Baby Blessing Quilt: Part 8 (Putting It All Together)

A lot of time and heart has gone into this project, but now that it is finished I am very happy with the end result of this Baby Blessing Quilt. (I hope the new mother agrees.)

To be honest I have never seen or hear of  a Baby Blessing blanket before, but it was an idea I came up with a blessing for the new life and the friend who is now a new mother living a few states away. I couldn't be there when her daughter was born, but hopefully this will be something special to her.

Here is an  overview of how it all came together.

Embroidery Work of Five Pieces
Piece 1 (with short colorful blessing)
Piece 2 (with baby girl's name and birth date)
Piece 3 (with my own blessing)
Piece 4 (with Irish Baby Blessing)
Piece 5 (with Jewish Blessing)
 

The pieces were then sewn together using my trusty sewing machine and ironed. (See Step 6.)

I then added more embroidery and more fleece hearts. (See Step 7.)

I sewed the front to the back (wrong sides together) all the way around leaving a seam to be frayed. I chose a pink and white checked flannel for the back side. (Design choice.) Then using my machine I added swirls all the way around randomly to secure the two sides from creating a pouch inside.

It took awhile, but I then frayed the edges all the way around. This takes a lot longer then a more "finished" edge, but it was what I wanted for this project.

Finished and pressed it's ready to be packed and mailed to the mother and child.

Part 4: Baby Blessing Quilt (4th peice)

The fourth piece of the Baby Blessing Quilt is larger than the rest with an Irish Baby Blessing embroidered in black on rose fabric with a butterfly and heart added (not obvious to see but the letters show better in person and the other bits are as much for texture as anything else - sometimes subtle additions can be a nice added touch).

Piece Four (still no square).

It reads:
"May all blessings of our Lord touch your life today.
"May He send his little angels to protect you on your way.
"Such a miraulacous gift sent from above.
"Someone so precious to cherish and love.
"ay sunshine and moonbeams dance over your head.
"As you quietly slumber in your bed.
"May good luck be with you wherever you go.
"And your blessings outnumber the shamrocks that grow.
          "-Irish Baby Blessing-"

Maze Scrapbook - FL

Start with one square for the pages.

 I've been doing all sorts of scraps books and memory books for years at home, at camps, with scouts, 4-H, and through theater things and am always looking for new ideas and non-traditional memory keeping ideas. I stumbled across this site, that had a number of things I had already seen, done, and even taught, but this Maze Book was one that inspired me. I used the ideas as a base, changing the size to make it larger and adding my own touches.

Armed with a map (that I cut down and used for the pages), pictures, and a few bits from a recent trip to my cousin's wedding I decided to try one. (I always bring back a collection of things from a trip... pictures, maps, and other little objects, bits, & pieces. In this case confetti from the wedding, shells, and sand that I used part of in a Memory Jar project from a previous post.)

Fold into 16 even squares.

 Supplies:
     1 sq. sheet for pages (map in this case)
     pictures (I printed them smaller to fit my size needs)
     cardboard (for the cover)
     assortment paper
     stickers & other decorations
     embellishments (stick on gems, shells, etc.)
     yarn, ribbon, etc.
     glue, tape, or other preferred to secure and attach

I cut the map in a square shape, folding it diagonal and cutting off the excess, making sure to include our hotel and the beach where the wedding & reception where held. Then folded it in half twice, both horizontal and vertically to create 16 even squares.

Then cut rows, leaving one square on end attached to fold out as in a one long piece.

Then folded to form a book.

Fold

Cut board (I used cardboard from a box of veggie burgers). I used one piece that was wide enough for the cover and long enough for both covers and the spine. Then cover the board with decorative paper.  (I chose something that would go with their wedding colors.)

Attach folded pages to front and back cover. Secure to covers.

Attach pictures, decorative paper, stickers, labels, to pages. (I used some butterfly and flower stickers that I had on hand that went with them theme.)


Decorate cover. (I included stick on gem flowers, a few tiny seashells, glitter paint, and a picture from the beach. On the back cover is a picture from the trip home.)

Add any attachments for pockets. I attached a piece of yarn to the spine that was linked to a picture attached to board and a small plastic bit of confetti from the reception.

Embellish, decorate, ENJOY! (And using things I brought back with items I recyled or hand on hand, I spent on nothing.)

Embroidered Sleep Mask

The sleep masks were pretty easy to construct, the most time being the hand embroidery work on the front of each. (I'm headed on an eighteen hour car trip with my family for a family wedding. I wanted to make sure I would be able to sleep comfortably, or as close as one can when in a car for that long. It's important to be prepared.)

Once again I used what I hand on hand, which happened to be some scrap from a t-shirt sleeve one of my brothers cut off (the black) and the velvet-like red (left from a big project, the scraps showing up again & again). (I love be thrifty and handy with a needle. What a great combination!)

I made my own pattern using just a piece of paper. I figured the size I wanted the sleep mask(s) to be, then added space to make sure to leave space to sew. I was making two, so I cut two black pieces and two red pieces of each. I used one red front with a black back, and one black front with a red back. It was important that I chose fabrics that were soft and would be comfortable against my face. (A front and back for each sleep mask.)

