Cat Ornine finished in wooden form

Have you ever walked down the unfinished wood section in a craft store? When I was wandering looking for the spray paint (used to finish the black box I did in Oct) I came across this wooden flower form and bought it. I tucked it away and forgot about it until the other day. I was trying to decide on how to finish a few things and this is what I came up with. It was very easy and simple to do. Too bad I only bought one wooden form but if you come across them you may want to try this type of finish.

Bookmark finishes

These bookmark finishes were created with scraps of fabric/ mesh left over from a project. The trio of hearts stitched with variegated purple are scraps from the ornaments in my previous post. I mounted them on card stock that I added thin ribbon tails to with a few beads for some book jewelry. The copper one matches a box I completed on 7 ct plastic canvas. I was once again trying to get my mom interested in stitching on plastic canvas (to no avail). I ended up designing a pretty box (no photo yet). I never thought I'd love how something on 7 ct came out but the box is charming even if I do say so myself.

If anyone knows how to post Patterm Maker charts on a blog please let me know. I'd post the patterns for my heart bookmarks that I did but I don't know how to.

Giveaway Reminder: I have a blog giveaway on Nov 30th, I love getting comments from fellow stitchers. Another great blog giveaway at Crafting with the Stitch Witch. And there is a beautiful stitchers box giveaway at Hooked on Stitches

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! I am so very grateful to all of my stitching friends and fellow bloggers all over the world. I am totally in awe of how beautiful many blog posts and pictures are.

Ahh Humbug.... from Meari

Have you ever made a humbug? I just completed my first one but my exchange partner has not received it yet so no photo to show you. These little things are finished sort of like a biscornu but instead of 2 squares you stitch a design or two on a small rectangle. At first I thought it would be fairly easy to select a small pattern but boy was I wrong. Given the shape of the thing, I wanted to use designs which added to the overall look. I went with something Christmas so it can be used as a fob or an ornament. Anyway my humbug is busy traveling to distant shores and I am happy with how it came out. In the meantime, I received my partner's humbug. Isn't Meari's humbug cute! She sent me a pretty package with 2 lovely fall fat quarters of fabric and some DMC. When an exchange is so thoughtfully put together around a theme it really makes you feel special. Meari's humbug is already gracing a pair of my scissors. I do love my fobs and use them all. My friend Kim (Oz) sent me my first fob and since then I have gotten a collection from stitching friends and exchange partners. All are so pretty and more than once when stitching on a project while visiting with my Mom I saw her fondly looking at them.

Sunday while flossing a crown popped off my tooth. It had been happily in place since 1996 so I feared the worst. I am a flossing maniac and just hate anything getting caught between my teeth. I have floss in my hand bag,coat pockets, in the bathroom and bedroom. Anyway it turns out that all I needed was to replace the glue and pop it back in, yeah! Flossing is so important & can prevent many other health problems. I also heard it can add 2 or so years to your life span. More importantly it avoids the need to ever see a periodontist and deal with painful gum treatments.

Remember to post a comment to my blog giveaway if you want to be entered.

Blog Giveaway, a couple of finishes & Etsy Shop Open

My blog's anniversary was in August so my timing is off but better late than never. I am giving away a set of 4 stitching rose buds pins (you pick the color) and the pattern for a fob that I did up to match the Kustom Kraft October freebie box model I stitched plus a mystery gift. The kitty was a silhouette in Dyan's original design. I gave her bead eyes, a nose and whiskers and added the rest. I checked with Dyan since this kitty is part hers and part mine & she gave me permission to do as I wish with this chart. So to enter please leave me a comment on this post. For a second chance, follow my blog and post an additional comment that you are a follower. For 3rd chance post about my giveaway on your blog and leave me an additional comment, and for a 4th chance heart my new Etsy shop.

Also anyone who purchases a set of my rose stitching pins can request a free copy of the fob pattern if you tell me you'd like one with your order.

