Monkey Page for a Fabric Memory Book

My third little grand daughter, now 6, likes gorillas (she calls them "crillas") and super heros. I made her this super hero tooth fairy pillow last fall and have a super hero page in the works for her book. I have not found any gorilla fabric that I could use for appliques for a page for her, but....found some scraps from a tote bag that I made her a year ago...It's a monkey..."brother" to a "crilla"...at least that is what I told her!

Anyway... I cut out some of the monkeys and use iron-on interfacing to the back and then cut them out to be appliques for her page. She is another grand child I didn't have the blessing of doing day care for so she and I don't have many memories until recently. But...this one we have.

She also loves the outdoors, digging holes, climbing trees and her daddy has taught her lots of outdoor survival things. So this page had to be something to that effect. Hard part is... I am not that outdoor-sey anymore! Yeah, back when I was 6, she is a mini-me...but now...well, let's just say I had a hard time creating something to resemble outdoor! But.. I had some fabric charms that were the green camo print....and some beige lace and some other like color things...so I put this together....

 I had that background fabric already cut and why I decided to use it, I am not sure! I might have been able to do better with a different background, but I tend to over think things so I just did it.  I made the pocket out of the camo print charms and tried something new. I bought a large bag of odds and ends at the thrift store and ended up with lots of lace hem tape and this iron on hem tape. I thought I'd give it a try..see the solid green on each side of the pocket? It is adhesive on each side, so I just cut the pieces and ironed them on...and it worked very nicely! Not nicely enough to make me want to go buy more (if they even make it anymore..this stuff was marked 89 cents for the package...that means  OLD!). I added the buttons on each side (mainly cause I mis measured using the iron on tape and couldn't get it off!) but they are a dark green in color so they match. Then used beige flat lace on the edge of the pocket flat, a little piece of ribbon for the flap pull and a glitter/sequin flower.

I just used white lace for the outside edges of the page and this page does not have a "back page" to it. I thought I'd make each page and then sew them together, that way if I want any pockets, pouches or side of lace inserted in the edge seam... I could do that. Sometimes things just look better when they are caught in the seam. So this one will be sewn as the back of another one. I intended for it's back to be the super hero one, but goofed and sewed the lace on the top,bottom and right side, instead of left side! So both pages are the same. No, I am not going to rip out that lace and do it again! I'll just make another page....and MARK IT this time as to which side is to be laced and which side is left as the "binding" side! Yep, lace does cover a multitude of mistakes!

made a gathered lace flower with a little pearl button for the center. I figured (trial and error style) if I pull the gathered lace really really tight instead of just into a circle...it will make a more closed up kind of flower...kind of like a rose bud looking flower. And then I did the regular style of gathered flower in a green lace and another larger one in the rust lace and put them all together to make this flower. Then just a few color coordinated buttons to make it not so lacy!  And the little monkey...he is sitting on the top  of the pocket...waiting to help open the pocket! As I am sitting here typing this, I had a thought.. I need to add a dot of velcro or a snap to the flap of the pocket to keep what gets put in the pocket...in the pocket!

Actually this one came together rather quickly...but then again, it isn't really fancy or embellished either.  I am figuring that I will do 2 pages  in the books, memories I have of the girls...like this one and the Apple Shirt one and the Princess Dress page (and I have a super hero one on the way and 2 song ones nearly done) and then the remaining pages will be just decorated/embellished whoever I want and they get to put their own memories in the pages.

So that is what I have been busy with this week...well one of the things! I also discovered JUNK JOURNALS...and I am hooked on those now as much as these fabric ones! Same theory, same techniques...just paper instead of fabric. I used to scrapbook big time 8 years ago and still have alot of my supplies, so...no shopping trips to the craft store! But I'll fill you in on those when I get some done so you can see what I am talking about. I think that when I get older and get dementia...I am going to be the happiest I have ever been! I will be thinking I am in my past where I was happiest!

Until next week....

Thanks for stopping by and...keep on sewing those memories!


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Giraffe Page - Fabric Lace Memory Book

In creating these fabric lace pages, I always include a memory. Ergo the name...Fabric and Lace MEMORY book! I did day care for the two oldest grand daughters (now 9 and 15) but the next two I wasn't able to do that for them, so the memories are not many. However... where there's a grandmother, there's a memory...so the youngest (now 4) loves giraffes. She calls them "Jaffs". (Her 6 year old sister likes gorillas and calls them "crillas".) So... I found this giraffe fabric...a thin polyester flannel at the thrift store...4 yards...brand new fabric ,...and it had giraffes on it! I intend to make her some pj's with it, but, for now.. I cut out the giraffes and made them appliques and used them for the memory on the page.

