Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Scrapping a T-shirt quilt

I have a thought, and it's out of left field. I have a big plastic container full of old T-shirts I had planned to have made into a quilt. I asked around and found a quilter willing to do it. The problem? The cost is prohibitive, to say the least. Let's put it this way: for the cost of having a large T-shirt quilt made, I could get a good start on a new car. So I've started trying to think of alternative ways to preserve my shirts.

Of course, what's the first thing I thought of? Scrapping! I'm brainstorming whether or not there's a way to put my shirts into an album in a way that will be as satisfying to me as having a quilt.

I'm a highly nostalgic person, so it's hard for me to let go of things that have a lot of sentimental value. My T-shirts fall into that category. They represent everything from college to my favorite sports teams to my career and memorable places I've traveled to.

My only concept so far is to take close-up photos of the images on each shirt and put as many of them on a page as possible. (I'm thinking a hybrid album would be ideal for this project becuase all I really need are pocket pages. Multiple photos of T-shirts don't require much creativity to display; I just need to be able to see what's printed on the shirts.)

If you're reading, do you have any ideas for me as far as how to approach this project? I welcome scrapping and non-scrapping ideas. If anybody knows of a way to preserve my T-shirts on the cheap, please let me know!

6 comments:

  1. Hey Mandy! I have no ideas for your t-shirt quilt/scrapbook. That is a tough one. Mine are all in a box in the basement:) Cute blog!!

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  2. Hi Michele! Thanks! It's good to know there are others with my same dilemma!

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  3. Ask Becky C., she is always creative. Another idea is to display your t-shirts in a oversized frame, that would hold the thickness of your t-shirts. But then you would have to find a place to hang it.

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  4. Thanks for the ideas, Mikki! I do need to ask Becky!

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  5. Mandy, I'm very sentimental with my t-shirts too (which is why my closet is stuffed with them), so feel your pain. Too bad the quilt didn't work out. I would have a hard time parting with mine, but scrapping them is a good idea. Keep me posted.

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  6. Sara, they're all still packed away under the bed, and I doubt they'll be going anywhere any time soon. I can't bear to part with them, either. Maybe I'll just wait for 10 years until I can save up for the quilt!

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