diy: embroidered doodles

i really have the best intentions when it comes to giving gifts.

i usually have all kinds of ideas, & it's the funding that's the problem.

this time.. it didn't dawn on me until wednesday night that friday was the dude's last day of school..

and we hadn't gotten anything for his teacher.

wednesday night with nothing planned & not an idea in sight.

i was racking my brain for ideas while working on my christmas gift for my sister in law.

the dude was totally entranced watching me embroider

& was literally on top of me the whole time i was sewing.

he's a doodler that one.. and he gave us all christmas cards that night.

and i fell in love with this picture of a rose he drew me

(although i'll admit i thought it was supposed to be a tulip at first)

he's extremely detail oriented & his teachers are always complimentary & amazed at his artistic abilities.

so it hit me to combine the two & make something his teacher could hang on to..

it took him a about 15 minutes to perfect his flowers

& write out his teachers name.

i picked out the best flowers & written name & traced them onto a new paper

(because as a perfectionist.. there were tons of erased scribble lines to wade through)

once i was finished i waited until the next day to tape first the design 

& then the fabric over the top to trace on the pattern with a water soluble pen.

then i stuck the fabric in a hoop & embroidered over the pattern i traced.

when i was done i used water to remove the pen marks from the water soluble pen.

ironed out the piece & taped around a 5x7 piece of cardstock.

stuck it in a frame & wrapped it up to gift.

i was a little nervous about whether she would like it.

but mason was sooo excited about it, that i hoped we were on the right track.

well, she loved it!

& she thanked me twice at school during his christmas party..

& then called the house again later to thank me again!

i was so relieved!

i know teachers aren't like parents or grandparents

& don't particularly want 100's of hand prints

& drawings from their students over the years..

but i intended this to be a bit of a nameplate..

something she could put on her desk

& not necessarily a keepsake.

it would definetely work as a last minute gift idea for family members though!

just trace over one of your children's doodles & viola! :)

xo-k

linking up:
tip junkie
today's creative
craftomaniac
skip to my lou
the blackberry vine
tidy mom
whipperberry