Giraffe Page

 I made a ruffle of green sparkley fabric lace to go around the edges and a row of a beige lace, and then covered the raw edges with white ric-rac. I intended to use a white braid with gold braided through it, but got lost in the shuffle of laces! But the ric-rac is okay. The white bit of lace you see is on the other side of the page...a page post for next week. I didn't applique the giraffes to the fabric, I used Stitch Witchery... you know the iron on tape that is iron on on both sides. I know, I cut corners, but in this case, I thought it'd be okay! I did do the dot embroidery stitch in each eye (with black thread) and nose to secure the giraffe down. 3 of the giraffes are on a pocket. I just found  a scrap of fabric that matched the yellow and folded it to fit the page and make a slant pocket. The other 2 "jaffs", I ironed on the page so they look like they are peeking out from the pocket.You can also see the white lace ruffle from the other side of this page

I added a row of clear yellow beads along the edge of the pocket and a row of the green sparkely fabric ruffle. I plan to write a note to her and slide it in the pocket. This pocket is also good for her to add her own memory later and slip it in the pocket. Also, a pocket this size is a good way to add an item that is a memory...a pacifier or a rattle or something large that was special to her..doesn't have to be giraffe related, just an item special at the time.

Then I made a flower out of the green sparkely fabric. I cut a 10"by 2,1/2" strip, folded in half, did a basting stitch on the raw edges and then pulled the threads to gather it tight as possible and secured..then added a fancy pearl and silver button, then just sewed it to each end of the pocket. You can use a glue gun to attach it, but I am not set up with an outlet nearby so I just tack it down.A good thing about this work is...you don't have to make it "play ground worthy" or sturdy for wear or "kid proof". An adult will be looking at the book and it isn't a "take and play" thing so things don't have to be secured tightly and you don't have to be concerned with "wear and tear"...so tacking things down works fine.

I think my little LillyAnn will love this page and have fond memories of her love of giraffes. I also made her for her birthday last year a fabric growth chart and 2 puffy throw pillows for her bed, all with "jaffs" on them and she loves those. She points them out to me every time I go over to visit..."see Nanny, I'm this tall" and "I kiss the jaffs on my pillow". She loves her jaffs!

This page was also rather quick. I tend to spend more time deciding on how to create it than it takes to put it together. I am also seeing that I am not going the "vintage" way either. This is kind of whimsey and fun...but at the same time.... "anything goes" as long as the memory is there!

Similar Items I used on this page:




Thanks for stopping by and...keep on sewing those memories!

Want to read more at Fabric and Memories? CLICK HERE

If you'd like to start from the beginning or refer to a previous post, here are all the related posts to my adventure in creating a "Fabric and Lace Memory Book".

Make Your Own Laces and Trims
Princess Dress - Love This Page!
My First Page and some Tips
It's Coming to Life and so Much Fun!
How I Organized my Supplies
Shabby Chic and I Am Hooked!

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Princess Dress Page - Fabric Lace Memory Book #5

I am still enjoying these fabric lace memory books I have been working on. I have been learning so many new things and learning to relax! Yes, really! I have been sewing for 50 years and there is so much stress in sewing! I hadn't thought much about it, until now! My recent endeavor was with quilting. Good grief, much as I love it, the stress abounds! We get used to it, and still love it, but it is there! All seams have to match. Stitches have to be a certain size. Cutting has to be exact. No stretching. Perfect points are a must, hems have to measure perfectly and so on. Granted, I still enjoy quilting  and and will pick it up later down the road a bit. But I have to say...with these fabric books...no stress! Things don't have to match perfectly, they don't have to but cut straight and thank the good Lord for lace and hand sewing! Both cover a multitude of sins... I mean mistakes!

