A Cute DIY Gift for Your Child

My daughter is getting ready to turn six, and she has slept with a little stuffed doggie since she was only a couple of months old. When she started talking, we used to play with it and make little barking noises like, "Ruff! Ruff!" Because of that, we ended up calling it Ruffy, and she (it's a girl doggie) has been a staple in our life ever since.

She's my daughter's special lovey, and luckily I was able to buy not one, but two identical back ups from ebay. I don't always remember to rotate them out like I should, though, so the stuffing is a little less fluffy in one than in the other two. So far she hasn't noticed, though.

Each Christmas, I make a photo calendar for my husband and the grandparents using Shutterfly. There are quite a few online services out there like this, and I have used others in the past. I really like Shutterfly's designs best, though, and their service and quality is top notch. If you enjoy scrapbooking, this Karen Foster blank calendar is a great option - you can print your own photos and build around them.

This year, I decided to make a calendar for my daughter with Ruffy, and it will be a special gift from Ruffy herself. I have been posing the stuffed animal once a month in order to capture the "secret life" of the stuffed animal - all the fun things she does when my daughter is a school or otherwise not around.

Here is a preview of the shot I took last December when our Christmas tree was up:

The best part is that I'm not using any special equipment to do it - just my iPhone to take the photos, then I enhance them with Picfx and Instagram. I love the way they're turning out. I have been using a few doll props and seasonal decorations for each photo - things she would otherwise never see Ruffy do or wear.

I'm so excited about the calendar, I really can't wait to see her face when she opens her gift from Ruffy!