a little valentines love for my A-Love

So, there are many things that make me wish I had been in a more avid crafting-mode when Annabel was born. One of those things is the fact that I feel like I totally missed out on a ton of crafting potential from her middle name, Love.

Now, in general I am anti-words on baby clothes. I'm not judging anyone else, because everyone has their own preferences for what's cute, and that's as it should be. But when it comes to clothing my own kiddo, I'm pretty intensely anti-words. I intentionally stay [far] away from "Daddy's Little Princess" or "Cutie Pie" or even the much-lauded "Does this onesie make my butt look big?" ...Sorry, they just annoy me. A lot. Maybe it hearkens back to my high-school-era disdain for displaying any sort of brand label on my own clothes. I just think clothes should be clothes. No advertising or cheesy slogans required (unless you're talking about something genuinely clever or retro).

But, because of Annabel's name, and ONLY because of her name, I was excited to pick up a couple of clothing items with the single word "Love" on them. And, because of her family nickname Annabug, and my own nickname for her, Lovebug, I was also excited to get a onesie for her that said simply that - "Lovebug." Again, only because of her name.

...So you can see that, with Love as a middle name, there could have been so much potential for things to make her. Little unassuming, understated hearts. A tasteful "Love" appliqued here and there. Nothing too over the top; but still, crafting potential.

So today, I decided to stop regretting and start acting. She's still only 2 1/2 and only has about 50% say in what she wears, so it's not too late. Plus, the girl loves pink. She'll like just about anything I make if it's pink. And, I thought, what better time of year than Valentine's Day to give her a little crafting Love? Here's what I came up with.

First, I made a freezer paper stencil. I customized my letters on my computer, printed them out, traced them onto freezer paper, and cut them out. I didn't have the patience to photograph all the steps. See Cheri's great video tutorial for freezer paper stenciling if you're curious. The font is "Braggadocio."

Next, I ironed the stencil onto her shirt. I already had the shirt sitting around, and had intended to do some sort of stencil on it.

Then, I painted over the stencil with light pink fabric paint. I was a little nervous about pink-on-pink, but I hoped it would turn out with a cool, unique effect. I would have used white paint if I'd had it. (It actually would have been really cool to do the white square with the pink letters, like it looks with the stencil ironed on. Oh well.)

Then, I simply peeled the stencil off, and voila!

I like it. Totally unique, totally Valentine's Day, and totally A-Love. Here's hoping she'll be excited to wear it!