Here's the reason for this page...and the memory. I stopped sewing about 15 years ago. I made my first grand daughter (turning 15 next month!) 13 outfits for her second birthday. Her mother (my daughter) refused to allow her to wear any of them as they were homemade! The outfits were darling and good work and all, but you know kids. I got over it eventually! She just gave every outfit back to me recently.  Well, anyway, I stopped sewing clothes then and only did a few things like some curtains or pillows. About 4 years ago, when my second grand daughter was about 4 years old, she said to me. "Nanny, will you make me a princess dress?" I asked her "why do you need a princess dress?". She said "Well, Daddy says I am his princess don't he?" I said "yes". She says" well, how can I be his princess if I don't have a princess dress?" Next day, I pulled out my sewing machine, went to Joann's and paid full price for all the makings of a pink princess dress...sparkley fabric and all! And that is what started me back sewing. Her parents said she had plenty of clothes so I started quilting.

But that simple little innocent, loving comment about making her daddy happy, has stuck in my mind all these years. Well, I had some of that fabric left over that I saved and that was what made my second fabric page. And I will type that little discussion on to fabric paper and put is in a fabric envelope and slide it in the pocket on this page... or something like that, haven't decided yet!

THE PRINCESS DRESS PAGE

This page is covered with the fabric I made the dress from. I don't remember the name of the style of fabric...it was a thin, see-through fabric with diamond-ish little sparkle gems in the fabric..and they did sparkle! It doesn't show in the picture, but the page does sparkle. I used a beige lace, then a dark pink lace and sewed that to the page assembly...front piece,laces, batting and back page piece all together and then turned inside out and pressed seams. They I added white ric-rac that covered the seam side and then added another lace that was a gathered lace with a ribbon and a small edge of lace all attached. These were hand sewn in place. Trust me..it is gorgeous! I am so pleased with this page and I know my grand daughter will be too!

THE BOW

 I took the picture sideways thinking I could rotate it in my photo editor, but when rotated, it cut half the picture out, so I had to leave it as is. But the bow here.. I found a tutorial on Pinterest  about making this style of bow....HERE
and made my own version as I only had a small piece of the fabric left. This is the dress fabric also. I then added a strand of silver pearl "beads" (bought at Joann's for $2.50 for 3 yards and used a 50% off coupon) and some "crystal" looking beads I had in my craft stash from when I taught my grand daughters to make necklaces and bracelets years ago. The middle "knot" on the bow is embellished with a square crystal bead.

THE POCKET 

Notice on the first picture the slant pocket I made? This is where I will put the conversation she told me, I will print it out on fabric paper and make a fabric envelope to put it in and slide that into the pocket. I used the dress fabric to make the slant pocket and embellished it with the dark pink and beige lace as I used on the edges and put a strip of grograine  ribbon in the middle. Then, I used some alphabet beads and spelled out PRINCESS and sewed them to the ribbon area. I wanted to say "Daddy's Princess" but didn't have the additional letter beads.

THE FLOWER

The last embellishment is a flower I made from the dress fabric, some light pink tulle ribbon and white gathered lace with a pink button in the middle. To make the flower, all you have to do is gather the lace strip and pull until it is the size you want, then sew the ends together. Then place the gathered circles on top of each other, tack together and add the center of your choice. I used a button but you could use those "crystal" beads like I used in the bow or anything that you can sew on. You can see the side lace in this picture a little bit better too. I have three layers...largest is the dress fabric, middle is a bit narrower but a tulle trim and the top one is a white lace.

This is another "take" of the page...I did some edits  so you could better see the embellishments a bit better but the color is off, but you get the idea! I just love this page and can't wait to see it in the finished book! See how different this one is from my first page..  Apple Shirt page
which is a bit more structured than this one. Just goes to show, as you move on...things change, you get more creative and the ideas and inspiration start taking effect!

I am making pages first, and will bind it when I have enough pages. That is why the right side there you see raw edges. And you can use a hot glue gun to attach things if you want to, I use needle and thread as it is extremely inconvenient for m e to have a glue gun plugged in at the kitchen table...no outlets near by!



So, my journey continues. I have a few more I am working on...making four of the same page to help get the books done hopefully, this year. And with 2 more grand children on the way.. I haven't figure how to add two more...except to make 6 of each page...so...I'll just have to see how it goes. I am running out of lace and have started using fabric to make a ruffle for each page. I see a trip to Joann's with my coupons in my future! I need more lace!


These are great embellishments! I used the alphabet ones!

** *

Thanks for stopping by and...keep on sewing those memories!

 

 Want to read more at Fabric and Memories? CLICK HERE

If you want to re-read or start from the beginning of my Fabric Lace Memory book adventure...

#4 - My First Page and some Tips
#3 - It's Coming to Life and so Much Fun!
#2 How I Organized my Supplies
#1 Shabby Chic and I Am Hooked!

