The gift that keeps on giving until it gets erased

Every birthday Jonathan celebrates, or holiday requiring an exchange of gifts that comes around I always ask my husband for gift ideas, to which he replies “I don’t want anything.” That should make my job pretty easy except that I always say the same thing when prompted for gift ideas, and Jonathan gets me little things like a new Nikon camera, or a bicycle. So I would feel pretty cheap not returning the gesture. The problem I face is that I can’t get him anything electronic because I’m clueless as to what’s good/what he wants, and any other big purchase I feel like he needs to be there to help me pick it out. So I always end up doing something crafty and buying him a shirt.

However, this year, being his 30th birthday, was different. I wanted to surprise him with something big, out of the ordinary, and something very special. So… I did something crafty and bought him a shirt.

It started with a blank wall and chalkboard paint. I fooled Jonathan into thinking I was just testing to see if I could paint over the underlying layer of wallpaper without having to scrape it all off. I was, in a way, but I also had something else in mind that prompted the urgency of this project. When the paint was dry, work began on the centerpiece for the whole project…a retro style mixed media portrait of the two of us.

based on this picture.

Then, with a plethora of colored chalks, I began writing a quick synopsis of Jonathan’s life on the chalkboard sprinkled with pictures here and there. I really had no plan, just a vague idea, so it took me a while to finish it. And unfortunately, Jonathan walked through the door before I was even half way done, and had to sit in the living room and wait until I finished. So much for the element of surprise. Regardless, I got it done and then let Jonathan come in to read it.

Then we gave him his new shirt.

Then we ate cake.

The end.

xo

nessa dee