I love those pictures that are called Alphabet Photography.  One day, it is my goal to go around the city and find the letters that spell our last name.  But for an easy and fun Valentine craft, the girls and I got creative with things we found in our backyard.

LOVE photograph

You will need:
Items found in your backyard (leaves, sticks, rocks, etc.)
Digital camera
Printer
11×20 frame
double stick tape

1. Luckily, it has gotten warmer here so the girls and I headed out for a nature walk.  Tell your children to collect rocks, leaves, sticks, etc. 

My daughter, Emma, decided to wear her bicycle helmet while collecting leaves ; )

2. Once they have collected some items – help your children arrange the items to spell out the word LOVE

“L” was made by using 2 sticks
“O” was made by rocks
“V” was actually a stick we found in the shape of a “V”
“E” was made with leaves
3. Using your digital camera take a picture of each letter – be sure to get pretty upclose and to vary the backgrounds for a nicer look.
4.  Feel free turn the photographs black and white – you should be able to do this with your photo software or photoshop.com
5. Print out each letter (I printed out each letter as a 3×5 photo) on photo paper.
6. Cut out the photos
7. (I could not find an 11×20 frame with a four photo pre-cut mat.) So, I bought an 11×20 frame and flipped over the white paper that came with the frame and simply taped the photos on to it. Or you could go to a frame shop and have a mat made for you.
And tah-dah it is done! 

Now you can make your very own Alaphabet Photo for your home!