Tree of Life, and a local designer

Tree of Life Mini Sampler by Lila's Studio

Stitched 2 over 2 on 28 ct. Bo Peep Pink

I've blogged about Lila's Studio before, when I first discovered her charts at my LNS, Just Crossstitch.  Lila is from Collegeville (not far from me at all).  This is the Tree of Life mini sampler I stitched up late last year on a piece of  Bo Peep Pink linen I had in my stash.  The piece was just the right size to stitch this up, and I'll eventually frame it to hang with some of our other bird pieces.

If you haven't checked out Lila's catalog, you definitely should.  She has some really lovely designs, several of which I've purchased, and a few more are on my list. Some of the designs have a distinct PA Dutch / PA German feel to them.  And I just spotted a peacock one that I hadn't noticed before that will make a perfect gift for a dear friend of mine who adores peacocks.

I like this piece because it has that PA Dutch feel to it, and it reminds me of a stitched piece my MIL has had hanging in her breakfast nook forever.  Her friend designed and stitched it for her at least 30 years ago.

I had such a fondness for the piece that I stitched two more on 14 ct. aida cloth.  (My MIL's friend no longer has her original work)  The blurred area you see is our family name, just like on the one at my in-laws.  

One of the pieces sits on a dry sink in our front hall, and we gave the other one to my BIL and his wife for their home.  The design fits perfectly into a 5x7 frame, so this was a quick and easy gift for them.  It's such a simple little piece, but it does have great sentimental value to me.

I did think at one point to stitch this four times, as a "Four Seasons" type piece with bare branches for winter, tiny pale green leaves for spring (maybe some pink blossoms), the green leave you see here for summer, and autumn leaves, but then I took a look at my stash pile and figured stitching this twice was probably enough, at least for now.

How Pinteresting... Part 2

So in addition to the button monograms I posted about the other day, and the button ornaments I did a few years ago, I have another Pinterest Project to share.

My cousin had a Pinterest Party in December, and asked guests to bring something they made from a recipe they pinned, and a craft project to work on.  I made these Cheesy Bacon Rotel Cups, which were a huge hit.  They are SUPER easy to make and insanely delicious.  Even the guests who said they hated mayonnaise gobbled them up.  I've made them a couple times and the Hormel real bacon in the bottle (near the salad dressings and toppings) works just as well as bacon I cooked myself and was far less messy.

The craft project I worked on was something I've had pinned for a while - floor wax and glitter ornaments.  My friend Michele made some the Christmas before last and said they held up beautifully in storage.  I have been noticing that the clear glass ornaments you can buy at the craft store are much thinner and more delicate than they used to be.  I was worried about them breaking, so I bought the acrylic ones instead.  I also picked up a multipack of ULTRA FINE glitter that had 16 different colors in separate packets (because I have a decision making disorder and can't possibly commit to one or even two colors).  Most every tutorial I read stressed the importance of the ultra fine glitter for the best coverage.  You can also buy a six-pack of the glitter at the Dollar Store, but I found the glitter from AC Moore was better quality and wasn't that much more expensive, especially with a coupon.  An entire packet of glitter was enough to cover the inside of the medium sized acrylic balls, and definitely enough to cover the inside of the medium sized "disc" ornaments.

Monogramed

I won't describe the whole process - I followed these instructions, and they're very good.  The ornaments are really pretty and sparkly all on their own, but they were a little boring.  I had two ideas for jazzing them up a little, a rhinestone monogram using stickers from the scrapbooking section (the stickers in that post are exactly the ones I used) and a snowman handprint ornament.

Since I had 16 different colors to work with, I used a whole packet per ornament and did ones for Little Dude, my niece and nephew, and a pair for my cousin in their wedding colors of pink and black (she got the pink one, he got the black).  This one is Little Dude's.  For the monogram ornaments, I went with the disc shaped ones instead of the round.

