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| The first fully completed and filled Memory Box. |
The boxes are slowly starting to come together. I got the first one finished yesterday and have one started today. The hardest part is getting the fabric smoothly onto the box AND folding the ends in so that it looks nice. Keeping it all smooth and wrinkle free once I've got the spray adhesive on can be quite a challenge
. But now that I sort of know how I want them the rest should go easier and hopefully quicker. I used hot glue to attach the ribbon onto the lid and the inside of the box but I've decided that isn't going to work. You can kind of see the glue through the ribbon. So I'm going to try double sided tape on the next one.
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| One down, 20+ to go! |
When I spoke with my contact at Mercy Hospital she said they average about 20 stillbirths a year. The number was a lot larger than I anticipated, it is so heartbreaking to know that about 20 families will go through this devastation in one year and that is just at ONE hospital. For something that you hear so little about, it happens too often. I know when we experienced it, the thought of my baby dying before being born had never even crossed my mind after 12 weeks of pregnancy. And then when it did happen I felt so alone, I didn't even realize that I knew families that unfortunately shared this experience.
I'm hoping these boxes will help these families know they are not alone and then to also bring awareness to others that this is something that happens, that it is horrible but it shouldn't be hidden away. These families need to know that it is okay to grieve and be sad and that their loss means something to other people as well.
So my goal is to get at least 20 boxes done that I can donate to Mercy Hospital on July 10th. If I get more done I'd like to donate them to the hospital here in Hastings. I know a nurse that works there and when she heard about my project she shared with me that the hospital does not receive anything like these Memory Boxes to give to families that are going through this. I'd like to change that.
I've been making bracelets that go into the Memory Boxes (see pic below). They turned out pretty. I'm thinking that I will start selling them in my Etsy shop with the proceeds going towards The Harper Project. But I first need to finish the 20+ I need to do for the project this year. I've got 12 done so far.
I've only got 21 days left to get everything done. Wish me luck. I may end up throwing a "Help me cover these boxes with fabric" party if it comes down to it. Or if anyone would like to take a trip down to Hastings to help one of these days let me know! When we get our work done we can go swimming.
