The Legend of Zelda Perler Coasters

Our brother, Zak, got married on the 21st this month and what a day it was! Before that, though, I knew that I had to come up with a gift idea that they would both like. Anyone that knows my brother knows that he loves video games, and if you really know him that his favorite series is The Legend of Zelda. I have even made him past presents reflecting this. When I found out that Krystal also likes Zelda--and some sniffing around on dA--I knew what I was going to make them.

These are the coasters that I made using Perler beads and some cork hot-glued on the back. I decided to use sprites from "A Link to the Past" since I remember playing that game with Zak when we were younger. I'm really happy with how these turned out. The cork is a little too thick, but finding cork options isn't as easy as one would think. Thankfully I had all the right colors that I needed since I bought a couple of buckets of perler beads. (And, yes, I separated all 12,000 of those beads... 30 colors... It was an undertaking... So worth it, though!) I'm really glad that Zak and Krystal like this. I'm hoping to make a coaster set for myself sometime in the future. Should be fun!

A Mission Quilt

My little brother will be coming home from his LDS Mission in 2 weeks and I thought that it would be fun to make him something for when he gets back. I have been pretty bad at sending him stuff all of the time and I wanted to make it up to him. I had sent some Christmas and one thing for a birthday, but I had missed other times. I decided to make him a Mission Quilt. I figured that he could use it when he goes to college.

I came up with a pattern that would get the most pictures and still letting them be big enough to see. I used iron-on paper for the images (and that was battle half of the time). I then painted the letters on the big squares. I found some plaid fabric at the DI (Deseret Industries) for really cheap and go the white at JoAnn's. There are three kinds of plaid, which is shown in the last image. I cut all of the fabric one day and then sewed them the next. I had to hurry to get it done since Amber and the kids were coming the day after sewing. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. It's about 6' x 8' and should be plenty big for him even if he comes back a couple inches taller. ;)