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.

Cherub Box PIF

Last year Cynthia signed up for my PIF and she told me her favorite colors were turquoise and purple. Lucky for me that a while back my friend Patty has sent me some pretty finishing cording that was turquoise and green. So this was a great opportunity to put that to good use. Enclosed in the box I included some of my purple and pearl pins. Cynthia has not been on line much but when she got it she was so happy that she phoned me up. She loved it and I was thrilled!

My instructions for how I finish my boxes are included on the Kustom Krafts complimentary Halloween design which will be available shortly. Please check it out if you have time & sign up for their monthly newsletter. I will writing up finishing instructions for some of the freebie monthly projects offered.

5 Stitching for a Cure Ornies

These 5 ornies were sent to Donna at http://stitchingforacure.blogspot.com/
for her fund raiser a while ago. Since October is breast cancer awareness month I thought I'd mention all of the great work that Donna has been doing to raise funds to fight cancer and raise awareness. I hope she raises lots! As a small thank you I also included some of my marking yellow rose pins for Donna.


Last week my job ended so I am trying to get back into my stitching groups to ease some of the stress of job hunting now that I have more time. I have lots of catching up to do! I want to see what all of my stitching friends have been up to. I have some good news to share. I have been doing some freelance writing and I became the editor of a stitching newsletter. My friend Cynthia told me about a designer who was looking for a crafty person who liked to write so I submitted a sample newsletter. As it turns out I really hit it off with Dyan, the very talented designer over at Kustom Krafts and she told me that my sample was by far the best she received. That made me feel so good you just can't image!

This has been a blessing because I needed something distracting to help me deal with the other crazy things in my life. Things with my Mom are still so stressful because at 85 managing her care take quite a toll on me. My awful job is over and that isn't such bad thing but finding a new one is no easy task. I pray that something pleasant turns up soon. In the mean time I have lots to keep me busy. If you would like to see the newsletter please sign up at kustom krafts
Also check out the Halloween freebie that is going to be available soon. The writing was only a small part of the process when compared to learning how to use the newsletter software and the process of sending it out. So I have been hard at work learning all the Do's and Don't of sending out email newsletters to mailing lists. Anyway we are about to send it out so please sign up. I stitched the model for the freebie Halloween design and supplied the finishing instructions. Isn't that cool! I hope you all like the project. Once the newsletter is out I will post a photo here on my blog. Plus I already stitched a little matching accessory but that is still a surprise.

Hugs,
Mare

An Odd Email

Among all the customary emergencies that make up my life I came across an unusual voice mail message and a puzzling email which actually might be good news. I will not be counting any chickens because since it was my email & voice mail. I am not being melodramatic but history has taught me to be cautious. The email was from Bob, my boss in my last perm job (I was let go 4/07). All of my coworkers & bosses have managed to keep in touch which says a lot about how much we all enjoyed working with each other.

"Hi, Got a call from xxx at xxx on Friday for a reference.
She told me you are joining xxx - congratulations - glad to hear it.
Gave her a great review -- which you deserve.
Just wanted to drop you a note. Everything is the same with me - still consulting at xxx -- really, not bad at all -- for now.

Lots of luck -- wish you all the best.
Stay in touch."

Now why this is such an odd email is because I did not get a job offer. In fact I firmly believe I my current job is being phased out & I have been expecting to find out when my assignment is ending. I have applied for other jobs at the company I am consulting but no one has interviewed me since Dec. 2008. So this must mean some one will be making me a job offer from my current spot. Normally that would be great. Unfortunately the group I am in has a very toxic culture but medical benefits, vacation, and paid holidays can be very high incentives. So if I do get a job offer I pray that the salary is something that we can live on. Or possibly maybe one of the other groups I work with has a need that they would like me to fill.

Wednesday we find out if our son looses his license. Saturday he sliced his hand open at work, so far we think it is fine. Friday DH & DS has a major clash which had me majorly upset. My son thinks since he turned 18, he gets to make his own rules. So not only do I have the cat alpha wars with my two fuzzy girls, I also have my 2 guys who both have big tempers butting heads. Then there my mom, who only wants me to spend my every waking hour taking care of her needs. Now she lives 3 hours away from me and I do work full time. Mom is up in years but basically since I have been about 8 or 9 I have been the parent. I was one of those odd little kids who never had a childhood. I turned 40 decades ago, now the rest of me has caught up. She will be the death of me because I have spent the majority of my life time protecting her from herself. There have been a few emergencies with her this week that have really taken their toll on me so I could use some good news.

TTE Floss tag rec'd from Australia

This pretty floss tag was done for me by Pokua in Western Australia. I just love the over dyed floss she used and my photo doesn't do the colors justice. She included pretty glass beads which I can't wait to use on my next fob. This was her first floss tag and she did such a lovely job for me. Thanks so much Pokua!

Black Work Fob

This little finish was done as a replacement fob for someone on my TTE Group whose exhange partner was unable to stitch a replacement piece when her original fob turned up missing.