Tutorial: How to Digitally Add Your Baby's Name to Photos

This tutorial will demonstrate an easy way to digitally embed your baby's name onto photographs.

Nowadays, you can just download an app if you have an iphone or ipad. But the drawback is that you will be limited to what fonts you can use, and many apps will shrink your photos. Personally, I prefer to use my computer to add names to photos because I feel like it's faster and I have more options available than when I use my iphone. 

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:
1. A photograph or graphic. You can use any photo as long as there is enough space to add text. (You can download the sunset photo HERE.)
2. A computer with photo editing software such as Photoshop or GIMP. I use Adobe Photoshop but because most of you don't have this software, I'm going to do the tutorial using GIMP which is free and safe to download HERE, as long as you have Windows XP or later. If that link doesn't work for you, try THIS ONE.
3. The font that you want to use. You can download some awesome free fonts HERE and HERE. 

ESTIMATED TIME:
From start to finish this took me less than 5 minutes, not including the time it took to install GIMP. If you're not as familiar with GIMP, it may take a little longer.

I've made a video tutorial that's been added at the end of this post, and I've also written out step by step instructions with photos. 

STEPS:
1. Open GIMP. Then open (FILE >> OPEN...) your photo. Make sure your toolbox window is open on the left hand side.

2. Click on the letter "A" found in the toolbox panel. A text settings box should open up on the bottom half of your toolbox panel. 

3. Click on the square box next to "Font" to change the font. I'm using Jellyka Delicious Cake, but feel free to use any font that you like. 

~Then use the up arrow to increase the size of your font or just type it in. Start with 200 px and later you can adjust it. 

~Then change the color by clicking on the black rectangle box. A "Text Color" window will open. Change the font to white. 

4. After you finish adjusting your text settings, click anywhere on your photo. A small window will open. Type your baby's name inside this window. Then click "CLOSE".

5. Your baby's name should now be visible. Now is the time to adjust the size using the up/down arrows in your text settings (circled below in red). 

~Also, if your Layers, Channels, Paths toolbar is not already open, you'll need to open it now. You can find it under the "Windows" menu. 

~Change the Opacity to 70% by dragging the slider (outlined below in red.)

6. Now you'll need to rotate your text. To do so click on the rotate tool (it's located beneath the magnifying glass), circled below in red. 

~The Rotate Window will pop up. Change the angle by pulling up on the bottom right corner, or by using the up/down arrows. Click ROTATE when you're finished. 

7. To move the text, click on the Move Button on your Toolbox (circled below in red). Make sure that your text layer is selected (it should be light grey) on the Layers, Channels, Paths panel (outlined below in red). Also, make sure to select the "Move the active layer" option in your Toolbox (circled below in blue).

~Now you can drag your text and move it to the correct location. 

8. That's it... You're done! Now you just need to save your finished photo. 

FILE >> SAVE AS (Make sure you re-name your photo, otherwise it will overwrite the original photo.

~You'll need to flatten your image before saving it as a JPEG. You can do so by clicking "Export."

9. Make sure when you save your photo that the quality scale is set to 100, if you're saving it in JPEG format. As a general rule, you never want to use a program like GIMP to compress your photos because you will notice a loss in quality. 

If you did everything correctly, this is what your finished photo should look like: 

If the above instructions were confusing, try watching this video tutorial:




If you have any questions, or need help, feel free to leave a comment below or send me an email!

Still Standing

Oftentimes, when I pause to think about where I am in my life, it all feels so surreal.

Did I really lose a baby last year? Was he real? Am I really that person? How did things take such a turn for the worse so quickly?

I'm not sure if it's been a really long or a really short amount of time, but I see that a change has occurred in me and in the world that most closely encompasses me. 

In certain ways, my life is harder. It's impossible some days. My heart is broken and my once dependable world has now become unbearably fragile. I miss my son. I would do anything to have him here with me. I want to be a mother to a living baby instead of an angel baby. I want things to be as they were supposed to be. I want a chance to start over and get it right. 

But then there's part of me that embraces this tragedy in a strange inexplicable way. Because of this experience, I am a stronger, more sensitive and more appreciative person. I feel more alive now than I ever have before, perhaps because something so raw and so real happened that it awakened some kind of dormant energy. And though I wish things were so very different for all of us, I can't help but cherish the friends I've made and the incredible kindness that's been shown to me. I'm not sure that if Gabriel has lived, there ever would have come a time in my life that I would have known the kind of support and love that I've experienced during the past nine months. 

And for that support, I am grateful. 

To everyone who reads this blog, emails me on the 19th of each month, follows me on Facebook, writes Gabriel's name, thinks of him ever, or prays for me, I am so very grateful. Words cannot express how blessed I feel to know you.

I lost a huge piece of my heart. I will never watch my sweet little boy grow up. Sadly, I am a bereaved mother.

But because I have loving support and because I have found healing, I am still standing.

Parenting For Dummies

Last night, my husband pointed out this news story to me. 

A five year old boy accidentally shot and killed his two year old sister with a "toy" rifle that his parents bought him for his birthday. 

These types of stories have always angered me, but ever since Gabriel died, I have this urge to get in my car, drive to the home of these parents and strangle them with my bare hands. 

This is why some days, I have a difficult time believing in God and question who or what would allow these people to keep their babies when so many others have to lose theirs. I feel like I'm the punch line of some cruel cosmic joke. 

Universe: Why did the morons with no common sense get to keep their babies and you didn't? 
Me: I don't know. I give up.
Universe: Because you would have been a responsible and caring mother and not buy your five year old a gun. Haha, get it? 

