These embroidered ultrasounds are the perfect keepsakes for moms-to-be
Photo: iStockphoto
For expectant parents, one of the most exciting (and scary and stressful) moments of the whole pregnancy is having a prenatal ultrasound. That's usually when you get to hear your little one's heartbeat for the first time and in later ultrasounds, you may even get a glimpse of their face or their tiny hands and feet.
Whether they just look like blobs or truly cute babies already, these ultrasound images get printed out, shown to family and friends and then tucked away in a manila envelope somewhere, never to be looked at again. For others, a digital copy sits on a thumb drive or disc that eventually gets lost or damaged once the clearest image is shared on social media.
If only there was a way to display your ultrasound that still goes well with your home's decor (because hanging up the flimsy printout from the hospital doesn't exactly say cozy chic—no matter how cute of a frame you put it in).
Luckily, embroidery artist Veselka Bulkan has a stylish solution. Bulkan, who's based in Munich, makes adorable embroidered ultrasounds that are so beautifully crafted, you'd be more than happy to hang it in your home. (Although let's be honest, your cozy chic decor will be overrun with dirty laundry and annoying plastic toys once the baby arrives—but oh well.)
According to her website, Bulkan made her first needlepoint keepsake from her own ultrasound to announce her pregnancy last June. She said that she would look at it every day before her baby was born, just imagining what her child would look like. Now that her daughter is almost 4 months old, the piece is a treasured "keepsake of these beautiful days."
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Since then, she's gotten tons of requests from other moms-to-be to recreate their own ultrasounds with needle and thread. She's gotten so many requests, in fact, that she's currently booked up with commissions for the next few months. If you're looking to get one made of your ultrasound, you can keep tabs on her site for updates on when they'll take orders again and send her an email in advance with your ultrasound image attached (because unfortunately, Bulkan says not every ultrasound is appropriate for embroidery).
Be warned, though, that this handmade piece of custom art will not come cheap (just like everything else having to do with kids). Each piece costs $300US and takes about two to four weeks to complete—or maybe longer since Bulkan is also a new mom with her own tiny human to look after.
So while these works aren't exactly budget-friendly, we think they're a super special way to honour the time you spent waiting for your baby to arrive. Pregnancy can feel like forever, but as many moms know, it's also fleeting. So if you can afford to, why not splurge a little to have a lovely reminder of those nine months?