*Updated with Winner* Congratulations to EmmieBee! You won! Everyone else, please don’t forget that Modern Bird Designs is offering a 15% discount code WEARETHATFAMILY to expire June 3rd.
Africa changed me.
I know it sounds trite and overused, but it’s true. It’s not just a slogan or a great t-shirt logo, it’s my mantra.
I don’t feel the same on the inside in little ways-like mindless shopping and even in bigger areas like faith and the future.
I don’t ever want to forget being there: the faces I met, the smells of the city, the feeling of God coming near.
I have a beaded giraffe on my keychain that a Compassion child made. I have a bowl on my kitchen counter that I bought in the market. I have a hole in my heart from the piece I left in Africa.
When Modern Bird Designs asked me if they could make me a piece of art, I knew I wanted a part of my Africa journey on my wall:
Instead of choosing a picture of a child we already sponsor, I chose to capture Paris, a child needing a sponsor.
Isn’t it amazing??
This is hanging in my house as a constant reminder to be her voice:
And a lucky reader will win one too today! Modern Bird Studios is generously offering one reader a 12″ x 12″ custom piece (valued at $215)!
How it works:
Each work is a one-of-a-kind, original studio piece created with a combination of digital, hand, and painting processes on an Oak composite. We take your photograph, and break it down into a two-color image, which results in abstract shapes that make up the form. We then choose two contrasting colors to create the painting. The result is a marriage between technology and traditional painting to create a totally hip urban-style art piece that enriches your home.
To enter, tell me what you would capture and hang on your wall. Your comment is your entry.
*Open to the lower 48 states
*15% discount code WEARETHATFAMILY to expire ONE week after the contest ends
*Previous contest winners are not eligible to enter.
This giveaway ends on Thursday.
i would choose the picture of my grandma holding my youngest child as an infant…they are surrounded by my other two children and they are all looking at each other. it is a beautiful sight! my grandma holding my baby like she used to hold me and her own babies.
thanks for the chance to win this awesome art!
kate n.
katenowakistan @ gmail.com
As an advocate for Compassion, I think I would do something similar to what you have. I am going to Peru with Compassion in August and it would be a great way to remember a trip 17 years in the making! (that’s how long I’ve been a sponsor and this is my first trip)
I would definitely choose a picture of my son, my soon-to-be born son (in July!), and I.
I would have a picture made of some of the precious children who attend our church and are currently living at the Children’s Home of Lubbock. It is such a blessing, as a Children’s Minister, to be able to share Jesus not only with my own four children, but also with the children who do not have parents able to care for them well.
Wow that is a great picture and how awesome that you went on a missions trip to Africa!
I would get a picture of our family now that we have our daughter what a blessing from God she is!
The first thing that comes to mind is me and my boy, but I probably would give it some more thought before pulling the trigger. This is a really cool art piece and I love how you made it so significant.
Maybe a picture of me and my best friend…or maybe one of the awesome pictures I took while visiting the Middle East!
I really love their art. I honestly do not know how mine could ever hold a candle to yours, but I would love a picture of my boys to be made into such a great keepsake.
I would capture my daughter and her horse – she, like every girls dream, got a horse for christmas (even though we really can’t afford it) and she was unfortunately bucked off and seriously hurt. She is recovering still, but OK. She has a favorite photo of her on Christmas Day with her horse, I would get that for sure!
I would love to capture my 3 kids … thanks so much for the opportunity. Their work is amazing!
I would probably use one of my wedding photos. Two years later, and they still make my heart flutter like I’m seeing them for the first time. ::sigh::
I would use one of my husbands photos from Africa, although it would be difficult to pick one. If I couldn’t pick one then I would have one with my five children.
I have a family pictures of the three of us that I just adore. I would LOVE it as a piece of art in our home!
My husband takes millions of photos, and he has one of tulips I think would look amazing.
I love your picture! I think since we have one addition (a granddaughter) about to be added to the family and 2 other recent additions (a son-in-law and a grandson) and since we haven’t had a family picture since my kids started marrying off 3 years ago, that a family picture would be good. but then again, one of when my kids were young or of my parents when they were young would be great too. hard to pick, but i think the one of my parents would be my pick.
I love what you chose to have done, it is a precious picture with you and Paris! Such a wonderful reminder of your trip! I would like our family picture done for our wall or possibly a picture of my grandma, she passed away last September and I find myself talking about her and thinking about her so much, I would love to get a large picture of her for the wall to feel even more like she is looking down on us (from heaven).
