As I sit here writing this post, I still can't quite wrap my mind around the fact that in three weeks or less we will be a family of four! Nonetheless, preparations for baby's arrival are in full swing!
In addition to folding onesies, buying newborn diapers and sterilizing bottles - one of our main focuses has been doing all we can to prepare Beckett for the new baby that will soon change his world. Since he'll only be 17 months old when the baby arrives, I know that his understanding is limited, but we are doing what we can, including lots and lots of talk about babies and role playing. I can already tell that he's going to make a very loving big brother!
While I know there is only so much I can do to ease Beckett's transition from only child to big brother, I've been really wanting to do something extra special for him. I've been working to put together a "Big Brother Kit" that we'll give Beckett when he comes the hospital to meet the new baby for the first time, and I'm pretty excited about how it's coming together. I thought I would share a little sneak peek with you of one of the specials items that will be included in the kit.
Two of the things Beckett loves most are reading books and pointing at and talking about the animals on the quilt that hangs above his crib. So I decided to combine the two and make him a custom board book featuring each of those animals.
As I talked about in the post about Beckett's nursery, the quilt above Beckett's crib was a collaborative effort between my mom and I. I drew all of the animals by hand, and my mom made the quilt.
When I originally drew the animals, I scanned them in to create digital files in order to mock up a rendering of the quilt. Since that time, I have also used the digital images to create
custom clothing rod dividers for the
nursery closet.
Now those animals have made their way into print, in the form of a board book that I had made by a company called Pint Size Productions.
Pint Size Productions offers a variety of board book options - from very simple books where you just send them your photos and they put the book together for you, all the way to completely custom books that you design yourself.
Since I am relatively proficient in Photoshop, I opted for the fully customized, create-your-own option. I used the
link provided on their website to send an email to Pint Size Productions in order to request the Photoshop Templates for the customized book. These templates provide the exact dimensions (including the bleeds and trim lines) for the cover as well as the interior book pages. Using these files, I was able to design my very own board book using the animals that I had originally drawn for Beckett's quilt. I kept the design very simple by placing each animal on a bright colored background - just like on the quilt, and adding the names below the pictures.
The Pint Size Productions website said it would take approximately 10 business days for the book to be created, so I paid for expedited shipping to ensure that I would receive the book in time to give to Beckett when the baby arrives. The book actually shipped only two days after I placed my order - so it turns out I didn't need to spend the extra money on expedited shipping. This was a bit of a frustration, though it's hard to complain about a faster than expected turn around. And when book arrived in the mail yesterday, I was extremely pleased with the quality - including the thickness of the pages and the vibrancy of the colors!
I wanted to be sure to commemorate the quilt that inspired this little book - so on the back cover, I included a photo of the quilt hanging above Beckett's crib.
After sharing with you this little preview of one of the items I've made for Beckett's Big Brother Kit, I can't wait to show you the rest in a couple of weeks! In addition to the other things I have planned, I also created a second customized board book through Pint Size Productions that I am even more excited about (and that brings a little tear to my eye each time I look through it)!
Labels: baby, books, DIY, gift, kids, nursery, Photoshop