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Fabric Lace Memory Book. 4 - My First Page and Tips for Lace

My adventure into the world of fabric lace memory books has begun...and I am loving it!  It is nice to not have the stress of having to make sure everything matches or is the same as you have to do in quilting. It is nice to be able to just 'put it together" and not worry about being straight or matching.
And it is nice to have the feeling of completion so often! I compare this to quilting as until now...quilting was 80% of my time and talent! But I have put quilting on the back burner for now to make these memory books for my grand daughters. Finish page a page a day! How cool is that! Well, even cooler, is that you can finish several pages in a day if you want to! I hope I can make that happen!

I know I have been talking about tons of lace and vintage this and that and flouncy, puffy, lacey pages...but my first one didn't come out like that.  I am learning and changing my theory as I work. Mine won't be vintage. It won't be tons of lace. But..it will have lots of lace and other embellishments ...and a memory on each page....even if that memory hasn't been made yet, there will be a space on the page for it when it happens. 


So.. here is my first page. My (now) 14 year old grand daughter when she was 2, loved a shorts and top outfit I made her with an apple theme fabric...called it her "apple shirt". She out grew the shorts pretty quick as she has always been pretty tall...but the shirt..she wore for about 2 years and it was the first thing she thought to do when she came to my house. I'd say "let's go outside" and she'd immediately run to change shirts! It was so cute and a great memory for me...and recently when she saw the fabric in my stash...she said she remembered the shirt and why. So since I am one that has to have a reason for anything I do...well...the page had to have a memory..and the apples won.

My first page

I have a very hard time with pictures turning out right. but....it is white with a white flower basically. The fabric in the middle as you can see, is the piece of fabric I had saved. I trimmed it with lace and a gold trim. I made a fabric flower with a large button in the center. To the bottom right there...I use beads with letters on them to spell out "Apple Shirt" and sewed them to the page with a strip of fabric and gold trim and embellished with another button.

Double rows of lace on the edges and red ric-rac to finish it off. Granted, this is not as embellished and lacy and "done up" as most I have seen or follow, but..it is my first page and I have done a few since, and they have more "stuff" on the page.

And the memory of this page is.....

The memory part of this page is... pull the flower out and it is attached to a tag. On the front of the tag is a picture of her in the outfit and the back I will (either) type or hand write a little note about her and the outfit and it slides into a pocket made by the fabric.

I guess I should mention.. I wanted 8x10 pages so I cut 9x11 pieces of white bleached muslin and very thin batting. I sewed the edge lace on first then did the other pieces. So this is the way I am going with my fabric book. I have made a few pages since and they have more lace on but...you have to start somewhere! Fabric lace books I have been seeing in searches have tons more lace and embellishment on them... and I will get there soon but for now.. I think this is a great start!

I'd like to share a few "tricks of the trade" I have learned. A fabric book is not as complicated as you might think it is from looking at a picture of it. And not as expensive to buy supplies...if you know what to do or look for to use. I have alot of "tricks" but will not bombard you with all of them at once, so I'll just start with lace.

Make your own lace...with lace yardage and fabric

My first "find" was... lace yardage. Instead of paying a big price for some nice lacey lace....buy a yard of lace fabric (Use your 50% off coupon at Joann's!) and then make your own lace. Lay the fabric out,  salvages matching...and cut (with your rotary cutter and healing matte)  2,1/2 inch wide strips.  Then, take the strip and fold it in half (cut edges matching) and press. Then either by hand or basting stitch on the sewing machine...sew a gather stitch the length of the strip. Tada!  Gathered lace! Perfect for the page edges. You can use fabric to do this too. Cut same as you did with the lace and gather. A great place to find lace yardage...check the thrift stores...in the skirt isle. A lace skirt makes a lot of gathered lace strips!

Make a Lace and Fabric Flower

Or...gather a length of lace and/or fabric and pull it tight and you have a lace flower! Just add a button or even another smaller floral flower to the middle and you have beautiful lacey, vintage looking flowers for an embellishment on your page... like in this picture. You can use two colors of lace, one smaller than the other and lay the smaller one on top and then a button and...instant lacey,vintage-y flower! In this picture I used fabric for the first layer and lace for the second layer and 2 buttons for the middle.


Just  make a length of fabric strip and pull tight until you can make a nice circle. do the same with the lace. I sewed the buttons to the flowers, but you can use a hot glue gun.

