You might remember from previous posts that my son Mario loves balloons. When he was 4, balloons were the only thing he would draw. (Thankfully, he's moved on to other subjects!) I had saved some of the drawings and decided to preserve his innocent little artwork on fabric. Here is his original drawing on paper:
This project is very simple, and I wanted to share the steps with you in case your kids are growing up too fast, right before your eyes like mine are. First, I layed a piece of white linen on top of the artwork, taped both layers to a sunny window and traced the drawing onto the fabric with a washable fabric transfer pen. Then I took the drawing to the craft store and matched up the colors with embroidery floss.
Using a simple backstitch I transformed his sweet artwork into a stitched keepsake for him. I folded in the edges of the fabric about a 1/2", pressed them down and sewed the linen onto a canvas tote bag that he now uses for his piano lesson books. He's 7 now and loves his new bag, but he did tell me I should have made his balloons look rounder. Of course, the wobbly shapes drawn by his 4-year old hands are exactly the reason I saved the picture in the first place.
love that idea, and am totally going to copy it!
When we carve our pumpkins at Halloween, I get the Girl to draw a face on one,then I cut it out as exactly as I can. That way it's completely her work, just cut by me. This is just the same sort of thing, but even better - it lasts forever!
xx
Posted by: sadie | January 21, 2012 at 04:17 PM
That is just the sweetest thing! love it:)
Posted by: Jill Flory | January 21, 2012 at 04:25 PM
That is a fabulous idea! I have a granddaughter who is 3.5. She spent 7 months with us in 2011 when her daddy was in Afghanistan (well my daughter too). Anyway she drew a lot of "whales" and I kept a lot of them. I will use this idea to save some of them! Thanks for sharing!
Posted by: Cheryl Brown | January 21, 2012 at 05:29 PM
This is a wonderful idea. Thanks for sharing it with us. : )
~ Wendy
http://Crickleberrycottage.blogspot.com/
Posted by: Wendy McDonagh-Valentine | January 21, 2012 at 06:36 PM
Oh so cute...what a wonderful idea!
Posted by: Leah C | January 21, 2012 at 08:14 PM
Precious! Thanks so much for sharing this great idea! I have several budding artists here who also love purses and bags!
Posted by: Wendy | January 21, 2012 at 10:47 PM
Fabulous idea, precious keepsake.
xo
Posted by: Monica | January 22, 2012 at 02:16 AM
you are an amazing mama!
Posted by: Lisa | January 22, 2012 at 09:24 AM
Hi Andrea,
Nice to see you back and glad all is well. Love this tote bag idea. I might have to try it with one of my son's drawings. Thanks for the inspiration : )
Danielle
Posted by: Danielle | January 22, 2012 at 03:30 PM
I'm so glad I popped by and found you blogging again! I've missed all your scrumptiousness and inspiration! Welcome back!
Posted by: Jill | January 22, 2012 at 08:18 PM
I loooooove this idea!! The tote is just precious. Thank you so much for sharing your creative ideas. Your are the sweetest :)
Posted by: sonia audelo | January 22, 2012 at 11:04 PM
Yes, you are back...
I have been gone for a while too...
I finally moved to a HOUSE!
I am going to try to catch up with your blog soon...
for now...
just wanted to let you know that I am happy you are back and I love this project you shared with us.
I finally ordered some cake cabochons on Etsy...
Cause I really have been wanting to make some girly girly bracelets that I saw on you blog way way back.
Thanks for the inspiration Andrea.
Till
Soon
Posted by: sandy | January 23, 2012 at 08:12 PM
hello dear andrea~
SO glad to have found you and your amazing space! my little boy absolutely adores monkeys and this project is perfect for capturing his art...*thank you*...
xo
kristin
faded prairie
totally weird...but i came across this classified here in utah and isn't the necklace photo yours??? i thought i saw it on your flickr stream...
http://www.ksl.com/index.php?ad=12325653&nid=218&cat=63
i just wanted to let you know...
Posted by: kristin | January 28, 2012 at 08:47 PM
I'm glad you're happy in your new home. I've always lived in western PA, plus have done genealogy, so I know the feeling of enjoying & keeping your heritage alive. Congratulations. (My, how your children have grown!)
Posted by: Jane | January 31, 2012 at 11:48 AM
With the change of pace of life, many people's living habits have changed dramatically, and now many people like to wash a bath in the morning, then go to work.The morning finished first if they are directly out easily cold, this time the hair dryer will be able to play it the power.
Posted by: ghd flat irons | July 11, 2012 at 11:53 PM