My mother-in-law who passed away this past March had given me a pair of red socks for Christmas one year. When I was planning for the hospital visit when I was having our daughter someone told me to bring a pair of heavy socks...so I brought the red ones. I was wearing these socks when I gave birth to her. When I scheduled my c-section to have our son, I made sure I was wearing the socks. My son was born in January and we lost their "M'tu" in March. My son was never able to meet her because she was so ill. I would like to give each of my children one of these socks as a remembrance of their birth but of their grandmother as well. She was an incredible woman who loved her children and grandchildren very much. Would love some ideas from the "crafty" mothers out there...I AM NOT AT ALL!!!
I have seen socks made into mobiles for babies. They are stuffed with cotten then little felt wings are added. They are hung on ribbon. They come out really cute. Perhaps then they would could be passed on continutlly.
Expanding on the lady who mentioned sock puppets - make the sock puppet to look like M'tu - that way your kids can talk to her, play with her, etc.
My mom is very creative and is a seamstress by trade. You can email her at ____@____.com is also VERY sentimental and would love a project like this. Good luck!
Hi M.-
What about making old-fashioned sock monkeys for each of your children? I don't have directions, but I'm sure they must be out there somewhere:-) S.
I would make a shadow box that way the sock stays intact for many years. Get a picture of them at birth and a picture of Grandma and the sock. Put it all in a small shadow box. Maybe even write a little story about the sock too and put that in there also.
Hi-
You could make them each a special miniature stocking for Christmas. Each year you could put a special little gift in along with a story about their grandmother. The sock will become a special tradition over the years and they'll get to know a little bit about your mother-in-law.
Good luck!
You can make something cuddly with them or maybe make them part of a quilt that has other memorable items in it. I know Joann's offers easy classes.
what about making hand puppets out of them. you can cut the eyes out of felt and sew them on or use the sotre bought ones that hav emoving pupils but if you glue them on the kids might put them in their mouth if they fall out. sew on some yarn hair. that way you can have puppet shows and later the kids can wirte their own stories for the puppet shows. i used a old tve box that i cut out a square on one side, painted it like bricks and put a small stool inside and the kids would play for hours in the puppet house. we also had a good time making diffeternt sock puppets.
You could put them in a "flower box"(for sure at Michael's Craft store-comes in different sizes/shapes) that gives room for the socks to lay on and can place pictures of her inside and/or pics of your children to tie them in together. Hang on an accent wall as a theme- have it solo for more effect. Can break the socks up into 2- one for each child to have in their room? hthia
Make a Christmas ornament.
Craft stores sell "craft foam". Its thin colorful foam that you can draw on and glue on and it cuts really easy.
Buy tan and white, maybe some black. Cut out a gingerbread man shape. Use black for the eyes, the white for the frosting by his hands and feet.
Then, take the socks and cut out a flat "shirt" shape for each one. Glue it on the front, and you can even glue a picture of their Grandma on the back.
Hope that helps!
I would love to hear what you chose.
How lovely to think of doing this for your children. I would be really hesitant to do most of the ideas presented here because they would destroy the socks and the beautiful knitting of their grandma. I would take them to a frame shop--Michael's has 50% off coupons all the time--and have them framed. Before doing that I would wash them in Woolite and block them to the perfect shape while wet and let them dry. That way they would frame better. I like the idea of putting a baby picture and a picture of grandma, but one of you should be there too. If you aren't crafty enough to come up with the arrangement, the framer should be helpful. This is something that your children could keep their entire lives.
What if you made a cute Christmas Sock Monkey for each of them, and used the main sock as it's body? Then it could be one of their cherished toys and you can tell them the story behind it once they are old enough to understand. Or what if you used it to make two ornaments, something like an animal or just use each red sock to cover a normal ornament and decorate it. You could put them on the Christmas tree each year as a tradition. You could also write a sweet poem that tells the story behind these items and why they are so special, it would be a great way for them to remember their grandmother. I think it is great that you are trying to do something sentimental with these socks:) Good luck!
go to google and search "easy sock crafts". the first link that comes up is about.com. click on the first one that says 'bean bag toy'. it looks super simple (i'm not crafty either and i think i could even do this!) and it looks like it's just one sock so it would be perfect for each kid. Good luck to you!
I think you could make a 'boo-boo' bunny out of them. The directions are on youtube and typically use washclothes, but I'm sure the socks would work well.
Also, I've seen socks filled with lavender, or salts, or buckwheat, or dry beans then stored im the freezer and used as cold packs.
What a sweet and thoughtful way to pass on the special moment.
