I did it!

Thank you for showing me how to make this. It is so much nicer to assemble than a pattern I have. Lovely to look at. These pages are from Dad's physics book from the 70's. It was in very bad shape and will yield enough flowers to make a bouquet. Fun and easy! Great job Molly.

Simple Paper Flower

I found this sweet and simple Origami flower on Nifty Thrifty Things.  Unfortunately I didn't have any Origami paper so I used light card stock and my handy dandy paper tool.  How cute is this flower?  To my list of things to do this week I am going to purchase some Origami paper and make a nice flower arrangement of these.  Or maybe a wreath?

Catching Up

Well, I suppose it is harder than I thought to just make one little thing every single week.  Not that I haven't been working on learning how to do things correctly - step by step.  So far in the last two weeks I have learned so many basic sewing things that I did not know.  I did a stitch sampler, practiced different stitch methods and worked on tracing a pattern.  But all of these foundations exercises and my Spanish lessons have really eaten into my finished product time schedule.  Next week is Catholic Schools week and my oldest son's 6th birthday.  My only goal this weekend is to make ONE finished item and a list of things I can work on in the coming weeks.  Maybe I am the only one but without a list made during madness I cannot think of things to do in my free time.

quickie recycling project for old cards

Before you get rid of all those beautiful cards you receive check and see if you like any of them enough to recycle them. The front of this card was quite a bit larger than I wanted so I cut it down and applied a sticker from the craft store with a foam pop dot to give it a bit of dimension. Now the card front is the right size to place on a new card and send out for another greeting. I make my cards by taking 8 1/2 x 11 card stock and cutting it in half on the long side. Each piece then folds in half to make a card. If the cardstock you choose is a dark color cut a piece of white or cream paper to fit inside for your greeting. Lightly tack the greeting in the inside of the card so it could potentially be used yet again if you send it to a crafty person or you could make a challenge of using old cards and see how many lives you and your friends could give them. I advise taking your old cards apart and throwing out the unusable portion (or shredding them to make more paper!) and taking your fronts to the craft store to shop for matching paper and stickers. If you buy blank cards at the store they come with matching envelopes. I am not sure how my friend, who is not a crafter, will feel about getting her card back but we will see.

weaving a scarf

This is fabric from the craft or sewing store. It is usually used for making pockets in sports bags and lining pockets in hoodies. It comes in a bolt like the rest of the material. This fabric with the big holes is also available in some knitting stores but it is more costly. When you get home you cut your fabric into a width that will be comfortable to wear as a scarf. There are several ways to bind up the edges. You could fold the material over at the edge and seam it on a machine or by hand or you could fold it over and weave through all the layers. Collect all the yarns you might have left over from other projects. I really recommend doing this because it cuts down on your stash and gives you a good reason to go out and buy more or you can buy new yarns to match an outfit. Now the fun begins. I use a plastic needle and weave in and out. That is all there is to it. You can put one line of yarn in and out through the holes or you might have to use several strands of yarn to fill in the spaces. Even young children like doing this. It is great tv time work. It makes a gift worthy of giving.

Letterpress for the crafter

Here are my first three cards off my new Letterpress by Epic Crafts. I bought just the starter kit because I had read on the internet that the folder for the actual printing would work being passed through a Big Shot machine which I have and like very much. Hobby Lobby had a large display of the full line of Letterpress materials but for some reason has decided to stop carrying it. I was originally put off by the price of the complete kit. It was in the $169 range. This week I was able to get paper and plates and some inks for $1.50 to $5.39 on their clearance rack. Of all the geegaws they stock endlessly you would think this little beauty would have been given a better shot at succeeding. It works exactly as described and makes a lovely debossed image. There are some very nice and informative videos on Youtube and a hilarious one of a darling couple mass producing their wedding invitations. The wording of an invitation would have to be done on the computer and then the decorating on the letterpress. Love it! PS Keep your fingers off the inked designs for several hours. You will smear your design and clean-up with baby wipes.

