Bonjourno everyone!!
I've got lots of great crafty goodness to share with you all so I hope you have something to warm your hands with a good cup of something. I'm holding a cup of coffee since my hands are freezing. Perhaps I should put on one of my mug cozies I've been crocheting up?! I can't though since they are gifts for people. The other night, my husband watched me jump from project to project with reckless abandon; stitching, crocheting, pinning, gluing and painting. I caught the Christmas craft bug in a big way. I found a great tutorial on how to make crocheted stars and have made three already. I'm hoping to whip up more of these as cute little gifts for my friends and family. They take less than 20 minutes to make and all I need now is some starch to spray onto the stars for them to retain their shape. That and some glitter...my hubby's suggestion. He's such a great guy!! If you are interested in making some of these charming stars, check out this great blog by Matt: According to Matt. He adds glue on his stars but another blog suggests starch, so that's what I'm going to use. I still need to attach some bells at the end and then they are finished. I also started a deer silhouette for my brother's bullet box. I'll be painting the box brown or may stain it. What do you think I should do? I've never stained anything before. Anyone have suggestions?
I find it funny to upload this photo here since I've already uploaded it first to Facebook and Instagram. It seems there are a lot of us stitchers on both media platforms finding each other more and more everyday. Is blogging going to be a thing of the past? Although I do enjoy Instagram and facebook, I hope blogging stays because I do enjoy reading people's posts in a diary/journal type form!
Onto more crafty goodness. I'm happy to announce that Meari has received my mailart!! After the people (rather the young buck) at the post office looked at me like I was crazy and was not helpful at all, I mailed the envelope with some trepidation. I had visions of people at the letter sorting place pulling it out of the line and opening it or destroying it!! Why, I don't know...I was just worried!! So glad that it made it to her and she told me her parents thought it was really cool to receive mail from BC so they got out an atlas to find me! Check out her post! I can hardly wait to receive mine. This is my first private exchange and I enjoyed every bit, even the worrying part!
The design on the back is a freebie from The Little Stitcher. The design on the front is a freebie from Gazette94. I stitched the tree and a bunch of the snowflakes randomly all around the tree. I used DMC threads for all of the stitching. The variegated red is 119 I believe. I used some sort of evenweave fabric that was in my stash. I hope to do this again...wink wink Meari!
Finally one of my giveaway prizes has been received. Pat from Southpaw Stitcher loved the pillow I made for her and the treats I included for her to use. I am happy with the finish too. For some reason I do "perfect" finishes for others....just not for myself. Maybe I should pretend that the finish I'm working on is for someone else and then it will turn out ok! I stitched it on 32 ct. Lambswool with DMC threads. Her photos on her blog are much better than mine.
Still waiting for the other two to arrive...but they have further to travel.
So on that crafty crazy day, I finished my Two White birds. Not happy with the finish at all. It's crooked, the ribbon bow is bunchy, the ribbon around the pinkeep is wonky...sigh. I'm sure none of you will see any of these flaws, but I do. Not only is it not what I envisioned, but there's some sort of pink blog dot on one of the bird's tails. You can't see it in the photo since the ribbon covers it.
I haven't posted a TUSAL in ages, so here's my year end orts. The bowl is overflowing and I have to figure out what to do with all of those orts.
We finally put our Christmas tree up last night! Yay! We listened to Christmas tunes and Loreena McKennitt's Christmas album. The song "Snow" always makes me emotional and nostalgic for Christmas times past. I remember listening to this song in the kitchen while making sugar cookies with my mom when I was16 years old. We listened to the tape on a tape player and stayed up until 1 am making cookies. That night it was snowing and everything was quiet save for Loreena's voice echoing in our kitchen. Magical...isn't it?
Take care everyone and thank you for staying with me this long! I appreciate all of the lovely comments and well wishes everyone is sending me and my husband. He appreciates it too and thanks everyone who has taken a moment to think of him.
Anne
I've got lots of great crafty goodness to share with you all so I hope you have something to warm your hands with a good cup of something. I'm holding a cup of coffee since my hands are freezing. Perhaps I should put on one of my mug cozies I've been crocheting up?! I can't though since they are gifts for people. The other night, my husband watched me jump from project to project with reckless abandon; stitching, crocheting, pinning, gluing and painting. I caught the Christmas craft bug in a big way. I found a great tutorial on how to make crocheted stars and have made three already. I'm hoping to whip up more of these as cute little gifts for my friends and family. They take less than 20 minutes to make and all I need now is some starch to spray onto the stars for them to retain their shape. That and some glitter...my hubby's suggestion. He's such a great guy!! If you are interested in making some of these charming stars, check out this great blog by Matt: According to Matt. He adds glue on his stars but another blog suggests starch, so that's what I'm going to use. I still need to attach some bells at the end and then they are finished. I also started a deer silhouette for my brother's bullet box. I'll be painting the box brown or may stain it. What do you think I should do? I've never stained anything before. Anyone have suggestions?
