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02.14.10 / Framed With Love

Handy Hubby and I usually don’t celebrate the ‘Hallmark’ holidays.  I know, I know, bah humbug.  But, really, he does so much for me on a daily basis (have you seen this or this) that I don’t need a specific day designated to making me feel special.  However, this Valentine’s Day I did see it as a chance to thank him for supporting my most recent endeavor…this blog!  (He bought and registered my domain name as a birthday gift for me after I told him about my idea for House*Tweaking.)  Still, you know me, I didn’t want to spend a bunch of money but I did want it to mean something.

Enter these patches:

They were given to Handy Hubby by his parents as a way to remember his deceased Papa.  His Papa had owned a gas station at one point during his life and wore these patches on his uniform coveralls while working there.  Handy Hubby has tried several times to find just the right baseball cap to embroider them to – with no luck.  So, they have been sitting in a bowl on our dresser for years now. 

I decided to showcase two of them in style and leave one alone in case that perfect hat comes along.  I got two IKEA ribba frames (well, in fact, Handy Hubby picked them up for me not knowing what they were for…probably just figured they were another House*Tweaking project)…

…then I cut two pieces of linen fabric to serve as the background. 

I simply tacked each patch to its respective backdrop with a few stitches of thread then framed ’em up. 

Isn’t mixing old (patch) with new (IKEA frame) a great way to decorate?  I love the contrast of the clean white frames around the tattered worn patches.  And I hope Handy Hubby loves it, too.  Happy Valentine’s Day!

6 Comments

15.February.2010

I LOVE them! I’m so fortunate to have a wife who cares enough about me to frame these items that belonged to someone she never got to meet. They remind me of him … and how I know he would have loved my her.

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16.April.2010

Wow, those are beautiful. Such a great way to perserve memories.

30.January.2011

So cool!! =D
I loveeee.

14.September.2011

One thing I like to do when framing family mementos is to put a tag or label on the back that tells the story – what it is, who it belonged to, why it is important, when & where it is from, how I got it – any little detail that matters to you.

I got this idea when I had a NASA memento reframed – my stepfather left it to me and I didn’t know much about it – imagine my surprise when we found a letter explaining the circumstances behind the piece when we took it out of the old frame. The frame shop put it in a self-adhesive page protector and affixed it to the back of the new frame – much better than my idea of just putting behind the piece again! It was such a sweet surprise.