First choose a picture that you want to use as your portrait block.

Here are my pics from 2004:

 

I took each picture and printed it out on regular paper. Then I cut out the entire picture of their bodies and traced them onto the paper side of WonderUnder or Heat & Bond, can't remember which, but either will work. Get lightweight so it's not so stiff. Also, be sure to turn the picture over before you trace it or the image will be reversed. :) Now, cut that out of the heat and bond and iron that (follow the instructions they give you) onto your main body color fabric; in my case it was the white. Cut that out and that becomes the body that you'll build on.

 

Next, I went back to the original cut out from the paper picture and cut out all the black spots and black areas on Remmy's body, the red on Darla's. To be sure I got them right, I laid them on top of the material I had already cut out into the body shape. Once I was satisfied with them, I turned them over (so they'd be going the right direction) onto the heat and bond and traced them onto the paper side. Cut them out and iron them onto the material for that color. Cut them out of that fabric and iron them onto the fabric body cut-out.

 

Do the same with any remaining colors until you've used all the pieces of paper that were cut from the original printed picture. Here are what my blocks looked like at this point:

 

I decided what I wanted my background to be and I cut that square out to size. Then I added the bottom (and the top in Remmy's case) and just attached it with the heat and bond. Then I ironed on the dog as they looked above, following the instructions on the heat and bond.

 

Next, I just started sewing right on the edge of the fabric using the coordinating thread, but don't let your sewing machine get to where it's partly on the built up dog and partly on the single bottom layer of fabric or it will pucker....please note, I found this out the hard way and had to re-do Remmy's block altogether. :) Stay as close to the edges as you can, but be sure you're staying on the same number of layers at a time. Does that make sense? You'll notice on mine that I didn't quite catch the very edge on some of it because I was afraid of puckers. :)

 

After you've got everything sewn down you can draw on the eyes and nose and with a pencil or a chalk pencil depending on the color of the fabric and then you can hand embroider them or machine sew them if you're ambitious. :) And then you're done! :)

Here's what they looked like done:

 

 

Hope this helps. Mary's Quilting 101...HA! If my mother read that she'd just crack up....like I can even sew...she was amazed that I got these blocks to look as good as they did. :) I told her I had beautiful subjects and I was motivated! :) LOL.