Beebaw

Here is the finished mascot. From a 11 year olds imagination to a physical mascot.

I was really pleased how he turned out and how much he resembled the drawing. I even made him a mini sporran from felt, I thought the little tassels looked like thistles.

Anyway, he was really fun to make and pushed my creativity to the next level to thank you for allowing me to do this for our wee school.

I hope he brings lots and lots of luck to all the competitions he will attend and bring confidence to all the children.

and finally, well done and thank you to all the children, I hope you like to see how a drawing can be brought to life.

On this one, the body shape was a little off, his hips were too narrow. I also attached the kilt to the bottom of his body, and it threw the proportions off. This guy is 13" tall.

Changes made were:
move kilt further up the body and find a way to attach prior to stuffing
make body longer to accommodate the kilt moving up
make hips wider
make legs a little longer and wider
find a solution to attach eyes, making sure they are still prominent on the face.

right lets just go for it and make a big one.

The first one I made was from scrap fabric, just so I could get the general shape right. This guy is small, he is around 11" head to toe. I just used an off cut of the kilt to get an idea of how I would attach it as I did not want it getting lost or being ripped off by accident. So that was a work in progress.

the general shape and proportions were ok, so I thought I would make a mini one from the purple fur and see how it looks........

So this little guy won the competition. I then had so source some fabric that suited his fluffy fur, as I didn't seem to have anything made from purple fur!!
I used a school skirt that was too small for my daughter as his little kilt, since this is in the school tartan. I used a purple velvet for his hands, so the detail didn't get lost in all the fur. I found some old cords in my "keep these clothes for the fabric" box, for his socks and some black denims for his shoes.

I tried to reuse as many items of clothing as I could for this one. He took a bit of development as wanted him to be a bit cuddly.

and I will share the progress with you now......

So, I ran a little competition at my daughters school before the holidays to raise some money for the school. Basically, I wanted the kids to design the new school mascot. Then......... I would make the winning design and the school would have a mascot to take to various school events / competitions.

I will share here the journey of these designs. I stipulated that it had to feature the school colours and here are the top few designs. There were all agreed as the best suited to make into a softie by 2 Grannies, a Papa, any Auntie, a Dad and a Mum.

All very imaginative and exciting to think about making.

last but not least, one of my favourite patterns is the monster. He looks so different with every make.
When I first started this project I had a bag of 30+ gorgeous garments to choose from. But, as soon as I saw the zebra prints, I knew exactly what I was going to do with it.

I also wanted to have a pop of red and I feel that ties the whole thing together. He is a pretty funky guy and I smile every time I look at him.

Hope he makes you smile today!!

This one was a little tricky, due to the size of the pattern pieces, it made sense to create my own fabric from the garments. so all were cut into 3" squares to create this patchwork Elephant.

I love the splash of red, and how you can see snippets of all the garment from every side.

This wee keepsake turned out to be a cheeky little money. I used as many items as I could, taking the print of Winnie the Pooh for his tummy.

Very dangly and cuddly.

Finally back to work properly.

Working on some School Leaver Keepsakes this week. All patchwork bears.

Can't wait to get started

When I get a bundle of precious clothing for baby's keepsakes I usually get a gut feeling on how to group the items. I can see where these garments will be used and a rough image in my head on the finished keepsake.

Every keepsake is unique as I do not have the same item of clothing twice. Some of them might not make it into the final design but I try to incorporate as many items as possible without affecting the overall design and final look.

There are so many factors: weight of fabric, texture, size of print, colour to name a few. But somehow my crazy mind can visualise the design.

Anyway, watch this space for the finished keepsakes, what keepsakes do you think they will be?

Created another personalised hanging heart keepsake from a shirt and denims.

Created some personalised hanging hearts from the football top. These can be used around the house all year round or for your Christmas Tree at that special time of year.

The next quilt is the same size as before (approx 130cm x 160cm). It is backed in navy polar fleece and has a dark blue binding. I have used the same hint of the football scarf all the way round and this ties the 2 quilts together.

This quilt was slightly different as I was asked to incorporate some handwriting and a drawing created by a very special wee boy. These were carefully recreated and printed on vinyl on to the quilt.

Again, this quilt was mainly made from shirts and one pair of denims. I hope I have represented the clothing well.

thanks again

As I mentioned before, these quilts are quite big (approx 130cm x 160cm), and it is difficult to photograph and really capture them. I hope this gives you a good idea of the finished item. It is backed in a polar fleece with black binding.