And here is a cool Youtube video tutorial on how to make flowers from your scraps of lace and ribbon


And this one...  quite a bit "more" than I want or think my GD's will want, but there are some great ideas for pockets and lace organization and things to use. I think I will start to use more beads!

Make floral appliques! 

I also  had some odd ball lace yardage I bought at the thrift store while back. Great price and I figured I'd find a use for it...one day. I looked at it and there is a nice flower pattern in the lace, so I cut the flower image out of the lace!

And one more thing with this "home made lace". To make another option of use...especially  for a vintage look, I poured some of my ice tea into a bowl..and placed the appliques and piece of fabric and let i soak over night as in this picture. Once dried, I now have a beige/cream floral applique and lace...as well as the white!

So I am getting more into this project every day. Since I plan to make several books for my grand daughters...currently 4, and I think I will probably do alot of "assembly line" sewing.... Make the same page 4 times and just change colors!

And if that wasn't enough, I have another GD due in March and was just informed of another one due in August! For these two.. if I don't have any memories of them..yet... and there is always the chance that I won't be sewing like this when they are older... I will just make some pages with pockets so that we can add the memories on down the road. And... I intend to make them each a Quiet Book...a fabric book of "things to do". I made one for my daughter and she loved it and they are pretty easy to make. Won't need those for another year or so tho, so they are at the bottom of the pipeline but will be made!

Thanks for stopping by and if you missed any of my previous posts about the Fabric Lace Memory books...here's previous posts.

Fabric Lace Memory Books: 1. Introduction

Fabric Lace Memory books: 2.How I Organized My Sewing Room

Fabric Lace Memory book: 3. It's coming to life! And so much fun!


Thanks for stopping by and...keep on sewing those memories!


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Fabric Lace Memory book 3. It is coming to life! And so much fun!

It's only been a week, but I just had to share my progress with you on my Fabric Lace Memory book project. I have one page done and another nearly done and a third started! I have Learned alot of the "how to's" and am finding...there are no rules...basically at all! I thought I'd share how I have begun working. True, everyone has their own "ways" of doing things, but hearing how others do it is a good way to hear available options for you to try! So I thought I'd share what I have "discovered"!

In quilting, although there are no "quilting police"..there are  a few things you HAVE to follow..just so what you create turns out properly when you put it all together. The main one is the seam allowance. 1/4 inch is the universal "like" for the seams...but if you want them larger, you can make them larger. Not much left to make smaller, but if you want to...you can.  The only rule you HAVE to follow in quilting, is..make ALL seam allowances the same size or when you put your block together...seams won't match and things won't line up as they are supposed to when piecing.

But with the fabric books...literally, anything goes! So far, I have found the only rule to stick with is to make all your pages the same size. I mean, you are making a book...and book pages are the same...HOWEVER...there is a small window open there too. I have seen where the pages are made the same size (like 8x10) and then the crafter sticks a little "page" in between 2 regular pages...like maybe a 5x7 page. This smaller page is used for a little extra space if needed...a picture or item "holder" or even just another page! It sure looks cute! I don't remember if I saw that done, or I just created it in my mind but it is one that I will be using! It's just to cute not to! That little secret place in the book...with a little special item inside...that means something only to the owner of the book! I know the girls are going to like that! I plan to put a small jewelery item in it!

Another thing I noticed was... I used to scrapbook...big time scrapbook! And as I was working on the pages, I noticed a common medium going on...I kept saying "I did this when I was scrapbooking" or noticed I was using alot of my scrapbook supplies including pictures and thought..good grief.. why don't I just pick up scrapbooking again, I"m nearly doing it now!  But then toned myself down to remembering the whole point of the fabric book..... M-E-M-O-R-I-E-S. So I decided to choose specific memories and decided to make parents. have the first 2-3 pages about the child, then have a page for her parents, her grand parents (ME!) her great grand parents and I have pics of her great great grandparents and great (times 3) grand parents. So I can do a family legacy kind of book. Well, at least I am starting there. I am sure I will expand, change, re-consider, add, subtract etc!

So I started with pages about each girl..the two oldest. A story of another time...since this is a memory book...I wanted to put memories in it...so I used some fabric I amazingly kept from outfits I made 2 of the girls on my last sewing trip about 10 years ago and incorporated the page around that fabric and what it meant to the girl at the time! Turned out really good! Stay tuned for some pictures and "how to" on those pages. Then I will go into the rest of the family! Plus... I love printing on fabric paper like this....             

