Many moons ago, before I had this blog and when my now-four-year-old was a newborn, I came across a brilliant Father’s Day gift that my husband received for his first “Daddy’s Day.” You simply take wooden letters to spell the word “DAD”, and take pictures of your kids holding them and being their naturally cute selves, and frame them. Instant beautiful and meaningful art. Here’s a picture of how it turned out….

I used really big, white letters, and chose my kid’s funniest expressions for the finished product. Needless to say, it turned out mega-cute, and was a huge hit.

Fast forward four years…I’m trying to come up with a kid-inspired gift for my father-in-law’s 60th birthday. I decided to try the same technique, but this time with black and white photos…

Fortunately we call him “Papa”; so all I needed to find was a frame with 4 4×6 openings. The letters I used were a bit smaller, and, if I were to do it again, I’d probably use larger letters as well as allow more time to retake a few of the photos that I’m not 100% happy with. But, as I’m learning as a mom of two Littles, it’s not wise to let perfect be the enemy of good, so I framed up what I had and still think it turned out pretty adorable.

Want to make one of these for someone with a longer name? Grandma or Grandpa, perhaps? Just use 2 letters per picture instead of just one, it turns out just as precious.

So there you have it! An easy, meaningful and personalized Father’s Day gift for the main men in your life. If you create one of these, please send along a pic, I’d love to see it!!