Hummingbird Counted Cross Stitch and Some Cards!

Hello There!

I felt it was high time I came back and thanked all of your for your kindness and comforting thoughts with regard to my previous post. They meant so much to me. 

I also thought you might like to see something a little happier. 

My mother in law is having a milestone birthday very soon. She is turning 80! She still knits daily and is pretty feisty. Guess I know what I am in for with my husband as time goes by. ;) 

Anyway, she loves hummingbirds. Last Friday I got the bright idea to find a counted cross stitch pattern of a hummingbird and came across a gorgeous one desgined by Sasha Turisheheva that I purchased from her Animal Cross Stitch shop on Etsy. I fell in love with the colors. I downloaded the pattern, printed it, taped it together and pulled my colors. I started on a piece of Aida and worked all that evening. The next morning I went to start working and looked closer at the pattern. I determined that the design wouldn't fit on the size cloth I had. Darn! I had to run and get a new piece and start over. Then I stitched like a maniac every spare minute I had this past week. 

I am SO happy with the final result. My girls and I found this frame at Michaels and I ended up going outside to take a picture. I'm sad to say even this photo, with editing doesn't truly capture just how vibrant and pretty the colors are. The frame has more green in the color than shows up and really picks up the blues and greens in the stitching. Feel free to click on the photo to get a better look. Cross stitch pieces under glass are extremely hard to photograph, but I did my best. Anyway, I think she will be happy with her gift.

And for those of you who stop by to see cards, I've got a few to share today. 

My brother Jeff has done a wonderful job handling all the details that come with someone passing and I made him this card, along with a batch of his favorite cookies. We've always called them Ranger cookies. They have oatmeal and coconut in them. We usually took some on a backbacking trip when I was growing up. Anyway, he loved the surprise. 

The thanks is inlaid and I used a stencil on the background. 

This card is a case from Nichol Spohr. I made this one for my brother who had lived with my dad. He moved in with some friends and I wanted to send him some happy mail at his new place. I think those pineapples are so fun. I followed Nichol's YouTube video to make the stripes, too. 

Finally, I couldn't resist this birthday bus after I saw a card on the internet using it. I colored it with my Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers. Looking at it now, I realize I should have put the sentiment on the other side of the card to help balance it. Oh well. It was fun to make. 

I'm doing okay over all. Keeping busy as you can see has helped. Back to school time is fast approaching. Only a couple of weeks of "freedom" left. Maybe I can squeeze in a few more cardmaking sessions before my time becomes more limited. 

Thanks so much for stopping by! 

I so appreciate your visit.

Hugs,

Jeanne

Wizard Owl and a Card!

 Hi Friends!

I was told marching band was a big commitment and I believed those who told me that. But I didn't get just how busy life would be until I was in the midst of it. And I wasn't even the person who was doing the marching, the practicing and the playing! But I was the one who was taking the marcher, the practicer and the player to where she needed to be. And I am also the volunteer, helper and all that. I fully comprehend what a commitment marching band is now. :) The season has ended and my marching band student has completely and thoroughly enjoyed the experience and is eagerly looking forward to next season. Mom is happy that the marcher is happy, but also kind of happy that things should slow down a bit. Then the marcher told the mom that she signed a paper to try Winter Guard(Flags that perform inside).
Really?!

Oh yes, she also joined the recreational basketball league again.
Sigh.

The other daughter is doing great as well and is very busy, but doesn't need quite as much driving around as the first one does.

I have not been into my crafty space in what feels like a really long time and I do miss it. I am hoping that someday soon I will venture back in there. I mentioned before that I do have time in evenings, but don't do well cardmaking then. But I do enjoy doing handwork. Last summer, I came across a magazine online with a counted cross stitched wizardly owl on the cover that I instantly fell in love with. The magazine hadn't even been released at that point. I began stalking the stores in anticipation of buying the magazine for the pattern. Finally I found it and I got to work. I enjoyed creating this piece very much. However, I probably will not be stitching on black cloth ever again. Especially dark gray on black. My poor eyes sure got a workout and at times I needed extra light to see where I needed to stitch. But...all of that was SO worth it when I finished. I actually was done with the stitching awhile ago. I just needed to take the time to create the fabric border. I grabbed that time the other day and the project is completely finished.