Thanks for offering the contest, really neat idea for art!!!
I love Modern Bird! I’m tempted to say I would use a photo of my new baby boy, but I have so many of him! I think I’d use one of my sweet dog who has been quite lonely since the baby came along.
I would love to get have a photo of my grandmother (taken when she was 17) turned into a piece of art like this. She passed away a month ago and it would be a beautiful tribute to her greatness. I think of her whenever I read your blog because when she was younger she was a lot like you Kristen. She actually fostered three of my cousins when their mother died and then spent years taking care of kids with the Boys & Girls Club. <3
I think I’d pick my kiddo…or maybe break out an old wedding picture.
This is COOL!
I think I would use one of my favorite wedding photos. I think the one of us leaving the church with birdseed flying through the air is my fave.
I have a candid photo of myself with my husband and son, taken last year during a visit home to New England, that I would use. We have never had our picture professionally taken, and don’t have one family shot anywhere in our home. It would pain me to hang a typical print that included myself (I don’t care to have my pictures taken) but this would be so unique that it would make me happy.
I absolutely adore how they took everything out of your picture except for your sweet faces. Precious!
our sweet foster kids.
what a great contest!
I would capture a photo of my husband and me dancing at our wedding. It is one of my favorite pictures and it shows our happiness together. It was the best night of my life and I will treasure that memory forever.
Thanks for the great giveaway!
I would post a picture of me with my dad. He has always loved me the way a father should. They say your earthly father is supposed to be your first representation of Christ’s relationship to the Church, and I know that how a woman relates to her Savior when she first meets Him is relative to her relationship to her own earthly father. My dad made it very easy for me to open my heart to Christ as an unconditionally loving, always there for me, thinks I’m beautiful Abba father. And I’m not even his own – I’m adopted.
There is this quote that I love that reminds me so much of my dad:
“Because her father listened to her, she knew she had something to say.
Because he believed in her, she believed in herself.
Because he said she could do anything, she did.”
Beautiful gift…oh my…I love the red prints in their gallery and I would get one of my DH and myself to hang here at the Love Shack
I don’t know what picture I would use yet, because it won’t be taken until next week… when I take my OWN life changing trip to Haiti, where I will live in an orphanage for 4 1/2 days with the two boys we are adopting. Where I will ride through the streets if Port-au-Prince and see first hand what we have all be seeing on tv and online for the last 5 months. Or rather, most people are not still seeing it. So that’s what I’ll want to put on my wall.
I would probably choose a photo of my 2 boys.
What a wonderful contest. The artwork is BEAUTIFUL!
I would take a picture of our new family. We just completed an adoption in Dec. for our kiddo number 5 and are now in the process of adopting our kiddo number 6. So I would love to have one of all 6.
Hope I win,
Tammy
thetaylortribe@comcast.net
Oh wow, I would do one of my kids.
Beautiful! I would love a picture of my husband (he’s deployed) with our two children.
Well part of me is inspired by you to capture myself with one of the kids from the DR, but I think I might get a pic of my hubby and I. We don’t have enough of those.
I would probably choose an action shot of my baby Kirsten. I like the shots that are less posed!
I follow modern_bird on twitter!
@pghmommy
My three kids.
I would do one of my two kids & hang it in our living room! I LOVE the picture of you. It is beautiful! What a great reminder to hang in your house! It reminds me of the little girl we sponser through World Vision.
well since we aren’t finished having kids yet…i’d get one of my hubs and i on our wedding day! those are so neat and beautiful!!!
What a beautiful piece of art and a wonderful story! I would love to have a picture of my grandfather holding my son made. Thank you for the wonderful post!
i would get one of me and eridiania, my sponsored child from the d.r. the last time i was there, as i was leaving, she took my hand and walked me to the car. so sweet.
My seester is having a baaaaby, one of us or her family would make such a gorgeous gift!
I would love to do a picture of my husband and I at our wedding!! It would go perfect in our room!! Thanks so much!!
I would capture the picture of me holding my toddler son’s hand, while pregnant with our baby girl, who now lives with Jesus. Both my babies and me and pure joy on my face, even though I knew she would soon be going to heaven.
So many choices. The wonderful autistic child we do therapy for. The little ones we babysit. Maybe just a nice shot of our whole family.
