A Christmas Garland of Warm Memories

For me it's here!!  Not just Autumn, or Thanksgiving...  The WHOLE HOLIDAY SEASON!  I love it and I try to savor it for as long as possible!!  My decorations go up as early as I have energy for!!  and usually come down when the bright rebirth of Easter starts to send it's sunny rays through the house!

Of course I was excited when I was asked to make a garland out of some very special mittens a mother knit with love. Now that the child who received them was grown she didn't have need of the mittens but did not want to get rid of them, nor store them in a box where they couldn't be appreciated.  So the idea of the memory garland was born!

Reverse side of the Garland

    The words Warm Memories are a part of the garland, along with some fun charms, jingle bells and sparkly snowflakes.  It was then that I thought of the scrapbook idea of adding little frames for photos depicting some of the warm memories.  Since actual frames turned out to be difficult to come by, and the tiny frames I did have were quite heavy, I decided to make my own with silvery papers and large die-cuts.  I also plan to experiment with light weight medium in silicone molds!! (Stay Tuned!)

Instead of glue, I simply sewed everything to the mittens & strung them to sturdy jute cord.  This way the mittens were not damaged and can actually be used as mittens again should the desire ever arise!  Cloths pins were added to make it appear as if the mittens were actually attached to the cord with them.  I wanted the word "MEMORIES" to dangle like charms.  To make them sturdy I tripled the cardstock for each letter and then put small jump rings through the letters so they were able to move freely after I attached them to the end of several mittens!!

I finished the back of the garland and put my "Hi!" Notes Label on a snowflake!  Since the garland could be used in a window both sides are great to look at!!