Does anyone reading this ever cross stitch? I know that's usually thought of as a "grandmotherly" activity, but I used to love doing it when I was little. I'd sit and watch tv while stitching whatever sampler my Mom had set up for me to work on.
Anyway, whether you've ever done it before or not, I have a book to show you that might make you want to brush up on your skills (or learn how to do it!). It's called Do-It-Yourself Stitch People by Elizabeth Dabczynski-Bean. I discovered it on Instagram around the first of December and showed it to my Mom and we both agreed we had to order it. We found it on Amazon for $49.
So the book is filled with tons and tons of different bodies and faces and clothes and hairstyles and you pick and choose which ones together to create a cross-stitched portrait. I told my Mom she needed to do each of her kids' families and give them to us for Christmas and sure enough, she did! Here is how she stitched our family of six. I had to really zoom in to avoid the glare of the frame. I love that KW and Thomas are in matching gingham and that she included Lolli!
While Mom was busy stitching all of us, I borrowed the book and made patterns of two of my friends and their families to stitch as their Christmas gifts. When we got together to celebrate the holiday with them, I had only finished stitching the Cooks! I scribbled out a stand-in for the Earls since I didn't have it ready yet.
But I did end up getting the Earls done and I added their cat, Sophie. I love how she turned out!
While making these, I stalked all their pictures on Instagram trying to determine the correct shades of hair and eyes. I tried to make their outfits match something they actually owned too.
As a surprise, I stitched out my Mom and Dad with their dog, Charlie, to give to them for Christmas. She had no idea she was going to get to unwrap a stitched portrait with the rest of us!
Then, as another surprise, I stitched out Matt's parents too!
It's hard to get good pictures of them because of the glares and reflections from the glass, but they really look so stinking cute framed up and sitting on a shelf. I love passing by ours in the living room, and seeing both of our parents' in their houses too.
There is really no point to this post except to maybe show you this cute craft if you need a good gift idea for someone! If you've never cross-stitched, it's super easy to do and you could order the book and learn. She walks through all the steps in the first few pages of the book.
And since I've done those, I've discovered that she has also put out books for occupations and farm animals. In the book I have she also includes lots of different ways to do wedding dresses - wouldn't a stitched wedding portrait be an awesome gift for newlyweds?! Now I have to think of more people I can stitch out...it's nice to have something to sit on the couch and do at night while watching tv!