Farm Livin' Memory game and pouch -

Most of the time when I see a fabric collection I know right away what type of sewing project I want to make, but when I saw Diane Labombarbe’s Farm Livin’ fabric collection I immediately thought of a no-sew project- a memory game! The Farm Livin’ fabric line has so many wonderfully sweet and brightly colored hand-drawn motifs, I thought it would be a perfect to highlight in a game that can be enjoyed by children (and adults!).

To make the memory cards, I bought 2-inch wooden square blocks. Once they arrived, I made a template out of cardboard to create a fussy cutting window template. To make the template I simply cut a piece of cardboard that was approximately 3 inches square, then I traced the wooden block onto the center of the cardboard and cut it out. This window template allowed me to fussy cut out particular animals and motifs so that I had exactly 2 of each print for the game.

After I had all my fabrics cut out, I glued them to the wooden blocks. For gluing, I recommend using a glue like Mod Podge. I used an old paint brush to spread a thin layer of glue on top of the block making sure to especially cover all the edges and corners and then placed the block glue side down on top of the wrong side of the fabric. I highly recommend placing a cardboard on top of your work surface so any excess glue doesn’t get on your table (don’t ask me how I know lol!).

After the fabric dried on the blocks, I trimmed away any excess. Then, I sealed the edges with Fray Check so that there will be no loose threads.

To have a uniform front on all the cards, I used the Bee Gingham Natalie Daisy print. Using this print was great because I could easily line up the cards along one of the lines so that each card top looks the same. I did the same steps of spreading glue on the wooden block, putting the glue side down on the wrong side of the fabric, cutting the excess fabric after the glue dried and sealing the edges with Fray Check.

Making these memory cards took time, but it is a fun, leisurely activity to do while watching TV and catching up on my Riley Blake Design video tutorials on YouTube.

After I finished the memory game blocks (I made a total of 50), I needed a cute pouch to store them in. I adapted Amista Baker’s popcorn pouch, by making the gusset wider at the bottom to accommodate all the blocks and putting the zipper higher on the pouch instead of in the middle. I used the same gingham print as the background so that it’s obvious that the memory cards and pouch are a set. I couldn’t help but embellished the pouch with fussied cut hexies on the front.