My Parents' Christmas Gift.

*My giveaway ends on Sunday at noon EST, so be sure to enter if you're interested in winning a "relaxation package!"*

I finished my finals today and think all went well. The minimum grade I will get in advanced physiology is a C, but I may get a B; I'll know tomorrow (unless my brother decides not to look at the grade board for me). Considering a few months ago I wasn't even sure getting a C would be possible, I'm content, although a B is preferred.

I also quit my nannying job today because I could no longer be micromanaged and have the parents act like they don't trust me. That's a blog post coming soon to a dashboard near you ;)

Now for the title of the post. I first saw "Letter Art" a few years ago-- where photographs of everyday objects are taken in a way to mimic letters, spelling everything from last names, to "family," to "faith," etc. My parents and I have always thought they were cool and wanted one, especially after we saw the one my aunt and uncle have spelling our last name. My mom, a few weeks ago, mentioned again, in passing, how much she wanted one and I immediately knew it would be my Christmas gift for her and my dad.

While in NYC, I tried finding the letters of our last name, but either my creative juices weren't flowing, or I was blind, but I didn't have any luck. I was slightly discouraged and decided to research how much purchasing one would cost. And when I finished laughing at the $120 price tag I consistently came across, I decided I could do it on my own; after all, my last name only has four letters, how hard could it be?

The answer? Not very hard at all!

Right before Thanksgiving, my mom and I went to Michael's to get a frame for Maisie's "welcome to the world" gift when the frames were 50% off. While there, I secretly was also looking for a 4-slot collage frame, which I managed to find. I went back later in the week and scored one for $10!!

For the past couple months, I've driven to downtown Indianapolis for tutoring for my advanced physiology class. The buildings downtown have some amazing architectural detail, so, while driving, I'd make mental notes of possible sites for photographing the letters. I finally found time to go down and actually take the photos a couple weeks ago and was pretty successful (aside from the fact that I went on the coldest friggin' day of the year), but wasn't going to be pleased until I saw the end result. I edited my photos over the weekend and ordered them through mpix.com (suggested by my cousin's wife who is a photographer and orders her prints through the site). The site tried to con me into spending an extra 10 bucks on shipping to guarantee a "before Christmas delivery," but I'm cheap and decided to take my chances. SO glad I did, because they arrived today, three days after I placed my order.

I framed them tonight and here's how it looks:

What? You really thought my last name was "Fancypants?" Sorry for the disappointment.

I LOVE it!! I'm really pleased with how it came out, except for one little detail. The slot sizes are 3 x 5.5, but all the sites I looked at for printing only print 3 x 5 or 4 x 6, so the photos don't fit the slot length perfectly. I'm going to buy some black poster board to mount them on so the matting just looks extra thick and will hopefully make the photos pop more.

I was too excited to wait and I have another gift idea for her, so I decided to show my mom tonight and make it the wrapped gift for my dad (even though it's really for both of them). She did say the "C" was a little less obvious, but oh well, I like it. Mama loved it and was totally surprised, and I managed to spend less than $20 on the whole thing, so I'd consider it a success!

What gift are you most excited to give this year?