Last week my brother and his wife Ali came to visit us (well, mainly Clara, haha). They live up in NYC where John & I met and fell in love, so it’s always a treat to have them in our neck of the woods and it was actually their first time seeing our new house. Since it was almost exactly their one year wedding anniversary I thought I should DIY something sweet, and since I was an accidental kleptomaniac at their wedding (where John’s long arm snapped the pic below), I knew at least one material that I’d be using: a pilfered napkin.
Wait, let me explain. I had a three month old daughter who pretty much wanted to nurse the entire time. And somehow amid feedings and meeting & greetings a napkin from the table migrated into my purse/diaper bag. It probably got caught up in a blanket or was somehow mistaken for a bib. Total mystery. But the end result is that I accidentally took a cloth napkin from my brother’s wedding reception. And I’m the weirdo who actually called the venue to tell them what happened and offered to mail it back to them, to which the sweet man laughed and told me to that shipping it would be far more than it’s worth and to “consider it a gift.” So I did. And it sat in our full-of-junk-that-we-need-to-do-something-about playroom until Dan and Ali’s impending visit. At which point I said “ooh, I’ll use the stolen wedding napkin to make them an anniversary gift!”
John and I brainstormed all sorts of options for using it (making a fabric mat to display a framed photo from their wedding, dying it and cutting it down to make little fabric coasters, formally monogramming it and starching it to the bottom of a serving tray, etc). But for some reason the idea of needlepoint kept popping into my head. I knew I didn’t trust myself to actually needlepoint it (maybe someday, but with their visit fast approaching and lots of desk/office projects going on, I decided I’d rather “cheat”). And I actually liked the slightly off-kilter idea of hand-drawing a needlepoint inspired design right onto the napkin and then framing that. So first I trolled Pinterest and Google for needlepoint inspiration (most of which was far too advanced for a fake-needlepoint project like mine) and sketched out a few possibilities on graph paper.
Update: I just learned that needlepoint is the wrong word and I actually mean “cross-stitch” – so pretend I’m saying cross-stitch everywhere that I use the word needlpoint below.
John and I decided that this little drawing on the right was our favorite.
I worried how it would transfer onto the napkin (would it bleed? would it run? would it just look terrible and drawn on?), but luckily the Ikea frame that I had on hand (thanks to this Ikea run where we stockpiled a few for random projects like this) had a 5 x 7 ” opening, which meant that I could cut my stolen napkin into fourths so I’d have the option for three do-overs. There was definitely comfort in the fact that the first, second, and third attempt could fail and I’d still have one more shot. I figured the best method of transfer would just be to lay the cloth napkin over the card stock sketch and see if the design was visible (aka: traceable) through the fabric. And it was. Booyah.
Incidentally, if it wasn’t sheer enough I planned to tape the napkin and paper up to a window so the sun would shine through and make it easier to see, but I was glad to skip that step.
Then I just used a fine pointed marker to trace my little faux-needlepoint Xs all around the heart and the arrow and just freehanded the little dashed letters from the original design. Since I’m a detailed-oriented gal, I’ll take a moment to mention that the specific fine pointed marker that I used was a LePen (purchased on sale at Michael’s a few months back in teal because I loved it and couldn’t resist). Did the marker bleed? Yes. Was it slight? Yes. Did I like it? Surprisingly, yes. But it took me a second to realize that.
Since I had four shots at this (thanks to cutting my napkin into fourths), I tried my Le Pen first. And I wasn’t sure I liked how not-super-crisp the slight bleed made things. So then I tried tracing the same design onto a second fourth of the napkin with a ballpoint pen (which didn’t bleed at all). I did it in blue, and black, and even used a red Pilot rolling-ball pen too, just to exhaust a bunch of options.
I learned that I actually didn’t like the sharp lines as much as the softer and more charming slightly blurred lines from the Le Pen. For some reason it just looked more homemade and sweet and sort of timeworn and imperfect – as opposed to sharp and doodled with a pen. Does that make sense?
So I popped my favorite first attempt into my already-on-hand Ikea frame.