A word of caution while using the stickers - they can be a little tricky to get placed correctly and trying to move them around can cause the little rhinestones to pop off (the stickers are the tiny rhinestones set on a clear, letter shaped adhesive base).  A steady hand and a pair of tweezers can come in very handy, and you can press the rhinestones back into place.

Given  Little Dude's train obsession, we did a train ornament for him using stickers.  For this one, the train goes most of the the way around (it was a pack of individual stickers) the ornament with his name in the middle.

I don't have a photo of it, but on the back of the ornaments, I used flat silver stickers, also from the scrapbooking section, for the year.  A little trick I discovered for perfectly lined up stickers was to use the sticky strip on a post it note to line up the individual number stickers to form the year.  The tweezers will come in handy here as well.  Be sure to put them in reverse order, sticky side up.  Once your numbers are arranged and spaced to your liking, use the post it note to transfer them to the ornament, rubbing over the post it note to adhere the stickers to the ornament.  MUCH easier than trying to get the stickers lined up straight and evenly spaced on the ornament itself.  I used the same stickers for spelling out Little Dude's name as well, using the same post it note method.

I also did some other round ornaments with the glitter, and for these, I painted up Little Dude's hand with some white acrylic paint and had him put his handprint on the ornament.  We practiced a few times BEFORE I put the paint on his hand, and he did really well with this.  I walked him through the process very slowly for each ornament, and I was amazed that he cooperated.  Once the handprints dried (you can see the little cardboard rings I made up to hold the balls in place until the paint dried) I painted on hats, scarves, faces and buttons, as well as the year.  Little Dude chose the blue one for himself, my ILs got the red one, the gold one went to my husband's aunt & uncle, and the green went to my aunt & uncle.  (We handed them out at Thanksgiving so they were able to put them on their trees for Christmas).

How Pinteresting!

I'm an avid pinner, and while there's tons of projects I've pinned and will never do, I DO have something I've actually completed.  Two kinds of projects - one involving buttons and the other involving glitter and floor polish.  Let's do the button ones first, since I did them a while ago.

I have previously mentioned that we inherited a large bag of buttons from my husband's grandmother, some of which were turned into Christmas ornaments.  Another few buttons were incorporated into a piece my husband stitched and framed for his mom in memory of his grandmother.  I wanted to do something else with them as well, something that could be displayed year round.  I hit up Pinterest for some ideas and found many links to artwork made with buttons, including a cute button elephant, a button sheep, a star (one of my favorites, of course!), word art, a heart, and flower pictures like this one and this one.

Monogram for my niece

But what really piqued my interest were the monograms, and as soon as I saw them, I knew that's what I would be doing.   These were sewn onto fabric, but I decided to go with scrapbook paper and hot glue, which worked out fine.  I wanted to do a monogram for each of the great grandchildren - my niece and nephew, and Little Dude.

All of the buttons were sorted by color, The first thing I did was go through the hundreds of fonts I have on my computer and test out which ones I wanted to use for the different monograms.  Since I was using pink buttons for my niece, I wanted something swirly and feminine for her monogram.  I figured out what size frame I was going to use, and adjusted the font to fill the frame.  I chose a pink scrapbook paper for the background, then printed out the monogram.

Little Dude's Monogram

Originally, I had planned to do the monogram on velum paper and place it on top of the scrapbooking paper, but it ended up muting the background more than I wanted, so I made a very light outline on the scrapbook paper with pencil and laid out the buttons to fill it in.

It was a slightly tedious process and there was no good way to place the monogram under the scrapbook paper and avoid the pencil lines.  If you look VERY closely at the finished product, you can see a bit of the outline, but if you're not looking for it, it's not that noticeable.  Once all the buttons were in place, I started gluing them in (hence the tedious part).

Our Monogram

I made a monogram for my niece and nephew, and for Little Dude.  (I don't have a good photo of my nephew's, but his is done with pearlized white buttons on a wavy green background in an oak frame.)  I also made F monograms for our family name, one each for our house, my in-laws and my husband's brother's family.

