Slow Stitching - cross stitch embellishments for my next rainbow set

I have a large book of cross stitch projects which I at one time thought I would like to make up a few projects but after trying several of the small ones I found that I did not much like how long it took to complete a project and I don't have all the colours of floss.  So, I have decided to work up a few small motifs from the book into little embellishments for my third set of rainbow squares.  There are a lot to choose from and I am considering several different hearts.  We shall see!!        Therese

Slow Stitching - #6 in the second set of rainbow squares

I played with floss colours and the direction of stitching on my little fabric strips for my background on this one as well.  My heart is hand cut from two pieces of fabric which I stitched together.  I used white floss to stitch it to my background and then ran a length of the same floss under all the stitches which gives a bit of a neat look.  I have several more sets of rainbow squares cut so I will see if I can come up with a different way of stitching them up!!     Therese

Slow Stitching - #5 - second set of rainbow squares

This is #5 - the blue one from my second set of rainbow squares in my Slow Stitching project!!
For this one I used small strips as well for the back ground and did vertical stitching on the top portion and horizontal stitching on the bottom section in a variety of colours of blue floss.  I used white floss to stitch on my hand cut heart.  Not quite as much contrast on this one but I like it!!

Therese

Wild and crazy dryer balls made of felted wool scraps, an old sock and bright jersey fabric

 Dryer balls!!!!!!!!!  I love how these turned out!!  I was less than successful getting wool to felt in hot water and the dryer as so many online tutorials indicate it can be done.  In the end, I did find one place where the lady simply stuff an old sock with other old socks until it was the size and weight she wanted to make her dryer balls SO..... I just decided to make my own version.  I have a bag full of small felted wool scraps which my daughter gifted me so I used them to create a ball wrapping it with yarn as I went to keep all the pieces together.  When it was big enough I stuffed the ball into a piece of old sock and tied off both end using cording woven through the sock and tied off.  I have made a supply of these for my dryer and because they have sock wrappers they are boring brown and black but do the job. 

I decided to gift my daughter a set of six of these dryer balls for Christmas so I decided to give them a make over before wrapping them.  I dug through my fabric stash and found this really stretchy jersey top which was too large for me and I upcycled it into covers for the dryer balls.  I cut a 5" square of the jersey, I fold it in half and stitched up the side using zig zag first and then next to it a line of straight stitching using very short stitches.  You can see the seam on the right hand side of this ball.  I turned it inside out and stuffed a dryer ball into it - amazing how much that jersey stretches!!!  Then I used a large needle and cording to make a line of running stitch on one end about where the fabric meets if you stretch it into place.  Once all they way around I tightened ed only slightly the stitching and then tucked the extra fabric inside and under the edge of the line of running stitch.  As I pulled the ends of the cording tight I kept tucking the inner fabric inside so that once the two ends were as tight as they could be you no longer can see the sock dryer ball.  I tied a square knot and then pulled the ends into the ball to hide them.  I did the same thing on the other end. Dressed up those dryer balls pretty nicely!!!!   

 I wrapped them in one of the Bento Bags I made earlier this year and they fill it perfectly!!!

It will be a happy little surprise for her for Christmas!!!         Therese

Slow Stitching - All three floral hand stitched collage bookmarks

I managed to get a shot of all three bookmarks together before they are sent on their way to their new homes!!  

Therese

Slow Stitching - #4 in my second set of rainbow squares

For this purple square I pinned my strips (its a now the theme of this set  vertically and then stitched horizontal lines of running stitch to secure them in place.  I tried to catch the edges of the fabric on each strip to prevent raveling when this square finds its final home in a quilt.  I used various combinations of thread.  I am using small pieces so sometimes I find 2 threads and some singles so in this case the one set of stitches was executed with a 2 purple and 2 green thread combination.  For another I used 2 purple and one gold thread but I see it is not obvious in my scan.  For this square I secured the ends of all my strips with stab stitches and then added stars (three overlapping stab stitches) on five of them using red thread.  This heart was also cut from a combination of fabrics which I machine stitched.  I did one row of stab stitches all the way around a bit far apart with purple floss and then went back around and added another set of stab stitches using red floss.  To finish off my square I added a red star on the inside of my heart.  I am liking those star stitches and can make them more consistently even because I have come to the realization that I should first make an X and then add a stitch across its center.    Therese

Handmade thread holders

I have been saving some ruined sign holders (election leftovers) for this purpose.  I finally got to making them up!!  Thanks to DH's extensive wood scrap bin we have some very nice mahogany bases 5" x 5" with three drilled holes on the diagonal. He routed the edges and sanded them all down very nicely.
I cut the rods I needed from the sign uprights - 1.5" for the bobbin holder, 6.5" for the spool holder and about 12" for thread holder AFTER I formed the eye at the top.  I used the vise and a hacksaw to cut the pieces and used a file to remove the burrs.  There are two because my sister is getting one for Christmas from me!

