For nearly 50 years, I have been making things mostly with a needle and thread and now with paper for scrapbooking and junk journals. I am a firm believer in keeping memories alive so in my sewing,quilting and paper creations, I always want to make them with a memory or a reason. I create, with hopes of sharing cherished memories of the past or creating treasured memories for the future.
Here, the child can take sand castles out of the bucket and play with them in the "sand". He can also open the oyster and see the pearl! And.. a little friendly crab is right there to be his play pal! This layout was quick and easy. The castles are made of felt. I just have to bind these pages into the book. That is something I do when all the pages are done. These pages are cut 11x11 and have 1/4 inch seams and 1/2 inch binding.
If you want to see my You Tube videos of all my quiet books pages and also Junk Journals...click here!
Few months ago I had my 7 year old grand daughter for 2 days and she is into crafts as much as I am...we are craft buddies! I had previously taught her to make a lap quilt out of charms, but this time...I taught her to make a pillow case.
You just need about 3/4 yard of main fabric and 1/3 yard of a print for the cuff (the bears) and 1/4 yard for the trim (the green) for a standard pillowcase, as you see in the picture below of the completed pillowcase.
How it Started
The story of Cordoroy, the little bear that lost the button on his green overalls... has been a special story to her and I. When she was 2, I started reading the story of Cordoroy to her and she loved the story! There was a store security guard in the story that was dressed like a police officer. Her daddy is a Deputy Sheriff and she thought the guy in the story was a"Beddy Sef", just like her daddy!The story became very special to us. I later began making up stories for her at nap time about Cordoroy and Silky Bear (her own little stuffed buddy) that lived in Princess Ashleigh's bedroom and when Princess Ashleigh left for school..the bears and other dolls would come to life and scurry out of the house and to a strawberry patch and have an adventure...similar to the Raggedy Ann/Andy stories.
The Fabric:
When I stumbled on these panels and the bear fabric at an online store... I knew I had to get them, no matter the cost! I had never seen them before and of course....Cordoroy fabric was in my "shopping cart" within minutes! I intended to make her a quilt out of them some how, but just never could figure a design out! Then it suddenly occurred to me to let her make the pillow case and the rest is memorable history!
See the little loops on the right side of the case in the picture above and left side in picture below? She has two little "bedtime buddies". She calls them her "Silkies", one is a bunny and one is a bear (ergo Silkie Bear!) . They have silk binding on them. She said that they always fall out of bed or she rolls on them and can't find them. So I created these fabric loops and now, she puts "Silkies" in the loops and they never leave her side! The picture below is the other side of the pillowcase, the "Good Night" side and the Silkies are in the loops on the left there.
The Memory
Ashleigh will have memories of our special time together for years!! It started when she was 2 and now at 7, when she stays the night, she still asks for a Cordoroy story at bedtime. And I always have a different story and adventure that the bears do and she has her favorites that she asks me to tell again. She has the pillowcase at her house and sleeps with it every night and always has her Silkies with her...and her memories. Good night, Ashleigh!
And to further the memory (for both of us!) I later made her a small quilt about Corduroy and his escapades. I made her what I call a Symbolic Memory quilt. Instead of making a specific quilt with obvious features...I used symbols which she knows and will still be able to recount the memory and in this case...carry the memory with her to give to her children.
This is the book that inspired our memory. Corduroy is now 40 years old, but we don't have to mention that! We shall let the little bear be a child's friend..no matter how old he, technically, is!
Does your child have a favorite character....get them the book and make them a quilt or pillowcase to match it and you'll have a great gift for them with lots and lots of memories. Or...what about a character memory of yours? Do the same and hand those memories down to your children!
A Pillowcase Tutorial
Here is a great tutorial about making pillowcases using the "tube" method. It is very quick and easy. Also, because they are so quick and easy...you can make many of them in a day or so. Pillow cases are great for gifts of all ages! Change colors and prints and the options are limitless! I do mine slightly different in that I sew the pieces together, then one seam up the side and then roll the cuff down to cover the seam and then hand sew the hem to cover the seam. Only seam visible is the side seam and the bottom seam!
This is a tutorial for making a pillow case..really fast and easy!Click the arrow in the middle of the picture below to start the tutorial
Reasons for making pillowcases....
as gifts...for any occasion! Valentines Day gets red ones, patriotic days get red, white and blue. Wedding...matching white (or the wedding color) accented with some lace! Kids birthdays...find out their favorite character or "thing" and get fabric to match! Christmas... a Santa or other holiday print. Fabric comes in SO MANY different prints these days, you can almost always find the perfect print!
Fund Raisers....get a group to make them and sell them at the school fund raiser or any fund raiser.
Donations to charities...especially the kids charities...you know the kids would love their very own speciality pillowcase!
To match the room you are designing or a quilt you have made!
Whatever the reason...just have fun making pillowcases!
I have been working on getting junk journals for my grand kids to have when I relocate out of state so that they can keep some of their memories in a safe place. This one is part 2 of the one I made for my (almost) 16 year old grand son. He is a step grand son, so we are just getting to know each other so this journal is also one where he can take out what I use if he doesn't like it but still have the use of the page for things he does like. It is on YouTube.. but here it is also... hope you enjoy watching it, get some good ideas for pages and embellishments. A masculine theme can be a little difficult sometimes, because manufactures seem to cater to the female theme more,but we crafters always find a way around that!
Plus... this junk journal also includes embellishment from ...actual junk mail, some actual "things" that have been used, some cash - in unique form and description and how I used magazine pages as pages in the journal. So.. take a look! Let me know what you think!
If you missed (or want to watch again) Part 1....here it is!
Thanks for stopping by and...keep on preserving those memories!
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