One of my goals for this year is to finish projects that I had started but had to put aside for one reason or another (usually health related). This cross-stitch of an elephant holding a bunch of balloons is the first that I completed this year, with a little help from the recipient’s mother.

Photo taken by Megan Berryman.

When my friend Megan announced that she was going to decorate her baby daughter’s room with the theme of balloons, I immediately thought of the idea of using buttons for balloons.

Photo taken by Megan Berryman.

The buttons I sourced from a local ‘scraps’ craft store, which literally sells scraps of fabric, ends of paint, bits and bobs, and an assortment of random things. Inside it’s like wandering around an old attic, happening upon just that unusual item you can use for a crafting project. I wanted a variety of buttons and I got a paper bag full for 25 cents. The remaining supplies I got from Hobby Lobby. Another friend of mine helped refresh my memory for how to sew on a button and do a simple stitch to use for the strings and elephant. (I am not confident with needle and thread by any means, but such are the things I do for friends.)

I added the elephant for a touch of whimsy. I like for the gifts I give to children to encourage a creative imagination. Because the buttons already created a 3D element, I let the ends of the strings hang loose. Megan put on the finishing touches by filling in the elephant with fabric paint and using her sewing machine to hem the edges of the fabric.

Despite being more than a year ‘late’, I’m pleased that both Megan and little A. like the elephant holding balloons.