Keeping with the black and red theme I used a combination of black, white, & red embroidery floss to embroider the front of each mask. One has a Gothic-inspired butterfly design approximately over each eye and the other reads "Let Me Dream" in script bubble letters with a butterfly. (This isn't your grandmother's needlepoint.)

Pin right sides together. (Look, the backside!) Using my machine, I sewing the right sides together leaving a gap on each side where the elastic would go as well as to turn the right sides out. (This was about an inch or less on each side as marked with the pins to keep things even on both sides.)

Trim strings. Turn right sides out and iron.

I cut the elastic the right length and pinned inside the openings on either side. Using a zigzag stitch all the way around, securing the elastic as I did. Then I ironed it again. I'm ready to go.

Demin Purses (from Re-purposed Jeans)

 Don't throw away those old worn, torn, beat up, unfixable jeans! Oh, the possibilities...

These little purses were made from scraps of denim from old jeans (I use as many of the pieces as possible for bags, rugs, or other projects), scraps of other fabrics, and yarn (depending on what I had on hand at the time). There was no pattern, just the piecing of the things as I went along.

I paired some smaller pieces of discarded jeans with scrap fabric I had on hand to make these little purses. Of the four purses pictured, one is made from a front side pocket (the lining and back from leftover fabric); for one I took the zipper from the tapered pair of jeans to make a side pocket, the unzips; and one has a smaller piece as a pocket along the bottom. Two of the straps are made from braided yarn and two of the straps are made from the side seams from the legs of of jeans. They are are all lined with fabric.

You can find find ways to reuse and re-purpose all sorts of things into something usable and cute.

Camp Crafts - Part 2

Basket

In this the second installment of Camp Crafts I have a few more things to share from my camp days. Camp Crafts were a great way for me to be a positive influence in a lot of k, kids' lives and to show them the process is just as important, if not more sometimes, than just the finished project. You don't have to be an artist to make your own art.

I always wanted to kids to have lots of examples. I found that if you have only have one example then most of the kids will make their finished project look as close to that one as they can. So wanted them to see there was no ONE way. I wanted them to make it their own way with their own vision.

At a camp ground I was living and working as a Craft Hall Supervisor I was able to offer basket making. It was great for adults and teens. I even got a family with a mom, her grown daughter, and her daughter's boyfriend, who ended up being the surprise with a very nice heart shaped basket.

Paper Bag Journal

Paper bag journals were something I altered and adapted to make usable for groups and camp settings. At one camp that catered to families and various groups, they were a big hit with tweens, teens, and a few very creative Girl Scout troops. We used two colored paper bags for each, a variety of colored construction paper, markers, construction paper crayons (which are more awesome than many people might realize), yarn, and fun bits of feathers, gems, and foamies. I made ones for part of the staff at the end of the summer as a good bye present (the pockets were great for tucking in feathers, magnets, and other bits from the summer).

I've made paper bag journals with my 'Ladies Who Craft" at the nursing home, as well as for personal things. (I usually use regular brown paper bags and lunch sacks.) I made one for Christmas present for my mom as a memory book after my grandpa's death. The pockets were great for tucking in extra pictures, poetry, and a copy of his obituary. A great way to utilize scrap booking techniques for little bits.

Shrinkie Charm Bracelet

At the 4-H camp we did a lot with shrinkies (you've heard of shrinkie drinks, right?) and various knotted and braided bracelets and anklets made with colored thread. The kids loved them, both the nine-year-olds, and the teens. I tried to find ways for them to use the shrinkies they made (#6 plastic, decorated with markers or colored pencils, then heated down) other than just little melted pieces of plastic. I made a shrinkie charm bracelet with a bunch of fruit and vegetable charms and bits (I'm a vegetarian) with green and white colored thread.

Once all the shrinkies where made (decorated with holes punches) and shrunk, I set them out in the order I preferred and started to work on the bracelet itself. I used a square knot like one used in macrame with thin colored thread (think embroidery thread or something similar). The combination of colors gave a nice variance.

If the bracelet in the picture looks a bit beat up, because it is. I wore it a lot at camp and used it as an example (always with the examples).

Worry Dolls

Worry dolls made from twisty ties and embroidery floss was something I came up with. I have a few sets that I had picked up from other places, but wanted to find a way to make them myself. I was inspired by the collection of twisty ties that I could force myself to throw away, my selection of colored embroidery floss, and scraps of fabric. One of my campers even made a house for them out of a Velveeta Cheese box. It kind of resembled a mini mobile home. See More!

Macrame Butterfly

Macrame and macrame techniques were a big part of the stuff I did the kids. It seemed the more retro something was the more popular it was. Bracelets, belts, and even little macrame butterflies, like the one pictured. It was nice to experiment with different types of cord and string. The Macrame Butterfly was made from actual macrame cord that was donated (like the kind you see used in planters.)

Maybe some of these will inspire you or bring back sweet memories of summer camps gone by.