Sunday, May 10, 2009

Memory Chest

I made a travelling trunk for my mother - just a small one.

With stamps and labels from the places she's been... young single girl, wife, mother...

I added recent photos of my girl and her art, and then filled it with Mum's photos of the extended family (they used to be in a very ordinary-looking basket).


She seemed to like it.

Technical information: I roughly followed a project in this book, and used a combination of fabric, Peltex, Fast2Fuse, interfacing, Vliesofix and injet-printable fabric. The base fabric is Portuguese linen from the wonderful Méri and some fabric offcuts in prints that were reminiscent of the age in which my mother grew up.

PS. Thanks to all the lovely messages of support re: my last post. I hope that the discussion will make people think a bit more about sharing other people's ideas.

Thanks again, folks. I'm truly touched.

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29 comments:

  1. mériMay 10, 2009 at 9:57 PM

    Oh Nikki! This is a really treasure! So beautiful and thoughtful.
    And I'm proud you have used the Portuguese linen!

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  2. handmaidenMay 10, 2009 at 10:43 PM

    your mother must have been thrilled to receive this.

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  3. CassMay 10, 2009 at 10:57 PM

    Oh wow that looks fantastic, well done

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  4. TaniaMay 10, 2009 at 11:21 PM

    Wow! I promise to be a much better daughter next year...

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  5. AnonymousMay 11, 2009 at 2:05 AM

    W.O.W.

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  6. lauraMay 11, 2009 at 4:02 AM

    Beautiful and brilliant! Your mother had to be thrilled!

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  7. trashMay 11, 2009 at 4:42 AM

    Oooo! Can I be your mother and get one of those too??? ;-)


    (how funny - word verif is 'revered'. Sadly it doesn't say whether I am on the giving or receiving end of reverence. Am hoping for latter ;-)

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  8. CurlyPopsMay 11, 2009 at 7:44 AM

    Oh it's beautiful!

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  9. One Flew OverMay 11, 2009 at 8:22 AM

    I'm sure she liked it! It's gorgeous!

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  10. LaraMay 11, 2009 at 8:36 AM

    Just beautiful Nikki - no wonder you've had an emotional time making this! Very lovely, and I'm sure that your mum was thrilled. My tears welled up just reading this post!

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  11. AnneMay 11, 2009 at 9:02 AM

    WOW!!! I'm sure your mother will treasure this forever!!

    I posted a link to your project on Craft Gossip Sewing Blog: http://sewing.craftgossip.com/lookie-what-she-made-memory-chest-for-mom/2009/05/10/
    --Anne

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  12. Sandra @ Pepperberry & Co.May 11, 2009 at 9:29 AM

    I. Am. Gobsmacked. That is truly sensational, and beautiful, and stunning, and emotive, and gorgeous, and touching, and inspiring. What a phenomenal gift to give and receive. xx

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  13. MartyMay 11, 2009 at 10:25 AM

    What a thoughtful Mother's Day gift! She must have been thrilled.

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  14. Gay McDonellMay 11, 2009 at 10:30 AM

    MAGNIFIQUE!

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  15. our shabby cottageMay 11, 2009 at 11:14 AM

    Now that is one of the best Mother's Day presents I have seen. Fantastic job! Did she have tears running down her face when you gave it to her?

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  16. ALfa studioMay 11, 2009 at 2:18 PM

    Just BEAUTIFUL!!! Great Idea.
    Your Mother is really lucky :-)

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  17. Cathy {tinniegirl}May 11, 2009 at 4:00 PM

    It's amazing Nikki. Absolutely stunning. What a wonderful gift.

    Was lovely to run into you in the hood yesterday. I hope you had a nice day.

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  18. PinktulipMay 11, 2009 at 4:22 PM

    This is FABULOUS! You are so talented. It looks extremely difficult to make. I am sure you Mom loved it! What a great, personal, present. I had so little time that I took the easy way out and bought a present for my Mom.

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  19. Little MunchkinsMay 11, 2009 at 4:59 PM

    Oh wow, that is amazing! What a great idea and a wonderful gift.

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  20. JodieMay 11, 2009 at 6:06 PM

    Awesome gift Nikki - lovely place for her to keep her memories.
    This will be a better week for sure!

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  21. BreeMay 12, 2009 at 10:14 AM

    Beautiful Nikki! Have always wanted to try the photo to fabric thing but worried I'd muck it up. I love the photo of your Mum in the garden.

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  22. AnonymousMay 12, 2009 at 10:19 AM

    Oh I so love this box! What a fabulous treasure to give as a gift! Now I want to make one too.

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  23. flickettysplitsMay 12, 2009 at 11:29 AM

    Fantastic gift Nikki, what an absolute treasure. I've tagged you for a blog award today because you are so amazing and inspiring, and constantly pushing me to do better with my own crafting. Thank you!

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  24. NikkiMay 12, 2009 at 6:46 PM

    Homemade presents are the best.

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  25. UnknownMay 13, 2009 at 6:35 AM

    That's so cute!!! You have to do a tutorial on that!

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  26. Candied FabricsMay 13, 2009 at 8:50 AM

    Ooh! This is fabulous! Is there hand sewing involved, or is it all machine done? I made a little tea house for a friend awhile ago:
    http://candiedfabrics.wordpress.com/2009/03/28/teahouse-for-liz/
    And involved lots of hand sewing - which I'm trying to avoid! Youch!

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  27. NikkiMay 13, 2009 at 9:17 AM

    Candied Fabrics - Nope - not a single bit of hand-sewing!

    Tiff - the tutorial is already written in the book I linked to.

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  28. KatherineMay 13, 2009 at 4:06 PM

    What a beautiful and very special gift for your mum. The linen looks perfect alongside the photos printed on fabric. This is truly a treasure box, Nikki. Love this idea!

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  29. mayalunaMay 16, 2009 at 11:08 AM

    What an amazing gift for your mother... so much love went into it.

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I LOVE to read your comments and they brighten my day. I can't respond unless your profile has an email address attached, though... And some days I simply don't have time to respond.... but I respond in a telepathic sort of way to each and every comment.
xxx Nikki