 FABRIC PRINTING PAPER

One of the pages I am doing is about the song I sang to each girl when I rocked her to sleep. So I printed the lyrics out on this paper about 4x6 size and will decorate it and incorporate it some how on the page...an envelope and they can take the "page" of lyrics out of the envelope. Only they will know the memory it holds for them!

It has been alot of fun going through my lace stash and embellishments and putting things together. Takes a bit of time, but I am settling into a system. I create the page in my sewing room, then start the sewing in the kitchen..as light is better there and a change of scenery! I have 2 trays that I take with me..one has the things just for that page, the other is things I use on all pages..pin cushion, scissors, thread (colors to match the page), needle etc.  Works great!

 

 I went to Walmart today and got a few spools of satin ribbon and ric-rack (3 yds  for $1)  and a package of some delicate, lacy bows (8 for $1.47) and a short strand of pearls..12 beads about 1/2 inch diameter (97 cents)...should have got more of those! Those I plan to take the beads  apart  and use individually as the middle of a fabric flower or "handle/knob" to something or some other decorative embellishment. I also got some embroidery floss.. I had forgotten alot of designs use the floss (24 skeins for $3.97)...just a running stitch around the edge of the pages or to "write" out word or...embroider a design!

Oh... and something I did find very helpful... if you are a quilter, you will know about these cool little things...if not..check them out. They are called
   

CLOVER CLIPS

They look like very small clothes pins. But why they are so good for my fabric books is because I can use them to hold things in place while I am creating the page. Using pins, you might miss one in the lace or just the poking of the pin in then out, sometimes is cumbersome and you can have multiple layers "clipped" instead of trying to use a pin. Because you use bulky things like a strand of beads or an raised applique or buttons...anything you can't use a pin to secure..you can use the Clover Clip. I didn't use mine much with quilting as I as you sew, you have to remove them and you don't with pins..if you don't pin in the stitch line. It was cumbersome to me to use them. But now.. they are my best friends!

I went to the thrift store yesterday and there was a package of some kind of fabric. It was shiney pink, satin looking squares..and 2 shades of yellow. You can't open packages but that pink on top I knew I could use and for $1.99 I thought I'd take the chance. Opened at home and they are 12x12" napkins! Granted, I can't imagine anyone using these beautiful squares for wiping a messy mouth, but that is what they were! And there were 6 pink, 6 pale yellow and 6 medium yellow..all satin with a pretty pattern! I can use them as page fabric or cut strips to make fabric flowers or ruffle!

So that is all for now. I have to get dinner ready then I can sit and sew the pages until my eyeballs fall out of my head! Thanks for following along.... if you are working on a fabric book...please..leave me a comment about how you are doing or if you have any good tips!

Thanks for stopping by and...keep on sewing those memories!
Want to read more at Fabric and Memories? CLICK HERE

Fabric Lace Memory Books 2. How I Organized my Supplies

I have found a new way to preserve memories with fabric! (Hummm...sounds like a good title for a blog!)  Last week, I talked about it and you can read my introduction to Fabric Lace Memory Books here. I am really excited about this. I haven't just stopped quilting, just put it on hold for awhile... and I still have 5 WIPS... one is for ME, one for my sister and one for ...someone.... and then I have 2 in the closet that I made, but don't really like or am waiting on specific scraps to finish. But I have have been told by my children..."Mom...no more quilts! We have plenty!". Well, I can't just stop the preserving memories so Fabric Lace Books came to me just in time! I was doing a blog hop and came upon Wilma at Shabby Royale  and was immediately captivated.
Then I found  Doni at Faith, Grace and Crafts and her tutorial on making the pages and the rest is history! Happy, memorable, preserved history in a unique, amazing and most elegant style! My plan is to make one for each of my grand daughters....and one for me!

So to get something like this.......

 

 

Or this..........

 

Or this.......

 .... I had to get supplies for these books and since I am a "veteran" scrapbooker, I have alot of things I can use for embellishment that were from my scrapbook days and since I have 4 grand daughters that I day-cared off and on... and always doing a craft of some kind with them so I have things left over from that.  So I dug everything out..and  as in the book set...."If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" ...(my grand daughters favorite series!)

"if you give a crafter some craft supplies, she is going to want storage units to put it in!"

