This and That with Photos!

Hello Fellow Stitchers!

If you're like me, photos of stitchy stuff are almost as good as the actual thing.  Not quite, but close.  ;-)

First off, I forgot (hangs head in shame) to post my last page finish on QS Dragonflies.  This is page 4 done.  The fabric is from Picture This Plus and I purchased it from 123stitch.com.

Once I started on page 5, I realized I was one row too low on most of page 4.  In order to get everything to line up properly, I'm adding a row of stitches as I go.  As least I'm not frogging!

Next up, the pretties that arrived in today's mail from 123stitch.com:

The bunch on the right is part of what I need for an autumn-themed project in the future.  I figured I'd start buying a few each time I place an order.  That way my Paypal account isn't screaming.

The colors on the left are for a project of my own design.  These are all Gentle Art Sampler Threads (GAST).  There are 2 Forest Glade, 1 Acorn (brown), and 7 Weathered Barn.  The WB was a bit darker than I thought it was going to be but looking at it, I think it's going to be perfect!  No, I'm not telling what it's going to be.  No, there won't be any progress photos.  This is for a pattern that hopefully, I'm going to eventually offer for sale so no previews apart from the threads.

Last, but not least, is a photo of the cabinet where I store some of my supplies.  I've redone the look of it after browsing ideas on Pinterest.

Here it is before:

...and here it is now:

The top drawer has miscellaneous "stuff"; second drawer is all my tools (hammer, pliers, etc.); third drawer holds my collection of Mill Hill beads; fourth drawer has stock size frames and mats; fifth drawer is the few cross stitch kits I own; long drawer is stuffed with crochet thread (bedspread/doily type).   The door has been converted into a chalkboard.  Behind it I have a shelf of my glues and paints and the rest is my floss and Kreinik collection.

The bouquet on top is my wedding flowers.  So glad I opted for silk.  After all these years (21 this month), they'd look awful if they'd been real.

Happy Stitching!

Stacy

Another Pinterest Craft

I've been wanting to try the Sharpie on a mug idea for a few weeks now.  After reading a bunch of different posts, I found out that you either need a Sharpie Paint pen or else a porcelain paint pen.  I was doing some online craft shopping anyway, so I bought myself two of the porcelain paint pens - one black and one red.

For my first attempt, I thought I'd do a mug for my secret sister (S.S.) from church.  Off to the dollar store I went (bummer, more shopping!).  I got the mug...and a bunch of bins to use for my scrapbooking supplies.  There will most likely be a post about my scrapbooking stuff later.

My S.S. has her kitchen done in French country style so I figured the red pen was the best choice.  Also because of the French theme, I made my own stickers using the French Script font.  Here's where I have a confession to make...I have access to some pretty sophisticated equipment and I don't hesistate to use it!  In this instance, I'm referring to a laser engraving machine.  This is one of the perks of owning my own trophy shop; another perk is that the shop is attached to my house.

I fell in love with the "negative" look I'd seen on several different pins so I went with that.  This means that the initials I was going to create would be blank, the design is around them.

A couple of things that I learned on this first project:  make sure your stickers are firmly fastened down; and make sure to remove them before the paint dries!  I found that using an xacto-style knife works really well for removing the stickers.  You'll notice that the edges around the letters are a little wonky.  That's because I had to do some touch-up after removing the stickers since the paint had dried before I took them off.

The instructions with the pen for the baking process were to put the item in a cold oven, let it heat up to 375°, then start the timer and bake it for 40 minutes.  Once the 40 minutes was up, I turned off the oven, opened the door and let the oven and the mug cool down (according to the pen's directions).  This process should make the mug dishwasher safe.

Here (insert drumroll) is the finished mug:

Items used in this project:

• plain white mug from my local Dollar Tree
• DecoArt Glass Paint Marker from CreateforLess.com
• Windex to clean the area to be painted
• Letter stickers - while I made my own, any stickers would work

Will I do another of this type of project?  Most definitely, yes!  It was fun, inexpensive and easy to do.  I'm already thinking about Christmas gifts!

Happy Stitching and Crafting!

Stacy

Pinterest ~ WIP ~ Animals

Yes, I know that's a wide range of topics that I'm planning to cover!

First of all:  Pinterest.  Unfortuately, I've discovered that evil website.  ;-) 

Just kidding about it being evil...addicting does apply though.  If you would like to follow me on Pinterest, you can find me listed as stacy27c.

Now here are a couple of ideas that I discovered on Pinterest and have actually done.  The first is an ornament that I did as a small present for my niece's wedding.  The curls are created by slicing the wedding invitation up.  The only thing that I did differently from the original post is to use a knitting needle to wrap the paper around.

The second is a box made out of paper strips.  I actually made this to hold the ornament.  The post for that one I think is in Japanese but easy enough to see how to do it.  I used scrapbooking paper to make mine.  It took two sheets of 12" x 12" paper.

 


Next comes some WIP progress!  I worked on what is now my focus piece:  12 Days of Christmas from Teresa Wentzler.  I finished off Days 5 and 6 which puts me at the half-way mark!

Since that was my goal for this turn in my rotation, I've put it aside for a bit and my randomizer chose Rapunzel from HAED as my next WIP.

And now for the animals mentioned in the title.  I live in the beautiful Pacific Northwest of the United States.  On the way home from church last week, my husband and I were treated to this sight:

For those who might not know what these lovely creatures are, they are Roosevelt Elk.  These are all cows (females) and calves.

Happy Stitching!

Stacy