I find it funny to upload this photo here since I've already uploaded it first to Facebook and Instagram. It seems there are a lot of us stitchers on both media platforms finding each other more and more everyday. Is blogging going to be a thing of the past? Although I do enjoy Instagram and facebook, I hope blogging stays because I do enjoy reading people's posts in a diary/journal type form!
Onto more crafty goodness. I'm happy to announce that Meari has received my mailart!! After the people (rather the young buck) at the post office looked at me like I was crazy and was not helpful at all, I mailed the envelope with some trepidation. I had visions of people at the letter sorting place pulling it out of the line and opening it or destroying it!! Why, I don't know...I was just worried!! So glad that it made it to her and she told me her parents thought it was really cool to receive mail from BC so they got out an atlas to find me! Check out her post! I can hardly wait to receive mine. This is my first private exchange and I enjoyed every bit, even the worrying part!
 |
| The inside fabric |
 |
| the back |
 |
| the front |
Finally one of my giveaway prizes has been received. Pat from Southpaw Stitcher loved the pillow I made for her and the treats I included for her to use. I am happy with the finish too. For some reason I do "perfect" finishes for others....just not for myself. Maybe I should pretend that the finish I'm working on is for someone else and then it will turn out ok! I stitched it on 32 ct. Lambswool with DMC threads. Her photos on her blog are much better than mine.
 |
| Prairie Schooler Fall |
Still waiting for the other two to arrive...but they have further to travel.
So on that crafty crazy day, I finished my Two White birds. Not happy with the finish at all. It's crooked, the ribbon bow is bunchy, the ribbon around the pinkeep is wonky...sigh. I'm sure none of you will see any of these flaws, but I do. Not only is it not what I envisioned, but there's some sort of pink blog dot on one of the bird's tails. You can't see it in the photo since the ribbon covers it.
I haven't posted a TUSAL in ages, so here's my year end orts. The bowl is overflowing and I have to figure out what to do with all of those orts.
We finally put our Christmas tree up last night! Yay! We listened to Christmas tunes and Loreena McKennitt's Christmas album. The song "Snow" always makes me emotional and nostalgic for Christmas times past. I remember listening to this song in the kitchen while making sugar cookies with my mom when I was16 years old. We listened to the tape on a tape player and stayed up until 1 am making cookies. That night it was snowing and everything was quiet save for Loreena's voice echoing in our kitchen. Magical...isn't it?
Take care everyone and thank you for staying with me this long! I appreciate all of the lovely comments and well wishes everyone is sending me and my husband. He appreciates it too and thanks everyone who has taken a moment to think of him.
Anne
32 comments:
Lots of stitchy goodness! I'd be afraid to do mail-art!
You have so much awesoem pieces.. love the mail-art..
Beautfull tree.
You have snow???
I love snow.. send some to me
So glad the mail art arrived safely. Do you have to only include flat things I imagine?
I am freezing here too.
Lovely stitching and beautiful tree. I use liquid starch. In case it needs a washing in the future it can be washed. Glue will sometimes turn a little yellow after time. Sometimes I use it straight from the bottle, or I dilute it with water.
Very cool mail art. You selected a nice combination of patterns and the envelope looks great. I'm glad you enjoyed the worrying part...that's definitely not the part I like!
Your other finishes are lovely too. The birds may not be perfect, but only you would pay attention to it. The ornament looks so pretty in your display.
Spray starch is easiest for stiffening the stars, but the kind I've used doesn't always get it stiff enough. Actually, I've even used hairspray in a pinch! The ultra-mega-hold kind!
Anne, you are a busy little elf! I especially love the mail art that you did - so pretty!
Oh wow, so much to look at and admire! Fantastic! I'm always afraid that mail art will go missing or get destroyed. It's so beautiful!
All the crafty things look great as does you very pretty tree. I hope you DH is feeling much better.
Lovely mail art, I'm sure it gave the postie a smile. I've been having fun catching up on all your recent posts.
So wonderful to see you excited with christmas season :D it's a magical time! Enjoy!!!! :D
Lovely exchange!!!! Such a beautiful finish :)
You've done great! Congrats on your work :D
Hugs&smiles
Great post, Anne.
I love your mail art. It's so pretty, I can understand your trepidation with the post. Thanks for sharing the designer.
I love Christmas yet between the memories and nostalgia, we can't help but become emotional. Our love of what was can never be taken from us and that is what makes for tradition! Thankfully, with each year we make more memories :)
I hope you and your husband have a Merry and Blessed Christmas!
Your posts are a joy to read!
You are very busy crafting these days, but then it's no wonder as it's gift time, lol.
