Clara turned three on Tuesday — and we’ve spent the last few days marveling at this lively little girl and wondering where the time went.
As with her previous birthdays, we marked another year by making a custom fabric backdrop for her photo project. This tradition began on her first birthday, when I used my handwriting to create a repeating pattern and had it printed on fabric using Spoonflower. Last year we used one of Clara’s scribbles and converted it into fabric, which felt so special.
This year we wanted something bolder and more colorful, and we also wanted to involve Clara again. So instead of designing digitally, we let her paint directly on the fabric.
Because it promised to be messy, we headed to the new house where we had plenty of large, unimportant surfaces like the deck. We taped down a drop cloth and secured two yards of cotton fabric in the center.
For paint we picked Crayola Kids’ Paint from Target — familiar to Clara, washable, and non-toxic. We considered fabric paint so the piece could be preserved, but the kid-friendly paints allowed her to have uninhibited fun.
She chose pink first and went right to town, pouring from the bottle and spreading color with a foam brush.
She even added some handprints and footprints — our favorite parts of the whole piece.
In about 30 minutes she covered the two yards of fabric with bright splotches and playful marks. Just as we were wrapping up, we had the idea to let her paint her shirt too, in the spot where we usually place the number for her age. It felt fitting to keep the theme consistent.
With paint still wet and Clara delightfully messy, we moved the whole drop cloth to the side of the house and taped the fabric up as a backdrop for photos.
We were racing the light and the attention span of a three-year-old, but managed to capture this shot at the start of one of her jumps. Jumping is basically her default move these days, so it suited her perfectly. We later add the number to her shirt in Photoshop.
We also captured plenty of outtakes that made us laugh. Sherry’s favorite is what she calls the “Stomp The Yard” pose.
With that, we’re calling it a wrap on Clara’s monthly pictures. It’s been such a joy, but she’s started to outgrow the routine — it’s getting harder to convince her that a quick photo is more fun than whatever else she’s doing. So we’ll let this be a natural stopping point. We’d still like to create a new fabric for each birthday (and maybe a half-birthday) if she’s into it.
The 25 images above are from ages one to three, and below are the 52 weekly photos we took during her first year. Together they form a satisfying visual record of her early years.
Another small tradition: Clara has spent every birthday, including the day she was born, with three of her grandparents. Looking back through those photos, we love spotting how each adult tends to re-wear the same shirt at least once.
Are you making your own fabric, wrapping up a photo project, or letting a little one loose with paint? We’d love to hear how you celebrate. Happy weekend!