Birth-day Print DIY

If you’ve had a baby or been in the labor and delivery room, you know exactly what this is. It might even conjure some memories – amazing and painful as they may be. Emily has special ties to them and created a DIY for Mother’s Day! We’ll let her explain:

“I remember when I had Hayes, my little sister was in the room with us taking pictures (and likely being scarred for life.) I opted for a natural delivery and really had no idea what I was getting her into, nevertheless she was the most amazing support and she captured one photo I couldn’t seem to get over. She took a picture of the contractions monitoring chart. I looked at that photo often: its spikes and dips, the space between the two shortening until eventually the chart stopped tracking – Hayes was born! I think about that chart a lot, how it represents so many things about motherhood all in one image. The anticipation, the highs and lows, the heartbreak and the heart-bursting we experience at any given moment. How much we worry and plan and long to hold them. That moment in time where we cross over to a new life, and we become a new person. A mom! Where forevermore a piece of heart walks around outside of our body.

When I pitched this idea to Nicole and Jenna I was totally apprehensive because the concept is so weird. Maybe even a little morbid if you don’t know the back story. But, I wanted a way to display that feeling, to stand as a reminder that I wanted this role, so badly. Since I was a little girl. I diapered baby dolls, flyered my neighborhood for babysitting jobs, I cried at every month that passed waiting to get pregnant just five years ago. This is the part of my life I am most passionate about, and when the days are long and my patience is short, having this print in my home is an immediate reminder of all of those things.

Here’s how I did it… I measured poster board to fit in a standard Ikea 19×27 frame. I went off my own contractions photo, and just eye-balled the last few contractions before the big moment on March 10th, 2010 at 11:12 pm. I painted a poster board with black acrylic paint, ending it with a red heart. Let it dry completely and then drop it in the frame!

It might only hold this sort of meaning for me, but if you’re looking for a fresh idea that is simple and filled with symbolism to gift a mother in your life, or a reminder for yourself, this couldn’t be easier!”