I needed a place to store the supplies where I could have them ALL available to look at and use as I create a page. Now, I love organizing. Over organizer? Sometimes, but appropriately organized for ease of use...all the time!  I had several "storage" bins/buckets/drawer units etc in the closet..some being used others not.   So...this is what I came up with.

In organizing my supplies, I Upcycled these General Foods International plastic containers. I can't drink coffee because of the acid in the coffee oils...it hates my stomach! But this...doesn't have real coffee in it, but kind of tastes like it! But I drink it in the winter and have been saving these containers as they are perfect...sturdy plastic, nice snapping lid. Took me 3 years to collect this many, and finally found a use for them! I put them in the supply drawers....four fits perfectly across the width of the drawer and three the length.

Drawer on the left above has odd embellishments in it and I put four of the containers in the middle as the fit perfectly and snuggly across so they are kind of a divider...appliques and fabric things in the front and pom poms and other things in the back and silver string beads and things in the containers. On the right is buttons of all kinds! On the left-back  is an embroidery thread box...and I have small and tiny buttons from my scrapbooking days in this.  In the front is snaps, card buttons and single buttons in the coffee containers and then long card buttons to the right.

This drawer has what I call "metal" embellishments...buckles, rings, D rings, misc costume jewelery (some from my mother), wires and other things...most left over from my scrapbooking days and my "jean purse" days.




 Put them all together and this is what I got! I have all my embellishments at arms reach because the drawers are removable. This sits on top of a four drawer cabinet thingy that is at the end of my work station/cutting table...which is right behind my sewing machine...just a spin in the chair and it is all at my finger tips! (things on the top..no longer are there!)

Now this cabinet thingy... 

four small drawers just to the right of my working/cutting table.....

Top drawer has ribbons on spools in a clear plastic tubes. Just keeps things neater. Containers in the front holding beads...some just beads, others with alphabet letters on them. And something I intend to work with is fabric paper. That is the read on top there. I have been using it to make the labels for my quilts, but now.. I can print a picture on it or write out something like a letter on it and make a nice fabric envelope for it to put on the page.

Second drawer has the lace yardage and satin (imitation!) folded in it..with room for more! Bottom two drawers have cotton/poly fabric I use for binding on my quilts.

But that's not all!

These are stackable with lockable lids, plastic "boxes". They are about 15" x 12"x 3" and they click/lock together so I can stack them like this and just put it under my cutting table. I have the lace by all white, colors, trims (ric-rac, bias etc) and the bottom one has fancy pockets I cut off jeans. When I need to use the lace, I just..........

Put them on the table...and leave them stacked like this and have only the container I need...open. The little box next to this unit is just a photo box, and i keep all the things I am using on a page in this box. Keeps things orderly and not lost! This sits against the wall...leaving me plenty of working space while being close at hand.


This is what my work station looks like..BEFORE I actually start working. Needless to say, it gets rather messy as I work, but that is just how I work! But everything is right at hand, but still out of the way and not cluttered when not working. Lace in front, page fabric to the left. To the right...."working box", iron (cordless) to the right and on right end of the table, the drawers of supplies. All at hands reach.  I have seen so many amazing pictures of crafter's work stations....I wish I could do that with mine, but..this is best it gets for now. The table has my cutting matte on it and I have covered it with just some odd fabric..to keep the ironing surface clean while I work on top of it.But where the construction of the pages take place...is at the kitchen table! More on that feature next time! Another thing I just noticed in my room....the other side of the room has all my quilting "gear"...all set up and organized so I can go back to quilting at any time...and everything is already set up and organized!

If you don't have supplies like I did...(but will always be looking for more!)  you can  collect them rather "cheaply"...check the thrift stores, second hand stores, yard sales, dollar stores, Walmart type stores, etc. Always check the reduced shelves. I went to Joann's and they had unique trims on sale for 50 cents a yard! I just picked ones that I liked that were 50 cents a yard and bought 2 yards. 

At thrift/second hand stores and yard sales...if they don't have any craft supplies...check the clothes. You can cut off buttons, appliques and other decoration parts. Look for lace in blouses, dresses and  lingerie. Doilies are perfect for the books. Check for jewelery as you can take charms or pendants and earrings apart to use. Bracelets are an amazing embellishment. Check kids clothes as they often have great appliques or other decorative addition on the front of them that you can cut off....even use the fabric of the garment. Some jeans have beautiful and blingy pockets on them.. I have a few! I cut them off the jeans and intend to use them as a pocket on the pages. Get a velvet jacket and cut it apart to use the fabric. Look for yardage of lace...use it to cover the page, cut strips and make lace, gather to make lace flowers, join with fabric to make beautiful pocket on the page. I found some lace.. I think it was a table cloth...and I cut out the flowers to use as appliques!

