Well, Clara can go ahead and add fabric designer to her resume. With her 23 month photo in the can (see the full photo project here), it means the next monthly picture in line is the big 2-4… otherwise known as age 2.
And since we concluded her first year of weekly-fabric-backdropped photos…
… with a custom fabric design that we made through Spoonflower by scanning her name drawn out in marker on paper (and tiling it in Photoshop), we though we’d make it a tradition and create more homemade fabric for her second birthday.
We thought about doing something similar with Clara’s name for our she’s-two fabric (perhaps in Sherry’s handwriting instead of mine) since we liked how personalized it felt, but then we realized it could be even more special if we left it to someone else. Enter our latest fabric designing project- it’s a bit more subtle than last year’s but it’s so much more meaningful to us because… Clara drew it herself!
It basically just involved some Clara scribble, photographing said scribble, playing around in Photoshop, and tiling it in Spoonflower, but we’ll get to that in a minute.
It started on Easter afternoon when we broke out a big sheet of paper and some markers and let Clara do her thing:
We gave her an orange and pink marker, since they’re her current favorite colors (and the ones we’re planning to use for her party) but eventually she requested a black one and we handed that over too. Gotta let the artist do her thing.
She was definitely in the zone. Which was good because we were determined not to interfere so the drawing would truly be hers.
And although it might be hard to see them in the final work of art, Clara not only incorporated her party colors – but also her party theme, which is, by her own request: “WORMS!” (the girl is so in love with worms that she regularly tells us she dreams about them and looks out the window and says “Oh, hi worms.”). It’s kind of hilarious.
Here’s the final result… which had us scratching our heads thinking “how exactly is this going to become fabric?” and wondering if maybe we should’ve “assisted” a bit more.
But sometimes you’ve just gotta trust the artist and her “vision.” So I snapped this pic of it straight on (since the paper was too large to scan):
Then using Photoshop we put the design on a plain white background (by upping the contrasting and then selecting and deleting the rest of the background). The black marker sort of turned navy, but we didn’t mind, so we went with it. Still not looking very much like patterned fabric though, is it?
Just like with the first-year fabric, we figured we might be able to make it look more “pattern-like” by repeating it. So we duplicated the layer and began playing around with different ways to tile it in order to make an abstract pattern out of the bean’s masterpiece. Here’s what it looked like when I duplicated the layer once, rotated it 180-degrees, and placed it on top of the original drawing:
Then we took a second copy of the original (also rotating it 180-degrees) and lined it up on the bottom:
Confusing, I know, so here we’ve put a red box around the original rectangle (and two blue boxes around the flipped and shifted ones) so you can hopefully see how they’re layered a little better:
But of course if we want the Spoonflower program to tile the pattern accurately, we had to crop it in a way that it would repeat seamlessly. So I just found an easy reference point for where I could cut it off at the top and bottom, like this:
So here’s what the pattern looks like cropped and without those colored boxes on each section. The alternating orange circles with the navy squiggles and the dark pink splotch were starting to look kinda cool. At least to proud parents like us.
But we’d have to upload it to Spoonflower and see it as a sheet of fabric to really see if were were on to something…
Spoonflower actually gives you a lot of options for resizing and adjusting how your pattern repeats. We didn’t really explore this much in our our last fabric-designing adventure, but here’s just an idea of the different ways you can tile your pattern (the one on the bottom right with the stripe was achieved by adding a bit of white space on each side of our JPG before uploading it to Spoonflower).
After some contemplation we chose the Basic Repeat just like last time (we initially liked Mirror Repeat, but Sherry said it was a bit female-form-ish and once we saw that we couldn’t unsee it – or stop giggling like twelve year olds). So then Basic Repeat became the favorite. It’s kind of ikat-esque, and not obviously kid-scribble until you get closer, which is part of the fun. So we ordered two yards of it for $36 + $3 shipping (for a total of $39) thanks to a discount at checkout for uploading our own design. Yes, it’s still more expensive than our usual fabric budget, but you gotta splurge sometimes, right?
