I remain in touch with one of the very first friends that I ever had. How many people can say that? We started “hanging out” in 1st grade, grew up together, went to separate colleges, were in each other’s weddings, and continue to stay in touch today (even though we live ~850 miles away from each other).
My friend has always loved Disney, in fact, I believe his first words were Donald Duck (just kidding, kind of). At one point he moved to California and was Mickey Mouse at Disneyland. So when I found out that he became a dad, I knew I wanted to make something for them relating to Disney. Thus came this idea of a Minnie Mouse silhouette of her peeking over her name.
I could not be more happy for this couple and their new baby girl!
As for the project, the template I used was rather simple but I wanted to spice it up a little and add a little color. This added complexity because the Padauk wood that I have is much thicker than the plywood that I was using. So out came the bandsaw (and the disaster it makes when resawing wood).
I wanted the bow inlaid a little so I resawed it to 1/8 of an inch, which was also the same thickness I wanted for the letters.
Pattern with grain direction 
Name font 
Cutout, some tape still on 
Resawing Padauk wood 
Much thinner 
Frame material 
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.
Proverbs 13:12
Approx Hours Spent (including research, prep work, cutting and glueing): 8
Types of wood: Mahogany (frame), Baltic Birch Plywood (Minnie and backing), Padauk (bow and letters)
Patterns used: Minnie, Letters
New skills: Stain (used Ebony), Framing