My Daughter's Dream

This is what I made my DD Natalie for Mother's Day!
She LOVES orange, too!

Some of you may remember that my daughter is an aspiring author. She is very close to her dream. So close she can almost catch it in her hands. The thing that has kept her going is this thought by Thoreau,

"Go Confidently in the Direction of your Dreams."

It inspires her to keep going with all of the ups and downs during the querying process. Writing is not for the faint of heart. It takes a lot of time, courage, thick skin, patience, confidence in yourself, and a lot of diligence. She's been writing and drawing since she was in kindergarten and she has many magical worlds that exist in her head. It's been a privilege as her mother to read some of the stories that she's put down on paper. She wrote several books last year and is currently doing revisions on one of the hot ones.

I'm proud of Natalie and want her to know I'm in awe of her dedication to her craft. She will make it no matter how long it takes. She loves it that much. It reminds me of the time when she was five years old. I was doing a lot of tole painting at that time and she came up to me and asked,

"Mom, how come you can draw better than me?"

Her question took me off guard and I had to think about it.

I remember asking her, "How long do you think Mom has been drawing?"

She responded, "A long time?"

Yes, I've been drawing for a very long time, probably something like 20 years or more."

Then I asked her, "How long have you been drawing?"

She replied, "Just a few years."

So, I continued to explain that I'd been drawing for a really long time and so I should be better, because I'd been practicing for a VERY long time and that I loved to draw and create. I then encouraged her by saying "Natalie, if you want to be a great artist then you need to dedicate yourself to learning how to draw and then practice, practice, practice."

For many many years Natalie carried around a sketch book everywhere she went. She was rarely without one. Infact, she filled 12 books with over a 100 pages each. She was also the Studentbody Artist along with another Artist. They did all the artwork and posters for School Events throughout the year. She also did the sets for many of the plays they had over the years she was there.

Natalie, majored in English Language at BYU and worked part-time at Eagle's Eye Magazine for the entire time she was in college. She loved the creative process of putting together their magazine. She did writing, photography, layout, and served as Editor. She is greatly missed on their staff and is often asked back as a consultant.

I put this picture on the back of the frame as a memory.

Here you can see the detail on the decorative quilting.

Notice the decorative stitching sewn on the white paper.

Instructions to Make your Own Keepsake Frame:

• You will need an 8" X 10" Keepsake Frame that I bought at my local craft store (Roberts).
  
• Then I made a miniature quilt to showcase the pewter heart that I found at my local Hallmark Store (I was lucky to get the last one).
• The white center piece is cut at 4" x 5" (white sandcastle).
  
• I made the quilt using a variation of orange fabric. You will need 40 squares cut at 1 1/4" x 1 1/4" the squares will finish at 3/4" when sewn on all sides.
  
• Sew 6 squares together for each side.
  
• Sew the sewn squares to one side of the white center.
• Repeat for opposite side.
  
• Sew 14 squares together to make two rows of 7 squares for the top of the white center.
• Sew the two rows to the top of the white center.
• Repeat for the bottom section.
• Make the quilt sandwich with batting and fabric for the back of the quilt.
• Use decorative stitches to quilt your miniature quilt.
• Attach a narrow binding to the quilt. I cut the binding at 1 1/4" in width and did a single fold to keep it from being so thick.
• Center your finished quilt on a piece of paper that you trim down to 8" x 10"
• Trace a light pencil line around the quilt then put quilt aside.
  
• Sew a decorative stitch on a piece of white BAZZILL paper to frame the quilt (see pics).
  
• Using double stick tape I taped the sewn paper to the cardboard insert found in the frame.
  
• Using a long stitch sew in the ditch along the binding to attach the quilt to the paper and the cardboard insert.
• Position and sew the ribbon to the quilt and cardboard.
  
• Tie the pewter heart to the quilt and put it in the frame.
• You are now done with your quilted keepsake!