Patching a hole and preserving a bit of time

I don't think I'm the only mom who feels the rub that comes from packing up one size of clothes and moving on to the next. Their clothes aren't just that which covers their body, but often grow to become part of their identity, who our children are.

So many of my own childhood memories actually stem from photographs and I think that's one of the reasons why I love documenting life so much.

A simple tank top that I love, isn't just the cheap shirt that I got on sale at Old Navy anymore, now that she's been wearing it for a year. When I see it, my mind flashes back to images, photographs of her wearing it, and what was going on at the time.

When I see this shirt, I think of the photo on our fridge and of her going to VBS last year at the church where she would soon start kindergarten (where her charter school meets), a five-year old on the precipice of Something Big.

So instead of just tossing the hole-y shirt into the giveaway pile, I took a few minutes to put a simple patch on it, knowing that it would bring a smile to her face and preserve her wardrobe, and maybe time, a bit longer.

Just a bit of Heat'n'Bond cut in the shape of a heart, pressed first to the wrong side of a scrap of fabric (that was, I might add, a mama-made dress Gigi wore as a baby).

Heart cut out, paper peeled off, and then adhered over the hole, pressing cloth/mat to protect the glitter and sequins...

a simple 15-second press job and the heart is on.

A quick zig-zag for security...

A beloved shirt and a bit of childhood preserved... for now. :)

P.S. Ten-inch long braids sit on our counter, chopped and waiting to be mailed in by donation, happily given up by my sweet girl, who doesn't miss the tangles, and who saw first-hand the difference hair makes after her granpa went through chemo and beat leukemia. I heart my girl.

P.P.S Relaunch giveaway still to come this week!