Therese

Slow Stitching - #3 in my second set of rainbow squares

Here is my red square in my second set of rainbow squares.  Again I chose some strips from my little stash of red fabrics and pinned them vertically on my square.  Instead of long rows of running stitch I decided to secure all the edges of my strips with stab stitches with red floss.  I added some star stitches (3 overlapping stab stitches) using yellow floss on the one on the right hand side and then added vertical running stitches in yellow on the red and white striped strip and then added french knots on the strip on the left hand side to finish off the background.  My heart is hand cut from a piece of fabric which I stitched together from scraps using my sewing machine.  I laid it over my background and stitched it into place using white floss.  To finish off my square, I added a star in its middle with white floss.    Therese

Slow Stitching - #2 second set of rainbow squares

This is my orange square in my second set of rainbow squares in my Slow Stitching project.  I pinned little strips of fabric from my bag of orange scraps horizontally on my square and stitched vertically using running stitch in a variety of colours.  The ends of these ones were quite a bit more uneven so I finished the longer ones off with a row of central stitching with a set of three stitches on the end.  I chose some bright blue floss to stitch on my hand cut heart which is again quite bright and contrasts with my stitched background.   I decided to echo the colours of the heart and couched two strands of yellow and green floss under the blue stitches.  I did every second stitch which gives it a bit of a different look.    Therese

Slow Stitching - #1 - second set of rainbow squares

I have been slow stitching almost daily but have been remiss in getting the blogging of them done.  I have started my second set of rainbow squares.  For my yellow one, I used small strips of yellow fabric from my stash bin, pinned then horizontally and simply stitched all the way across them vertically until I had covered the whole surface of them.  I tried to catch the edges of each strip as I went along to reduce the amount of raveling that might happen int he life of quilt I plan to incorporate them into.  It is fun to use up short pieces of thread and mix up the colours.  I used blanket stitch in a darker colour of thread to secure my hand cut heart.  I like the high contrast between the background and the heart!!    Therese

Another baby quilt - pink and bound with the backing fabric

 I managed to get another of my small (36" x 43.5") quilt tops finished into a blanket!!

I added heavy white cotton as a batting and this pink, aqua and purple plaid as a backer.  I did all the internal quilting by hand from the back following lines in the plaid which worked very well.  I used a variegated pink crochet thread.  I used the backer to bind the quilt by folding it to the front and stitching it in place with my sewing machine.  Very happy to have another one finished.  I will likely get the red one finished sometime over the Christmas holidays.    

Therese

Sympathy card featuring a sanded white core background, a strip of vellum with an embossed greeting and a glittery butterfly

For this sympathy card, I started with a piece of white core paper which I embossed and sanded very slightly.  I glued this to a layer of coordinating cardstock.  I tore a strip of vellum and embossed the greeting near the bottom edge.  I punched a hole in the background before adding the vellum strip securing the ends to the back of the layer.  I had the vellum intersect the opening just a little.  I glued my large element to the front of a large white card and added the butterfly with 3D foam tape. 

Therese

Slow Stitching - Bookmark #3

Have finished #3!!  It has been fun stitching these bookmarks and  I really like the look of these!!  They are so similar but have their own look as well.  It has been fun to collage fabric scraps with stitching!! 

Therese

Sympathy card featuring starry background paper, embossed greeting and strip and glittery butterfly

For this sympathy card, I used scraps from my stash that coordinated with the butterfly and adhered them to a coordinating layer of cardstock.  I embossed a strip of white cardstock, ran my tracing wheel on both edges and adhered it over the gap between the two pieces of colour printed background paper.  I was careful to not put too much glue on the bottom edge so I could easily tuck my little embossed vellum greeting under the edge.  I put a small piece of double sided tape on the top of the greeting to secure it in place.  I added the butterfly with 3D foam tape and added clear glitter to the centers of the elements on the embossed strip.  I glued this large element to the front of a large white card. 