Each one is a little different, and I tried to personalize it to the house it would be in.  For ours, I used blue and white to match our living and dining rooms, and front hall, where the piece now hangs.  It's also the same font we used for our wedding invitations. 



For my in-laws, I went with red since it's my MIL's favorite color, and the buttons came from her mother.    And for my BIL and SIL's, I used the gold buttons on an antique looking background.  All three are different and very pretty.  I apologize for the pictures - it's hard to get a decent picture with glass and I was taking these just before I wrapped them up for Christmas gifts.

 

For my in-laws

 

For my BIL and SIL

All of the frames were purchased from the craft store.  The ones for my niece and nephew were in rectangular frames.  I had those done first, and then a while later, I found the square frames that included the mat (I think the opening is 8x8 in a 10x10 frame, and I cut down a 12x12 sheet of scrapbook paper for each one.

The gifts were well received, and on the back of each of the frames, I put a sticker that says "In Loving Memory of Julia ____" and the dates of her birth and death.

If you are looking for other button art ideas, here's a few links.  I'm pretty sure the button trees will be happening here, and perhaps the salt shaker flowers.  (My friend Michele did some cute button flowers for Valentine's Day last year)

Links to Button Art Ideas:

http://craftandcreativity.com/blog/2013/01/12/buttontree/

• Crafts to make with Buttons and Sequins on Tipjunkie
• Button Pumpkins
• Button Bicycles
• Salt Shaker Button Bouquets
• Wired Button Tree Tutorial
• Another Button Tree
• Pearly Pin and Button Tree
• Vintage Button Lampshade
• Button Garland

With all this talk about wedding and anniversary pieces...

I'd like to share something that one of my fellow stitchers has done.  Every year since their third anniversary, my friend the Stitch Bitch has stitched an anniversary piece for her husband, The Dude.  (No relation to my Little Dude)

This is the arrangement of most of the pieces, which you can see in detail (including names and designers) in this post.

And for the pieces she's done since:

• 2011: Brown House Studio - Small House Sampler
• 2012: Hands to Work - Love, Me
• 2013: Midsummer Night Designs - Me & You Sampler

No word yet on what the 2014 piece will be.

How cute is this?

Look what my LNS has in stock....

For more information, check out the Just Cross Stitch blog.  You can also email Carolyn, the owner, at justcrossstitch AT rcn.com (remove the spaces and insert the @ sign).  And if you're in the Philly suburbs, you can stop by the shop in Lederach, PA.  (I cannot be held responsible if you come out of the shop with more than the mug though...)

You can also "like" the shop on Facebook.

Wedding and Anniversary Gifts

Last week, we celebrated our 10th anniversary, and wedding and anniversary pieces have been on my mind.  My in-laws' 50th anniversary will be coming up in the not too distant future, so I've been thinking about something we could stitch for them.  It's also traditional wedding season - June is still big for weddings, right?  (Although it seems like October is pulling ahead in terms of popularity.)  

I've already shown you some of the Bent Creek pieces I've done for weddings in a previous post.  I thought it would be fun to go back and look at some of the pieces I've stitched as wedding gifts, or on occasion, anniversary gifts because I can't get my act together in time for the wedding.  And in the case of this first piece, a Christmas gift because we didn't even stitch at the time the wedding took place.

I like to tie what I stitch into the event whenever possible.  With weddings that don't have a specific theme, I look to the the time of year, location, even a special reading or a song from the ceremony for inspiration. 

This is a piece I modified from a Leisure Arts leaflet called Marriage Keepsakes.  I had stitched the pattern once before, as designed.  This time, I changed the text to a poem my BIL and SIL used on the bookmark favors for their wedding.  They didn't have a theme for their wedding, so I drew on the colors they used, blue and silver.

