Flower Power!

Ok, so I promised Nicky and Becky that I would post this over the weekend.  However, I'm a fat liar.  My pant's are on fire as I type this.  There was just far too much celebrating going on for me to finish stitching it, so I didn't finish it until today.  Celebrating, you ask.... why, yes!  We were celebrating my birthday!  Not so much an excuse, but an explantion for my tardiness.

Yep, this pattern has been done a million times, but I thought I would try my hand at it.  The tinting was more of an afterthought, but it turned out ok.  My honey suggested it, and it did the trick.  Also, this was my first time using my new Q-Snap.  Baby, I'm in love!

Had to get that metallic floss in there somehow.  Always.

Not sure what I'll do with it.  Originally, I had intended it for someone who told me to surprise her.  However, it doesn't remind me of her at all.  It's much too Lisa Frank/60's.   I've been in pillow mode recently, so it'll probably be it's fate.

More on my b-day later!  It was such a fab time, can't wait to tell you.  Have a craftastic night, guys!

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!

Tried This?

Hello kiddos!  I've been stitching a whole lot lately, so I've got nothing but needles and thread on my mind today.  It occurred to me that you guys might like to know some of the tips and tricks that I use when I'm embroidering.

One of the most common complaints with embroidery is how tough it is to work with metallic floss.  In the beginning, I felt the same way.  Years ago I suffered through a race car project made entirely of metallic floss... and all six strands of it too.  After a newcomer mistake like that it's a wonder I ever picked up a needle again.  I've mentioned Thread Heaven before as something that will help you out.  However, I'll show you a little something that you can do that won't cost you anything.  

Did you know that there is a correct way to thread your needle with metallic floss?  Yep, there sure is.  I know you're thinking, don't you just cut a piece, knot one end and put the other through the eye of the needle and then get to stitching?  Well, that will work too but trust me, once you try it the other way you'll never go back.  

Cut a piece of floss twice as long as the length you like working with.  Separate one strand of floss from the skein and fold it in half.

Thread the loop created by folding it through the eye of the needle.

Pull this loop over the sharp end of the needle.

Pull the loop back to the eye of the needle.

Adjust the loop so that it held securely under the eye of the needle.

Knot the loose end of the floss as you would normally and get to stitching.

Sometimes I like to mix metallic floss with a regular color.  You can use the same method to accomplish that, just place the two threads together before you fold them in the first step.  Running some thread conditioner or a damp cloth over them in the beginning with help when you are stitching with them.

A few more tips for metallic floss-

* Work slow, choosing the placement of your stitches carefully.  As this type of floss is stiffer than regular embroidery floss it will not lie the same against your fabric.

* Using a slightly larger needle helps too.  It allows the floss to pass through with less fraying.

* If you get tangled up, just let go.  Drop the needle and it will unwind itself.  And with this method you don't have to worry about losing the needle when you do this.

Did I forget anything?  Do you have a tip for working with tricky floss?  If so, I would love to hear it!

Thanks for looking, have a creative and productive day.  Go make something with your shiny floss.

P.S.  Dearest Sam... a teaser for you.  So, the copper floss I used to demonstrate this method?  One of your pieces has already used a whole skein of it!  Curious now, aren't you?  Hmmmm, what could it be?

The Book on Love.

I had been wanting to make an art journal for a while now after seeing some fabulous how-to videos from Artiste Nouveau.  I'm sure you guys remember her from my list of happy blogs a little bit back.  I have plenty of journals and sketchbooks but I wanted something that I made all by myself.  I have a slight obsession with paper goods and stationary items so that also fueled the fire on this one.

It began with a bit of drunken midnight crafting.

So, here it is, The Book on Love.

Most of you will recognize the pattern from the Sublime Stitching Craft Pad.  I stitched it up on vintage pink linen that I snagged while thrifting.  I loved working with this fabric.  Due to the loose weave the floss just slid through it so nicely.  But it wasn't so loose that it pulled out or the tension got all wonky.  I even stitched it up without a hoop, which was new for me.  Because it was so easy to stitch on I used lots of metallic floss and kept all six strands for a majority of the floss.

I will eventually paint the title on it when I decide the exact wording.  I'm not 100% sold on The Book on Love yet, although that will be the themes for my entries.

Little charms on the spine.

  

I tried couching!  Although, I had originally picked a purple floss to go over the top.  However, I was in the zone with stitching that I grabbed the bobbin next to it, the yellow, and just went to town.  I didn't even notice until I was almost done with it.  Isn't it funny that how sometimes you can just get so wrapped up in something that you are staring at it but not even really seeing it?  Or maybe I just don't pay attention...  I'll have to think more about that one.

