I'm Back!!!!

After a long, unplanned, unannounced, and unwelcome hiatus, I'm back.  Not a moment too soon, huh?! I seriously can't believe it's been over two months since I blogged, what a jerk! For a moment, I even considered just deleting the whole thing all together.  I didn't want to be too rash though.  A lot has happened, I'll tell you all about it.  Just as soon as I follow up with these mushrooms I promised...oh so long ago.

The ones I made for my Christmas wreath were yarn wrapped.  Since that's in the tutorial link, I'll spare you the reiteration. However, I will say that I had the best results when I glued the yarn from the bottom to the top. (Meaning, flip it over so that you are gluing from the stem up.)  While making those, I felt that the mushies had so much potential for personalization.  So I had to experiment, typical me.

First up, stake out your corks.  Hannah used empty spools, but I figured I could use painted corks.  Waste not, want not.  Right?  I drove pins through a piece of foam to hold the corks in place.  It helps you paint them quickly while keeping your fingers clean.  These ones are the bulbous end of Champagne corks.  I used the flared side on the Christmas ones, a little cuter that way but these work.

Then cut your styrofoam balls in half, I used the two inch size.  Go slowly or the styrofoam wants to break apart unevenly, I used an old bread knife.  

Next, cut your fabric.  You'll need two circles for each mushroom.  One large and one small.  Cut the larger piece just big enough to wrap around the styrofoam, with it being secured along the bottom edge.  Cut the smaller one to diameter of the styrofoam cap.

I cut slits along the edge of the top piece to help it fold under nicely.  I used hot glue but I sure you could use something else.  I just have no patience for drying time.  With that being said, too much hot glue will cause the styrofoam to melt a bit and smell funky.  I worked near a window for that part.

Once you have all the tabs glued down, add your smaller circle with tiny dabs of glue.  I found this method to work best.  If you cut the top circle to cover the entire underside, it's very bulky and looks sloppy.

Glue on your stem.  Admire your cute mushrooms!  At least one will turned into a silly pencil topper, you know, since I'm really five years old on the inside.  Then I'll still have about ten of these guys, so I'm thinking garland with the rest.  I don't know yet. 

To make them hanging I'm going to sew tiny strips of matching fabric.  Insert a flat head straight pin in one end, bring the other end of the strip around to the pin and cover it.  Sew in a loop, shove the pin in the cap.  Boom, hanging ornament.  I'm sure you could do the same thing with a piece of embroidery floss that's been knotted.  That would show the pin though, which wont matter if you're hanging it up high.  I think I want mine to line my desk though.

Anyways, super easy and really cute!  Great project for recycling and fabric scraps, too.  (Just in case you are wondering what they look like with felt, don't bother! ICKY!  The material was way to thick for this size of mushroom, it may have potential for large ones though.)

Geez, long enough post for?!  Told you guys, I'm back.  Long-winded, silly, sacrcastic me, coming at ya!  And don't worry, I haven't forgotten about "Snapshot Friday" after all this time.

Sewing Case Tutorial!

The little case I showed you guys last time is pretty easy to make, so now I'll show you how!  Oh, and I'll just go ahead and apologize right now for the terrible photos.  I'm not sure if my photography skills have improved in the last few months or it's the new camera we recently acquired, either way these shots aren't so hot.
 

Materials you'll need:

* Plastic container- this can really be any type of container.  Even the clear deli take-out kind will work, (although I have a different method for that kind, I'll share with you later.) you just have to be more conscious of your jump stitches.

*Embroidery Patterns-  I used Sublime Stitching's Dress Up patterns. I also used a photocopy since I would be chopping it up and writing on it.

*Embroidery Floss and normal stitching stuff like needles- Duh, you already knew that!

*Drill- with a 1/16 drill bit (teeny tiny!)

* Tape- for your pattern and reinforcing your container if it's on the flimsy side.

*Scissors

*Pen/Sharpie

Optional Stuff:
*Beads

*Rotary Tool- Sandpaper will probably work just as well.

*Transfer Paper

*Felt (with hot glue)

*Scrapbook Paper (with glue stick)


Let's get started!
I wrapped the whole jar with masking tape to reinforce it while I was drilling.  I wasn't sure if the plastic would take it well.  It was probably unnecessary, however, it also helped with the transfer method so it wasn't a total bust.  I also taped my lid down so it was more secure when drilling. 

To transfer the pattern I used a scrap of Saral Transfer Paper.  (Most of my fellow stitchers know how much I love this stuff.  I carry on about it in our forums all of the time!)  I tape the pattern onto it and traced it with a ballpoint pen.  Easy Peasy.