Therese

Sympathy card featuring wild flower die cuts, paste paper background and a glittery butterfly

 In need of a few sympathy cards this week.  This is the first one I made.  I started with the butterfly which is an embellishment I have had for a while.  I found some coordinating paper in my purple container of scraps which are actually paste paper from a while back. I trimmed the three pieces to fit on the front of a large white card and adhered them into place.  I decided to use these wild flower die cuts (TH) which worked perfectly with the paste paper strips.  I used white glue in a fine tip applicator to adhere them to the card front.  I trimmed my little font greeting, sponged its edges and adhered it to the front of the card.  I applied 3D foam tape to the butterfly and adhered it over the edge of the greeting. 

Therese

Slow Stitching - Bookmark #2

Here is my second book mark finished!!  I finished the same way I finished the first one so they resemble each other.  I tried different stitching on each of the flowers and changed up how I stitched the stems. 

Therese

Slow Stitching - Bookmark #1

I have finished my first book mark!!  After finishing the stitching of the flowers on the front I folded the front over the back and tucked it under the little flap I created to finish it off and stitched it down using buttonhole stitch and coordinating thread.  Next, I did a row of running stitch in black on each edge.  Finally, I stitched on some lace seam binding on the top to finish it off neatly.   I did the same on the bottom with dark brown.  Really happy with how this one turned out!!  I will post the others as I finish them.            Therese

Slow Stitching - floral book marks

I have worked up some bookmarks for slow stitching.  I first dug through my scraps and found some blue that would do sky, green that would do landscape and brown for the ground.  I trimmed them to size and overlapped them to get approximately 5" x 7".  I pinned them and stitched several lines of running stitch with coordinating thread before adding a row of stitching that overlapped and sealed the raw edges.  That was a few days of stitching.  Next, I dug out scraps again and chose some bright ones to create my flower shapes.  I pinned those into place and have used black thread to outline them as I stitched them into down.  Looking forward to working on the other two.   Therese

Slow Stitching - #6 - green in my rainbow set

This is my final one in my rainbow set - my green one!!  I have noticed that I have put quite a few more stitches in my most recent squares than I did in my first one - yellow!  I may go back and add a few more to better anchor my couched heart and the edges of my little embellishments.  I have really enjoyed this process and will be working on another brainstorm I had recently - book marks!!!!!  There is so much inspiration out there!!

Therese

My last Christmas cards - nativity die cut, embossed greeting and star and a bit of fiber

I am on my last go for getting my Christmas cards made for this year!!!!!!  I hope I can keep the commitment to making them monthly next year because the pressure of getting them all done at the last minute is not much fun!!
I wanted to use this wonderful decorative paper that mimics falling snow so I die cut the nativity (Taylored Expressions) from coordinating cardstock, stamped and silver embossed the greeting on the bottom edge of the 3.5" piece and then tied on a piece of white fiber.  I cut a piece of 3.5" x 4" of the falling snow paper and embossed  a  star so it would appear above the stable.  I mounted the decorative paper first and then added the embellished nativity die cut.  Love how they worked out!!  I will be making as many of these as I need to finish up the cards I need for this year!! 

Therese

Christmas cards featuring little penguins skipping with a light string, some ribbon and fiber

I had hoped to make this sketch one of the cards for my card class last week but unfortunately I had a very difficult time getting them to stamp cleanly and emboss them effectively.  These are the ones I salvaged from the discard pile.
I started by stamping and embossing with black embossing powder the little penguins and then stamped the greeting below and did the same.  I watercoloured the image and then distressed the edges before adding a length of ribbon/seam binding between the image and the greeting.  I tied fiber to two of them and a length of the same ribbon on the other one before mounting it to a coordinating layer of cardstock.  I mounted a piece of decorative paper to a coordinating card and then mounted my large focal element with 3D foam tape.  I am really happy with this sketch so I will consider stamping in permanent ink when I revisit it. 

Therese

Christmas cards featuring the scroll oval frame embossing folder, laser printed images, sponging and a bit of glitter

A few more Christmas cards!!  It really is better to make a few at a time over the year but unfortunately I have not kept that commitment.  

For these cards I revisited the scroll frame which is a very handy one for creating a wide variety of cards.  I choose four images, laser printed them on white cardstock, trimmed them to size and embossed them with the folder.  Because you can see through the plastic it is easy to center the image in the middle area.  The image then need to be trimmed to 4" x 5.25" before mounting to the cards. 

For this first card, I chose a sketchy ornament on a twig image from Pixabay.  I added a font greeting before printing and then used my oval stencil which I cut specifically for this embossing folder to sponge a little green around the central image.  I watercoloured the image and added a bit of glitter to the ornament with a glitter pen.  I then mounted this large element to a coordinating pink card.  

 For the next card, I used a sketchy tree from Pixabay  It is in the same set as the ornament in the above card.  I used blue ink to sponge around the image and then watercoloured the tree and added some clear glitter with a gel pen before mounting it to a blue card front.  