Another couple I stitched a gift for also didn't really use a theme for their wedding, so I used this Bucilla kit, "To Love and To Cherish" as a gift for my far away friend.  She and I met online while we were planning our weddings, and have remained close ever since.

I changed the pink flowers to a peachy color so they would look more like the peach colored carnations that the bride chose for her bouquet and their decor.

I've also designed pieces completely from scratch by using motifs from several books I own.    This is where cross stitch software comes in VERY handy.  I have used PC Stitch for several years with great results, though I must admit that once I upgraded, some of the functions I could do quickly and easily became more complicated, and I am still muddling my way through some of the software.  (I want to go back to the old way of doing things for some functions, and it's just not possible.

For my friend Kelly (also a fellow wedding planning site buddy), I created a piece using the Song of Solomon quote they used for their invitations.  Red roses were a big part of their fall wedding, so I incorporated that into the piece as well.  The rose motif in the middle was tricky - I wanted something symmetrical - and ended up playing with a charted rose and its mirror image to get the look I was going for.  (Names are intentionally blurred for privacy)






One of the more unusual pieces I've done was for a couple that had marigolds and cicadas for their wedding theme.  Definitely not your typical wedding theme!  In 2004, the cicadas of Brood X (the largest group of periodical cicadas that emerge every 17 years) were coming out.  The marigold part was easy - I tapped the same flower book I used for the roses in the previous piece, but the cicadas proved to be a challenge.

I ended up stitching a simple piece, and worked the cicadas into the framing.  I found some line art drawings and printed them on velum paper, then used an Exacto knife to trim away the excess and cut out the middle.  I mounted the paper to a store bought mat with spray adhesive.  It turned out better that I expected and made for a very interesting wedding record.  Working with printed velum and a store bought mat can be tedious, but it adds a whole new level of versatility and flexibility to framing pieces.


On a much more traditional note, I used a reading that was very important to the couple to stitch this Book of Ruth Sampler by Design Connection (now OOP).  The names were charted out on paper, pre-stitching software, and I would definitely move some things around were I to stitch it again.

And the last piece I have for today should be familiar to many of you, as it's Blackbird Designs I Thee Wed.  It was a commissioned piece, stitched for my cousin to gift to a friend.  You can find the details on the piece here.

 Do you stitch gifts for weddings, anniversaries or other significant life events?  How do you choose what you will stitch?  Do you have any go to designers or charts that you've stitched more than once (like my fondness for Bent Creek's I Do)?

What our stitching means

Just recently, I read a post by my friend Rachel, talking about her stash and how she regrets the amount of money she spent on it, needs vs. wants, and emotional shopping.  I think at some point, we've all been there - maybe about our stash, maybe about other things like clothes or shoes or kitchen gadgets.  In my case, as a parent, I'm trying to be more aware of money I spend on *stuff* my son thinks he wants, but doesn't really need, like all the little doo dads in the Target Dollar Spot.  Sure, it's a thrill for him to get something, and I love to see a smile on his face, but does he NEED another plastic car or novelty?  And more importantly, will those trinkets matter in the years to come?  Probably not, nor do I want to get my son in the habit of spending money on momentary rewards that are tossed aside almost as soon as we get home.

The following day, I came across this post on Positively Splendid.  In the post, Amy talks about this beautiful pillow her mom made for her, all by hand.  She says, "This pillow will always be a tangible reminder of her love for me, something that can eventually be passed on to future generations."

She also talks about the very special quilts her grandmother created for her grandchildren, and what they mean to her, and I think we as crafters need to know exactly what Amy says, "Your creativity matters."

It's really a beautiful post and a wonderful tribute to the creative women in Amy's life, and her post is well worth reading.

I also think it puts a lot in perspective.  While I can see where Rachel is coming from, and I can definitely relate to regrets about spending money on certain things (like the Dollar Spot nonsense), I think Amy really nails it.  Obviously, the greatest investment in our stitching is our time, but the materials aren't cheap either.  The cost of the floss, fabrics, embellishments, charts and finishing materials can really add up, but I can't say I regret these purchases, or the time spent stitching.