Not only do we plan to use it for the backdrop of her big birthday photo, Sherry wants to sew something memorable with it (along with the Clara fabric from last year) – so we’ll keep you posted on that. She’s already made a birthday banner, a quilt, and a beanbag from other weekly photo fabrics.
Fast forward about a week and our fabric arrived. Woot. These photos don’t really do it justice (it’s bolder/brighter in person), but it’s awesome. It probably won’t be winning any fabric design awards or anything, but it’s the coolest thing we’ve seen in a while.
We have to wait a few more weeks before Clara is officially 24 months old to put it to use for a photo session…
… but Clara decided she couldn’t keep her hands off of her own creation, so we had a little playtime with it in the guest room…
…which turned into a little impromptu photo shoot as well. She liked hiding under it.
And gazing lovingly at her creation.
At one point she even asked to take a nap under her “blanket.”
This is the expression I got when I reminded her that naps involve closed eyes:
Then fabric playtime turned into pillow playtime. And there was some hiding…
…and some spirited “Clara popping out!” (her words, every time it happened).
Receiving her scribble fabric makes us even more excited for Clara to hit the big 2 year mark, though we’re also in disbelief. It seems like just yesterday we were designing fabric for her… and now she’s doing it on her own. Well, sorta.
Anyone else use Spoonflower lately? Or do something else with your son or daughter’s artwork?
Psst- Check out Clara getting her Rihanna on here on Young House Life.
Heather H says
I keep seeing your photo back drop pictures on Pinterest and almost always it says something about using wrapping paper as a background… I leave a comment every time I see it saying it’s actually fabric and reference your site. :D
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- that’s so funny!
xo,
s
Amber Wallace says
That is an amazing idea! I love it!
rachel says
you guys are such incredible parents!
keep doing what you’re doing – i’m in love with your blog!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Rachel! We’re the first to admit that there are days that we have no idea what we’re doing! Haha.
xo,
s
Kara Monk says
Have you guys considered doing a worm cake from small round chocolate cake pans with gummy worms sticking out or making a worm shape out of several cakes? There are some awesome ideas out there.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/photosydney/274033570/
http://pinterest.com/pin/11329436532783078/
Can’t wait to see what you come up with!
Kara
YoungHouseLove says
So sweet! There will definitely be crushed oreos and gummy worms, just not sure if we’ll do cupcakes or a cake! We’ll have to share all of our worm plans soon! Haha.
xo,
s
Whitney Dupuis says
So sweet! I need to do this with my little man. I love it!
Andreina says
When Clara further develops her drawing skills, you could try this out: http://www.geekosystem.com/custom-stuffed-toys-childrens-drawings/
Love your blog!!
YoungHouseLove says
Love that!!
xo,
s
Emily says
How sweet! Can’t believe she’s almost 2! My daughter does the same thing with fabric- she carries it everywhere, sleeps with it, uses it as a picnic blanket for her tea parties, etc until she finds another fabric she likes better at the store or until I convince her to let me sew it up.
YoungHouseLove says
That’s so cute!
xo
s
A says
Super cute! Love Miss Clara. Her “worm party” cracks me up. I actually have an irrational fear of worms so I cannot believe someone can embrace them and turn them into a party. My husband teases me all the time. When he gardens he takes pains to make sure to show me worms just so I’ll shriek at him. I always tell him, “if I stand still long enough, they’ll get me.”
Don’t know if you’ve ever watched Always Sunny in Philadelphia (so bad but so funny), but there’s this one episode where they try to decipher Charlie’s “dream book” and end up making a few “worm hats”. It’s really funny.
Here’s the clip: http://wakecodesleep.com/post/2064751153/denim-chicken (it has a bit of swearing in it — NOT Clara friendly!)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, never seen that! Denim chicken = hilarious.
xo,
s
Erin says
LOVE — this is one of those special things that she’ll hold on to forever. Props to you guys for being the kind of amazing parents that help your kids take their creativity to the next level.
Emma says
Great idea! And I love that picture of Clara’s little feet sticking out from under the pillows. Daawww! :)
Mary-Beth says
How cute! Mine is turning 1 the same time Clara is turning 2. It’s unbelievable how time flies, huh?
