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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:
crest sketches
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.
crest stitching
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.
crest patch
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.
crest frame
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?

8 comments:

  1. That's really cool!

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  2. This is a total throw back to my private school days! My history teacher was obsessed with the middle ages and had us create these complicated family crests. I definitely like yours better than mine.

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  3. This is such a cool idea! It will be a fun "together" thing to do with my Mr. if I can convince him to do it with me. I can see putting it on our envelopes for wedding invitations, marriage announcements, table displays... the ideas go on and on!

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  4. That's awesome! Such a great idea and sounds like you've got your family well represented and in cute stitches too :)

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  5. I love this. We are preparing for our first adoption, and the kids are a bit nervous about adding a sibling. I think these kinds of projects will certainly help as we prepare. Now my mind is racing with ideas! Thanks so much!

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  6. Congratulations, Mandi! There will definitely be some more things this week that your family will enjoy!

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  7. This is *so* cute, Mollie! :)

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  8. Thanks so much for the mention! I love how your family logo turned out! This whole series is wonderful!

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