Three More Stitched Ornaments

Hi There!

I have some more Christmas ornaments to share. I got the pattern for these from this book called Cross Stitch Christmas Creations. It's full of designs to be stitched on perforated paper and I have had a great time stitching these patterns. I could probably spend the next year working on the projects from this book alone, but I decided to put it aside for now because there are many projects I'd like to work on. What struck me the most about these ornaments is how shiny they are. I just finished them a little bit ago and Christmas is packed away, so I can't say for sure, but I have a feeling they will look so pretty with the lights on the tree reflecting off the shiny silver paper I stitched on. These designs called for Kreinik #4 braid thread, which helps add shiny texture to the ornaments as well. Wish the camera could pick up on how nice these look in real life. I  thought the color combinations were very striking.  

This is how I finished them so one doesn't have to see the messy backs. I used super sticky double-sided tape to adhere the two sides together. 

That's it from me today. The girls and I had today off for a teacher work day, so we are all back to school/work tomorrow. Who knows when I'll be able to finish my next project to share. Hopefully sooner rather than later. 

Until then, thanks so much for stopping by! Have a great day.

Hugs,

Jeanne

Counted Cross Stitch Advent Calendar

Hi there!

Whew! I did it! My friend Becky has displayed a beautiful counted cross stitch advent calendar in her house for several Christmases. Each year I have admired it very much. Well, over the summer, while our kids played together at her house,  we got on the topic of counted cross stitch patterns. She pulled out her pattern stash and I came across the one for the advent calendar. She generously loaned it to me and I have been working on it off and on for the past several months. Well, yesterday I put almost all the finishing touches on it and took pictures. I am so happy with this project and am very grateful for Becky's generosity. For the record, I've tried searching for the pattern to link for anyone who might want to purchase  the pattern, but I cannot seem to locate one. It's an older pattern and most likely out of print. Sorry for that! I took a picture of the pattern cover for reference. This was a lot of work, but so completely worth the effort. This is a little photo heavy and I hope you don't mind. Hope you enjoy. Click to enlarge any photo. When I couldn't work on stamping or cards, I was able to be creative by working on this project. Thanks, Becky!!

Quick story behind these clear snaps. They are hand sewn with clear thread.  This where I am completely spatially challenged. I initially thought I'd put the snaps toward the top of the square, not thinking that not all the pieces to be attached are the same height. I had already hand sewn the snaps onto the pieces you see below...at the top center of the piece. Yes, on all 25. It wasn't until I started putting the mate on the calendar squares and checking to see how they fit that I realized that it wasn't going to work. I had to take all the snaps off the pieces and reattach them to the center of the piece. Sigh...yep, I sure did. But, everything is lined up nicely now!

The calendar has a fabric backing and I had some extra that I thought would make a cute little bag to hold all the pieces. 

Here's the cover of the pattern.

On the job front, I have now been cashier trained and have taken and passed a safety and sanitation class, so I'm considered a permanent cook/cashier. I've accepted the opening at the school I've been working at since I started this job. The job itself is not very hard as in difficult or confusing. It is very busy and physical(not a bad thing, because I am never bored). In addition to rotating between cashiering, serving and dish duty (one day I'll cashier, the next I do dishes, and the following I serve), my job is to pull together/wash/cut/make the fresh fruit, veggies and salad we'll be serving on the line that day. I also pull together what's called the fruit and veggie grant food. Twice a week the students are given a healthy fruit or veggie snack. I get that ready and deliver it to the classes. For example on Wednesday, I had to cut into quarters 4 cases of grapefruit, and divvy them into bags for each classroom. Today I washed 3 cases of pears (that are individually wrapped in paper-I have no idea why) and got them ready to go out next week. Not difficult at all, but definitely takes time to do. I think my favorite thing to do is cashier though. I enjoy the interaction I have with the students for those few seconds. Plus, if I know(have memorized) their lunch number, they are all kinds of impressed. :) I got a lot of second graders to giggle yesterday when the people who supervise them turned on some music. Let It Go came on and I started mimicking singing with a pair of tongs as my microphone or I bopped around when other songs came on. Fun stuff!

That's it from me for now. Thanks so much for stopping by and reading if you got this far. Have a wonderful weekend and I hope to be back again soon!