I've been asked why I don't sell my stitched pieces.  Sometimes the easy answer is "copyright issues", but usually I respond that I will never recover monetarily what I put into it, so I only stitch for gifts, for people I genuinely care about.  My time and effort is as much a gift to them as the finished piece.  Years from now, my niece, nephew and son will be able to look at the birth records that were stitched for them and know they were done with love.  Someday when my son is an adult and decorating his own Christmas tree, I hope that the ornaments I made for him will be another reminder of how much I love him.  When our friends see the wedding records we've stitched and framed for them, I hope it's a joyful reminder of their wedding day, and of our love and support for them as well.

As Amy summed up, we "use our own two hands to create a lasting legacy with those we love, both near and from afar."

Happy 10th Wedding Anniversary!

My husband and I are celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary today.  (And tomorrow will be 10 years to the day of our engagement).  We'll be together 22 years in June, and it's been a pretty awesome ride so far.  We are not without our ups and downs, but we have learned from the difficulties to put our faith and trust in each other.

Without getting too mushy, my husband is the best man I know and I am so proud of how hard he works for us, how smart he is, how good he is with our son, and how understanding (and wise) he is with me.  Happy Anniversary, Mr. Sweet Pea!

And now a look at some of the pieces we've stitched over the years.  I will have our 10th Anniversary piece in a few days as I got a bit of a late start on it.

We stitched this piece together before our wedding.  Our wedding colors were blue and silver, and there was a running theme of stars throughout.  (Yes, it is mostly because we are Dallas Cowboys fans, though it was far less embarrassing to admit that 10 years ago than it is now.  But let's not talk about that.)

Count the Stars - Dimensions kit

We had just started stitching, so we relied on this kit from Dimensions that we modified as a wedding record.  We changed the wording to the line we used from an ee cummings poem that has special meaning to us.  When we were in college, my scientist husband (then chemistry student boyfriend) would send me ee cummings poems as love letters, something I thought was incredibly sweet).  We used line from another of his poems on our wedding invitations, "one's not half two.  It's two are halves of one:"

Several years later, I stitched this piece as a Valentine's / Anniversary piece for him (It was stitched for Valentine's Day, but I didn't end up framing it until our anniversary that year.

It's Peas in a Pod, Me and You by Sue Hillis designs.

Sadly, the last "anniversary" piece I stitched was for our fifth anniversary, you know, five years ago.  It has yet to be framed (I do HAVE the frame, I just have to convince my framer - Mr. Sweet Pea - to get it done.  Why yes, I do make him frame his own gifts.)

This is Always and Forever, by Little House Needleworks.  You can get the details here from our fifth anniversary post.  I ordered a somewhat ornate black frame for it, and it's all ready to go.  Perhaps it will get framed AND hung up sometime this year.  Won't that be exciting!  I actually have a spot on the wall all ready to go.  We have a corner area in our front hall where we've hung some old black and white family photos, including some wedding photos.  We even have a black and white wedding photo of our own hanging up, and I'd like to hang this piece along with them.

As I mentioned earlier, the 10th anniversary piece is currently in progress.  I had put it out of my mind for the longest time, and when I was at my LNS a few weeks ago, flipping through the racks, it occurred to me that MAYBE I should stitch something for our anniversary.  Nothing was really working for me, and then I spotted a chart I already owned (yay!) and was able to pick up the fabric I needed for it.  So now it's one of four (five, six....) projects on scroll frames sitting next to my stitching chair.  It's a fairly easy stitch (compared to the Sampler Cove and Long Dog pieces I am also working on), so it should be done soon.

Variation on a theme

A few years ago, I stitched Gabrielle Rose by La D Da as a gift for a friend's little girl.  It's pretty, with lovely muted pastel colors and an old fashioned feel.

