Clara turned three on Tuesday (Threesday?) so we’ve spent the last few days marveling at this wonderful little lady before us and wondering where the heck the time went.
And just like we did for her two previous birthdays, we marked the end of another 12 months by customizing the fabric backdrop for her photo project. You might remember that this tradition started on her first birthday, when we used my handwriting to create a pattern that we printed on fabric using Spoonflower (here’s how we did that).
Spoonflower came to the rescue again last year, but we took advantage of Clara’s artistic abilities and converted one of her scribbles into the fabric that time (here’s how we did that).
Last year’s fabric turned out a bit fainter than we would’ve preferred, so this year we knew we wanted to (a) involve Clara again and (b) make sure it came out bold and colorful. So we decided to just unleash Clara on the fabric itself…
Since it promised to be a messy project (if all went as hoped!) we headed to the new house where there were lots of big, not-too-precious spaces (like the deck) and taped down a drop cloth. Then we taped the cotton fabric down right in the middle of it.
For the paints we went with these little pots of Crayola Kids’ Paint (from Target) because it’s what Clara’s used to and it’s washable and non-toxic. We contemplated using some sort of fabric paint so her masterpiece could be preserved, but ultimately these kid-friendly paints were better suited to the free reign we were able to give our budding 3-year-old.
She chose pink first and basically just went to town pouring it right out of the bottle and smearing it with a foam brush.
She even added some hand prints and footprints. They’re our favorite.
It took about 30 minutes or so for her to fill the whole two yards of fabric with paint splotches. Right as we were wrapping up we got the idea to let her paint her shirt, right where we typically would photoshop the circle with her age on it. We figured why not give into the theme, right?
So with the paint still wet and Clara still a mess, we dragged the whole drop cloth over to the side of the house where we could tape it up to create a spot to shoot her photo.
Despite being dangerously close to losing all light (and losing the patience of a girl who was so far doing a very good job listening) we managed to snag this shot at the start of a jump. Jumping is kind of her default motion these days, so it was perfect. You can read how we add the number to her shirt in photoshop here.
We also caught a bunch of pretty hilarious outtakes, which you can browse over on Young House Life today. Sherry calls this her Stomp The Yard pose.
And with that folks, we’re calling it a wrap on her monthly pictures. I know it would be fun to keep them going, but we think she has started to outgrow enjoying them (read: it’s becoming more challenging to convince her it’ll be more exciting than doing whatever else she’s doing). So rather than force it, we’ll use this as a natural stopping point – although we’d still love to break out a new fabric for each birthday – and maybe even for her half birthday – depending how she feels.
The 25 pictures above are the ones that we took between age 1 and age 3, and the 52 weekly photos that we snapped during her first year are below. You can see all 77 of them at full size over here.
Oh and speaking of photo traditions – Clara’s also lucky enough to have spent all of her birthdays (including her actual birth date) with three of her grandparents. Our favorite thing about studying those photos is noticing than each adult re-wears the same shirt at least once.
Is anyone else out there making their own fabric? Wrapping up a photo project? Letting your kid loose with little pots of paint? Happy weekend everyone!
Kim says
26 months with the sunglasses is my absolute favorite picture. Thanks for sharing!
Mr. & Mrs. P says
Happy Birthday Clara!
Mary | lemongroveblog says
What a fun idea :) Love seeing the photos over the years, too. One cute little pumpkin you got there!
Stacey says
Awesome! Happy Birthday, Clara!!
Kristina says
I love these “paint” pictures of Clara – what a happy girl you have! I love this project so much, I think it must be done this weekend with my two girls! As always, this blog continually inspires me…
Chaucea says
*suspiciously eyes the four pictures of Sherry’s mother*
So… does your mom happen to have like… a painting of herself in her attic, perhaps?
Cuz, yeah… she literally looks younger and younger each year!
:-D
YoungHouseLove says
Hahaha! She tells me her secret is lots if coffee and gardening…
xo,
s
Brandy says
So cute!
Maybe you could frame some of the fabric in order to preserve it. For her room in your new house…of course I’m sure you have no direction where you’re going with that yet, but there is plenty of inspiration in that masterpiece :)
jeannette says
if she did it without supervision, i am very impressed with the way your young artiste covered the field of her canvas so evenly and at such well-considered intervals. even if she did do it with supervision, it looks great.
and, she really is a youth now, not a baby any more. how articulate and charming she is.
i will miss her grellow tutu.
happy birthday, lovely clara. many happy returns of the day.
ashley @ sunnysideshlee.com says
All of Clara’s pics are adorable but I think 26 months is my fave! Love those glasses!! So cute!
