PAGES

▼

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

embroider your kids' artwork

My son drew a picture a while ago of a boy picking apples. I saved it, but it is getting a little scrunched. So I found a cheap and easy way to make it last a little longer! It's called an Embroidery Transfer Pencil, and it is a fun, easy way to turn your child's (or your own) artwork into a treasured keepsake.

Embroidering Your Child's (or your own) Artwork Tutorial

What you'll need:

*Drawing you want to transfer to fabric
*Light-colored fabric of your choice (try white muslin)
*Embroidery transfer pencil
*Iron
*Needle
*Embroidery floss

1. Trace over your drawing with an embroidery transfer pencil. Joann has a lot of options for pencils, and they are only $2-$3. Remember, your image will be transferred in reverse, so avoid images that won't look right backward.

2. Place your paper face down on your fabric and iron with a dry iron.

3. If you have an embroidery hoop, put your fabric in it. If not, you can still do it, but it will just be a little less stable when you're stitching. Stitch over the lines of your image, changing colors when necessary.

4. Leave it in the hoop or frame it for an adorable keepsake!


I may try to do some of my kids' art on dishtowels. There are so many possibilities. It is a good way to save your child’s art. Grandparents will love this!
at

43 comments:

  1. XazminMarch 17, 2009 at 12:08 AM

    Oh, I so love this idea! Thanks for sharing it!

    Xazmin

    ReplyDelete
  2. Missie KrissieMarch 17, 2009 at 2:28 AM

    That's a great idea. I think I'll wait a while tho, my 2 year old does scribbles and they would take a long time to do!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. lisa westphalMarch 17, 2009 at 6:35 AM

    I love this idea. It brings back great childhood memories for me. My Mom once did this, but instead of framing the completed work, she made a pillow to give to my Grandmother. Just another idea. : )

    ReplyDelete
  4. *katieMarch 17, 2009 at 6:56 AM

    Cute idea! What a great way to save children's artwork. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  5. My Precious Peanut DesignsMarch 17, 2009 at 7:19 AM

    What a cool idea!

    ReplyDelete
  6. BrenbrenMarch 17, 2009 at 8:16 AM

    I can't wait to make a dish towel for grandparents. What a great idea!

    ReplyDelete
  7. BeaMarch 17, 2009 at 8:28 AM

    Great idea! I will have to try it. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  8. SRAMarch 17, 2009 at 9:31 AM

    In our family, we use the same kind of idea on the "Thanksgiving Tablecloth" Everyone signs it (with year behind their names) and before we wash it, we embroider the names as they're written. The first year we did it, we used Orange Floss, the next year, Green, then Blue, Purple, Red, Pink, Yellow, Brown, Lavender, and next year will be "Lime Green!" It's such a cool keepsake...but we're running out of room, so it looks like we'll have to start another one here soon! Thanks for sharing this darlin' idea! I think it would be a great gift for Grandparents, and Godparents!

    ReplyDelete
  9. AngeMarch 17, 2009 at 9:50 AM

    This is a great idea ! I think I am going to do this for Mother's Day gifts !
    Thanks so much !

    ReplyDelete
  10. Jen @ tatertotsandjello.comMarch 17, 2009 at 10:01 AM

    What a great idea. I love it!

    Thanks for coming over and saying hi! Your blog is so much fun. I am excited to get to know you!

    XOXO
    Jen

    ReplyDelete
  11. LauraMarch 17, 2009 at 11:23 AM

    Great idea! I want to go find a bunch of my sons old drawings and get busy.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Small Fry and Co.March 17, 2009 at 11:51 AM

    Great idea. Like you say there are so many possibilities with this. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  13. UnknownMarch 17, 2009 at 12:14 PM

    Cute Idea!!! I have wondered what to do with my precious picturs from my kids!

    ReplyDelete
  14. LiErMarch 17, 2009 at 12:18 PM

    That pencil! I wish I'd had it when I did my own stitched art embroidery (with machine, though). I must procure it ASAP! Thanks for sharing this tip and thank you for all the wonderful ideas on your blog!

    Since I mentioned it, here's the stitched art I did last summer:

    http://ikatbag.blogspot.com/2008/10/fabric-buckets-and-stitched-art.html

    ReplyDelete
  15. Rachel@oneprettything.comMarch 17, 2009 at 1:37 PM

    Wow, what a great idea and a fabulous keepsake. I love this! I'll be linking.

    ReplyDelete
  16. UnknownMarch 17, 2009 at 4:05 PM

    This is so adorable and a great idea. :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. KatieMarch 17, 2009 at 5:11 PM

    My six-year-old drew a picture of her teacher and then embroidered it herself as a Christmas gift for her teacher. We used a the window-as-lightbox-trick to trace her picture onto a piece of muslin. We framed it with a wooden embroidery hoop backed with fabric. It was lovely, especially since she did the stitching as well as the drawing.

    ReplyDelete
  18. the undomesticated wifeMarch 17, 2009 at 6:21 PM

    That is such a fantastic idea!