Here it is hanging on our frame wall so you can get a feel for how it might look when hung with a few other things at Dan & Ali’s place:
It’s kinda plain-jane on its own, but it’s a nice little frame for a grouping since it plays so well with other busier things.
Total spent: $0. But if you count the original cost of the frame, the price of a Le Pen marker, and a scrap of fabric/cloth napkin (if you don’t accidentally steal one like my frazzled-mom self) this project might be around twelve bucks or so. And when it came to time spent, maybe it took me half an hour from start to finish? Unless my brother Dan is reading this, in which case it was $100 and took me five grueling days to complete.
Speaking of the one-year-anniversary lovebirds, Dan and Ali seemed to be genuinely charmed by it, so… score. I think they especially loved that it was a stolen napkin from their venue (which was hilarious/meaningful), so perhaps using something special like a swatch from a wedding table runner (or even a non-fabric item like a paper menu or seating card?) could help you create something sort of handmade and personal to commemorate someone’s big day in a new way?
So there’s the story of a napkin that I accidentally stole, kept around for a full year, and then hunted down in our crazy playroom full o’ junk. Please tell me I’m not the only one who has inadvertently taken something that wasn’t theirs. And that I’m not the only one to have a giant mountain of odds & ends that desperately need to be sorted/garage saled/repurposed/donated. Oh well, at least I was actually able to locate the napkin without calling in a search crew. That means the playroom can’t be too bad, right? Right?
Wrong. It’s bad.
What have you sketched/framed lately? Any other accidental kleptomaniac stories? Feel free to make me feel less alone in my little napkin-caper incident.
Psst- After many requests we’re spilling the beans about our approach to feeding Clara over on BabyCenter. With our doc’s blessing, we tried a method called Baby Led Weaning which meant no purees and no babyfood (instead she got the same healthy foods that we were eating, tweaked so she could safely eat them right along with us). More on the whole shebang here.
super cute!!!
(And it looks like you forgot the BabyCenter link.)
Oops, off to fix that.
xo,
s
I live in Orlando, and am buying a house so I’ve been doing a lot of used furniture shopping.
I came across a bunch of vintage post cards from my home town, near Hamilton Township NJ.
Some have once been mailed, and one is even dated 1911.. Can’t wait to frame those & hang them in the new house :)
That sounds like a wonderful, and interesting art project! Good luck, and I would love to see the finished project.
the baby center link is non-existent. i’m very interested to read your experience with BLW cuz that’s what we’re just starting!
cool idea with the napkin! needlework is definitely a cherished keepsake in our house!
Thanks for the tip – off to fix that link!
xo,
s
Nice gift! Personalizing is always a nice touch. As far as accidentally stealing things goes… I’ve gotten home more than once with something in my coat pocket I forgot to put back! It’s fine as long as it’s not on purpose, right?
So cute!
What a cute idea!
By the way, your Baby Center link doesn’t seem to be a link at all :)
Thanks!
xo,
s
There’s no link for the Baby Center blog! :)
PS> I LOVE this idea! I might have to steal it.
Sorry- I think I have it fixed now. Thanks for the heads up!
xo,
s
I had two junior brides mades and a flower girl and ring girl at my wedding. This was to include my 2 nieces and my husbands. My nieces had a house fire shortly after our wedding and lost the dresses from our wedding and many other mementos. I worked with my husband’s growing nieces to put together a shadow box for each of my nieces. My oldest nieces had a background made from fabric of the dress that had been cropped by my husbands oldest niece to make it tee length for another wedding. My youngest niece had one shoe and one glove from the pair that my husbands youngest niece wore. Each had a picture with me and them on the special day. They love them!
That’s cute!
xo,
s
HI YHL,
I think you forgot to include the link to baby center or is not working.
Have a great day!!!
PS. I love your blog.
All fixed now! Thanks for the heads up!
xo,
s
That is a cute little project. When my son was younger, we placed his infant car seat in the large part of shopping carts. Well, at one Target trip we piled stuff around him and put everything on the belt to pay. When we put him in the car, I saw we had accidentally stolen one of their dollar items. Oops. You’re not the only one.