For the third card, I used a digital image of a Christmas tree from Melonheadz.  I printed it in green and sponged the image in yellow.  I watercoloured the star and then added gold shimmer paint.  I stamped some red ornaments and a little tiny Merry Christmas greeting.  

For my fourth card, I printed the little snowman image from Torico - Birdie Brown.    I used a light blue to sponge around the image, watercoloured the snowman and added a bit of clear glitter to the pompom on his tuque and the snow before adhering this large element to the front of a light aqua card.
I always make four of them at a time because that is one sheet of letter sized paper which I then cut into four.

Therese

November Cardmaking - Christmas cards with lace, foil, decorative paper and a silver embossed Peace On Earth

For our last card we made these fairly quick cards.  We started by adding a strip of silver foil to our decorative paper securing the ends to the back with double sided tape.  Next, we overlaid it with a length of lace which we secure in the same manner.  This large layer was then adhered to the front of a coordinating card.  We coloured our images and embellished our edges with decorative scissors or by tearing.  I tore the edges on both of mine and added a bit of green chalk on my torn edge which echoed the center of the poinsettias.  I added clear glitter with a gel pen to my dove which appears very glittery in real life and a little more mottled in the photo above.  I really liked how the subtle silver behind the lace echoed the silver embossing on the stamped images.

It was a most enjoyable evening and they have a few special cards to send this Christmas season!!

Therese

November cardmaking - Christmas with Dearie Doll images, ribbon and decorative paper

For our second card, I created card kits which featured digital images from Dearie Dolls.  There are many free digital images on the site with something for every occasion!! 
I laser printed the images along with font greetings leaving space for a ribbon as I laid them out and then printed them eight to a letter sheet of white cardstock.  We watercoloured our images to coordinate with our decorative paper and added a ribbon securing both ends to the back with double sided tape.  I distressed the edges of mine - not everyone chose to.  Next, we mounted our decorative paper to the coordinating card fronts and then mounted our large image to them using 3D foam tape.  I added a little piece of fiber to the kits which we tied to the ribbon for a little more colour and texture. 

Therese

November Cardmaking - Christmas card featuring embossed trees, sanded embossed scroll frames and a fabric snowflake embellishments

I had a few ladies over last night to make Christmas cards.  It was a wonderful evening  - we enjoyed Christmas music as we created.
Our first card featured an embossed tree and greeting in the center of a white core piece of cardstock in a variety of colours.  We embossed them with a scroll frame embossing folder and then sanded the embossing to reveal the white core. The sanding also gives the paper a lovely soft velvety texture.  Next we overlaid a coordinating hand cut oval stencil and sponged a halo around our tree using a coordinating coloured ink.  We added snowflakes/stars to the sky using gel pens - white or clear glitter.  Finally, we added a little embellishment which was created using a white fabric snowflake layered with a coordinating sequin and held together with a brad. We used a push pin to make a hole along the rim of our halo and inserted the brad to secure it in place.  This large layer was then adhered to the front of a coordinating card front.
I have added these turquoise cards which I had made up as card kits for this class but found that the contrast after sanding was not as prominent due to a non white core and that the silver embossing was a bit rough due to the texture of the cardstock.  I wanted a more consistent experience for the class so I had set these aside.    Therese

Christmas cards featuring a little truck with a tree, sponged & stamped background and torn snowbanks

 A few Christmas cards with these cute little trucks!!  I cut these a while back when I visited my sister.  It is a stamp and die set (SU) so I stamped and embossed them in black and the die cut them.  I made a lot of different colours but my favorites are the red and yellow ones.  The four backgrounds are blue scrapbook papers I found in my stash.  I cut them to 4" x 5.25" and then sponged several lines of blue using a torn paper strip which makes a mountain range.  Next, I sponged a row of green which makes a sort of horizon line.  Finally, I stamped a row of pine trees in green.  Always so effective!!  I embossed all the trees using the Manhattan Flower embossing folder which gave them all really neat texture.  I sponged the edges of the lighter coloured ones.  The little trucks were all embellished with glitter gel pen on the window, door handle, lights, bumper, running boards and hubcaps.  The wheels were coloured black with Sharpies and the fenders were watercoloured to coordinate.  For the first one, I added torn snowbanks at the bottom, added my truck using 3D foam tape in the center and double sided tape behind the wheels to give it a bit of dimension.  I added the tree the same way in the back of the truck.  I added a layered oval greeting (SU - punches) featuring a font greeting and glued this large element to the front of  a black card.  To finish it off I added some dots of iridescent glitter glue to the sky and let it dry.  For the second cards I followed the same procedure (oops! missed the tires - I will fix that) and stamped the greeting on the snow bank instead and left the sky as it was.  Glued to a blue card. 

