This Baby Blessing Sunburst was originally posted on PAINT, CUT, PASTE.  I immediately bookmarked the idea.
Thank you Jen for the amazing gift idea and inspiration.  Now, let’s get started!

{Step 1 :: Paint the Sky} This project is great for involving children!  Teaching Quinn and Rose the joy of giving has been a consistent goal.  They were especially happy when I told them they could finger paint.  Kids love the sensory experience and will have a blast.  Put out blue and yellow as acrylic paint color choices and let them experiment.  The only rule we had was “no white left on the page.” Both girls expressed how proud they felt helping make the gift.

*Let’s Lasso the Moon Tip:  Consider buying yourself a plastic shower curtain to use as an art table cloth.  You don’t have to worry about spills, paint, or markers.  If it gets really dirty you can even throw it in the laundry machine for clean up.

{Step 2 :: Paint the Center} Soften your expectations.  I will be the first to admit I was very nervous about following through with the center of the star burst. I reminded myself before I started that it didn’t have to be absolutely perfect.  I loved the infant and child in the original piece so I replicated it to the best of my ability.

*Let’s Lasso the Moon Tip: Are you thinking “I can’t paint” right now?
Come take a peak behind the curtain.  Let me show you a simple trick.

Consider buying yourself a set of watercolor pencils.  They are very helpful for creating fancy projects with little to no skill.  You can find them at any art or craft store including Michaels. For this project I did my best to simply draw out the shapes of the figures.

*Let’s Lasso the Moon Tip:  These pencils also great for doing at home tattoos!  You simply dip the tip in water, shake off the excess and draw.  We also used them last Halloween to draw cat whiskers!

The watercolor pencils feel quite unimpressive to start. The drawing of the figures was remedial at best. However, with a little water the magic begins. I very slowly traced the edge of my figures with the smallest paint brush I could find then I filled in the middle. I was literally ecstatic when it worked out ok. I am not keen on the mother’s hand sort of jetting out like an odd triangle, but I was content!

*Let’s Lasso the Moon Tip: Are you sick of your kids’ paint brushes, scissors or marker laying around? I was too! Find yourself a beautiful container (an old flower pot, a stocky glass vase, etc.) and fill it with smooth rocks or beads. It’s a great way to store supplies and make them visually appealing to you. This works great for paintbrushes because they dry nicely when upright. It is also nice for markers because the child can see the rainbow of cap colors.

{Step 3 :: Add the Blessings} Chose your  favorite sky background and grab your scissors to start cutting strips of yellow card stock.

*Let’s Lasso the Moon Tip:  I found it was easier to attach the beams first and write the blessings second.  Also in my scenario many of the people who gave blessings wrote long notes.  I divided some of the messages into different strips, but attached a typed out document to the back of the frame with all the blessings in tact with their authors.

{Step 4 :: Put it All Together} Flip your work into the mat to ensure all the quotes can be read with ease.  Using a mat really gives the project a smooth, professional, visual appeal.  If professional matting is out of your budget (like mine) you can still buy pre-cut mats at many craft stores.  Again, I purchased my frame and mat at Michaels.

*Let’s Lasso the Moon Tip:  Sometimes a mistake doesn’t need to be fixed.  When arranging the piece I was frustrated because the sun beams kept popping on top of the mat.  Then I quickly realized it looked as if the rays of light were moving beyond the mat.  This little quirky change to the project was one of my favorite aspects.  It felt almost as if the love in the quotes transcended the confined space.

{Step 5 :: Enjoy the Final Piece} The baby’s room is blue so I decided to use a white frame.  I felt this really lightened up the overall feel of the end piece.  I had a wonderful time creating it.

“Sometimes,’ said Pooh, ‘the smallest things take up the most room in your heart.”
— A.A. Milne

{Step 6 :: Share the Love} My lovely little lady actually arrived the day I finished the project.  At the hospital her mother’s eyes lit up as she opened the gift (as did Quinn and Rose’s).  She was so excited to see all the different families who participated.  This was the perfect gift for the mother who wants or needs nothing.

If you have any questions when trying this project let me know!  Thank you again to Jen over at PAINT, CUT, PASTE for the idea.