I once accidentally stole a self-inking stamp that said “PAID” on it from this cute stamp shop in Bloomsbury (I’d already put my little paper bag of stuff in my handbag, then picked it up in a little paper bag after paying). I held on to it for six months until I next had a conference in the area and took it back in, like “hi, I accidentally took this home with me six months ago”…. they were a bit “um… ok…” it was really awkward. I should have just kept it or mailed it back!
This art is super sweet. I love those fake needle points that people do on the wall, but don’t have the patience for it myself. I did frame a fabric tote bag that came free from my favourite literary festival. Those RIBBA frames you have over the sofa are the perfect size. http://annabelvita.com/how-to-turn-a-shopping-bag-into-a-nifty-piece
Cute! I love the idea of framing a printed tote!
xo,
s
Nice gift! My klepto story makes me feel worse. I was at target with husband, two-year-old, and one-month-old (or maybe he was even younger). My husband had been off getting other things while I was in the diaper aisle and I put two big boxes of diapers on the shelf under the cart. When we were in line, I went to the bathroom and he paid. But with all the other stuff in the cart, and the two kids (one rowdy, one screaming), he didn’t notice the diapers under neath. We got out to the car and were unloading the stuff and he said, “where’d those diapers come from? I didn’t pay for those.” We debated going back in to pay, but the baby was still very upset (had to get home and nurse) and it was five in the evening–the Target was crazy with afterwork shoppers. I said I’ll go back tomorrow and tell them what happened. But I never did…. it makes me feel pretty guilty to this day (baby’s now about 16 months… incidentally his birthday is just the day after Clara’s)
What a cute post/great idea!
I was trolling through a bookstore last weekend and saw this book. It’s a very entertaining “puzzle” sort of book all about the number 7 and made me think of you two.
http://www.amazon.com/7-David-M-Eastis/dp/1440506523
PS thanks for being my shot of cheer every weekday!
OOh that looks awesome! Love it.
xo,
s
I too am the kind of person who would call the venue to apologize. I’m also the kind of person who apologizes profusely when I arrive at an appointment 5 minutes late, even if it’s at a doctor’s office where I usually wait for 30 minutes anyway. I’m just laden with guilt, I guess. Actually, I have a memory of walking off (not so accidentally) with a family friend’s calculator in the early ’80s, after a visit at their house. I was around 5 or 6 I think, and was apparently smitten with said calculator. No idea why. Since I haven’t seen them in years and years, I haven’t bothered to contact them to apologize. Because that would just be weird.
The framing makes such a gorgeous difference – I love it. Needlepoint of that sort doesn’t take long though – go for it! It’s far easier than most sewing!
I always put my need-to-add-a-link “LINK” notations in brackets. (Yours at the end still says “LINK.”)
Sorry, all fixed!
xo,
s
…and fixed. : )
I would like to let you know that your playroom looks pretty much like my bedroom… Except mine is clothes and magazines and other teenager stuff. I’m using the excuse that I’m about
to start my freshman year of college, but I’m just lazy :P
What a cute idea! :) And so funny about stealing the napkin!
Thanks to pinterest, every wedding I’ve been to this summer has had a homemade wedding gift! :)
Really cute and very creative. I tried REAL cross-stitch and I don’t have the patience for it, so I really like this idea! Thanks so much!
What a sweet idea! Simple/sentimental gifts are the best!
Nope, never accidentally stole something – I’ve come close though! My wedding venue kept my cake topper and wouldn’t give it back. I should have taken something from them! Haha!
What??? How mean! I think you need to stage a coup and take it back! Haha.
xo
s
I cross-stitched a gray colored key and framed it. Haven’t cross-stitched in years (my grandmother taught me how). My good friend wanted to make something one night, so we headed to Hobby Lobby and decided to pick cross-stitch materials!
It felt really good to make something again. It was very relaxing and therapeutic! ha!