 This card features a stamped greeting on the snowbank and iridescent sparkles in the sky created with glitter glue. 
The fourth card has manually embossed dots in the sky which I sanded to give them their white appearance.  I love this effect!!!!  On this one the greeting was stamped and embossed with silver embossing powder. 
Really happy with these cards!

Therese

Slow Stitching - #5 blue in my rainbow set

I finished my blue square of Slow Stitching yesterday.  The heart is quite a bit more subtle on this one as it was twisted fabric which I sewed on with green thread and then couched in blue.  The crescents were cut from polka dot fabric. 
Have really enjoyed this process!!

Therese

Christmas card featuring colour printed background paper, a border punched focal element, a little greeting and ribbon flags

For this card I used supplies from my stash.  These are from a digital SU set which I colour printed a while back.   I trimmed the background paper and mounted it to a red card.  I trimmed the little greeting from a full sheet of images and mounted it onto a layered background of red and aqua cardstock.  I adhered my image, embossed a line and punched the botttom edge with the Eyelet Border punch (SU).  I added double sided tape to the upper right hand corner of my image and added three little pieces of flagged coordinating ribbon.  I adhered this focal element to my card front using 3D foam tape and then added the little font greeting punchie to finish off my card.   Therese

A Christmas card featuring a white snowman paper cast, an sanded embossed background and a snowflake embellishment

For this card I started with the little paper cast of a snowman I found in my stash!!  I will have to make more of these as they are so beautiful!!  I embossed and sanded a piece of blue white core cardstock which nicely simulated a snowy sky.  I adhered my little paper cast to the background and added a layered snowflake with a tiny white brad to the background.  I mounted this large element to a white card for finish it off!!

Therese

Christmas cards featuring large snowflakes layered with smaller ones and greetings

For these two cards I cut one piece of white cardstock  4.25"x 5.5" using a large snowflake die (SU).  Having carefully situated the paper on the die I was able to use both pieces - the die cut snowflake and the opening it created in the piece of white cardstock.  

The first card features the snowflake die cut which I sponged a bit on the outside edges with blue ink.  I added regular tape to the back of the openings on the ends  and applied blue glitter from the front which nicely fills them with blingy colour.  I dug through my stash of precut snowflakes and found a medium sized one which worked so I sponged its extremities as well.  I added a blue snowflake sequin and adhered all of them together using a silver brad.  I adhered it to a navy blue flecked card and added a greeting below.  The greeting is laser printed, has a flagged end and was glittered all the way around with the same glitter used on the snowflake.  I used double sided tape on the ends and a piece of 3D foam tape in the middle and added it to my card for finish it off.  Love that navy flecked cardstock as it creates a night sky in a minute!!     

For the second card, I used the piece of white cardstock which had the opening in it.  I trimmed it to 4" x 5.25" and mounted a very bright orange yellow and pink background which I created using alcohol and ink from leftover in the inkjet cartridges when we changed them out last time.  Love the contrast and how well the snowflake opening is highlighted.  I layered a pink round sequin, an orange flower sequin, a gold snowflake sequin and a fabric snowflake to create the 3D embellishment for the center which I mounted with a tiny white brad.  I found this stamped greeting in my stash, trimmed it to size and sponged its edges.  Next, I sponged the edges of the white layer to coordinate with the greeting and mounted this large element to the front of an orange card.  Added the greeting below the snowflake using double sided tape.  Love this card with its non traditional colour scheme!!    Therese

Slow Stitching - #4 purple in my rainbow set

I have just recently completed my fourth little square of Slow Stitching.  I have used a new stitch - zig zag coral stitch.  The heart was handcut from some hand stamped fabric I had created a while back for a swap project.  I worked on this one on three different sessions.  I am really enjoying the process. 

Therese

I made this card for a friend having a birthday soon!!!  I used a card kit from my stash and as often happens I was inspired to change it up a bit.  I adhered the decorative paper to my green card front and then added the embossed strip with a flagged end even with it on the right hand side.  I watercoloured this cute little gift image (Michelle Perkett) which was laser printed.  I trimmed the image into a tag shape and added a slot at the top then applied chalk around the edges to soften its edges.  I modified the ribbon in the slot to be better suited to the landscape format.  I adhered it with double sided tape.  I mounted the tag to my card using 3D foam tape.  You can check out the others here.        Therese