Picture-Perfect: Personalised Paintings For Little People

If you’re an aunt, or uncle, to little kids then you’ll know the struggle is real when you want to get them a unique gift that they’ll love (because, chances are, their parents know what they love and got it for them already). So when my nieces and nephew were going to get their own bedrooms for the first time, I thought for a while what could I possibly get them that’s personal, will match their room, and that they’ll adore, to celebrate this big step!

Personalised Arabic Name Paintings

A few days later, I came across a personalised painting of a child’s name in Arabic, and its meaning, on Shafeeqa Effendi’s instagram account. Personalised name frames aren’t a new thing in the game; in fact it was quite the craze in the early 2000s where on a stunning backdrop a person’s name would be written in a fancy font, accompanied by a list of (possible) traits below it. But this name frame was different. It was a watercolour painting, and had a minimalist look compared to those ones. There were no traits, just the name in Arabic, and English, and its meaning. It was ideal!

After a few short exchanges with Shafeeqa, I knew that this is what I was going to get all my nieces and nephews for their bedrooms.

The Process & End Results

First up, it was such a pleasure to work with, and share ideas with, Shafeeqa. I consulted with my sisters on how to phrase the meanings of their childrens’ names, and how to spell them in Arabic. Then I chose what the background picture should be (based on what each child likes and their favourite colours). The art project kicked off once the deposit went through, and over the next few weeks I was kept up to date on the progress of them. The end result was simply beautiful.

In total, it took about 3.5 weeks to get 4 paintings done, so the turnaround time was quite good.

Travelling With the Paintings/Frames

Once framed, Shafeeqa wrapped the paintings neatly in brown paper. Seeing as I had to fly with them, I bubble-wrapped each painting (single layer), then stacked them up in one row and bubble-wrapped the stack before placing it in a cardboard box. I was pretty proud of my wrapping skills… because not a single thing moved or got damaged! 🙂

And the kids’ reactions? They LOVE it! Suffice to say, my sisters love them just as much too!

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Ever loved a gift you got for someone so much that you ended up wanting one for yourself? Yep, that’s how I feel right now…