I’m at work, so I can’t add a picture. Oh well! (Yes, I’m reading your blog while at work…) *guilty* ;-)
Idea Me!
Our mail is always every where instead of just in one place. Plus, we have a very long and slender foyer with no room for a table to catch all our stuff as we come through the door. So I had a shadow box that I had previously broken the glass by accident and decided to turn it into a mail holder. I used wire across the bottom 4″ of it to keep the mail from falling out and craft paper to decorate the inside. At the top I used rub off letters to say “mail”. Then I hung it on the wall in the foyer. It doesn’t take up any floor space and it keeps all our mail off the kitchen table, counter tops, sofa, etc.
Super Cute and Very Creative. I tried doing cross-stitch a while ag0, and I just don’t have the patience for it. Thanks so much!
What a sweet gift! Did you give them the other four “attempts” so they could maybe frame them later and make a set of them? I love it – super fun and personal!
Nah, I tossed the other three and just framed and presented the best one. I’m a ruthless editor. Haha.
xo,
s
I haven’t accidentally taken anything that I can think of at the moment, but I know I have left book stores with “extra” books in my children’s stroller before. This was when they were much younger (under 2,) I returned the books, and laughed it off to “well at least they are stealing educational tools.” Nothing like your kids to make you feel like a kleptomaniac, or if you accidentally take something again just blame the baby, that’s what we have them for. LOL
By the way, love the gray in the office, I agree another bright color would have been too much, but I am in LOVE with the stencil and I want to see what it looks like with the little bit of yellow. If you decide not to use it please photo and post it, I need to see it on the wall, yup I’m that visual.
Of course! You know we don’t do a thing to our house without sharing it – usually with a ton of words and a million photos. Haha. We’re chronic over-sharers.
xo,
s
Oops! meant that comment for the Creative Ideas post. Sorry!
No worries!
xo,
s
Cute project! Homemade gifts are the best!
I bought a pair of silver gladiator sandals at a store. When I came home I discovered there was one right shoe and two left shoes in the box!!
I accidentally stole half a pair of shoes. :(
Haha, that’s a funny one!
xo,
s
Love it! You guys have inspired me. I just bought my first few white frames for a younghouselove-esque gallery…
http://www.amandadovewells.com/?page_id=45
Aw, have fun!
xo,
s
psst – love your post (as always), but what you are describing is cross-stitch, not needlepoint. needlepoint is typically done with diagonal stitches in one direction only on a particular kind of open mesh fabric. just thought you’d want to know!
Thanks!!! Haha, I had no idea! I’ll have to add an update to the post!
xo,
s
On another note, I thought I might actually be the first person to comment this morning, I guess next time I will have to just write three words and submit quicker. One of these days….
So I weirdly decided recently that my next crafty thing to do would be to learn how to needlepoint. Why? I have no clue. Never done it. Not typically my style.
But it can be pretty awesome, like so: http://www.acmelosangeles.com/exhibitions/2010-5-lisa-borgnes/
I really like that idea!! Have you ever heard of a light box? I have begged my hubby to make me one! ;-) He will, someday. LOL
OK LOVE LOVE LOVE that you showed your playroom. I am in the process of cleaning, organizing, painting, new carpet, my sewing room. So excited!!! Thanks to you guys, it will have walls painted MOONSHINE! ;-D
Oh yes, I loved the light box in art class back in high school!
xo,
s
So cute! I would love to receive something like that next August for our first anniversary!
During high school, I was shopping at Aeropostale for cheap camis and somehow walked up to the register, paid, walked out, and got home, all without realizing there was an extra white tank top that still had detector sensor on it. I wracked my brain for a long time trying to figure out how the heck I got it home and whether I had paid for it (I must not have had the receipt). I’m not sure if I had paid for it and they didn’t take the sensor off or if I somehow walked out with it without knowing. It still bothers me to this day because I would never purposefully steal something! I’m kind of glad to know I’m not the only one who has done it accidentally!
