Clara’s first birthday last Saturday made for a natural conclusion to 52 weeks of fabric-filled photo-y goodness (click here to see ’em larger).
But we’re going to keep going. Kind of. Before we move on to that though, let’s talk about the last photo-filled year.
We’re just as surprised as anyone that we managed to maintain our weekly ritual fifty-two times in a row. In fact, today is the first Friday in 12 months that we haven’t busted out the camera, a yard of discount fabric, and a white-onesied Clara, and then used Photoshop to add the week number to her onesie after the fact. It’s kinda sad in a way. But just looking at all of the photos that we captured of our growing bean cheers us up pretty quickly. And it really surprised and flattered us to hear from many of you who were doing your own version of the project with fabric and photoshop too. The craziest thing about our weekly photo session is that our project actually got featured in a book about photographing kids: Mamarazzi, by Stacy Wasmuth. Yeah, we’re kind of in shock. And the grandparents went freaking crazy (“our grandbaby is famous!”).
And of course there were all of the sentimental items that the project spawned around here – like the bound photos books that we’ve ordered for ourselves and the grandparents (more on those when they arrive), the photo display that we created at Clara’s party…
… and the items that Sherry sewed out of the leftover fabric – like her birthday banner and quilt:
For any of you who have considering starting (or are in the midst of) a similar project of your own, we thought it might be helpful to toss up this link back to the original “making of” post for a look at how we took and edited the pictures. Though we should add one piece of advice that didn’t become clear to us until recently: your baby won’t be a motionless blob forever!
In the early weeks many of you said “I can’t wait to see what you do once she starts moving around!” At the time we wondered how hard it could be to keep the bean on her back. Heck our biggest challenge was getting her to move enough to make the picture somewhat interesting in the early days (“oooh, that burp looked like a smile!”). But as you can see from many of our recent pictures, of course it was harder than we originally thought. Once those rolling / crawling / pulling up skills kicked in, let’s just say that Clara had little interest in waiting patiently for me to white balance. These last few photo sessions could be subtitled as “how many parents and objects are needed to block a baby from crawling off a daybed while singing and waving your arms around frantically?” The answer: a lot.
We did find that giving her an object to hold (aka: to distract her) helped make her less wiggly – like the carrot in her Easter photo (week #49). So part of us wished we had included an object from the beginning – even if for the first few weeks it just laid by her side. Plus, if we had used the same object throughout there would be a clearer reference for scale.
The only object that was consistent in our pics was her onesie, but that wasn’t the clearest way to show off her growth. In fact, it almost looked like she got smaller when we switched from a (tight at the time) 0-3 month size to a (loose at the time) 6 month one for her 14 week picture.
Because of that hiccup we actually squeezed her into that some 6 month onesie for the rest of the project (don’t worry, it stretched enough that she was plenty comfortable). The irony is that she’s such a tall glass of water that some 18-24 month pants are too short for her, but miraculously the onesie just stretched to fit her the whole time.
So even though there are a few things we might’ve done differently (someone suggested starting her in a 12 month onesie from the beginning so we could watch her gradually fill it out), we’ve got no regrets. We’re just turning those lessons learned into “adjustments” for the next year. So without further ado, here’s the beginning of year #2.
We were really excited to use the fabric that we designed on Spoonflower for this shot. As for what’s different, allow me to point out the obvious (or maybe not-so-obvious):
- Her onesie says “months.” Since her week-to-week changes became more subtle as she grew, we figured this would still do justice to her developments over year two (while also making it a more manageable project for mom and dad).
- She’s sitting. Rather than fighting her to stay on her back, we’re embracing her desire to move and be upright. We figure this also gives us the flexibility to capture a crawling, standing, or even walking picture down the road.
- She’s wearing a skirt. In addition to her pose, we’re gonna be less strict about her wardrobe this year too. As long as there’s something white on top to photoshop the
weekmonth onto – it flies. Since we had fun doing special things like a Halloween costume (week #24) and a Santa hat (week #32) we thought it might be fun to mix things up. - She’s on 2 yards of fabric. One yard of fabric wouldn’t cut it for this new sitting set-up. But since we’re only taking 12 pictures (times 2 yards = approx 24 yards of fabric), we’re still buying half as much as we did for the last 52 weeks this year. Happily we snag almost all of our fabric on clearance or with 50% off coupons from places like Hancock or JoAnn. And sometimes we use other backdrops that we already have on hand (we like to work in random duvets and towels and shower curtains that we have too since it keeps the budget down when we don’t feel like springing for new fabric).