Emily V says
This has been such an awesome way of showing how much little ones change over the course of weeks and months and years. Congratulations on making it through the weekly and then monthly shots that is an awesome accomplishment! They are so fun to browse through and see her personality really show through in each picture! Happy Belated Birthday Clara!
Laura says
Happy Birthday Clara. Okay, I’ve got to say it. I’m going to really miss these monthly photos. Heck I even miss the weekly ones.
Melanie P says
Happy birthday!
As much fun as it is seeing the photos in order, it was just as much fun looking at them in reverse order — like Benjamin Button. My daughter is only 17 weeks, so it’s interesting to see Clara at that age compared to now and try to figure out what Penelope will look like when she’s 3 years old too.
Karen F says
I love that you let her get messy with the paint! Happiest birthday ever to Clara! Such a cutie!
mamaw says
Happy 3rd Birthday, Clara!
Speaking of adults wearing the same shirts in pictures…I wore the same shirt to the births of all 3 of my grandchildren. Funny thing was, my son did the same thing and neither one of us had ever discussed it. That was our good luck charm.
YoungHouseLove says
So sweet!
xo,
s
Heidi says
It appears that John’s parents don’t age at all, and Sherry, your mom looks younger every year!! Crazy! Good genes! :)
Teresa @ wherelovemeetslife says
Awwwee!! This makes me all misty eyed. My little ones are growing up so fast, too! Such a cute idea on the fabric. :)
Happy birthday big girl Clara!!
Becky says
What a great set of pictures! I love this idea and I hope I can remember to do this when I eventually have kids. My mom made me get a picture every year on my birthday in front of the shed / front door. There were some years I hated it but looking back, I’m so thankful and glad she made me do it. It is really neat to see how we all changed over time; even the dogs got in on it!. I have years 1-18 complete and I’m working on a little birthday book of all the pictures and some things I remember about each birthday.
Happy Birthday Clara!!
Jane in NV says
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CLARA! Three is a great age. Enjoy your dragon party & birthday weekend with all your sweet family & guests.
Your fabric painting is just beautiful. You did such a great job. I am pretty sure your Mom & Dad will figure out a creative way to use it. Possibly in your new hideaway closet? I enjoyed your painting video just about as much as your chalkboard video. You are such a good sport & so grown up.
Corinne says
Happy Birthday Clara!! it is neat to see in the pictures how much her hair has grown. I will definately being doing some painting with my boys this summer. Looks super fun!
Jane says
Well now that project is impressive! Do you all help her finish it or does she paint the entire “canvas” on her own? If so, do you give classes on how to actually start and finish a project? What can I say I am like a squirrel, shiny things distract me ;)? If you are able to train a toddler to get er done then there is hope for this 30 something!!
No but seriously nice color variation and overall abstract effect, Clara!!!
YoungHouseLove says
She did it all! We just cheered her along and helped her get the caps off :)
xo,
s
mp says
I love how John’s parents and Sherry’s mom so clearly get along. What a lifelong gift to Clara! Happy birthday, little girl!
Anna says
1. I love all of these, maybe start doing them once a year moving forward, so you still have some sort of timeline?
2. Sherry, tell your mom she looks younger each year!
Carly S says
Happy Birthday, Clara!!!
Is it weird that I got a little misty-eyed when you said this is the last photo?
YoungHouseLove says
Aw me too!
xo,
s
Whitney says
Love the fabric “choice” this year. She did a great job. It’s so hard to believe she’s 3- I started reading you a week or two before she was born (I kept getting dropped onto your page to the post about wrapping jute around balloons?) and it is so hard to wrap my mind around the fact that that was 3 years ago! She looks like a fun little bean to be around!
Danielle says
Looks like it was a happy birthday! And I am fairly certain both your parents are aging in reverse!
Tabbitha @ Turnip Tootsie says
Clara is such an angel! I hope she had a wonderful Dragon birthday!!! Happy 3 years old Clara!!!
<3
Tabbitha
Maura says
Happy birthday Clara!
The grandparent pictures brought a little tear to my eye. I grew up largely without grandparents, and here in middle age I still miss them. What a lucky and blessed family!