What a sweet and thoughtful idea – lucky bro & SiL. Your junkroom looks like my lounge room – crates full of work stuff from when I went on maternity leave/ part time work 20 months ago. Quite shameful really :(
I like to look at your junk room. It makes me feel so much better. I got inspired by your big framed letter “P”. So I made one for each of my boys for their newly painted bathroom. I surrounded their initial with words that I thought described each of them in different fonts and framed them in a pair of matching frames I already had. $0!
Do y’all have an idea yet of whether Clara will be right or left-handed? I thought it was interesting to see her “dexterity” with both in the babycenter video.
No idea! They say around 2 years you might start seeing a preference, but these days it’s definitely an either-one thing.
xo,
s
Cute! Thanks for the little crafty post. I miss these when you two get going on bigger projects. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE the big stuff (and God knows I have TONNES of big stuff to do around my place), but a little craft now and then is sweet and I can squeeze one in and feel like I accomplished something. Thanks guys!
I accidentally stole a fork from our wedding! We had it at our house, so the night of I was putting some of our dishes into the dishwasher before bed, and the next day when unloading the dishwasher I realized I put one of the rental forks in with the load. I wasn’t as nice as you, didn’t bother calling them, haha… I just put it in a box with all my other wedding things!
Too funny, the same thing happened at my wedding. My sister or her daughter ended up taking a napkin home with them. The venue said the same thing, consider it a gift.
i recently framed a “hidden treasure” we found while demo-ing our old kitchen… you can check out the details on that project at http://alanna-wendt-to-tennessee.blogspot.com/2011/08/hidden-treasure.html
what better way to celebrate our home than to display this piece of its history in our almost finished, newly renovated kitchen… you can check out some before and 95% done after pics of the kitchen at http://alanna-wendt-to-tennessee.blogspot.com/2011/09/kitchen-renovation-update.html
enjoy!
Love it!
xo
s
Love your faux cross stitch.
One day we went out to eat and my 3 old daughter insists to bring any leftovers from her plate home, however small amount it is. She had french fries left and I put them in the box and came home. The box felt very heavy but didn’t think of looking into it and after we came home we found out that we had the restaurant’s sliver ware in the box. My husband laughed at me that I stole them. I felt very embarrassed. Later we returned them to the restaurant.
In case no one has mentioned it, with a bit of spray-mount, or a ton of double sided tape, you can run fabric through your printer. Just attach it to some paper first, and then send it through, trimmed to fit the printer of course. I do this to transfer actual embroidery patterns from Illustrator, and the ink washes out with a spin in the washer!
Woah- that’s amazing!
xo,
s
You can also iron freezer paper onto the back of the fabric to do the same thing, it works really well!
However, my printer ink has never washed out, so you might not want to count on that unless you’ve done a test first.
My kelpto story: My boyfriends and I were shopping
(at a low price clothing store for young people) and he was trying on sunglasses. He slipped them onto his shirt collar while we browsed a little more. We left without any purchases, but the sunglasses had tagged along with us. Oops! Those glasses became his new favorites, though!
This is such a sweet idea! I used to do needlepoint, but haven’t done it in so long I think I’d be pretty rusty now. I’m not very skilled in the physically creative arts!
I think what I like about this project is that it is so simple and also a bit modern – like so much of what you guys do, it’s old meets new :-) Gorgeous!
What a cute idea! It turned out great!
My grandma accidentally stole a Christmas tree from Home Depot years ago! She thought my aunt had paid for it and my aunt thought she had paid for it, and days later when they figured it all out she was horrified and quickly went back to Home Depot to explain and pay. I think the Home Depot employees thought it was all pretty funny.
That’s hilarious!
xo,
s
We just moved 4 months ago and our exercise room downstairs looks exactly like your playroom. The staging zone for all those items that aren’t ready to go up in the house yet. Every time I look at it I get anxiety, so I just keep the door closed. :)
We once went through the check out at home depot with 10 bags of mulch. Didn’t realize until we got home that they only scanned 1 bag…guilt-o-meter went through the roof!
Next project: Get John to build you a climate controlled shed for all that storage! Because I really can’t wait to see you guys make a play room!!