I have used the black denims as the surrounding stripe and I used the football scarf inside this, just a wee hint of it. All the square are created from shirts or the black denims and one jersey t-shirt

I was so chuffed to make these quilts, I know they will be treasured and I hope they bring some comfort.

It is heartbreaking when our loved ones are taken from us, but I have to say I am in awe of the person who is an inspiration. No words will make it any easier but I hope you can cosy up and feel comforted with your keepsake.
I am so honoured you chose me to create some keepsakes from your precious clothing and hope you love the final result.

These are a selection of clothing provided, I can wait to share what I made.

The Second Bear Keepsake was made from brushed cotton PJS. He just looks so smart.

The first of the 2 Keepsake Bears is the navy PJS. I think he is an inquisitive wee fella.

Here is a little look at the handwriting and the garments prior to the finished keepsake bears.

I process the handwriting on the PC and cut it out of vinyl, it is then heat-pressed on to the foot. There was 2 options for the feet as was maybe going to use a scarf, but decided on the co-ordinating garments.

To ensure the balance is right I can place the unstuffed body pieces together which gives a good idea of the finished look.

A cheeky wee chap, using trousers and joggers for the lower body and legs and the fleece for the upper body and jumper for the head. I used the polo shirt for the feet / paws and ears.

Recreated some handwriting for the paws with a personal message from Mum.

Using the tie as the feet, instead of a mini tie, its a great way to incorporate it into the design.

This little one is created from a summer dress, cardie, shirt and tie. She is so pretty and I know will be treasured for years to come.

I love using original features on the garments. This wee bow was on the summer outfit and just had to be included. The mini tie is removable so you can have it with or without.

I can't tell you how much I love this pattern, it is such a joy to make these Traditional Style Bears. Who would have thought, this was a pile of clothes just a few hours before.

This gorgeous keepsake was made to help raise money for a local school. To make the head look a little different to the other areas I used the grey jersey sweatshirt, I used the reverse side of the garment for his head to give the illusion of fluffy and cuddly.

I hope he managed to raise a bit of money for the school. I love making these fun bears.

It is School Leaver Bear Season, here are a few I have made recently.

All made from School Uniforms, from polo shirts, summer dresses, cardigans or jumpers, shirts, skirts or trousers and ties.

All have slightly different characters and personalities. If you are interested please just send me a message and I will give you more details. I am currently taking orders for September / October time and have a couple Leaver Bears pencilled in for 2025.

HAPPY SUMMER HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!
I just wish the weather could be better. Just a quick note to say I will be off for a couple of weeks and will to respond to any messages or enquiries when I return.

I have lots to share with you all and look forward to doing so in a couple of weeks.

My availability is mid September onwards at the moment, so if you are looking for a Christmas Keepsake, please let me know

Wishing you all a relaxed and fun summer.

Beth x

Quilts are the hardest thing to photograph as I don't have a space that suits to take a straight photo, they always look a little squint. That is due to the fact I am balancing on my tip-toes, leaning as far as I can with a camera tripod in my hand.

Anyway, I hope may awful photography doesn't take away from the quality of the quilt. Using 40+ baby clothes and a personalised message from Grandparents, the quilt was created. I can also print some personal details onto some of the plain garments. Like, full name, date of birth, weight etc.

Anyway, you have seen some videos of me getting this quilt ready, here is the finished result.

Hope you are pleases with the final keepsake.

Here they both are together. Even though they are made from the same pattern and mostly the same garments there are slight differences. This is largely down to the wear of the garment, how many times it has been washed and what area of the garment used. IE the sleeve of the sweatshirt: used for both the faces are slightly different. Mostly due to the wear the elbow area gets in a sleeve.

Using a different Jumper, shirt and polo but the same tie and sweatshirt sleeve, his buddy was created. I like to try and emulate as much as the original garment as possible: using the cuff for the bottom of the jumper and sleeves in the bear. It is sometimes tricky to do this as the cuff is much tighter than the weave of the knitted jumper, itself, but I think it is really effective.

Using a mixture of a cotton shirt, knitted jumper, polo shirt, tie and the sleeve of a sweatshirt this wee guy was created.

His wee paws are personalised with a signature.

The next keepsakes celebrate the life of a wonderful Dad and Husband. I had the pleasure of seeing some beautiful photos of him wearing some of these items of clothing.