Emma says
Happy 3rd Birthday Clara! Her fabric is lovely :)
Audrey says
I just love all of her pictures!
have you thought about printing the pictures on fabric in making a quilt for her?
YoungHouseLove says
That’s a fun idea!
xo,
s
Krista says
Awe! Happy 3rd Birthday Clara! Bittersweet news that the photoshoots have come to an end- I have LOVED her photos over the last 3 years. Kudos to you for keeping it going for three years. We have been doing our own version with our precious 15 week old daughter. Hopefully we can keep it up as long as you did.
Ashli @ But What About Protein? says
Happy Birthday Clara! What a great project! You guys are so inspiring – my husband and I don’t have any kidlets yet, but when we do, I’ll definitely be doing something similar to this!
Keisha says
I swear your Mom gets younger looking as those photos progress! John’s parents don’t age either, Clara is getting some good genes! :)
Stephanie says
It’s the end of an era!! Thanks for sharing all these with us – I’ve loved seeing her change and grow and have been trying to do a similar project with my 7 month old (although I seriously have NO idea how you did weekly photos the first year, I can barely get the monthly pics taken)!
Donita says
Happy Birthday Clara!!! Do you save the fabric each year? If you do, wouldnt it be fun to make her a quilt when she graduates high school!!???
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yeah I’ve made her a quilt and a table runner and a birthday bunting. It’s so much fun to use them for things!
xo,
s
Kelsey says
I LOVE how you celebrate, encourage, and foster Clara’s natural creativity. What a wonderful thing y’all are doing for your daughter. Cheers to three years and happy birthday, Clara!
Lesley says
I can barely get my 9&10 year olds to stand still in front of their growth charts twice a year anymore, I applaud you for making it this far. You’ll get to capture the major milestones from here on in – with school and team pictures and whatnot.
I hardly ever even have a picture with all 4 of us for our Christmas cards, I use the collage ones now. As, I have noticed, have most of our friends.
Susan says
Happy Birthday to your precious, Clara! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend enjoying being together and making memories!
Shweta says
Happy Birthday sweet Clara! This post makes me so happy for some unexplained reason :)
cavan mccarthy says
Is your Mom getting younger? And, why can’t she hold the baby?
YoungHouseLove says
Haha! We noticed the holding thing this year! It’s Nonna’s turn next year for sure!
xo,
s
Maria says
77 pictures in total! How perfect!
YoungHouseLove says
Isn’t it funny how it worked out that way?!
xo
s
Kari says
You’ve probably already thought of this, but one way to preserve the fabric would be to put a portion of it in a frame in Clara’s big girl room, like an abstract painting! Or if there is too much white space it could be used as matting with a photo or picture layered on top.
YoungHouseLove says
I love that idea :)
xo
s
Caitlin says
Happy Birthday Ms. Clara “The Bean” Petersik! She is starting to look so grown up, more like a little kid and less like a toddler.
I also think it’s incredible how much her hair has (finally) grown! If she ever gives you heck about her hair, or tries to do weird stuff with it as a teenager, just whip out these pictures and remind her that you already dealt with her attempting to grow a mullet for the first few years of her life, thank you very much.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha!
xo
s
Janelle @ Two Cups of Happy says
How happy does she look in that first picture?! Pure joy!
Linda says
Happy Birthday, Clara! Thanks for sharing it with us.
Diana says
I was thinking that it would be fun to make a flip book for Clara with her monthly photos; she could see herself grow right before her eyes!
Happy Birthday Clara! You have a wonderful and loving family, and you are turning into an amazing little girl!!
Katie says
So cute! My little girl is almost exactly a year behind Clara (she’ll be 2 on 5/26) so it’s extra fun to watch the changes and anticipate them for us in the next year!
Liz says
Sherry, how is it possible that your mother gets younger each year? Please do a post on her secrets!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha! She says her secrets are lots of coffee and gardening (she has a stressful job so she likes gardening in her off-time) :)
xo
s
Meghan T. says
This may seem like a weird comment but your Mom seems to look YOUNGER in every picture! Lucky gal and good genes!
Jackie says
She is adorable. I have a little girl 4 months younger than Clara and keep hoping and praying that her hair will grow in as nicely as Clara’s. Even in dresses or pink we still get what a cute boy?!? Happy Birthday cutie!
Thais Bessa says
Happy birthday, Clara, God bless you!
I just love to see in the monthly photos the moment her hair just started to grow like crazy!