 

*Tip- If you have a particularly sturdy container or lack transfer paper, you can probably just tape your pattern to the jar and drill right through it.  I just like to plot out my holes first.  You'll see.... 

Okay, so at this point I plotted out where the hole for each stitch would go.  I find this part helpful so that I can make sure that two holes aren't to close together.  (Notice how I crossed one out?)  Plus, I would probably just start drilling, willy-nilly, that usually doesn't end well around here.

 Notice on this one, I had to adapt the pattern a wee bit based on what the plastic would allow.  Keep that in mind when you're plotting out your stitches.

 

Now it's time to drill, baby, drill.  (Ewwww, did I just quote Sarah Palin?  Gross.  I'm sorry, it won't happen again.)  I didn't take a picture of this step, but I think you can handle it ;)  Just be sure to be safe- wear those silly looking goggles!  Also, hold the container securely, taking special notice to the placement of your fingers so you don't drill yourself.  You want those fingers to be ready for stitching in just a few minutes.

Here's where the rotary tool comes in.  On the inside, where the holes are, there were lots of little plastic burrs.  I sanded them down with the rotary tool so that it wouldn't snag my floss.

  *Tip- if your container is completely clear or you don't have a rotary tool, snip the burrs as close as possible with sharp, pointy scissors.  I don't think the snags will actually cut your floss, just makes it irritating.

 Since my container was frosted, my sand marks on the inside were visible.  So I did the outside too.  It's most evident in this photo.

Now, stitch!  I used all six strands of floss for the designs and just knotted it at the end.  When it was time to finish off a color or design, I simply ran the needle with floss back through a few existing stitches on the inside.  Since I was using the back stitch there is enough floss in the back side to keep it nice and secure.

 As for the optional stuff, it's really just to gussy it up.  I added beads to some of the designs.

To cover the stitches, I added felt and scrapbook paper.  

For the paper, I just made 2 tubes, one with the design on the inside.  The other with the design on the outside.  (The outer one is so there is a pinkish tone showing through the frosted plastic.  It looked better with the sanding.)  I put one inside the other, squished it up and let it open back up once it was in the jar.  Since I didn't glue the paper into the jar itself, since the glue would have shown on the sides, I added a circle of felt at the bottom.  This keeps the paper from moving around too much.

That's it!  Lots of little steps, but pretty easy.  I hope that this tutorial is clear, if not, please let me know.  Don't hesitate to ask me questions, I don't mind at all.  

So now that you know the secrets, I hope that you can find even more stuff to stitch around your house.  This ability is especially helpful when you're broke...trust me.   If you make something with the tips I've shared, I'd love to see.  Crafty geeks....unite!

Enjoy a craftastic day!  And don't forget to recycle :)

Upcycled Sewing Case

Hey there, guys!  Remember the other day when I said I was at least a month behind with sharing projects with you?  Well, holy smokes, I just found something from all the way back in June!  Shameful.  Well, despite being little bit behind the times, I think that you will like this project.  A little bit of everything went into it- stitching, upcycling, felt, pretty paper, beads, power tools!  Fun all around.

You guys know that I love to recycle.  So when I find a product that I like and it also has nice, sturdy packaging, it's like a bonus!  Silly, I know, but something has to excite me.  (Fun Fact:  I hoard glass jars...it's true.)  Over the summer, before we went camping, I decided I need a little something to store my embroidery projects in.  I whipped up a little case made from the packaging of face wash wipes.

TA DA!!

 It's pretty big too, considering the jar was excessively large for the product.  (Sorry, Aveeno, it's true.  I love you, but you went overboard on this one.)  Which is one of the main reasons I decided to reuse it instead of just tossing it in the recycling.

The inside of the lid and jar.  That had to be pretty too!

Want to see more photos of it?

You'll noticed I used a set of Sublime Stitching patterns and of course, metallic floss.  (I'm an addict.)  It's certainly not my prettiest stitching but I'm happy with it.  And I think Mother Earth would be too.  

What do you think? If anyone is interested I can throw together a tutorial.  Just let me know.  Hope you are having a craftastic day!

Junk aka Rubbish aka Waste aka Scrap.

More junk mail ATCs.

Bath Time.

Made with decorative paper, junk mail, netting, cotton, and plastic duck on Bristol.

This one was a bit sentimental.  I gave it to an old friend.  The little duck was from a shower curtain ring that had been in our first apartment years ago.  (I find the strangest things in boxes around here.)  I love the loofah so much!

