MEMORY QUILTS

hello everyone! we are so sorry it took us a while to post a little somthin somthin on our blog! christmas and new years are busy for us, and we have been running around like crazies for today’s tutorial... we are going to tell/teach/show you how to make a MEMORY QUILT! and they are darling!! If you were lucky enough to read our first post then you would have read that our mom passed away a while ago.. (almost a year and a half) I had this idea come to me about 3 days after she had died. The plan: I was going to make quilts that year for Christmas out of the clothes that my mom had in her closet! I thought it would be a great way to remember her and keep her close. Long story short I didn't have the resources to make me and my sisters the quits that first Christmas.. so I started on december 26th last year on these quilts.. they were finished for the one year anniversary of her passing(july 12th) but I kept them so I could officially give them to my sisters (and myself) this year for Christmas, and I think they are beautiful!!

so now with much anticipation, I will show you a picture of the finished product!!

the front...

and the back!

This is my (Emma’s) finished quilt.. you can even see some pockets she had on a few shirts, some of her favorite jean shorts, a couple of her “Saturday” shirts.. it’s a little crazy, but just what I would have wanted!! The brown is actually the back.. we each picked some kind of fabric from my mom or dad’s old clothes to make a heart for the back!

And her is the how-to…

Cut the clothing.. or material into the same dimentions (ours were 7.5x7.5). This is a much faster process with a rotary cutter.

Then make sure you have enough squares to make the quilt the size you want (we ran out of clothes after a while.. so we ended up using our Halloween table cloth, pillowcases she made, and some of the pajamas we were wearing the night she passed away)

Lay the blocks out to make sure you get a good non-pattern going.. or if you are in to structure, line them up nice!!

This next part is optional… but it will help your quilt last longer. We cut one sided interfacing into the same dimensions as the fabric squares and then ironed them on. I really did spend the time and ironed on all 250 pieces of fabric.. This did make it easy to sew the squares together too. Each fabric has its own stretch, and this eliminated some of the trouble…

Now its time to start sewing… I just took my pattern and sewed strait lines, make sure to back-stitch!!

Then start sewing the strips gether.. eventually you will end up with this…

I’m sorry I don’t have a picture for this one… I had my wonderful friends Sheila Zolman and Aleisha Coleman help me “bind” my blankets, they did a great job! Then I just stitched my little opening together and started quilting!!

The binding was done with a serger machine. We don’t own one, and if you don’t, you could just do a zig zag stitch then cut off the excess. Stack your layers this way… top of quilt, backing fabric (those two right sides together) and then place a layer of thin batting. Leave and opening and then flip it inside out to show both fabrics with the batting in the center. Then stitch the opening shut.

Once the opening is closed, you are good to machine quilt the top. Each one of ours is a little bit different so have fun with this…

Another optional part here is sew something on the back, for these blankets we chose a hearts… but you could do stars, initials or numbers!!

Oh my heck! Can you believe it!! You are done making your memory quilts! I’m sp proud!!

Now all you need to do is wash them all up and tie a bow on them!!

Other ideas to make memory quilts: baby clothes, high school t-shirts, travel t-shirts, bandanas etc. Have fun with it!

If you make one, we want to see it!

We are wishing you had a VERY Merry Christmas and that your new year gets off to a great start too!

ABC's of CHRISTMAS

Is your mailbox getting over run by these?

 Christmas cards are a great way to get updates from family and friends! The can also be a great waste of paper...

Many years ago, our mom decided to collect the cards she received and came up with a brilliant way to "upcycle" them!

We have many childhood memories reading this old ratty book under the sparkleing lights of the tree.

After 25+ years of owning this glorious "upcyled" treasure, it was time to start collecting cards again to make 3 replicas for each of us to one day "inherit".

We decided to pass the poems for each letter of the alphabet to you in hopes that you will adopt this tradition and share the "ABC's of Christmas" with a child in your life...

*feel free to copy the poems, and put together a little scrapbook of your own together with your collected cards this holiday season.*

a-is for…Angels- with halo’s so bright, their carols were heard on that first Christmas night

b-is for…Baby- the Christ child so dear, we celebrate Christmas, His birthday each year

c-is for…Candles- that so brightly shine, to give a warm welcome, to your friends and mine

d-is for…Doorways- with garlands of green, to make Christmas merry as far as they’re seen

e-is for…Evergreens- garlands galore, we hang at our windows, fireplace and door

f-is for…Fun- the whole season long, from cutting the tree, to singing a song

g-is for…Greetings- a merry hello, with a heart full of love, for the people we know

h-is for…Holly- with berries so red, to make into wreaths to hang over head

i-is for…Ice- on the snow covered hills, where skating is fun along with the spills

j-is for…Jingle bells- merrily ringing, telling the world of the joy they are bringing

k-is for…Kris Kringle- old Santa himself, have you ever seen a jollier elf

l-is for lantern, I'm sure that its light, helped Mary and Joseph that first Christmas night.

