family week: make a family crest

One of the first things to get me started on the idea of Family Week was a family crest. I love this idea, almost as much as I love naming a house. It's so old-fashioned and lovely. But why should you even consider an idea that few people ever used, let alone nowadays?

A family crest tells what your family is known for.

I want to have a crest that serves as a reminder of what is important to our family, and what we want to be known for. It isn't for others to see, although it can be. I want something that says to this house, "This is who we are and what we do."

Last year, Heather Carson created a wonderful series called The Family Franchise, and I highly recommend it when thinking about what your family is all about. For me, I looked at what was most important to our family. It came down to faith and togetherness, and so I got to work.

This process will look a little different for everyone, but you can do this! I'll talk you through my process, but consider it a starting point for your own family. First, I sketched a crest design:

If you do this, don't feel like it has to be complicated. I wanted it to be simple so that I could use it for lots of things. The final design looks a bit like a lower case "t", but it is a cross and a numeral "8" for the eight people in our family. A heart is part of the eight. There are a lot of simple symbols that you could use to represent the things that your family values the most and wants to be known for.

I have plans for using this crest in many ways, but I started out by stitching it. Imagine that! This is where simplicity comes in handy.

I had this project in mind when starting this, so when stitching the border of the crest, I attached the embroidery to a piece of felt. It is trimmed fairly close to the stitches.

All that is left is to attach it to a picture frame, which is waiting to be filled with a family photo!

Now, here are some other ideas that I have in mind for this crest:

• Paper piece it and frame it.
• Fill it in, print it out, laminate cards for in wallets.
• Applique felt pins or patches.

How might you incorporate a family crest into your family?