YoungHouseLove says
It’s totally crazy! Happy birthday to your little one!
xo,
s
karen says
i love this!! she’s awesome.
Elizabeth says
Do you know the name of the fabric used in her 23 month picture? I love it.
YoungHouseLove says
All we know is it was from JoAnn on clearance. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Sarah says
Clara is definitely un petit artiste! I can so see a decorator choosing her fabric for an unexpected pop of color and fun on a very traditional piece of furniture!
In other textile related news, I saw this scarf yesterday and immediately thought of $herdog and her paint chip collection! Check it out: http://piperlime.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=59444&vid=1&pid=223865&scid=223865002
YoungHouseLove says
Holy cow I’m IN LOVE!!
xo,
s
Kristin says
Just saw this “worm” idea and thought of you all. It is insane how real these jello worms look.. I am about to vomit in my mouth at the thought of eating them… but.. kids would probably LOVE this.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Bowl-of-Worms-Anyone/
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- they’re awesome!
xo,
s
Bethany @ Sawdust&Embryos says
LOVE this! I didn’t know there was a site out there like this! This is especially interesting to me, because my mom makes stuffed dolls/animals from children’s drawings… she’s an AMAZING seamstress. A quality I did NOT inherit. You should go look at her website. It’s so cute to see the little scribbled drawings, and my mom’s perfect interpretation of them! I can’t wait till my twins are old enough to produce their own ‘scribbles’!
http://www.stuffedscribbles.blogspot.com
YoungHouseLove says
Completely amazing!
xo,
s
Crystal @ 29 Rue House says
John has such nice handwriting! Very impressed.
I’m so glad you guys posted about Spoonflower again since I wasn’t reading the first time around and I had no idea you could order your own print on fabric! Now I just need something to order.
Kat says
Wow time goes by so fast. Hard to believe Clara is almost two! I used your 1st year fabric as inspiration and designed some with Mallory, my Nice’s name. I’m going to make her a stuffed dog for her birthday in May. I’ll use her name fabric for inside the dog ears and its belly and tail. With the other fabric a pretty bold feminine floral. I’ll eagerly await to see what you do with the 2nd year fabric. It looks like a fun project to do with my niece!
Sami says
I don’t know if you frequent this site – but Woot.com has really great deals. So since Clara’s b-day is coming up and Sherry you’ve been talking about a dollhouse for some time I thought I’d let you know the kids.woot.com deal today is a Melissa & Doug dollhouse for $49.99 + $5 shipping. Not sure how long shipping takes. But the dollhouse is all wood – ready to be assembled and painted – it is a DIY project in itself which seems appropriate. I don’t know the standard retail but I think it’s over $100 – so it’s also a steal of deal which I know you also love. Just thought I’d pass it along :)
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks so much for the tip! Woot has such great sales! I think I’m planning to try my hand at building something, but I’m not 100% sure, so I’ll go check it out. Thanks again!
xo,
s
Laura @ Cookiecrumbs and Sawdust.blogspot.com says
Aw! I love this. This was worth splurging for. And is that little girl a lefty? Maybe that’s why she’s so creative.
Love a left-handed girl,
Laura
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, yes! So proud of our creative little leftie! My brilliant dad and amazing BFF are both lefties, so I couldn’t be more thrilled. Haha.
xo,
s
Tirzah says
Regarding the gummy worms in pudding thing, I would recommend instead the gummy worms in oreo crumbs (in a clear container of course). I tried the pudding thing for a garden themed party and the pudding somehow stripped out the flavor of the gummy worms rendering them horrible tasting. (Sort of tasted like cartilage.) Even the kids didn’t like them. A real waste of rainbow gummy worms.
YoungHouseLove says
No way! I wonder why that happened? So funny. I remember having “dirt” with pudding and oreo crumbs with gummy worms on top as a kid a bunch. Maybe I didn’t notice they didn’t taste good or the fact that they were on top sort of separated them?
xo,
s
Becky says
It really makes me smile to see all of these meaningful projects and memories you are creating with the Bean. My kids are 10 and 15 now, and I really wish I had done more of this type of thing. She will cherish the feelings you are giving her through these projects, even if she doesn’t care about the end result one iota (which of course wouldn’t happen, I’m just sayin’). Love it.