A Little Embroidery

I love embroidery and counted cross stitch.  I feel like it is paint by number - with thread.  But, the back of my pieces (when I finish them) are always so full of knots and tangles that I cannot get them flat enough to to frame.  I couldn't imagine adding detail to clothing.  And I always got SO frustrated.  

So, I got the book A Rainbow of Stitches and brushed up on my technique.  The nice thing about this art form is that there really isn't too many different stitches.  More importantly, I never really understood about starting off and ending.  I think that is where the mess began.  So, I brushed up on my stem stitching and back stitching and tried a little free form work (although I used my counted cross stitch fabric for the grid) basked on a parisian pattern from the book.  It was so fun!

And, check out the back!  No tangles, no knots.  Bliss.

Now I am starting to eyeball the curtains, tablecloths, shoes and bags around the house.  Would they be cuter with little embroidered motifs all over them....?

Crochet butterfly for Bridget

This is a pattern from Annie's attic and calls for crochet cotton. I was having trouble following the pattern in the tiny thread so I switched to cotton thread much like string. It worked up quickly and I could see what I was doing. This has been stiffened with Elmers glue and water. It should look pretty on Bridget's wall or in her window.

Plastic Canvas Hershey's Kissy

This is going to be a little container for a small candy.  A Hershey Kiss would be perfect.

Step 1: Cut three squares of plastic canvas 2 inches by 2 inches (or 10 holes by 10 holes).

Step 2: Cover each in yarn using the Continental needlepoint stitch.  Any stitch will do but I think this one is easy to master.

Step 3: Fill 'em in.  If you need more information, e-mail me.

Step 4:  Put wrong sides of 2 together and whip stitch them together.

Step 5:  Without cutting the yarn take the last square and stitch two sides of it to the first one. Now when that is done you have a yawning hole looking at you with raw edges that need to be whipped BUT NOT TOGETHER. The mouth needs to be open.

Step 6:  I like to reinforce the corners so they look prettier and do not have a scratchy edge. Now you can add some eye to the top or a nose but just be sure to include a Kiss for the lucky person to receive you craft.

(De)embossed Cards

Part of my crafting revolution is acknowledging that it is a process.  By embracing that process I must also acknowledge that learning to do something the night before I want a completed project will invariably result in a crappy craft.  So I am trying to plan ahead.

This week I wanted to try making some cards.  Since my big guy turns 6 at the end of the month I thought I would make them themed for use with his birthday.

I have a new Cricut Cartridge "Nate's ABC's" which is full of great things for little boys.  I also used my brand new Cricut Embossing folder.  My practice run (can you believe I took one!?!) was with an owl.  Good thing too because I forgot about negative space.

Oops.

Still, I had a nice little cut out owl.  So I de-bossed this sweetie onto a couple of cards just for fun.

The next time around I made a nice Monkey.

Then I put the cut-out into the embossing folder.

I don't have the recommended Cricut Die Cutter but I DO have my wonderful Sizzix BIG Shot.  I had to use the multi-purpose platform, one of the plastic covers and a couple pieces of paper to make it thick enough but it worked!

After I embossed all the cards I wanted to try adding some words.  I didn't intend these cards to be for any specific purpose so I didn't want to put "Thank You" so I used "Oh Boy."  Emmett was very helpful in hitting the Cut button whenever I needed him to do so.  And a couple extra times for fun.

 Finished product!

Getting organized

I have started by taking a ring binder and placing in it the patterns I would like to work on in January. Notice I did not say complete...just work on. I am already stressed by the word complete. I did complete the binder. That must count for something. In the binder is my pattern I just got from Craftsy for making an apron. There is also the butterfly directions I bought from Annie's Attic and the owl hats from the same source. Those are the patterns I plan to work on first. Completed is the tiny red box just big enough for a Hershey's kiss. That came from the Sizzix die #654969 that Molly bought me for Christmas.
I have so many things to play with from Christmas that I have bags not opened. I am in good position to hunker down until the weather warms up. Feeling very blessed anyhow I opened a fortune cookie for a tiny snack and found this fortune..."You are going to have a very comfortable old age". Might be prudent to play the numbers on the ticket!