the Birthday Tree gallery of frames.

This project has been about 3 years in the making.  It goes something like this.

When I bought my first house in February of 2009, David and I had just started dating, but we were super smitten with each other and he was so excited to help me remodel our first beautiful space together.  That summer for my birthday instead of the awkward first-dating-gift, David did something completely different, something completely David, and something completely me.  He bought me a tree to put in the front yard of my very first house.  A pretty big tree.  A Chinquapin Oak to be exact.

{Pretty big tree}

Jim and Jess are both standing in the hole they dug as they place it in.

{Birthday tree on the left.  Huge hackberry in the center of the house that will sadly eventually need to be cut down.  So, us planting the birthday tree was a move in the direction to help the house in the long run.)

So for the past 3 years of living in that house, I was thinking about this project.  I knew we would eventually move, and we wouldn't have that special gift anymore to look at every day.  I know its a tree and all, but its the Birthday tree!  It was special to us then, and still is. So, I nabbed a leaf off of the tree every month, to document its growth through the year.  I saved/pressed them and stashed them away until the perfect time.  And now is the perfect time.  

I bought the frames (12) last winter at Joanne's for super cheap at one of their huge 60% off sales.  I've kept them safe through the move and finally started painting them.  I chose, of course, a grey color that I tested/looked at in our hallway with our funky LED lights.  

I threw out all the matting that came with the frames and used some really nice paper I had (I love stationary/graphics/paper btw.) And cut it to the 8x10 size of the overall glass opening.  I love my paper cutter.

Then I wrote the month with pencil at the same spot on every sheet.  And placed the leaves.

I used 2 different frames, 8 of a more ornate kind, 4 of a more straight kind.  Which is why there is a little difference in the frames, but I think it creates interest and some movement. 

Thats it!  I love it in our hallway and its one more thing that is meaningful and makes our house a home!