Needless to say, I would never give my child a gun. And I would never leave my two small children alone in a room with a weapon. I'm not claiming to be the world's greatest mother, but at least I have enough common sense to not buy my five year old a weapon. (Aren't they barely able to play with legos at this age because of the choking hazard?)

It makes me so mad that there are people out there who are so completely oblivious to how lucky they are to have healthy living children, that they're willing to put their children in harm's way. 

(These people need to be sterilized. I'm sorry, but they do!)

It is infuriating that this mother is not facing criminal charges related to the death of her daughter. I know it was an accident and I know losing her daughter is the worst punishment possible. But shouldn't it be illegal to leave your five year old and two year old alone with a gun? It's just so grossly negligent and if you're buying a toy rifle for your son, clearly you don't have the greatest judgement to begin with.

I'm so sad that another innocent child has died. And I'm really concerned for the five year old boy who at such an innocent age has to come to terms with the fact that he killed his younger sister. 

In this article, you can see photos of the little girl, Caroline and you can also read this little gem of a quote by her grandmother:

"It was God's will. It was her time to go I guess?" 

WTF? Clearly, stupidity is genetic. 

Lastly, I'd just like to say that I'm appalled by this quote

"I've been the county coroner for 15 years and I think this is the first time I've had a case like this," White said. "I'm hoping that parents will realize that if you have kids, you need to put the guns out of harm's way."

Seriously, who doesn't know this already?! Shouldn't that go without saying?! I know there's no parenting handbook out there, but isn't keeping guns away from small children kind of common sense?! Why do we need other people to tell us to keep deadly weapons away from our kids?! 

Now for a quick lesson for stupid, unfit parents everywhere: Don't leave your small children alone with weapons that could potentially harm them or others. Guns and toddlers do not belong together. How you don't already know this... I'll never understand.

I Wish I Was Her

She has all of her children with her here on earth.

She has no clue that millions of babies die each year.

She's never heard of anencephaly, T-18, hydrocephalus, skeletal dysplasia or any of the other thousands of complications that cause death in unborn babies every single day.

She's never left the hospital with a memory box instead of her baby.

She blogs about her living children instead of her dead ones.

She has the luxury and good fortune of being able to plan out how many children she wants.

She's never been on a TTC journey.

She doesn't wonder if she'll ever having a living baby.

She gets pregnant after barely trying for a month.

She carries her baby fearlessly for nine months.

She's never heard her doctor utter the words, "incompatible with life" or "there's no heartbeat."

She's never read the book Empty Cradle, Broken Heart.

She's never been told that her child is in a better place.

She has never worn a piece of memorial jewelry with her child's name engraved on it.

She doesn't dread the simple question, how many children do you have?

She's never prayed for a rainbow baby.

She's never celebrated an angelversary.

She's never had to choose between burying or cremating her child.

She doesn't have a drawer full of baby clothes that will never be worn.

She doesn't cry on her child's birthday.

She doesn't melt down every time a Facebook friend announces that she's pregnant.

She can go to her friends' baby showers.

She can show off pictures of her baby without making others feel uncomfortable.

She gets to watch her children grow up.

She's never known what it feels like to lose a piece of herself.

She doesn't wonder every second of everyday how much better her life could have been if her child was still alive.

His New Life

Sometimes, when I think about Gabriel's soul in Heaven, I reminisce about my years spent at college and I like to imagine that Gabriel is so happy and too busy living a new adventure, to miss us here on earth. 

During my first few weeks at college, I remember feeling so excited to be on my own. The possibilities were endless... an adventure in its earliest stages anxious to be unfolded further. College was a new life for me, and I couldn't wait to live it. To me, it was the sweet taste of freedom and independence and the opportunity to become anyone I wanted to be.

I didn't realize it then, but looking back, I'm sure my parents missed seeing me everyday, (though they often teased that they were happy to have me out of the house). It didn't really occur to me back then, but now I wonder how many times my mom worried about me whenever I took a few days too long to return her phone calls. Even though I was perfectly okay, I'm sure it was hard for my parents to go weeks without seeing me, if only because they needed reassurance that I was eating enough and hadn't done anything stupid like dye my hair pink or break my arm. 

But like most teenagers, other people weren't my biggest concern. I loved my parents, but returning their phone calls and making regular trips home wasn't on the top of my priorities list. I wanted to hang out with my friends, make new ones, stay up til 2 in the morning and eat Lucky Charms for dinner. It's not that I didn't love my parents, and it's not that I forgot about them or stopped appreciating all they had done for me. It's just simply, how do you miss your old life when your current life feels perfectly complete and is just so much better?

I wish more than anything that I could worry about Gabriel going off to college and miss him while he's just a few hundred miles away. But since he can't be here, I like to imagine that he is up in Heaven fully enjoying his new life, making new friends, dancing, laughing, playing, and running around without a care in the world. That he's so busy having fun that he doesn't even have the chance to ponder whether he misses us here on earth. But in the same way that I loved my parents despite the separation, despite the joy I was experiencing, I hope that he too loves us. I hope he has the understanding of where he came from and that he knows that I love him unconditionally. I hope in some small way he remembers his brief life inside my womb and I hope the bond we formed is a memory he treasures. But I also hope that he, like every child off on a new adventure, is so enthralled and happy that he's incapable of longing for anything except for more of the incredible life he has in Heaven.

Loss Through the Looking Glass ~ A Resource for the Babyloss Community

I was recently given the opportunity to write about Gabriel and the work I do in his memory. My beautiful friend Clara and some of her friends have a shared blog, titled "Loss Through the Looking Glass" that includes many guest posts written by bereaved parents. It really is a wonderful resource for the babyloss community, filled with many heartfelt and honest stories. For those of you who don't follow it, I highly encourage you to do so.

Read my guest post
View the blog