    ReplyDelete
  19. e.cMarch 17, 2009 at 6:32 PM

    such a cute idea!

    p.s. i stalk your blog...love your ideas!

    ReplyDelete
  20. UnknownMarch 17, 2009 at 9:07 PM

    What a fabulous idea. My girls' doodles are such treasures and this would be a great way to honor them!

    ReplyDelete
  21. AnonymousMarch 17, 2009 at 11:54 PM

    great!! I like this pattern

    ReplyDelete
  22. Katherine Roberts AucoinMarch 18, 2009 at 7:35 AM

    Thanks for visiting my blog from SITS. All I can say is WOW!!! your blog is amazing! I'll be here for hours checking out all the great posts ya'll have!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Synergy GirlMarch 18, 2009 at 9:14 AM

    What a fun idea!! SOOOO creative!

    ReplyDelete
  24. NYCrochetMarch 18, 2009 at 2:35 PM

    Your son must feel so special and loved to have you immortalize his work that way. I still remember how proud I was when my mom framed one of my childhood drawings!

    ReplyDelete
  25. SharleneMarch 18, 2009 at 5:23 PM

    Totally awesome idea!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Katie BuskenMarch 18, 2009 at 8:33 PM

    This could make a super cute quilt!I'm excited to try it out.

    ReplyDelete
  27. auroraMarch 18, 2009 at 9:45 PM

    Love, love, love this idea! Thank you for sharing. I put a link over on my blog-- more people need to see this. Yay!
    PS- love your blog. My blog wants to be like your blog when she grows up. :D

    ReplyDelete
  28. meMarch 19, 2009 at 6:16 AM

    ooooooooooh! i love it.

    what a great idea. i'll do squares and a nice quilt.

    and give these out for momma-daddy day for the g-parents.

    thank you!!

    ReplyDelete
  29. AnonymousMarch 19, 2009 at 8:44 AM

    This is SO cool. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  30. AnonymousMarch 19, 2009 at 2:46 PM

    Awesome! What a treasure you have created!

    I did something similar years ago and then made the artwork into little wall quilts. Here is the link:

    http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/jaminacema/197328/

    ReplyDelete
  31. Dawn Parsons SmithMarch 20, 2009 at 9:41 AM

    LOVE THIS IDEA!

    ReplyDelete
  32. Amber FilkinsMarch 20, 2009 at 3:08 PM

    GREAT idea!! Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  33. My Trendy TykesMarch 21, 2009 at 5:48 PM

    girl, you are killing me! Stop being so darn creative.....You make the rest of us look bad. (snicker)

    Love this idea! I am going to try it.

    Linda

    ReplyDelete
  34. LBBlumMarch 23, 2009 at 11:21 AM

    My grandmother actually did this for us ( my siblings) when I was growing up.. as soon as we could write our alphabet... we would write it all out- and mail it to her...then she embroidered it and framed it for us and mailed it back.
    I still treasure it... she died when I was only 5 years old.. so it is a touching memory I have of a grandmother who I didn't see very often.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Nancy FaceMarch 25, 2009 at 5:49 AM

    OH MY GOODNESS! Thank you so much for this! I never in my life would have thought of such an awesome idea! My kids are all older now, but I've saved some of their special pictures they've made...and I even like doing needlework! :)

    By the way, Aurora from Sunny Side Up sent me over! :)

    ReplyDelete
  36. Tracy ~Seeking Refinement~March 26, 2009 at 8:55 PM

    i am SO in love with this idea - it is FABULESS! My goal will be to do this for the grandparents at Christmas...YAY! :)

    ReplyDelete
  37. BonnieApril 8, 2009 at 2:35 AM

    Just popped over from Sandra's blog. This is such a cute idea !

    ReplyDelete
  38. Allie ZApril 8, 2009 at 7:38 AM

    Just stopping by from familycorner.blogspot.com!

    Question on this... Why not use a back light on the child's drawing to ensure the image transferred is the same? I would have a tough time looking at the work on the wall, knowing it was reversed! :)

    Great blog!

    ~Allie

    ReplyDelete
  39. HmLNovember 18, 2009 at 2:26 PM

    Hey there! I just lved this idea! My daughter is now 3 years old and I was wondering how to make her draws stay forever... And it's also a great idea for a gift.
    Thank's for shearing it...

    ReplyDelete
  40. Shopper GalJune 21, 2010 at 6:52 AM

    What a brilliant idea!! That's precious! :)

    http://www.shoppergal.com/

    ReplyDelete
  41. JennaBMarch 6, 2011 at 11:59 AM

    LOVE THIS! i'm new to your blog, so i'm glad i found this while browsing your top tutorials! now i know what g'ma's getting for mothers day! =D

    ReplyDelete
  42. UnknownJuly 27, 2011 at 9:54 AM

    I have the perfect drawing for this! I would have never thought of doing this. Thank you for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  43. AnonymousOctober 15, 2011 at 9:45 AM

    Another idea, put them on a Tshirt http://www.etsy.com/listing/68045007/personalized-tshirt-wear-your-child

    ReplyDelete