So that’s the new plan. We’re excited to continue the project in some form, while letting the first year stand alone as a complete and finished set of pictures. We’d hate to “ruin” what we started by trying to keep weeklies going and then abruptly fall of the wagon somewhere randomly around week 71 or something. Plus, if taking these sitting pictures turns out to be easier, maybe baby #2 will get this treatment from the start (or an entirely new photo project concept – who knows).
And yes that’s green painter’s tape holding the fabric in place. Would you expect anything less from us?
Psst- We announced this week’s giveaway winner. Click here to see if it’s you.
I love that you are continuing with this project! It is such a sweet idea and she will love it when she’s older and can grasp just how awesome and devoted her mommy & daddy are!
Love it!!!!
Yay! It makes me so happy that you’ll continue to do this. What an adorable idea! I hope I have the determination/discipline to do it someday:)
Can you kindly do this with Burger, too?
Haha- now THAT would be impossible. But hilarious.
xo,
s
Aw, but maybe you could put him in the monthyly series with Clara. For scale, of course.
Haha, oh yes he’s important for scale.
xo,
s
That’s what I was thinking! He can be the constant for scale. He clearly likes being in front of the camera anyway.
I love that you guys will continue this. I am inspired to do the same thing and I don’t even have kids yet ;
)
I too am inspired by this and i dont have kids yet, every time im at the craft store i dig through the discounted fabric for the have to have for my shots!
These photos are so cute! Clara will love looking back through these pictures when she is older.
Love her in that sweet-ums pink shirt. Sooooooo girly!!!
Great week of postings!!
Rest this weekend. You have had a busy week.
B.
I just love that Clara fabric. It is just perfect.
Thanks for sharing the what you’ve learned during this project. I love all the different ways you were able to use the pictures, as well as the fun fabrics. The banner and quilt are such great keepsakes for her to have later on.
Love the monthly photo idea. It will be neat for her when she’s older to look back and see herself as a babe. What room in your house is this last picture taken in? I don’t recognize the angle.
That’s the corner of the sunroom.
xo,
s
Skirt, I meant.
What a great treasury of photos of your little bean – and congratulations on your inclusion in “Mamarazzi”…that is so exciting! I love this whole project, and can’t believe you got a photo every, single Friday. I also like all the tie-in projects, e.g. the fireplace photo gallery, the fabric banner, the quilt. And the best thing, Clara will LOVE this when she’s grown – what a gift for her!
You guys continue to amaze me…I love this idea and what a fun memory for you guys and Clara!
I love it! It’s such a great project… I’m sure you’ll be glad you stuck to it when you look back and have tons of pictures of these days.
Hey guys! What kind of camera do you use? I’m in the market and I’m always impressed by the quality of your photos! Any advice you have would be greatly appreciated.
We saved our pennies for a Nikon D3000. Love it so much! Got it on amazon on sale. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
So cute! Glad to see it continuing!
So cute!
I’m jealous that you have been so consistent with your pics. We did monthly pics with both of my kids and that was hard to keep up with (i’m not home with them during the day though and night time pics just don’t come out the same). I had my kids sitting up from the time they could and that was always a challenge b/c they always wanted to crawl off the blanket.
Do you have a cut off point? What will happen after year 2? Will you just do yearly?? Haha, not you have to answer, or even know the answer to all of life’s questions right this instant. Just wondering if you have a long-term game plan.
I loved this idea I saw on Pinterest http://pinterest.com/pin/24215925/
Chris Loves Julia
I think we’re planning to stop at two but we might not be able to. Haha. Who knows. Stopping cold turkey might be too hard! She’ll be 22 and still posing for us every month. Haha.
xo,
s
I was just about to recommend the first day of school! Especially since kids are always decked out in their best outfits and shiny white sneakers that day :)
I was curious to see what would year two bring along…
am pretty glad you decided to keep on photographing the progress of Clara and so selflessly sharing it with the blogsphere…
^^
Which one(s) are your favorite?
