The photo that I edited turned out a lot more yellow than I had anticipated, but because I had a time crunch, I didn't meddle with it anymore. I don't know if it's something the family will particularly value long-term (It's hard to create art specifically for other people, isn't it? And really, it's just a variation on a hand-made card.) -- but I had fun making it to celebrate the birth of this sweet boy.
Are there any little creative ways you've found to commemorate the birth of a baby? Please tell me about it in a comment.
One of the most creative ways I've ever seen done by a mother was to take her child, and permanently commemorate her child's tiny footprints in a stepping stone patterned quilt. She did this by dipping the child feet in a non toxic industrial glue, then touched the baby's feet to quilt fabric, much like one would do if using a stamp to stamp a pattern onto the fabric. Then the feet were washed and dried, and baby tucked in for a nap. The glue was allowed to become tacky and then a gold foil was applied to the footprints. It was heat set using a pressing cloth and iron. The excess gold foil was removed, and the tiny prints were immortalized in gold foil upon the quilt. The mom also used a versed / poem she liked and silk screened it onto the quilt to go with the stepping stone theme and the tiny footprints made upon her heart and memorialized in fabric. I had the pleasure of viewing this quilt in Bellevue, WA at Quiltworks NW. The foiling technique was taught in a class there and very easy to do. The foiled footprints made the quilt a one of a kind, uniquely personalized family heirloom for her and her family. The stepping stones were made using a freezer paper quilt piecing technique and laid out in a random stone path pattern at a vertical diagonal across the quilt. Footprints were placed as if walking on the quilt. Random leaf patterns from leaves off of her trees around her house were used by using a tie-dying type technique to leave the outline of the leaves on the fabric, giving her path that autumn feel like leaves had blown across the path. Each of the techniques was done adding to the other until the fabric was finally quilted. The stones and feet were outlined in quilting stitches and a random quilt pattern set off other parts of the quilt. She dyed her own fabric bits at a time so that all her colors on her quilt harmonized.
ReplyDeleteIt was a fun project she and her daughter did, even though the child was too young to be more than a passive part in the project. It was her first mother-daughter project done together. More mother-daughter projects I'm sure were in their future as this mom included her daughter and began sharing her creative passion at a very early age.
Hope this inspires you. I know it did me.
Sincerely,
Byubabe@mindspring.com
Wow! That sounds AMAZING! I only have a little quilting experience, but enough to know what a major undertaking that must have been -- but, as you say, a wonderful family heirloom. I wish I could see it! Thank you for sharing the story of it, Byubabe.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind comment - great to meet a fellow adoptive mother - beautiful picture too! Kristin xo
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