Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Capturing a moment in time...

It seems like a long time since I first saw this idea mentioned over at the Curious Sofa blog - it took me almost that long to find the old clocks and get this whole thing finished!

Each of my children has a little display shelf in our dining room - the shelves were found at Hobby Lobby on 50% off sale!

The clocks are set to the times each of them were born. Rachel's clock came from Target when we got married, but the others were an ebay find. Look for non-working clocks to reduce the price! They don't need to be working for this project anyway!

Then, I saw the handprint idea in a recent Country Living - however, the idea is not new! My Mom did these for us when we were little! I traced around their hands and then cut that out using it as a pattern - pinned to my fabric and stitched around the edges.

Inexpensive embroidery hoops hold the handprints and then to complete the display, I placed each of their silver baby cups on their shelf. I love these little snips of remembering this season when they are so little!

34 comments:

Lisar said...

What a lovely, lovely idea....my niece is coming for a sleepover on the weekend and I think I might do the hand print for her to take home...

Ginger said...

I agree with Lisar. This is just a fantastic idea~

Wendi said...

Sweet idea! I will be saving this as a Mother's Day idea for the littles I watch.

Mom said...

These turned out great -- I'm glad to see the photos! :) Love you, Mom

Michelle said...

I love this! Thanks for the idea!

Grace said...

Absolutely Love it! I recognize that ribbon around the hoops. It's from our Big Lots find isn't it. So cute!

Sharon T said...

I love this idea. I plan to do something like this with my 6 grandchildren. I would like to set the clocks with the time they were born. Love you for sharing all these great and inexpensive ideas.

aspiritofsimplicity said...

What a great idea. That would make a lovely thing to put in a nursery or to give as a new baby gift.

Kristyn said...

So precious, thanks for sharing such a wonderful idea.

Cheryl said...

I love this idea. Very sweet. I saw the Country Living idea with the stitchery handprint, but I love your touch with the silver cups and the clocks.

agnes said...

I love the idea... but my kids are big and I dont' have their hand print... it is so disappointing...

Anonymous said...

Such a beautiful display!! Thank you for sharing this wonderful idea.

Bonnie said...

I love this idea! We may end up with a wall of handprints over here, since its so cheap- thank-you!

Barbie @ Mamaology said...

What a sweet way to capture such a precious memory...our children are such wonderful gifts!!!

Carrie said...

THAT is an awesome idea! (Thinking about how I can put something like that together...)

I love the idea of setting the clocks to the time they were born. How special for your kids. (Hmm...my word verification for this comment is "bless" which I think is very fitting for what you do for your family!)

heart at home said...

I enjoy reading your blog. I love this idea, can't wait to do it sometime. Blessings

Katy said...

Absolutely ADORABLE idea! :)

Bevy @ Treasured Up and Pondered said...

Love it, love it, love it!! I have a silver cup and hair brush & comb set for each of my little ones that I haven't been able to figure out how to display in a "smart", creative, vintagey way. I think the time on the clocks set to their birth time is so wonderful. What a great idea!!

Anonymous said...

Very clever and cute, Monica.
You always have the cutest ideas!
I love having the clocks set to the times the children were born and also using their silver cups in the display.

Happy Birthday to Rachel tomorrow!!

Love you, Grandma

Ami said...

This just touches my heart! Every day I think about how time is passing, and the phrase "Every Day Is a Gift from God," has been a reminder of why I do what I do. I plan to paint a sign of that and hang it in my kitchen, I think copying your display to hang on the opposite wall would be a perfect complement. Of course, it'll probably make me cry when I look at it and think about it! Thanks for the inspiration!

Debra said...

What a nice idea. It turned out so cute!

Kathie said...

What a beautiful idea. I really like the extra touch of the clock set to the time they were born. I think I might start this wonderful tradition with our little DD.

Bell said...

I'm thinking you will really love that when these little sweeties are all about college age and your nest seems empty. Great idea. I must do the hand print thing. I'd never seen that.

Handwoven Dreams said...

I am doing handprints RIGHT NOW! Thank you for the lovely idea!

It's a Mom Thing said...

I saw that idea, too, and loved it. Your little shelves look precious, what a sweet reminder of God's little blessings.

Savor the Journey said...

Oh my gosh!
This is a great idea for those of us who delight in being "Mimi", or "Grammy", or "Nana", "Grandma", etc!!

Thanks for such cool inspiration!

~Bev
TexasGrammy

*carrie* said...

That looks great, Monica! Will call Rachel later today love, c

Jennie Shutt said...

Wow that is so cute I will have to think of a way to do something to desplay my kids baby stuff.

Elise said...

LOVE this idea!!
Elise

Heather said...

Like everyone else, I am LOVING this idea! My little guy turns one in just a few days...doesn't seem possible. I've been looking at his hands and feet lately and noticing how much they are changing. What a great way to capture them as they are today!

And the clock idea...perfect.

Thanks for the inspiration.
Heather

MJ @ 517 Creations said...

What a wonderful idea! My little boy is 19-months old...this is the perfect age to do this! Thanks for sharing! :)

Cindi @ Rustique Art said...

Hmmm...wonder what my chances are of finding 5 clocks (old) but hey, it could turn out to be a great scavenger hunt for all the grandma's, aunts and uncles. Attics and basements!
Great idea...

Louisiana Belle said...

What a great idea! I have a friend who also put her children's baby shoes on display on a shelf. Too cute!

The Mayo Family said...

Hello I have been looking for a few days as to leave you a comment? I do hope you get this...
I was looking for a certain post where you had made the hoops for your living room wall....I am looking to do those and I cant find where you did that?
It seems it was last year, however as you know we Mom's see that time passes swiftly and I for sure could be wrong?
If you know which ones, let me know Thank you
I keep your Dad & Mom in prayer and do pray all is well.
Thanks for your sharing 'real-life' blog! I try to direct 'young Mom's' this way and your blog is a help & a blessings~
Lori