*Ü*

Jeanne

Feeling a bit Festive...

Hi There!

With Thanksgiving behind us, I thought it would be okay to share a few projects I've been working on this past week or so to help get things in the festive holiday spirit. I haven't pulled out any decorations or anything. I've just been inspired by some crafts I've seen on various blogs and in the craft stores.

Remember that pumpkin I cut in half and stuck in an open frame? Well, I discovered that ProvoCraft put out a seasonal cartridge called Winter Lace and it is just snowflakes! I lurve it and had to have it (on sale)! I took the idea and cut out two of the flakes. I glittered them, folded one and stuck them together. Although the cartridge has some cuts with a slit in them to make 3-D snowflakes, I chose not to do this for my project. I found this bare wood frame at the Dollar Tree. I might be painting it, or I might now as I kind of like the look of it plain bare.

And I knew I wanted to do a word in frames for the winter, so I did! Originally I was just going to use the same frames, but I found these at the Dollar Tree and really liked the idea of using silver instead of the gold. Kind of fits a winter them better, don't you think?

The papers on these two projects is from Martha Stewart. The letters are paper from DCWV and I used the Storybook cartridge again for the letters. What can I say? I love those letters! The paper, although it doesn't come across in the photo, is shimmery!

When I was roaming Joann's the other day, I came across an ornament that was basically pom-poms glued all over a ball. I really liked the look and how easy peasy. I've been trying to think of a ball design for the holiday (that I've had on my coffee table for the past several months) and thought this idea would work. I didn't like the pom-poms they had left at Joann's so I stopped at Hobby Lobby and found these sparkly ones on sale. I broke open the packages and just had fun hot gluing the pom poms. The look is a bit different than the one I saw in the store, but I like that it's eclectic (a fun way to say weird, right). And yes, I'll be changing the ribbon, I was just eager to share. It actually looks better in person than this photo shows.

On the blogs (and in the craft stores) I've been seeing ribbon covered cones and wanted to try my hand at it. I picked up the cones from the Dollar Tree and the ribbon from Hobby Lobby and Michaels. I found some thread spools and finials there, too. I painted the spool a Barn Red and so far have left the finial bare. I'm not sure just what color would be best actually. Here's a link to one of the projects that inspired me for the first tree. I was actually going to make the ruffle like she did, but found this wire ribbon at Michaels. Only, at first I didn't realize it was wired. I just liked the print. I was going to gather one edge on the sewing machine, but this was easier I think. I just crimped one edge and hot glued it to the styrofoam. I was working on this on Thanksgiving morning, actually. I'm thinking of adding the hemp and a bell to it. This is the partially finished project as those wood pieces aren't glued on yet.

This next tree was a bit of an exercise in patience, but I am thrilled with how it turned out. I started this one first earlier in the week. The ribbon was on sale at Hobby Lobby for a dollar a spool. I really like the gingham look, so those were a no brainer, but I wanted a third "color" and hit the jackpot, I think when I found the twill ribbon for the same price. I used just about a complete roll each of the gingham colors and a full roll, plus a little bit of a second roll of the twill. Each roll has 5 yards on it.

The patience came in from having to cut the bits of ribbon into two inch pieces, folding them and pinning them onto the cone. I thought about hot gluing, but figured I'd end up with too many glue strands. FYI, if you need straight pins, head to Wal Mart as a box of them is only $1.67 as opposed to over $3 at the craft stores! I needed a little patience for Jessica who really wanted to help pin the ribbon. I was happy to have her help, but the tv was on in the living room where I was working and, well, sometimes she'd stop to watch it. I'd have to get her attention to keep pinning. She was so proud to help me and said it was a lot of fun. So some extra love went into this project.

And finally, after seeing this post, I was inspired to create yet another tree:

How fun! It's just white glue and glitter, but what a sparkly look! I might need to find a fancier stand for this one. Hee, hee.

And that's what I've been doing lately. I have another idea I'm working on based on something I saw at Joann's. If I get it completed, I'll share.

My dad arrives this afternoon for his visit. He'll be here until Friday morning, so I probably won't have much crafty time this week. Just to let you know what's going on if I'm not posting much this next week.

Hope you have a great Sunday!