I like to dabble in a lot of different things—and painting has always been one of them.
Before Simon was born I bought a little raw wood chair which sat in my basement until he was about 3 when I decided to paint it up for him. This is how it turned out:
The quote along the top comes from the book “The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupery which I was rereading at the time. It is from one of my favorite sections of the book where the Little Prince is having a conversation with a fox about being tamed. The fox says, “But if you tame me, then we shall need each other. To me you will be unique in all the world.”
Unique in all the world…after years of teaching junior high children…whom I loved (I really really loved teaching school) I chose to stay home with my boy…that one child out of hundreds who was unique in all the world to me…the boy who tamed me…
The quote was fitting and Simon loved his little chair until these past few years—now that he’s older, and cooler, it’s only used to drape his dirty shirts over or as step stool to climb on top of his bunk bed— and one day very soon it will be moved to the basement where it will wait until one day when Simon will have a little one of his own that will be “unique in all the world” to him.
Almost 4 years after I had Simon, Grace was born.
Not long after I found out that I was having a girl I made Grace this chair:
I just couldn’t wait. Having my own little girl seemed too good to be true…like something out of a fairy tale. A fairy tale I couldn’t wait to begin.
Right now she is the perfect age to use her little chair—and does—everyday. I’m glad I made one for her as well. (Even if it had to wait for a year or two before she could use it.)
Long ago when I bought Grace’s chair I bought an extra one with the hopes that I would have one more child and stowed it away in the basement.
And just last week I happened to be rummaging around in the basement when I ran across this:
Patiently waiting to be made up for Ruth. My rolly polly baby Ruth.
I suppose it’s time to pull out the old wood burning kit and the paint.
It may take me some time to finish this project though.
(They are wood burned, painted, and wood burned again…which takes a little while.)
But I think it’s worth it…I like to think that one day, when my children are grown, they will have a little something that is tangible evidence that their mother loved them so when they were small….because heaven knows I’m not making scrapbooks.
-liZ
Liz such nice memorable projects your kids will cherish forever. And really a great alternative to scrapbooks, I much prefer to sew and paint than scrap! Can’t wait to see what you come up with for Ruth.
your such a talented momma! how wonderful to be able to give them to your children.
What a beautiful and touching present for your little ones. Makes me want to make something for my two girls that they will be able to pass down to their kids one day.
Those are soo cute and lovely! Great way to always keep some memories too! I can’t wait to see the next chair for Ruth! 🙂
xx
Holly
HAHA! My poor children don’t have scrap books either =) Your chairs are gorgeous! Love them! Can’t wait to see the third.
I love the colorful and cheerful designs! And love projects that are a great keepsake yet practical at the same time! I am not much of a scrapbook person either. Actually, I am not a scrapbook person at all. We have 2 rocking chairs that were made for my husband by his grandfather and now our boys use them. They have been fixed a couple of times, but our kids love them and use them all the time. Thank you for the inspiration!
Beautiful Liz. Love it.
I love the chairs. they are so cute and a great idea for gifts for our kids. And I am with you, I am not a scrap booker and sadly I have one daughter and her baby book is so empty other then a few pages filled out by my husband. But I do have like a million pictures of her.
Those are amazing chairs! What keepsakes for them to have!!
Do you think you would want to share how you made them?
They look beautiful!
Sharon
Those are really beautiful … what an incredible keepsake!