oh-baby.html
you should sell these on Etsy!!
ReplyDeleteVery cute! I've made several things I saw on Pinterest that were being sold on Etsy. I've saved so much money making it myself. I made something similar to this for my friend when she had a baby in August. I made it as a photo & added a border and clipart that matched the nursery theme
ReplyDeleteI figured out the font. It's called "Bordeaux Roman Bold LET" I had it in my word program on my mac. I dont know if it's something I found and downloaded or it came preinstalled. Hope this helps. My BFF and I made these last night for our two kids and they turned out great! Thanks for the tutorial. :)
ReplyDeleteHi, this looks great and I would like to make one. Did you mod podge over just the transferred lettering on the canvas or did you mod podge the entire printed sheet to the canvas?
ReplyDelete