Quick, Easy, Non-Cheesy Grandparent's Day Gift

This year, Grandparent's Day falls on Sunday September 11th, just days from now. While our country will also be remembering the great loss of 9/11 this weekend, it seems to me that taking time to honor Grandparents is a fitting way to remember what our country has been through and the legacy  being imprinted on young hearts through the love of generations.

 Whether by birth or adoption, Grandparents are treasures deserving of recognition and respect. With young children, disposable time or money isn't exactly within the scope of daily reality, but fear not! Here's a simple, sweet gift you can make in time for Grandparent's Day this Sunday to say Thank You in a meaningful way.

DIY "we love you" photo collage

1. Grab 3 sheets of white paper, and write "We" "Love (or heart)" "You" on each with marker
2. Find a well-lit area in your home (preferably near a window), a chair(s) or couch and an uncluttered background
3. Have your child(ren) hold each sign, one at a time, and snap away. We found the more candid, the better! Our favorite captures where when they were just playing together, giggling and not paying much attention to the camera. Their personalities came through the images, and will undoubtedly delight their Grandparents even more than posed smiles

       4.  To edit the photos where the signs are the only thing in color:
               --Go to Picmonkey.com, upload your full-color photo, go to the Effects menu, choose the first Black and White filter

         5.    To bring the color back to just the sign: Click on the paintbrush icon. When the little Paint box opens, click Original, then trace over the sign manually with the mouse cursor. The color magically reappears!

        6.    Then print, find a 3-window frame, and Ta-Da! I printed ours at Wal-Mart in 1 hour for $1.52. The frames were $9 each at Target. For under $12 each and about an hour of work, it's totally doable, even last minute! If your parents are out of town, sending just the prints in a card would be a pretty great "Happy Mail" day for any grandparent ;)

Whatever you do to celebrate, I hope you linger long in the blessing of family this weekend.