Monday, August 07, 2017

Photo Gift Idea for a Sponsored Child

I don't know about you, but sometimes I can run out of things to say or pictures to include when writing my family's sponsored child. So, I love fresh, new ideas every now and then.

With all the lovely, trendy wall art out there featuring states, countries, maps, etc., I came up with the idea to create something similar to send to our sponsored child who lives in Kenya. I'm most familiar with using PicMonkey, so that's the avenue I chose to make the photo gift featuring Kenya, our child's home country, and Arizona, my family's home state.

How To Create State/Country Photo Card With PicMonkey

I searched the internet for state and country clipart. I found a free site called ClipartFest. I'm not sure if you will find what you are looking for there, but it had what I was looking for. I suggest you start there. :)

First, in the search bar, type in the state or country you are looking for. The drop down box will show you more specific options. For instance, to find an outline of Arizona, I typed in "Arizona" and then chose "Arizona State Outline Clipart." Click the "Download" button when you find what you want to use.

Next, go to PicMonkey and choose the "Design" button at the top of the page, then choose "Blank Canvas." Select the 6x4 size. (I originally chose something larger, but it didn't fit in the photo space provided on Compassion International's website. The cropping tool chopped off part of the photo.) Choose your canvas color before moving on to the next step.

Now, you are going to click on the butterfly icon (overlays) and then click on "add your own." You will need to access your computer files to add your states/countries to your canvas. Once you have them positioned where you want them, you can add in hearts. Scroll down in overlays until you see "Doodly Hearts." I chose the fourth heart for my photo art. You can change the color if you wish. To make sure your hearts are the same size, right click on your first heart and choose "Duplicate overlay." Once your hearts are finished, choose a font under the Tt icon and type in the names of your states/countries. I chose the simple Geo Sans Light.

Last, you will need to SAVE your photo creation by clicking the "Save" button at the top left of the page.

What It Looks Like in the Letter

We sponsor our child through Compassion International, so that's the only organization I'm familiar with. Instead of choosing to add photos directly to the stationary like I usually do, I chose to add a separate photo page. The Arizona/Kenya photo is on top and another photo is on the bottom.

And there you have it - a unique photo gift idea for a sponsored child. I'm not super techy, and I'm sure there are better, more professional ways of making state/country art, but hopefully, Livingstone (our child) will like it. :)

Consider Sponsoring a Child Through Compassion International

If you've never sponsored a child and have the means to do so, I hope that you will give it some consideration. We've been sponsors through Compassion International for over 6 years now and have been greatly blessed by the opportunity. I love that we receive updates about our child and even receive a few personal letters from him each year.

I already wrote about our journey to sponsorship in a post back in 2011 if you want to know more.

Do you have any unique photo or letter writing ideas for a sponsored child? Please let me know in the comments!