I think we love Easter and Halloween the best (bunny ears and tutu).
xo,
s
I really like that you’re continuing this project! It’s crazy seeing how much she’s changed in the first year (they really do grow up quickly!). Maybe in year two burger will make a few cameos?
Haha, maybe – he does like to get in on the fun.
xo,
s
So fun! I am due in late October/early November and am already planning how I will recreate this with our little one :) Hopefully it will turn out as nice as yours!
If we have another baby, I’d love to do something similar. The 52 weeks would look great in a hardbound book. Folks like Snapfish and even Walgreens can do it pretty easily. Wouldn’t it be great for Clara to have a little book for the first year of her life? Also, it’d be a great Christmas present for the grandparents, right? What a precious little bean!
Walgreen’s photo books are 40% off through tomorrow!
Oh yeah we already ordered the books! Can’t wait to share them when they come.
xo,
s
Did you order a photo book for Clara too? She’s going to want her own copy someday! :)
Yup! Two for us (one to keep nice and one for her to paw at- hah).
xo,
s
I love this project and I’m really glad that you are going to keep doing it- but month by month seems more do-able at this age. My wife is pregnant right now and I have big plans to do the same exact thing with our little one once they get here!
Your baby is going to be the most photogenic baby around…no worries about camera-shy!
I just did monthy photographs with my daughter (who is now three). However, something I will always treasure from her first year, is that I took a stamp of her footprint each month (hands with an infant were impossible). When she turned a year old, I meant to start doing a yearly handprint, but ummm…..well…..okay I can start in July when she turns 4.
P.S. She had her pre-school graduation last night. Too cute and yet, shows me how she has grown so fast.
Yay! So glad the Clara pics will continue! It will be crazy to see how much she changes month to month instead of the weekly pictures. Like one month we will still see her with fuzz and the next month she will have her very own ponytail!
I love this. I need to try a photo project four Olivia. But at 4-years old, it’s not so easy anymore.
Oh yea!!! I’m so glad that you are going to continue the pics. =)
I love this project! Any suggestions for twins?? I am 4 months pregnant with identical twins! Still doesn’t seem real… I really want to do a version of this project but unsure if I should photograph them sepreately or together? Use the same fabrics? I am not going to dress them the same or give them rhyming names haha I want them to have their own identities.
P.S. LOVE your blog :)
Hmm, maybe try taking joint pics with them on the same fabric but in different outfits? That way they can have their own looks and poses and their personalities will show but they can interact on the same fabric for some cute shots together? Congrats on the twins!!!
xo,
s
I think it would be really cute to do like a black onesie and a white onesie on the same fabrics (or pink and red, blue and green, etc.)
I would consider the white onesies on both. It would be easier to use any fabric you wanted. Then in photoshop, I would use a different color for each baby on the circle/week (though not the same each week), maybe include their names? Like Clara 1 week, Burger 1 week.
You could do seperate weekly shots and a monthly shot of the babies together. That way they would have individual pictures of themselves together as well as coupled shots. But it may be more work! Congrats on the twins, super exciting!
This kid is so darn cute, I can’t get over it!!
I love the addition of the skirt in her 12 month picture. I can’t wait to do this project when I have a kiddo of my own!
I’m kinda liking the idea of starting off with a 12 month onsie and watching the growth into it…hmmm…we’ll see!
I love this project, i dont intend to have kids for a few years yet, but this is number one priority after its born… haha!
Cant believe how big she is now!! she looks more toddler than baby!
If you keep the Clara fabric you could do just a headshot every year then in 20 years time it will be amazing to see the difference! :o)
Where did you get the fabric with her name printed on it?
That’s from Spoonflower. John designed it! More on that here.
xo,
s
Do you still have fabric left over from the first 52 weeks? It’d be neat if you could attempt to make doll clothes or something like that. My mom used to make us doll clothes out of old scraps!
