For my Mother In Law on Mother's Day

I made this altered tray for my MIL on Mother's Day. It's a 7 Gypsies tray, that I did a quick white wash over. I selected several designer papers from 7 Gypsies, and several others. The trinkets I have been collecting awhile, but some are Tim Holtz, some are Bo Bunny, some are Making Memories, and some are from Red Lead, a specialty shop in Webster Groves, Mo. Some items are some things I had from my grandmother's sewing kit, like the white button where I put glitter in the middle. The spoon is one of my favorite items. I made this during a St Louis Splitcoast stamper's swap where our theme was altered items. I knew it would make a good feature on an altered tray! I also made the zipper roses, where I found the tutorial on one of the many blogs I visit, sorry I can't remember which one, but thanks for this cool idea! I also made the hemming lace flower by bunching up the lace in a gathering and stitching in place. I used some Tim Holtz bottles and typed Nehi Time in one and just the word Time in the other. I got this idea from the Tim Holtz website, when Tammy Tutterow showcased her beautiful tray. I simply had fun putting this together from finding the pictures of my Mother in law when she was young. Her sister helped by sending pictures to me in secret! So much fun to work with these fun photos! I wasn't afraid to cut the cute photo of my MIL when she was young in pigtails with a bottle of Nehi Orange Pop in her hand! I really liked putting all four pieces in each of those four frames. I also took another photo of her after she had her baby--now my hubby! The photo is cut in two pieces and centered in two frames. It contains her father and mother. The cute little framed picture of the four kids is my MIL second from the right, her sister and two brothers. I really love their wedding photo, they are still together after 55 years! Amazing! Still going strong! I had been thinking of doing this for quite awhile, and have gathered trinkets and collectables for a long time. These collage frames are really fun to do and the recipient was very happy with her Mother's Day gift!

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful hard working mothers out there! Hope your day was beautiful!