m-is for…Mary- her heart full of love, for her little son Jesus who came from above

n-is for…Noel- the angels did sing, to herald the birth of Jesus our king

o-is for…Ornament- so shiny and bright, with lights on the tree they sparkle at night

p-is for packages found under the tree. I'm hoping that there's at least one for me

q-is for…Quiet- Christmas eve night, with the stars in the sky, shining so bright

r-is for…Rudolf- his nose shining so bright, helping santa to make his way thru the night

s-is for…Shepherd’s- who first saw the star, over Bethlehem’s manger and followed it far

t-is for Tree, we'll place high the star. We'll find them in homes both nearby and far.

u-is for…Universe- may peace be on earth, at Christmas we celebrate our dear saviors birth

v-is for…Vixen- a lively reindeer, he helps Santa deliver the toys each year

w-is for…Wise men- who came from afar, they found the baby Jesus by following a star

x-is for…X-mas a short way to spell, that special day we all love so well

y-is for…Yule logs- who’s bright sparks fly high, and give a warm welcome to those friends passing by

z-is for…Zzzz- Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night

We printed the poem (one letter per page) on 81/2 x 11"  paper, picked cards that went along with the poems, glued the pictures on and added alphabet stickers to their proper pages. We chose to put them in page protectors inside 3 ring binders, but laminating the pages and getting them spiral bound would also be great.

Enjoy!

the 12 days of CHRISTMAS!!

Can you believe it? today is the day to start the 12 days of Christmas! We can't believe how time is flying! I thought that it would be fun to start with our first "tutorial" with a tradition that our mom use to carry out when we were little! We used to find a family in need (in our ward, neighborhood, or family) and did the 12 days of Christmas for them! She did it in a way that was fun and exciting for kids, and also helpful for parents! we thought we could share the items with you, incase you want to run to the store and find a family right now to help out!! good luck!!

1- Partrege in a Pear Tree-A Can of Pears!- homemade would be awesome!
2- Turtle Doves- Dove Chocolates (thats the hardest one to give away!!)
3- French Hens- Frenches Fried Onions (and the recpie for Green Bean Cass.)
4- Calling Birds- A Bird Feeder!!
5- Gold Rings- Ring Pops
6- Geese-A-Laying- A Dozen Eggs (the fruit of their labor!!)
7- Swans a Swimming- Swansen Meat Pies
8- Maids a Milking- Chocolate Milk Mix (or hot cocoa packets)
9- Ladies Dancing- A Dance Mix CD!
10- Lords a Leaping- POPCORN!!
11- Pipers Piping- Pipe Cleaners
12- Drummers Drumming- Drumstick Ice Cream

after you get all the stuff, all you need to do is wrap it up nice, and add a small tag that has the days gift on it!! sounds super cute right?

check back tomorrow, we will be posting something really cute!!

and... the WHERE!

We thought we should give you a small glimpse of WHERE the magic happens. We are lucky enough to be able to dedicate one of the rooms in our house to our messes... Here is our beautiful craft room, on a clean day!

The "Who" and The "Why"

Who

We are sisters who love all cute things, and are inspired to add a little cute-a-tude to any area of our lives. We hope this blog will inspire you to create and appreciate the little details that make up our ordinary surroundings.

Ranie is the oldest of 3 girls. She was known as a child for her make believe restaurants, extravagant play weddings and inviting the entire school bus to her birthday party with individual hand-made invitations (her mother had no idea 30+ children were invited… until word spread). She has a love for young children and after getting her bachelor’s degree in human development she spends her time working for an Early Head Start program where she gets to “advocate” for play all day… among other things. Ranie enjoys cooking, crafting and playing!

Emma is the youngest of 3 girls. She was always known growing up as the “wild child” and was known for sneaking her mothers bra for preschool show and tell for the “white” theme. She has always had a knack for thinking outside of the box. She currently spends her days working for an airline reservations crew and is also a licensed cosmetologist. She spends her weekends and evenings crafting to add a little cute a tude to her daily life.

… and our middle sister- although not in love with all things crafty, is the beneficiary of many works of art!

Why

We started seriously crafting shortly after our mother passed away to escape stress and pressure. After being inspired by many craft blogs, we decided to start one of our own. Here you will find crafts we have made, ideas that have inspired us, recipes we have tried, family games and activity ideas, favorite quotes and whatever else we decide to include. We hope you stop by often!!