Yeah, I have lots leftover so I can’t wait to make all sorts of stuff.
xo,
s
I giggled when I got to the end and you were talking about possibly starting #2 sitting from the start-if you did, I’d love to hear about your tips and tricks for that! When our daughter was born in ’08 we started monthly pictures of her sitting next to a large teddy bear, and I’m not sure how many times she’d tip, spring across the couch to get away, etc. When our twins are born soon I’m definitely looking forward to trying your “lying down on fabric” method for something different and who knows, maybe I’ll have better luck getting a baby to lay still than sit still :)
Haha, maybe the grass is always greener in the pose department. Haha.
xo,
s
i love that her 1 week and 52 week are almost mirror images of each other! we’ve done monthly pics with our girls. kinda wish we would have gone weekly, but i’d never remember each week.
I love this idea…I wish you guys had been around when my kids were balies! Or that I had thought of it!
I love the photo display you did for Clara’s birthday party. Are you going to keep those up on display?
Sadly they were just stuck up with painters tape so they all popped off a few days after the party. Oh well, they were fun while they lasted!
xo,
s
I think in her 1 year photo she looks like a baby but in her 12 month photo she looks like a little girl! It’s just the perspective and the skirt, but she looks so much bigger!
I know right?! It’s the sitting up thing and the skirt. My baby is growing up! Sniffle.
xo,
s
Must have been a carter’s onesie. Bless them and their love of long babies.
Yup, it was! Haha.
xo,
s
AMEN! And they even have 24 month onesies because my little fellow wasn’t little at all and needed them by 10 months. Carter’s was a Godsend.
Clara is such a lucky girl to have such a talented Mom and Dad!
I love the theme you have started and I have a new project suggestion/challenge for you both..
This is actually a project that I have started but have yet to complete lol ( just don’t ask how many years ).
I have saved my old barbie clothes and have made some new ones (some from old fabric my mom had saved from my childhood) and are framing them in x9, 9×9 Ikea frames.
Maybe you could do this with some of Clara’s fabric backdrops!
lol, I bet you could finish this before I even finished mine ;)
Cheers! :)
Cute!
xo,
s
Where did you get the Clara fabric? I can’t find if/when you posted that lil tidbit of info. I wanna order some. Not Clara though – that’d be far too creepy.
Here’s that info for ya: http://blogs.babycenter.com/life_and_home/creating-personalized-fabric/
xo,
s
too awesome. thanks, lady!
I’ve loved watching your sweet little Clara grow through your weekly pictures! I’ve been doing a monthly photo of our little guy since he was born and now that he is 18 months, the big challenge is trying to get him to stay in one spot without running away! I’ve had to do different things like sit him in a little kid chair, make him stand by a flowering bush, let him hold my cell phone… I look forward to more creative ideas from you guys! :)
She is so precious. I hope to be able to master Photoshop by the time we have kids to be able to do a project like this! Looking forward to seeing how Clara grows in the next year.
Clara is just so cute! I think it’s impossible too look at your lovely photos of her and not smile :)
Curious how you did the photoshop words on weeks 40 and (I think) 35 (orange paisley). I have read your “how to” post but am still not completely sure how you make the image appear to be on the onesie when Clara isn’t laying or sitting straight and only part of the image appears. Looks like you have some mad photoshop skills….please share!
In those we “rasterized” the type (up in the drop down menu) and then erased the parts that we needed to look like they were covered. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
This is off subject, but I was wondering if you guys get the quarterly magazine ” Creative Ideas” from Lowe’s. It is a fantastic ‘free’ mag. Everytime it comes to my mailbox I get all giddy. Nerd alert. Anyway – for anyone interested check out LowesCreativeIdeas.com/Subscribe
Love the blog! you guys rock :)
Yes! We do get it. In fact a friend of mine edits that mag- so I’ll have to tell her she has a fan! It’s really creative and fun, right?
xo,
s
Where did you get the fabric from with her name on it??
ooops, I just saw you already answered it!!
You can use the same Clara sheet every month, and see how she grows with that, and that way you can distinguish 2nd year from 1st year. Thanks for all your great ideas and keeping things simple.
I loved your weekly photo project. I wish I would have thought to do something like that with my two boys. Glad to see you’re continuing, even monthly.
so fun! i love it!