I finished another cherub box on tan checked linen & in light blue as a ornie. This is a french blog freebie & I just love the design but don't remember where I found it. And I designed and stitched the Halloween black cat fob with the beaded edging. And this kitty is part of a litter so she will have some friends soon.

Anyway I am now selling my stitching pins on Etsy , please check it out if you have the time. Good luck, I'll draw the winner on November 30th.

3 Ornament finishes

These ornies done a while ago are on plastic mesh. They were quick and easily finished with stiff felt and ribbon. I like these little projects to take with me when I am visiting my Mom. Mom is in her 80's and I do her shopping, bills, and such. Mom has a part time health care aid, a nurse & thoughtful neighbors checking in on her. Thankfully we now have both a nurse and aid that she likes and feels comfortable with. That has been a huge relief! I have been trying to get Mom into crafting but it seems I must have gotten my craft genes from my father. I want to tell her "resistance is futile, I am the craft borg" but Mom has always rather watch me make stuff than do it & she was never a star trek fan. Last month we made some fall wreaths but I think she enjoyed giving them away more than making them. So we'll be doing some Christmas wreaths soon and maybe I can get her to keep one.

Problems with my pc mother board (which was replaced) and my USB port (which is still broken) makes it is still hard to load photos. I need to get my husband to placed the photos on a CD (thankfully that still works) in order to upload them to my machine.

I am seriously over due with blog and group posting. I have sent a number of exchanges, my last PIF, sent and received SS gifts and a bunch of raks off so those photos need to get posted. I also received a lovely rak from my friend Carla of stash goodies & pretty angel piece she stitched on fabric that she dyed herself. I made my first humbug and that is one its way to its new owner. I have been doing more of my flower pins, making earrings, designed a few smalls, did some work on the next Kustom Kraft newsletter projects & completed half of the kit that Carla send me. My hunt for a new job continues and I have been keeping my needles busy to help me deal with the stress.

My Fob PIF to Joke

This is the fob I send to my friend Joke. Her photos are better than mine so I hope she doesn't mind my using them. She send me a cute floss tag which I still need to take a snap shot of. The little yellow things sticking out of the fob are a couple of my rose stitching pins.

Kustom Krafts Halloween Freebie

This is the model I stitched up for the new Kustom Krafts Halloween freebie.

The original design was charted all in DMC. It was nice but as many of my stitching friends know I have a habit of putting my own twist of many of the projects I stitch up. I felt the urge to make a few changes which I don't think most model stitchers do.
I have never tried my hand at model stitching for this very reason. Dyan the designer over at Kustom Krafts seemed interested in what I would come up with. I had my doubts she would like it because I always thought most designers want their work stitched up exactly as they have charted it. Anyway I gave the kitty a little nose and whiskers and added beads to her eyes. Once she was done I felt the pumpkin needed a little make over. So I also gave him some bead eyes along with bugle bead teeth & a little leaf. I substituted one of DMC variations floss for the deep orange Dyan had charted in the pumpkin, Jack. Jack's bead eyes & teeth sort of looked like the flickering of an imaginary candle inside and the change in floss made him look more illuminated from within. Now that these two characters were done I wanted some soft shadows on the grass that they were sitting on. So another fiber substitution with one of the Gentle Art's greens which had a narrower range of variation. I love old trees and the one pictured was nicely done. I wanted more shadows but who can be bothered switching floss every few stitches stitched. I found the neatest brown called "drift wood" that DMC does and it seemed perfect. On to the moon, which I liked but I wanted a little shimmer or glow. I added one strand of blending filament which did the trick.

Anyway as you can tell I finished this project into a box. If you would like to do also finish this project on top of a box and read how I did it you can sign up for the Kustom Kraft newsletter to get the freebie and my instructions. Plus there is a special promotion which saves you on all purchases at their website this month.

Lastly here is a photo of the same project stitched without my changes.