Monday, December 6, 2010

In the Know


Handy Hubby : )'s birthday was at the end of November.  He is the 3rd of 9 kids.  To date, there are 31 grandkids on his side of the family! Over the years we have made several variations of the family tree for his parents.

This year I made one for Handy Hubby : ).


To the untrained eye, this may just look like a number chart...
but for those in the KNOW, it's actually sorta kinda a family tree!

A little back story for you - When my in-laws moved into their current house, they found boxes of antique printing press numbers and letters in the attic.  They are really cool but no one knew what to do with them.  One SIL sorted the pieces by size into 3 different boxes.  She took a few letters and spelled out 'cookies' & 'yummy' in her kitchen.  One day when we were over to help clean out the garage, my MIL asked if we'd like the rest of them.  
Mmmm, Yes!! Please!!

I sorted them again.  So, now I have ziploc bags of each number and letter.  Perhaps I was inspired by all of the subway art and Pottery Barn knock-offs for my creation.  

The secret to this display is that each of the numbers, of course, represents each of the siblings in HH's family.  For each number, the groupings are made up of the number of kids in each person's family.  Get it?!! 

It's subtle, for sure.  



But that's what I like about it - it's not in.your.face!
And there's even room to grow if absolutely necessary {NOT the 3's, however... that oven is no longer in service : )}

Here's my favorite little grouping


{I know these look like e's but when they're stamped they are 9's}
Sib #9 has 4 kids.  The oldest are a set of twins.  I love their little pyramid : ) teehe

I got a cut of discount gold silk-like fabric from Hobby Lobby.  And I got a simple black frame with a coupon.  Together they make up a black & gold background representing Purdue {where HH & I met}.  The gold also happens to be the color in our basement where this will most likely hang.

I used Gorilla Glue to adhere everything together.  It was the first time I'd ever used the stuff.  It's interesting.  It certainly is strong glue but I'm not sure I like all the expanding it does...

So when you stop by next and see this frame hanging up, YOU are now one of the people 
In the Know!! : ) 


Blessings!


Jenny Matlock
You might find me partying at some of these places *HERE*

24 comments:

Megan {The Brick Bungalow} said...

I saw your blog link on someone's blog party (honestly can't even think who though, I've been clicker happy tonight and have opened lots of new windows!). I have been trying to come up with fun family tree ideas and this has to be one of the coolest I've seen! My dad's aunt and uncle have 9 kids and this would be great for them too. My family isn't as big, so I don't think it would be so cool. And I would have had to take those numbers too - I love vintage typography.

Suzette said...

I am a math teacher and self proclaimed number girl. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your interpretation of your hubby's family tree! So creative and clever!

Unknown said...

This is so fun. My husband is a newspaper editor and I've been keeping my eye out for old press letters for our house. I love what you did here.

Jenny said...

31!!!! My heavens! That is the neatest idea I've seen in a long, long time. Really wonderful! I'm happy you got such a treasure and thrilled you found something so creative to do with them!

Michelle L. said...

Hi, MLE! That is such a cool project, I love the subtlety of it - looks like hip art, but also has great meaning to people in the loop. Found you on T-shirt diaries party - nice to meet you!

Gabe said...

it looks great and I love all the thought you put into it. What a conversation starter!

Jen said...

Yes! This does take some explaining to be in the know...but how neat to be able to tell about your family and heritage by having people ask about the artwork.
Nice job!

jlshall said...

What a wonderful, crafty idea for a family tree project. And it works beautifully as artwork, too, even if you don't know the story behind it.

Happy Thursday!
~ Joy @ Joysweb

Unknown said...

This looks so cool. Knowing the meaning behind it makes it even cooler.

Lisa said...

This is amazing! The old printing press pieces make this so personal and interesting!

fredamans said...

Very cool family tree, especially how symbolic it is.

http://fredamans.blogspot.com/2010/12/alphabe-thursday-k-is-for.html

Susan Anderson said...

Pretty cool! And a family keepsake, for sure!

=)

Lourie said...

Oven no longer in service. hahaha. That is a good one.

I love your family tree. It is so cute.

~✽Mumsy✽~ said...

That's such an awesome family tree, and you're very clever and creative too!

Su-sieee! Mac said...

What a creative display of family history! I like it a lot. I also like the idea of owning printing press numbers and letters. Happy Holidays!

Jo said...

brilliant, the local junk shoppe has tonnes of these and i have been debating ... but you have inspired me ... so i think i will pick some up soon!

Coralie Cederna Johnson said...

What a FABULOUS idea!!! I just love this! Thanks for sharing the number "game"!
And...thanks so much for your visit!
Have a great day!
Coralie

Suzanne@thriftstoredecorjunky said...

Awesome! You are so creative! Love how you used something anyone else might have thrown away, and made a very unique wall art with it...

Unknown said...

Hi Emily,
What an interesting present for your husband.
Have you tried printing some of the letters on paper using washable watersolible printing pigment that you can buy in an art supply store? You can spell out words or names that mean something to you.
Thank you for visiting my 'K is for Kittens-post'.
Best wishes,
Anna

Unknown said...

Forgot my link:
Anna's AT-rd 2-K

Anonymous said...

What a fabulous present he must have really appreciated it, it's so different and special and such a clever way of representing EVERYONE. I love the twin bit but that's because I'm a twin mum :)

Megan Gunyan said...

Wow, so inspiring! What a fun way to display a family tree! I love it! Thanks for sharing!

Crystal said...

Wow! I love family trees and this is such afun twist. Love it!

Ashlee Marie said...

what a BRILLIANT idea! I love the subtly of it! Very very fun!