The inside covers both match.

 

As you can see, I used black paper for the signature.  I used a bit of vintage gingham ribbon to hide the little space between the decorative paper cover and the signature.  Nothing matches 100% but most of it goes together with all of the pinks.  I had originally intended to make it a monthly journal this one would have been February, so I think I had girly valentine stuff on my mind.  That's also why I made it with 28 pages... but as I didn't actually start it working in it on the 1st of the month.  So yeah... I digress.

I attached the spine and back cover fabric with Mod Podge.  I was out of Matte so I just went with Gloss.  Unfortunately, I didn't consider how much it would change the color of the linen.

You can see the difference in these shots.

In progress, before attaching the front cover with the Mod Podge.  (I figured, screw it, they should match on both sides.)

 

  

After.

Crazy different, huh?  I'm not so happy with the way the Mod Podge pooled up around the beads and some of the edges of the stitching.  However, I'm not going to dwell on it.  And I'm happy with the total piece overall so that's all that matters.  A plus is that it made it super strong!  The covers are very rigid and the stitching is ultra protected, so I don't have to worry about it getting destroyed over time as I work in it.  I probably can't journal about love every day so I wanted it to be tough enough.  This baby will outlast me.  In fact, a friend was over this weekend and she happened to pick it up while we were in my studio.  She yelled, "HOLY CRAP!  This thing is crazy...it's probably strong enough to be used as a deadly weapon!"  As it looked all dainty she was a bit surprised.  I took it as a good sign that I had been successful with my first handmade art journal.

Thanks for looking and taking the time to read my ultra long post today.  I'll share pics of some pages soon.  Have a craftastic day!

I've Been Thinking About You. (part 1)

Yesterday I mentioned that I had joined an a sewing circle called, "I've Been Thinking About You."  What's really interesting about it is that it's International.  So, people all around the world decide that they are all going to stitch on the same day, somewhere between noon and midnight. The first one took place on January 13, 2010.

I'd originally planned to stitch up a quote from a love letter written during the Victorian Era.  However, before I sat down start stitching I decided to read the news online.  An hour and several tears later, I sat back thinking about nothing other than the destruction and pain being experienced in Haiti.  Suddenly my romantic quote seemed so trite, so I decided to stitch something about Haiti.

Getting ready.  (You'll notice my cheesy template I mentioned yesterday.)

The image I chose to stitch came from the 1964 edition of the World Book Encyclopedia.  It had a 4 page article on Haiti.  I read the whole thing, and thought to myself, sadly, not too much has changed for Haiti in the last 45 years.  As my attempt at social commentary, I left the map exactly how it was in the book.

Progress shots.

 

 

 

 

It's not done, but it's getting there.  The most time consuming part is going to be the fill stitches on the land part.

 Oh yeah!  There's one more thing I need to get out of my system.

That popped into my head the second I heard about the theme.

For more information about the Sewing Circle.  Visit the official site HERE!

And just like that....

my color-coded, sorted- by- number, box of warm colors was ruined.

Which resulted in Dillon and I sifting through kitten food to make sure there was no bits of floss or embroidery needles.  Fun was had by all.  Especially the dog, who insisted upon helping with the stray bits of kitten chow.

C'est la vie.

Christmas Stitchery!

Hey boys and girls!  Sorry it's been so long since I've said hi.  I don't want you to think that I've forgot about you though.  Earlier this week I went shopping for some extra goodies for the ATC kit giveaway and I've been stitching like crazy for the hand-embroidered piece.  Don't worry- I'll post some teaser picks for those of you who just can't wait to see.

This year I stitched up a few of my Christmas cards.  Of course, it was meant to be one those projects I slowly worked on all year so that I could have tons of them but, yeah, that didn't happen.  There's always next year.  I've been such a naughty crafter.  Anyways, onto the holiday cuteness.

I couldn't get good pictures this time around.  So, the green looks totally different in all of them.  This first one is probably the most representational of the true color of the card-stock.

 

 

 

 

I covered the backs to hide the stitches.

 

 

 

 

I used some Sublime Stitching patterns to make these bad boys.  Giggly Mama has some super cute, crayon tinted ones she made using the same patterns.  Check them out here!  We even used the same set up for our penguins, great minds think alike!  Got to give her props on her tinting, she said it was the first time she'd ever tried it.  Well, you'd never know, because they look great.

Thanks for looking and have a great day!