I would love to do a picture of my 2 daughters!!
what a great father’s day gift. he could even take it to work but i would want it in our home because these are super cool!
sorry, i would ofcourse choose my favorite subject – my kids. forget knick knacks. i decorate with picurtes of my 2 beautiful girls. i have the perfect photo in mind.
the sweet faces of our busy crew of 7
I would love a beautiful picture of my two boys. So I can remember them as they are now because they grow up so fast!
I would get a picture of my best friend and her fiance so I could give it to them for a weddng gift.
my kids amongst a group of trees–birches preferably
Who knows what I would do. Probably depend on what is going on the day I found out I won. It would be awesome to do my kids but it would also be awesome to give it away to someone who needed a blessing that day! Who knows what God would have me do!
Very neat art.
Maybe a family picture, we haven’t had one in probably 6 years or so and have had a new baby since then. Or maybe a wedding photo of us, I don’t have any of us hanging up anywhere (we have taken them down to hang pictures of our kids).
i have a casual picture of my 4 kids that i took, laughing and hugging each other. its my very favorite. it looks so natural, just like family.
Oh, that is amazing. Great smiles in your art. I would choose a picture of my three little girls. These years are fleeting and they’re growing up so fast. I would love to capture their sweet little selves that way.
Honestly, I would donate the gift to our City Rescue Mission…they just built a beeeeeeeeeeautiful woman and children’s center and need pictures on their walls.
Thanks to you and your posts about Compassion; just last night my family sponsored a child. What an awesome feeling to see God working through my family to help this precious child. Please keep continuing to blog about Compassion. We take so much for granted and have so much to give others.
God Bless.
I would do a picture of my husband and I at our wedding. there’s this really sweet moment where he is sitting down and I have my arms wrapped around him, just talking.
Awesome work by the way!
wait, actually…I would do a picture where I was like 5 months pregnant at a wedding. My husband has his hand over my tummy with a huge grin on his face. This was the last picture we had like that before my daughter was born prematurely about a month later and passed away. It’s just such a beautiful moment between the three of us.
I have a beautiful picture of my 3 year old and 1 year old looking at each other and laughing. That’s the shot I would choose.
So lovely! I would love to have one with a photo of my two boys. I’m also a facebook fan of modern bird.
I’m already a facebook fan of modern bird. I would love one done of our ultrasound. We’re so excited to meet this little girl and that picture would always remind us of that excitement.
I would love to have a picture of my husband and I from our wedding.
I’m with Tricia. My husband and I are newlyweds, but we had such a tiny and short notice wedding (kind of like an elopement plus) that we don’t really have that standard 8×10 wedding picture. I would love one of us grinning at each other. Or our rings (which are really cool).
So cool. I would have one done of my granddaughter either to keep for myself or give to my daughter. Thank you for the giveaway.
koinonia572001@yahoo.com
I’m a little sad that I read “open to the lower 48 states” since I live in Canada. I have a PO box in Washington state, though, so in case that allows me in, I’ll write this anyway.
I, too, was changed by Africa. There is a hole in me that literally ACHES for her. I totally get what you mean when you say you miss the faces, the smiles, the feeling. I would pick one of my (1500!) photos I took while in Ghana for 6 weeks last year. I, too, never want to forget. And having an INCREDIBLE piece of art like that might help.
Love this art!! I would get a picture done of my kids:)
i would love to have a picture of my husband and i on our wedding day!
I think I know what it’d be and it be really similar to yours. I have a picture of the Mozambiquan children with the smiles. All joy.
I have a wonderful 5 generation picture that was taken shortly after my youngest was born 2 years ago. If this picture could talk it would tell a million stories over the past 97 years! All of us portray different aspects of “life” in different eras but amazingly we all have the same values and goals! I think that we all have made such a difference in many peoples lives because we all have had great examples to show us along the way! It is such a remarkable picture!
I would do a picture of me and my son. I have one where he is giving me a slobbery, open mouth kiss, and both of our faces are priceless in it.
LOVE your photo!!
I would say my family, hubby and kids, but I would almost want to wait until all my kids are home from wherever they are coming from….I also have a photo of a path through the bush in the Bahamas that is beautiful and full of meaning for me (The path may be rocky, you may not be able to see around the bend, but there is a plan and you will get there one step at a time)…or a photo I have of some friends swimming/cheering in the lake with the sunset behind them. All heart warming for me.
my dog – he makes me so happy – would love to see him as art!
Not sure of the exact picture, but either on from Florida or one from Ukraine!