I can NOT believe Stella Lynne is a year old! I am SO happy I kept up with her monthly photos. I truly will cherish them forever and I hope she will too!
Each month I came up with a way to display items in the shape of the number of months she was. I used the same blanket each month to lay her down on with the number and selected a cute coordinating outfit.
A couple of notes before I get into what i used for each month…
- PLAN! Try and plan ahead as much as possible so you don’t stress yourself out about it. It should be fun and memorable. I made a list of what I wanted to use each month for the pictures in the notes section of my iPhone. This was just to give me some ideas to brainstorm from and I definitely adjusted/changed my mind depending on what I was able to accomplish.
- LIGHTING! This is something I was vaguely aware of. However, as you can see the light varied over the months. I would recommend finding a spot in your house that receives a lot of natural light and try to shoot in that spot around the same time of day each month. Also, do not be afraid to take the picture a few days before or after the actual date to capture the best lighting.
- SIZING! Try to make the number roughly the size of your baby so you can see the growth over the months. This is something I didn’t achieve each month but now looking back, I can share that tidbit with y’all!
Hope y’all enjoy following along each month! Share your inspiration using #askashmash I would love to see other ideas!!
one month [may]
spring flowers
At one month old, I wasn’t really sure if my attempt of taking monthly photos of Stella would make it a full year as we were just getting situated as a new family of four. I was so glad the first one turned out because it kept me going strong!!
I bought these tulips a few days before she actually turned one month so they had some time to open up.
two months [june]
citrus fruits
The bucket hat in this photo was everything!!! It was my vision for this one for sure. I quickly sliced up the citrus fruit we had on had and made a rotating pattern of each one into a two.
Mr original plan was to do seasonal flowers each month but when I had this idea – I had to stray from that path. Feel free to select a theme if that would help you come up with an idea each month.
three months [july]
watermelon
We visited NYC for our annual Fourth of July trip and what goes better with the July 4th than watermelon?!?!
I made multiple attempts to turn this watermelon into a THREE but you get the idea! In case you were wondering, we still ate it afterwards!! lol
four months [august]
limelight hydrangeas
This month, I was busy trimming our Limelight Hydrangea Tree and decided the flowers would be the perfect addition to Stella’s 4 month photo! They were actually WAY bigger than I thought – haha but still cute!
five months [september]
more flowers!
We live close to a Trader Joe’s and they have THE BEST flower selection. So when I don’t have any from our yard to cut, they are my go-to place.
six months [october]
pumpkins
Of course I had to go with pumpkins for October! I actually snagged these artificial pumpkins in the DOLLAR section at Target. My original thought was to get real ones but now I am able to reuse these for our fall decor.
seven months [november]
fall flowers
Another Trader Joe’s find! I snipped the stems off to give these flowers a different look and love the pattern I was able to create by doing that.
I stiff bud like these flowers can be used to make any number!
eight months [december]
wreaths
It is safe to say – this is probably the most liked picture of her monthly photos on IG. I got these 2 wreaths at our local farmers market and WA-LA you have yourself an EIGHT!
I used (2) 8 inch wreaths. You can use garden shears to trim them down a bit if you need too.
nine months [january]
pom poms
This was a fun one! We already had these pom poms and I had Mikey help me shape then into a nine. It was difficult to keep Stella from eating them lol
Pom poms are a great and affordable option for your monthly photos. You could even turn it into a theme and use them every month!
ten months [february]
pom pom garland + tissue ball
This one was completely random! I had out our Valentine’s Day décor out and some how made a TEN out of it?!?
haha some months – you just do what you have too!
eleven months [march]
clovers
This month we were all VERY sick with the flu and then quarantine happened, so I enlisted the help of the Cricut and used it to make four leaf clovers. Stella was still a little sick when we took the picture but LOVE how her hands shot up like an eleven as well.
If you have a Cricut – it is a great tool to make any shape for your monthly photos. I honestly can’t believe that I didn’t use it until month eleven.
twelve months [april]
eggs
Easter eggs of course! Her FIRST birthday fell on the weekend before Easter so we used these eggs that I had for our décor for the number as well as for some of the decorations in her one year photo shoot.