Amy@PaintWineRepeat says
So cute! love the personalization :)
binhtheredonethat says
Very sentimental and creative project…I love it!
kate says
What a neat idea. And I can’t wait to see the post of the party details….worms….I’m cracking up.
Candice says
Clara has gotten so big. Time sure flies!
sayward says
I think the black scribble looks just like a giraffe!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- totally! You know she loves them too…
xo,
s
Sayward says
My favorite animal since I was little too! As an adult I’ve gotten to feed them on two different birthdays.
YoungHouseLove says
That’s so cool! Clara has gotten to feed them here at the Richmond Zoo! Such amazing creatures.
xo,
s
tia says
I am a quilt maker and I hoard bits of fabric for a someday quilt that I will send my boys off to college with. I wish I had thought of designing fabric. I think it’s a great tradition and if you keep it up she will have such a great quilt for her dorm room. By then she caould probably sew it herself!
Lynn @ SafeBeauty says
This is uncanny because late last night I was up perusing your archives to get ideas on invitation websites (our Bean graduates pre-school in June) and came across the old Spoonflower post, which led to another post, and another…I love the idea of her putting her own stamp on the fabric. Looking at the picture of her admiring it I was wondering “I wonder if she recognizes that creation as hers…awww”. Age 2 comes in like a lion and out like a lamb. Or you might get it the other way around. With my little man he was literally an angel all through his 2’s and then Beelzebub for the 3 year mark – the year we shall not speak of. But then good again from 4 on so you never know what you may get.
My best, Lynn
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, so far she has been pretty sweet but we’re bracing ourselves for the possible terrible-twos or threes!
xo,
s
Lisa says
Love the idea of homemade fabric. Such a sweet tangible thing that your little girl can look back on. I could see the fabric being created into a blanket, with a fun color piping around the edges.
Love your blog! Can’t say it enough! :)
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Lisa!
xo,
s
Heidi P. says
Perfect timing! I just posted about some artwork Jason created a few months ago. And I need your advice. Would you mind reading the last little paragraph and throw in your two cents? http://dhperezfamily.blogspot.com/2012/04/first-masterpiece-age-2.html Thanks!
Also, I love how the design turned out! And that was hilarious about the female figure. Yup, can’t unsee it now.
YoungHouseLove says
It’s too pretty to cover! I would give him another canvas to go crazy on and paint over that one! Haha. Unless you fall in love with that one too…
xo,
s
Heidi P. says
Haha. Okay, that settles it. Thanks for your input!!
YoungHouseLove says
Good luck!
xo,
s
erika m says
Love the fabric colors..it turned out so cute!
Totally off note but these made me think of you guys (found via pinterest) bike clips-
http://www.paper-source.com/cgi-bin/paper/item/Bicycle-Clips/3303_014/416656.html
YoungHouseLove says
SO cute!
xo,
s
Rose says
That bunny in Clara’s 23-month shot looks a bit like my 2-year-old’s best friend, “B,”a much-loved Jellycat bunny. I know you guys love original art at a good price, so you should check out this woman’s work: http://customtoyportrait.com/
She does beautiful acrylic portraits of favorite toys, and since so many people seem to love the same Jellycat bunny that our daughter does, we were able to get a gorgeous print for a steal. It’s great to have “B” immortalized like that, and the picture is so well-done we hung it in our family room!
I don’t know if she paints worms or not, though…
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, that’s amazing! I love her stuff!
xo,
s
vicky says
Spoonflower! OMG! This is crazy but I’m an architect and I designed/permitted their space a couple of years ago here in NC when they must have just started out- basically two guys, a warehouse, a couple of computers, a conference room, a couple of young employees, and a GREAT idea!… I can’t believe that they’re on your website. It’s funny to know that I’ve been in their shop!
YoungHouseLove says
That’s so cool! Oh yes, they’re huuuuge now! Such a great site!
xo,
s
Katie says
Too cute! You could totally make a worm stuffed animal out of that. Just an idea. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I love the idea of a worm stuffed animal since they’re not usually things that are cuddled. Haha.
xo,
s
Hanna says
So cute! It looks like DNA strands to me, which made me geek out for a minute. She is a science genius!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha my brother is going to love that (he’s a Dr. Of Chem). We’re nerds for life.
xo,
s
Lauren says
oh my goodness her little GIGGLE is so CUTE!!! Love that girl.
