Paper Nine Patch Memory Quilt

At my daughter's "Little House" themed 5th birthday party, we had each of the guests make Hailey a 9 patch paper quilt block and sign their name to the back. Later, Hailey and I tied it together to make a beautiful wall hanging for her bedroom. It was a very simple, memorable craft that didn't cost me anything as I already had the paper, glue sticks and yarn. It was simple, even the youngest children at the party were able to participate.

1.) The first thing I did was take card stock 8.5x11 paper (I used white) and cut 4.5 inch squares out using my scrapbook paper trimmer. Then I cut 1.5 inch squares out of lots of different left-over printed scrapbook paper. A paper trimmer makes this job really fast and easy.

2.) Glue the 1.5 inch pieces in a 9 patch pattern to the 4.5 inch card stock block. Instead of using cheap glue sticks, I decided to use some special scrapbooking glue stick that hold up really well. It is called "Pioneer Extra Strong Embellishment Glue Stick" that bonds permanently, is child safe and acid free. Not too expensive and I love it! Don't forget to have your quilters sign the back of their quilt blocks.

3.) When you are ready to put the quilt together. Trim each 4.5 inch block so there isn't any paper overhanging. This is an important step in making the quilt square.

4.) Arrange the blocks into a desired pattern, then using a hole punch, punch only the corners that will need to be tied together to make the quilt.

5.) Using about a six inch piece of yarn, tie the blocks together so they fit fairly snugly together, but not so tight that the squares overlap. Trim the ends of the yarn when finished so that they stick up only about a half inch. 

6.) Hang on wall. We used 12 quilt blocks to make this hanging quilt.

The sky is the limit with this craft! You could get super creative with this our keep it simple. Either way, you will end up with something to treasure. I think this would make a great keepsake gift for someone.