Look at women's skirts...lot of yardage there so find the print you like and cut strips, squares...use to make the pages or gather and make lace!  So many options, lot of choices and all at a low price! And when all else fails...watch the ads for sales at Joann's and use the 50% off coupons!

So, now I am ready to begin my new adventure in Fabric Lace Memory books! Stay tuned... I have one in the works as we speak...I mean... read... and will post it soon!

Thanks for stopping by and...keep on sewing those memories!

Want to read more at Fabric and Memories? CLICK HERE
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Fabric Lace Memory books 1. Shabby chic and I am Hooked!

Well first... how do you like my title header up there? I am learning to do these "IT" things and so far..so good! Now.. on to the my excitement!

On the recent Grow Your Blog blog hop, I discovered Wilma at Shabby Royale . Wilma makes lace fabric books, boxes and so many other amazing things. Normally I look and think how pretty and think for ideas etc, but in this case...I was mesmerized! These lace/fabric books are SO down my alley of memory holders! I keep going back to look again! I have decided this is what I want to make!  Oh the memories that can be stored in these beautiful lace, fabric books!  So, Thank you Wilma! You have an avid follower and I hope I can make mine as good as yours!

 This... is what I am talking about! A fabric lace memory book!

Tons of lace, ribbons, appliques, buttons, limitless embellishment options...oh wow..just right down my alley!!!  And the neat thing is....you can either hand sew, machine sew or fabric glue the embellishments!

I have 4 grand daughters and one on the way... I was going to make them each a crazy quilt...then went to a crazy Christmas stocking...but now.... they are each getting one of these lace fabric books with memories of the here and how, instead of their growing up years as pictures show. I have so many ideas I had to start a list! I don't have a scanner, but I can take pictures now and print them out on fabric paper. I can write to them and print on fabric paper or card stock and make little pockets on the pages for the note. I have some slightly better than costume jewelery, some mine, some my their great grandmothers,  very nice, but only value is the memory of the items... and I can use those to embellish the pages and tell the story. I have been wondering for some time now...how to give the items to the girls...will they keep them, loose them, grow out of them...would they even want to bother with them? But if I do it right and they are in this book, they can wear the items if they want to or just leave the keepsake with the memory in the book for all time!  The ideas just keep coming!


A few more pictures of Wilma's Wedding book....absolutely gorgeous!

You can make pockets and put things in them! It is almost like paper scrapbooking. I used to do that, but the albums just got so heavy! But I loved the pocket idea as  you could get so much more on the layout...in the pocket, on the pocket and around the pocket! And the sky is the limit on color!!!

And scroll down on her site a bit and take a look at this! I want one of these!!! An altered record suitcase!  Back in the day (prior to the ancient time of the 1980's!) our music was supplied by LP vinyl records. We kept the records in a  case like this so we could take them with us.  Wilma has created an Altered Record Case   to keep LP's in! I still have many of my LP's and I'd love to have this to store them in. But.. if you don't have any...this would make a great memory book for pictures. You could make a layout or two for each section and keep it on the coffee table and just open and pull when you want some memory time or to show off your kids to company!

Another blog I found, thanks to Shabby Royale... is Faith, Grace and Crafts  Doni also makes gorgeous lace fabric books. I am following her tutorial . It doesn't look all that hard to make the book! Plus.. check out her tutorial on a Lace Collage . I am thinking this would be perfect to add to a quilt! Maybe the center block. And still.. memories, memories, memories!

These fabric lace books are just a gorgeous way to preserve memories..and as you know.. I am all about memories! So I will start by pulling out my laces and trims and embellishments that I have collected and see what I have. I think to..since I don't have the napkins.. I will get some vintage colored fabric, and add my own lace to the sides and then start folding. But I'll be blogging about it as I go so if you want to join me in making these  beautiful fabric lace books.. follow me and you'll get an email on my progress and comments are always welcome! These ladies have helped me...least I can do is pass on the favor....and all in the name of Memories, sweeping through the pages...!



Want to read more at Fabric and Memories? CLICK HERE     Thanks for stopping by and...keep on sewing those memories!

This post is linked to the Linky Party for the day. Click on the "Daily Linky Parties" tab at the top of my page and join us!