Katie's Graduation Gift

The thing about playing on a high school sport's team is that each year players graduate.  It's kind of sad, really.  You get to know and like a girl(s) and then they leave.  Not quite right because my daughter stays and gets to know the girls staying that much more.  It gets harder every year.

Anyyywayy, Katie invited Lindsey to her graduation party this year.  Lindsey wanted to give her a gift that was small and something Katie could use in college.  A photo holder.

During the talking phase, the plan was to get some twine and some photo mats.  Put the mats on the twine.  It's portable and small.  Problem - how to adhere the ends to the wall in a dorm without it looking tacky.  We pushed forward.

You've seen those ribbon photo boards, right?  How about something like that?  Lindsey does a little research.  They are at least $30 and rather large.  Lindsey wants something smaller for Katie, but likes the idea.  How about making our own?!

I have a couple of 12" x 12" frames.  I have cork board on a roll.  I have batting.  Grey fabric is purchased.  We don't even need a quarter of a yard.  Then ribbon to match.  We'll figure out what to put over the ribbon crossings afterward.

We use the mat that comes with the frame as our board.  The cork board is rolled out and cut, then stuck down onto the mat.  Batting goes on top of that.  The fabric is ironed and then stapled to the back of the mat.  At first we used the staple gun, but the staples were too long.  We were happily surprised when the regular stapler goes through all of the layers!

Next, the ribbon was laid out on the board.  3" apart (that's my girl!), and taped to the back of the board.  It was later glued with Liquid Glass.  Liquid Glass went behind the ribbon and attached to the fabric.  We needed to cover the intersections...

I have some old grey buttons - being a hoarder sometimes comes in handy!  Of course we don't have enough of the same button to cover the entire area, so Lindsey comes up with a pattern that works.  We find DMC floss that matches well, and then Lindsey sews through the layers to keep the buttons in place.

Everything gets into the frame and is closed up.  Lindsey prints a picture of Katie's dog and of the two girls.  She wraps the gift with love and has a great time at the party.

Katie will be missed next year.  She added much leadership and is a gosh darn good runner.  Much luck at Chico State, Katie!

We better start thinking of gift ideas for the several girls who are graduating next year...