Rachel says
Beautiful, beautiful girl! She is growing up…but she’s still so adorable and little (mine are both teens, so believe me on that).
jenny says
Am I the only one who sees “D I Y” spelled out in the navy scribbles?? you’ve taught her well :P
YoungHouseLove says
Hahaha- I like it!
xo,
s
Erin @ His & Hers says
Aww Clara is looking so grown up! I love that last photo shoot of her, and her “worms” party theme idea. Maybe fabric designer + party planner is in her future? :)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, strangely enough I think she would have a ton of fun planning parties. She would just institute a rule about lots of cookies, ice cream, cake, and worms. Haha. As long as folks didn’t mind her throwing the same party over and over again it could be her “signature.” Haha.
xo,
s
Heidi P. says
p.s. Just had to share these fabrics with you for your future reference:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/69786699/valori-wells-fabric-wrenly-wildfield
http://www.etsy.com/listing/76555472/tula-pink-fabric-prince-charming-dew
http://www.jansdotter.com/shop/fabric
YoungHouseLove says
Oh my gosh I’m obsessed with them! Especially the first one!!
xo,
s
Heidi P. says
I just ordered the first one – I’ll let you know if it’s as cute in real life. I’ve seen other pictures of it that aren’t as vibrant, so we’ll see. :)
YoungHouseLove says
So much fun! Definitely keep me posted!
xo,
s
Heidi P. says
Sorry, one more I forgot to include!
http://www.fabric.com/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductID=77a28eb5-f45a-46fc-8f67-ad609c62f6d5
Now I’m done. Promise.
Heidi P. says
Woops, that was the link for the laminated one. But they have it in regular cotton, too.
Now I’m *really* really done.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, it’s really cute!
xo,
s
Heidi P. says
Update! The Valori Wells Wrenly fabric is AWESOME!! It’s a really soft, lighter-weight cotton. The yellow is actually more of a light chartreuse, but it’s just as bright and cheery in real life as in the picture!
YoungHouseLove says
Sounds amazing!!
xo,
s
Sarah says
So sweet! Have you thought about making some in to a dress?
YoungHouseLove says
That could be really cute!
xo,
s
Kristin says
Oh gosh Sherry & John…what a cute idea for she a cute little clever girl.
And I love how she says “orange” :)
Ranell says
I literally just discovered Spoonflower about two days ago. I can’t wait to create some fabric! Your years in photos was a great idea! Your little one is adorable.
Amber says
If she loves worms so much you should make her a worm farm! I did one as a school project in Junior High. You just use a plastic tote and since y’all already do composting it’ll be easy. You just feed them in different areas of their “home”. I’m sure you can find them online. In return for a nice home w/ plenty of food they will make you some good rich soil.
YoungHouseLove says
Love that idea!
xo,
s
Tracey says
Ok, I may be dating myself, but do you know about the toy from Hasbro called the Glowworm? It was popular a long time ago. Its got Clara written all over it.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- I love those things! She needs one!
xo,
s
IreneBee says
Such focus creating her design! Excellent!
Lisa in Seattle says
Well, now you’ve done it. I’m dead from cute. I hope you’re happy!
Do parents still buy Richard Scarry stuff for their kids? I loved his world, especially his little worm in, what, a Tyrolean hat? Looks like you can get a very cute plush toy here. And an insanely priced board book here.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, I loved that stuff growing up! So much fun! Thanks for the links.
xo,
s
Jenn says
I love the fabric backdropped pictures. You could get each one printed on a fabric square and make a really cute quilt.
YoungHouseLove says
Another fun idea!
xo,
s
Monique says
I see other people have already suggested dirt cups for a yummy party desert!
http://recipes.kaboose.com/dirt-cups.html
Also, love how the fabric turned out. I can’t wait to see what you do with it!
YoungHouseLove says
Mmm, thanks for the link!
xo,
s