On Saturday, Abi and I flew out to Utah to visit family for the next few weeks (Yay!).  My dad and step-mom picked us up form the airport and drove us straight to a quilt show being held at a cousins house.  It was super cool and featured on the news, but I can’t find the clip. I took a ton of pictures on my “real” camera, but I left that at my dads house so I don’t have it with me here at my in-laws.  I did get one picture on my phone that I instagramed out, so you can see at least one of the awesome quilts.

I’ll be posting a write up about the show on The House That Pinterest when I get my camera back.  I’ll let you know when it’s up so all you quilters can hop on over and see how awesome the quilts and the venue were.

But anyway, this week’s theme is a new one suggested by a reader and it looks very promising  Sentimental projects are what they crafters had to come up with.

The poll, like always, will be open in the sidebar until Thursday night so vote early!

Craft #1 – Race Display - Hannah @ Young & Crafty

The best part is that he loved it! I think it will hang in his office at work for all to see

Craft #2 – Family Photo Bulletin Board - Autumn @ It’s Always Autumn

Years ago (when digital cameras weren’t the norm and we actually printed out all our photos) my husband bought a bulletin board and covered it with photos of the the two of us and our son as a birthday gift for me. He made a collage with the photos, covering every inch of the 2×3 ft board. We hung it up in our apartment and I loved looking at it. Ten years and four moves later and I have no idea where that bulletin board has gotten to. For this week’s sentimental challenge, I decided to recreate it, but on a huge scale.

My bulletin board is three feet high and seven feet across, and fills up most of the wall behind our kitchen table. It’s huge, but the board itself is made from a lightweight building supply you can find at any hardware store and it only cost $11.

I covered the board with a sheet that I dip-dyed for a dramatic, punchy effect. The board is screwed right into studs in the wall, so it’s completely secure, but if I ever want to remove it I’ll only have to patch four smallish holes. But it’s not going anywhere anytime soon.

I covered the board with about 100 of my favorite photos from the past ten years. Most are printed in black and white for a streamlined look, but I printed a few favorites out in color to keep things interesting. I chose candid photos that might not be considered “wall-worthy”, but each one has a story and memory attached, so we’ve already sat together as a family talking about them. I’m really happy to have these pictures printed out and displayed instead of sitting on my hard drive – and since they’re just pinned on I can swap out pictures or rearrange them at any time.

Craft #3 – Quilt Calendar - Jamie @ Three Scoops of Love

Sometimes you end up with family “heirlooms” that you’re not quite sure what to do with.  I had this old quilt that was stained, tattered, filled with holes, and quite literally falling apart.  I don’t like it when things just get stored away and never seen, so I knew I needed to come up with a way that we could enjoy this piece of the past.

Normally, I wouldn’t dream of cutting up an antique like this, but it was really no good to anyone otherwise.  So, I cut out a rectangle of the quilt, paired it with an open back frame and some glass, and used my embroidery skills to make a wall calendar.

 

A dry erase marker makes it easy to change the month and dates.  This tired old quilt has found a new life in our mudroom, where it gives my family a quick glance at our month.  Even though it was cut, the quilt is sure to be appreciated more now that it’s a part of our daily routine instead of folded away in a box.

Craft #4 - Childhood Cradle - Jessica @ The Domestic Fruit Loop

Childhood Cradle, Reimagined

When I was a girl I had this beautiful cradle that I kept my stuffed animals in. I loved it. When I grew up my mother gave it to me and it traveled as I traveled. When my daughter was born I got the cradle back out to use in her room. Now that she is older and her room has changed it is time for the beautiful cradle to change as well. I spent this week updating the cradle to match her room and continue to live with us.

Craft #5 – Date Night Bucket List - Ann Marie @ White House Black Shutters