Recently, my husband and I celebrated
our 12th wedding anniversary.
I mean, wow! It’s amazing how fast time flies by after you get married,
have kids, and live your life connected with a person that becomes your other
half. It seems just like last week, I
had a crush on this guy and thought it was funny to shove his face in his
birthday cake, or when I got flowers from that guy the very first time, or when
his 2 year old son snuggled with me the first time, and even when he first said
he loved me. We said “I do” and life
took off.
Now, 12 years later we are the playful
and loving parents to 4 kids. They push
our buttons, but at the same time bring an unspeakable amount of love to our
lives. Life isn’t always sunshine and roses, but we conquer all obstacle
together.
However, sometimes we get lost in the
crazy shuffle called life, and miss out on those slight touches or quick kisses
to let each other know that we haven’t forgotten how it all started. That’s why I know my husband got the perfect
anniversary gift from me this year!
This frame says, “I love you because:
__________.” With a dry-erase marker, you
are able to tell someone exacting why you love them that day, hour, or
minute. The best thing… it can be
changed whenever you feel the need.
This is very simple to make, and it
took no time at all.
Here’s what you need:
Picture frame (mine was a 5x7)Light colored paper
Printer
Small trinket
Hot glue gun w/ glue
Dry-Erase marker
Frame hangers
Grab your picture frame and colored
paper. My paper had a design, but white
paper would work just fine. **I used
scrapbook paper with a muted script design.
It talked about memories, so it worked perfect for this particular
project.**
Find a font that you like and type “I
love you because:” on the computer, with a line underneath. With your document zoom at 100%, hold the
glass from your frame up to the computer screen. That way you can be sure it will fit and have
an appealing position. Size accordingly.
Print directly onto your background
paper, and cut to fit your picture frame.
**I was thinking about painting
the words onto the glass, but chose the printer version instead. This way, the paper can be changed at a later
date to say something different.**
Now, the frame could be done at this
point. However, the dry erase marker
kept rolling off the top of the frame. I
needed a "marker-stopper." ß Yep! That’s technical talk right there! LOL
This can be just about anything. I went digging in my things and found a
trinket with the word “Journey” on it.
This tied into the script for the background, and it also helped that
our first dance at our wedding was to a song sung by Journey. Just saying… That’s a win-win in my book!
Take your hot glue gun and glue the
trinket to the top of the frame. That
way when the marker rolls, it’s blocked from falling off.
Use your frame hangers and place it
on a wall somewhere accessible. Make
sure it’s secure so it doesn’t keep falling off when you write and erase. **I used the Velcro Command Strips. They will not allow your frame to move, AND
they don’t put a hole in the wall.**
Next, use the dry erase marker to
write what you love about the person you’re giving it to. It can be sweet. It can be funny. It can be anything you feel like saying to
them.
Then easily erase it and do it again,
and again, and again!
This was given as a gift to my
husband. However, he has started to use
it as well. Once in a while, it will
talk about my smile or how great of a “Mommy” I am. I always get an overwhelming sense of love
when I see this because I know that he was thinking of me when he was getting
ready for work, taking a break from what he was doing, or right before he went
to bed.
After years of marriage, kids’
activities, and busy lives, sometimes we forget to acknowledge the ones we
love, or stop to appreciate them. This
is a great gift to break through that and bring back the love that sometimes
slips through the cracks.
In addition to the frame, I needed
something fun. That’s why he also got a
lucky bouquet of scratch-offs. This was
so easy! Fill a vase with the person’s favorite candy, tape the scratch-offs to
skewers, and arrange them in the vase with some decorative flowers. If you want to add a personal touch, stick in
a little note that’s also taped to a skewer.
Bam, done!
He had so much fun with this, but I
must say, the bouquet he got was nowhere near as beautiful as the one I got
from him.
If you make either gift, let me know
how it turns out, and most definitely what the person thought of it!
How many different ways can you tell
someone you love them?
What other things would you make the
frame say besides, “I love you because:”?
Comment below to let me know.
Until next time…
Happy DIY-ing!!!