I love your mail art envelope, it has great motifs. I used to do that as well but stopped after a while when I heard about two envelopes that didn't arrive.
The fall pillow you made turned out great. And I also love the bird pinkeep.
These snowflakes will look great on your treee when you starch them. I once read that you can also starch them with sugar water but I have never tried it.
Oh my, Loreen McKennitt's voice is
breath-taking. I often listen to her.
Wow! That mail art is fantastic!!! I've never heard of it before but the idea is great! Although, yes I would be worried about it not reaching the final destination or it getting dirty! Love the little birds finish too :) I can't see anything wrong with it & it truly looks adorable. Have a lovely time at Christmas xxx
Wow Anne!! The crocheted stars look amazing. The mailart exchange is lovely and so are your other finishes for your giveaway.
Hugs!!
Chris
Hi Anne! You have certainly been busy! How talented you are, doing all these different things! The star ornament is lovely, & your brother will love that bullet box : ) Staining the box will be simple. Really. Nothing to it. Just follow the directions : ) That's a beautiful exchange you made for Meari! The giveaway prize for Southpaw is great, & you're right ... I see nothing wrong with Two White Birds : ) Pretty song, pretty tree, especially pretty cold & snow : )
I've always been fascinated by Meari's mail art, Anne, and your gift to her is just beautiful!! Really amazing how that travels through the Canadian and US postal systems and arrives in good shape :)
Your giveaway prize turned out great!! Really cute...and I love all the starts that you're making. I think I need to expand my list of crafts I do when I retire :)
So glad your tree is up--ours is almost finished. Just need to add the beaded garland and the little bows. I do love seeing it all lit up each night, don't you?
Hi Anne,
Yes...you have been biten by the Christmas craft bug..lol...I like blogging...much better then Facebook..I saw your mailart on Meari's blog...You did a sweet job and it's so adorable..If I tried to mail it from here..I know the Post Office would frown upon it..They are to serious..What a cute pillow..You did a fantastic job..I know what you could do with those orts..buy one of those clear plastic ornaments and put the floss ends in it to hang on your tree?? just a thought..If you don't/can't find one...I can mail you one if you would like..I think your finish is lovely with the two white birds..I feel the same way...I do a finish for someone else and it looks flawless..if I stitch for me..I find everything wrong with it..Wishing you and your family a Merry Christmas!
Hugs,Carolyn
Very pretty! The only ornament I wanted to stitch this year was the seagulls, but I never got it done! Too much deliberating on how to dye my fabric:( Yours looks great from here though!
Jenn@JennsCraftyWorld
Beautiful stitching! All your finishing looks amazing :D I've always wanted to crochet stars! First I'd have to learn how to crochet, though...
Great post! Love the mail art ~ I'd be so nervous sending it in the mail!
Wow! You've gotten a lot accomplished! Love the mail art!
I love the mailart! I would have been worried about it reaching it's destination too...that's so great it got there safely!
I love that last picture =D
I love all your pictures in this post but this last one put a smile on my face =D
poor little guy bare foot in the snow :)
you 'must' give me your instagram name sweetie =D
I want to follow you.....
and this piece you've done ! wow ! c'est vraiment magnifique =D
wonderful
a very great job once again
xxxxxx
You've finished some lovely things, your Mail art is stunning.
Your tree looks lovely
So many beautifully stitched pieces Anne as usual. Crocheted stars are very enjoyable to make. Thank you for the youtube link to Drive the Cold Winter Away. A lovely song. Wishing you a wonderful and Merry Christmas and all the best in 2014 with enough time to cross stitch and post on your blog :)
Great stitching on everything. Glad your mail-art arrived safely :-)
Love the mail-art, I think I'd put it in a see-through plastic sleeve to protect it, but I've seen the state envelopes arrive in here in the UK!
I use my TUSAL ORTs to stuff ornies but some people leave them out for the birds to make nest linings.
I certainly hope blogging doesn't become a thing of the past. I'd rather blog than anything else!
Lots of lovely things to see on your post. You have been busy.
Merry Christmas!
You certainly have been busy! Your finishes are adorable.
Thank you again for doing the mailart exchange with me. So it was the first private exchange and your first mailart? I have yours propped up on the wrought iron Christmas tree by my music players. Prominently displayed for the holidays :) I love it! (I hope yours gets there before Christmas)
Happy Holidays, Anne!
P.S. Re: your box question... Spray painting is easier and takes less time than staining. Which way to go depends on the look you want. I've done both.
Hi Anne, now let me be sure about this. You stitched an envelope and then posted it? How awesome is that?
Oh!! What a lovely lot of crafty goodness! And I think your two white birds are very lovely!! I do agree that my finishes for others are usually better than my own. But maybe that is in part because I usually do a "known" technique for others but try crazy things when I'm doing it for myself.
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