A New Kind Of Memory Box

I have an old passport that I cannot give up.  In it are stamps from countries that I had always dreamed of visiting.  A year of working ridiculously long hours earned a huge bonus that allowed my family to take a once in a lifetime cruise from Los Angeles to Australia.  This is the stuff dreams are made of!  The vast Pacific Ocean and stops in Tahiti, Bora Bora, Fiji and New Caledonia, with Australia at the end, is a magical odyssey for two young girls of twelve and sixteen and their parents.  I wanted my daughters to experience it all and I darn well did it!


I was reading a site called  A Brooklyn Limestone In Progress and saw a post about using passport stamps as art.  What she had done to transfer them to wood was great.

I, however, woke up the next day with an idea that suited me better.  I had bought a cube style footstool at HomeSense for $20 some time ago and intended to recover it.  I knew I wanted a simple linen cover with an image applied with the Cirtrasolve technique.  How about passport stamps and the names of some of our stops?

I cut up a couch cover I bought from Surefit to cover an odd shaped couch.  You send the exact measurements of the couch and they send you a cover for it.  The only thing I can say about that is that it sure didn't fit!  


My sister was at our workshop today and offered to help.  These are her hands pinning the fabric, wrong sides in. ~

This is simple sewing, just a few straight seams.  Clip the extra seam allowance off and clip notches at the corners so they don't bunch up. ~

I had scanned and printed my passport on a laser (ink based) printer.  Make sure you invert the images so the letters are backwards. ~

For a tutorial of the Citrasolve fabric transfer technique go to my DIY post Citrasolve Fabric Transfers Or Who Thinks This Stuff Up?

Done~ 

I was so excited about this I didn't take time to wash the cover and remove the Citrasolve residue and the shots are from our workshop.  I'll get to the fancy stuff tomorrow.

Whenever I am in the family room now, I will be reminded of that special time with my (now grown) daughters. ~

Think how this could work for wedding memorabilia, concert tickets and anything else that means a lot to you!

Have a day of happy memories!


Check out this post linked to these great sites The Charm Of Home and Be Different Act Normal!