Oh, My!

 

Junk mail, paper clippings, and buttons on Bristol.

Lovely.

Junk mail, paper clippings and gemstones on Bristol.  It has a coat of Sparkle Mod Podge on the paper so this baby really shines!

Share the Pleasure.

 

Junk mail, magazine clippings, rick rack, gemstones, glitter and Sparkle Mod Podge on Bristol.  Mmmmm, cupcakes!

Nautical Honey (complete with horrible shadow!!)

 

Recycled envelopes, paper clippings, twine and vintage lace on Bristol.

I figured envelopes count as junk mail.

I love me some Sailor Jerry girls!

All of these (except Bath Time) are available.

Check back later for a few cards that aren't in the junk mail series.

Thanks for looking!

Coupon ATCs- Part deux

After the last batch of ATCs, I figured I'd try the junk mail ones again.  There's an endless supply in the mail, especially around this time of year.  So, away we go!

Fall in Love

Junk mail, paper clippings and 3-D teardrop on Bristol.

A bit emo but that happens sometimes.  I love the balance created by the butterfly wings.

To Public Indecency

Junk mail and paper clippings on bristol.

I was thinking of a certain individual (not me) when I was making this, lol.  Don't worry, she approved of being the inspiration behind this one.  The working title being, DRI- Daily Recommended Intake.

Two Olives!

Shiny junk mail, paper clippings, embroidery floss and toothpicks on bristol.

Can you tell I really, really like olives?  

I love the look of 3-D embellishments on cards, so I've been trying to incorporate more into mine lately.  I figured it was the perfect way to blend ATCs with my other true love- embroidery!  Normally, I'm a bit particular about making my stitches tiny and neat, so this style was difficult for me at first.  (But I need to loosen up, so I'm experimenting.)  I think that this look works well for this card.  I couldn't resist the toothpicks.  The background became a bit distressed during the process but I guess that's to be expected from shiny junk mail paper.  Or maybe I just manhandled it?

As of now, all of these cards are available.

What do you think, do you like the "messy" or "free" style of embroidery? 

I do, but I don't know if I'm relaxed enough for that :)  I don't really know what it's called so I don't  mean messy as a bad thing!

Recent ATCs

I just can't stop making these little guys!

Mas littles....

Prima Ballerina

Fabric, watercolors and paper collage on bristol.  I made this by rolling little tubes of paper, covering them with double-sided tape and attaching the fabric to look like the wavy curtains of a stage.  I'm happy with it as a prototype, I definitely want to expand on this and try it again.

Spaced out

Watercolors and ink on background I received from swapping with Shayna.  Plus glitter and space image from  takeabreak's photostream.  Thanks guys.  There are a ton more of these cute space playing cards, so I'm going to do a whole series of them.

Oh la la

aka Sorry for my crude sense of humor ;)

Paper clippings on bristol.

The day I got my 1 in. hole punch I sat down with a stack of magazines and bad television.  I happily punched away for several hours and filled a envelope with tons of circular goodies.  Although, you can't tell from this card I did get more images than cleavage.  I swear.  Anyways, they are the perfect size for ATCs.  (And they fit perfectly into a bottle cap! Which is why I wanted the punch in the first place.)  My envelope is getting a little low so it looks like I need to find some sort of CSI Marathon and start punching again.

Presence

Soft pastels and paper clippings on bristol.

You guys know all about my new found WNWN (Waste not, Want not) policy when it comes to my crafty supplies.  With that being said, I was glad that I was able to make the following cards out of materials I usually toss without a second thought.  I give you the Coupon Series!  Twice a week we get a stack of fliers, ads, and coupons in the mail.  In an attempt to be more economical I look through them but end up tossing them as they are filled with stuff we don't buy or places we don't go.  99% of it still ends up in the recycling but so far I've got some good cards from my annoying junk mail!

I LOVE TACOS!!

Shiny ad coupon and embroidery floss on bristol.

One of my favorites so far, just because it's so silly.  DH thinks it's ridiculous, but I said, "Mark my words.  Someone will want to trade.  I know someone out there likes Tacos as much as me!"

Hey, I'm not ashamed of my love for Mexican food :)

I'm Tired of Nuts!

Shiny ad and paper clippings on bristol.

That Nutcracker looks mad!

Conspicuous

Shiny ad and paper clippings on bristol.

Good Company.

Shiny ad and paper clippings on bristol.

As of now, all of the cards in this batch, except Conspicuous, are available.  Let me know if you want to trade!!