stitched: for Father’s Day (self-portrait bookmarks)

YIP.6.18 – collaborative crafting, originally uploaded by earthchick.

(Yeah, I realize Father’s Day was two months ago. I’m behind on my bloggables, okay? And I still have a birthday party – from May – to blog!)

I have been anxiously awaiting the release of Amanda Blake Soule’s second book, Handmade Home , every since she announced it was in the works. It came out last week and looks great (though I don’t own it yet, since I might’ve blown my book budget lately on Sookie Stackhouse – yo, a girl deserves a few guilty pleasures on vacation, doesn’t she?). Before the book was released, Amanda offered a free pdf of these self-portrait bookmarks on her website. I thought they were a perfect Father’s Day idea.

The above bookmark was a gift for my dad. That’s Little Buddha’s self-portrait (drawn directly onto the fabric, then embroidered by me, and then sewn into a bookmark), with his name written on the left (from top-to-bottom). My stitching skills leave something to be desired, plus I am crazy-slow, but otherwise it was a great project.

We also made one for My Old Man.

You’re supposed to mark the edges off with masking tape so that the child leaves a half inch border inside the rectangle. I didn’t do that, and not only did Little Buddha fill up space within that half inch border – he drew beyond the original rectangle. So this is a super-wide bookmark. Still, I think it’s a great little memento.

Tiny Dancer didn’t want to make any. He hasn’t demonstrated near the interest in drawing (and arts and crafts in general) as his brother has, and I didn’t want to pressure him. But while we were on vacation, he did finally draw his very first stick figure.

I kind of love it.