It's a chart I really like for its simplicty, and it works really well for a little girl when the theme is more of a color scheme than a concrete theme (like butterflies or fuzzy sheep).


Since it's a versatile chart, I knew I would stitch it again, but this time I wanted to do something a little different.  Another friend of mine was having a baby, and they were going all out girly in pinks and greens for the nursery, but in more vivid hues than pastels.  They chose a bedding set from Pottery Barn called Petite Paisley for the nursery. Working from those colors, I went to my LNS and started to pull some brightly colored threads.  The owner thought I might be a little crazy, but I went for it, and it turned out even better than I hoped.  (Excuse the lines in the fabric - I know it will be almost a year, but I haven't framed it yet.  oops)

Gabrielle Rose by La D Da

Stitched 2 over 2 on 32 ct. white evenweave

with my own color selection

While I think the original is quite pretty, I'm also a little in love with the bolder colors! It's not as vibrant as the Pottery Barn bedding, but it still echos the fabrics nicely.  (The bluebirds might be my favorite part!)  The last name on the banner is blurred for privacy, but I used a lighter thread this time and it pops a little more than the grey thread I used the first time around.

If you're interested in the colors, I used GAST Dark Chocolate for the border, Presidential Blue and Fragrant Cloves for the birds, WDW Begonia, Saffron, Crepe Myrtle and Sunset for the flowers, and Meadow for the leaves and stems, CC House Wine for the banner and Magnolia Blossom for the banner lettering and white band on the birds.

Hopefully I will get this framed up soon, and perhaps gifted in its final format before the young miss turns one later this year!  (I've already shown the finished stitching to my friend and she loves it)  The plan is to frame it in a dark wood frame (to coordinate with the dark nursery furniture) so I'll update the blog once I get it framed.

I wish I may, I wish I might...

I like maintaining a wishlist on my blog, not only for my own personal use, but because it also makes it easier when I participate in an exchange.  It's nice to be able to see what your partner is interested in, so I like to make that information accessible to them.  When you can see what a fellow stitcher is interested in, choosing something they'll like is a bit easier.

I've used The Things I Want forever, but I don't think their interface has been updated since they rolled it out in 2006, and their development blog has been on hiatus since 2008.  It seems they've stopped working on it, and I don't want to lose my lists, so it's time to transition to something new.

I've experimented with several different "universal" wish lists, and so far, Whimventory seems to be winning.  There's a browser bar add-on that makes it super easy to add items from almost any site (I've had some difficulties with one or two sites, but have been able to find what I am looking for elsewhere so I can add it to the list).  The list is visual, like Pinterest, but includes more gift list functionality than Pinterest.

I also find it useful to keep an online inventory of my stash so I am able to check before I buy a chart to see whether or not I already have it.  I usually visit my LNS with specific charts in mind, or to pick up something I've asked the owner to order for me, but I will occasionally spot something that catches my eye.  If it's not a brand new release, I like to make sure I haven't purchased it before.

Cataloging my stash serves another purpose.  My very careful and meticulous father-in-law devoted some time to creating an inventory of their home and its contents for insurance purposes and encouraged us to do the same.  He took photos of everything, room by room, and gave digital copies to both of his sons.  I've been working on our home inventory as well, and realized it wasn't a bad idea to have a record of our stitching stash.  While it may not be as extensive as some other stitching stashes out there, we've still spent a sizeable amount of money on charts, fibers and fabrics, and having that all documented would be a tremendous help for an insurance claim (heaven forbid we ever need to do that).  So in addition to my online inventories, I also keep an excel spreadsheet with a backup copy in our firebox, mostly because I am tremendously paranoid that one of these websites will go away in the middle of the night, leaving me no record of what I have.  It was a LOT of work putting it together to begin with, but has become very easy to maintain just by adding charts when I buy new ones (which surprisingly isn't all that often)

Where do you keep track of your wishlists?  Do you keep track of what you own online or otherwise?