This year I went to the Nutcracker Ballet at the community
college where I work. They were selling
wooden Nutcracker Princes in all sizes and while they were tempting, I didn’t
buy one. Instead I came home and started
working on an embroidery piece of the Nutcracker and a ballet dancer. This would have a lot more meaning to me that
a wooden nutcracker.
I realized while I have been working on this that I do
create my own souvenirs. I mentioned
above that I am not much for t-shirts.
So when I went to Door County Wisconsin for my 50th birthday,
I bought fabric to make blouses. Now
when I wear those blouses (one had sailboats on it which is one activity Door
County is known for) I think of that trip.
In Door County there are numerous lighthouses. I went to one which was a favorite of my
father’s. Now I will admit I did buy a
travel mug from the lighthouse but I also create a wall hanging of it. I took a picture of it and printed it on a
special treated fabric that could be sent through the printer. And with that lighthouse picture on fabric I
created a wall- hanging adding more trees and beach and water in appliqué to
expand the image.
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| Lighthouse |
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| Lighthouse wall hanging (the above photo is in the center) |
I work with the American Cancer Society’s Relay for
Life. I am working on a t-shirt quilt (I
may not buy t-shirts but I do keep them from special events where they are
given). I didn’t want to make just a
t-shirt quilt but one with meaning for me.
So for every year I do the relay, I prepare the front of the t-shirt to put in the quilt and also create a quilt block that represents
either the theme of the relay or some member of it.
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| My first Relay year |
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| Purple is the Relay's color. |
While I was writing this blog I began to wonder how making
your own memory souvenir would work for a Christmas holiday. If a family is traveling to visit Grandma or
just to spend the holiday somewhere new, the kids could draw a picture of their
favorite activity or memory of their visit.
You could take pictures and make a collage to hang on your wall (it
could be, but doesn’t have to be, done in fabric).
Or how about make an ornament that represents this
holiday. Did you build a snowman in
Grandma’s front yard? Create a snowman
ornament to remember it and don’t forget to make a snowman for Grandma too so
she can remember it? Did you go to the
beach? Collect some shells to decorate a
framed memory of your holiday.
Store bought souvenirs are nice but making your own personal
souvenir makes your special trip or holiday even more memorable.
©2017 Cheryl Fillion
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