I'm so happy with how this came out.
Feel free to enlarge to see it better. 

One of the more recently releases from Lawn Fawn was Happy Harvest. I decided to get it after I received my first paycheck for this school year. There was a day where I had some time to work on cards and I was so sure I would get oodles and oodles of cards made. This is the only one that got started. I didn't even finish it that day. But I eventually got it done. Sorry for the not so great photo. I took it with my smartphone. And there's some nice shadowing from the overhead lights going on. 

Colored with my prismacolor pencils. Popped up a bit and already in the recipient's hands. 

Thanks so much for stopping by! 

I truly hope you are doing well and are ready for a Happy Halloween (if you celebrate). 

I also hope I will be back again soon. 

Hugs!

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

Cross Stitch Ornaments

Hello and Happy New Year to you! 

I hope you are well and getting excited for the coming year. I guess it's coming ready or not, but it probably helps to look forward with a sense of excitement over a sense of dread, yes? 

I haven't been able to sit down and create stamp lately. Although to my credit I DID head into my crafty space and clean off the surfaces(are you tired of this tune? I sure am). It almost looks barren with everything put neatly away and not piled high to the ceiling. I must be enjoying that look a little too much for I appear not to want to mess it up at the moment. I have been stitching though, and recently completed some cute ornaments. I didn't actually even start these until Christmas morning after the gifts were opened and the girls were playing with and inspecting their new goodies. LOL They aren't very big, but I think they pack a very nice cuteness wallop. 

I originally saw the idea on Pinterest, but am not much of an online shopper, so didn't order them. Imagine my delight in finding the pattern and sleds a few months ago when I discovered the stitching shops not too far from me. :) They are stitched on perforated paper. I like the addition of dimension with some beads and buttons. 

I hope you have fun ringing in the new year with your family and friends. Be safe, whatever you do! I'll probably be curled up on the couch stitching away...

Thanks so much for stopping by. 

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

Birthday Card(s) and Gift

Hello there!

Long time, no chat! I'm still here in my little corner of the world trying to keep up and catch up on all the stuff I need to do. After being a stay at home mom for 13 or so years, I never thought getting a part time job would throw my world into such the tizzy as it appears to have done. I think having two girls in middle school has helped keep me hopping as well. 

The job is going well, but it's definitely a busy one. I'm on the go from the moment I get there and I don't really stop until the shift is over. I can't remember if I shared that I am working as a cook/cashier in an elementary school kitchen. In my life before kids I was an elementary school teacher. However, I don't wish to go back into the classroom (I know myself~I wouldn't be able to balance mom and teacher very well at all-heck I can barely manage part time work and mom)so, this was a good alternative for me. I still have some contact with the kids, but I don't have to worry about lesson plans or grades and I am home when my kids are home. Win, win! The girls have had many after school/evening events over the past several weeks which has kept me/us on the go. Add a weekend activity or two and my crafty time is shot. But really, I know I am singing to the choir. I don't know how some of you moms handle full time jobs and kiddos and crafty time. Bless you for keeping it together better than I feel I am doing. Life is full and good, and my kids are happy. That is what matters in the end. *Ü*

I am trying to be crafty, but it's a different crafty, how's that? I have rediscovered my love of counted cross stitch. Like crocheting or knitting, it is something I can pick up when I have a minute and put down when my time is up or when my eyes refuse to stay open. So, when I have a minute that is what I have been working on. I showed you a couple of projects in my last post. Well, I have a few more items to share today, plus a couple of cards. Yay! 

Sit back, grab a cuppa whatever, this post is a little bit photo heavy. Fair warning!

A couple of months ago I came across a book from Annie's Attic called Easy Cross Stitch Cards & Tags. One of the projects on the cover was this owl. The card in the book is a Halloween swing style card, but  I have a friend whose birthday was approaching and I thought she'd like this owl on her card(and not necessarily the Boo! in the original design). She's likes to cross-stitch, too. This is stitched on perforated paper and cut out. I used lots of pop dots to give it a bit of dimension. The paper is Doodlebug, my favorite!  I was really excited to see ideas for cross stitch projects made into cards and look forward to trying to make more.

I also found a neat idea in a magazine called Just Cross Stitch. I picked this issue up at Barnes and Noble. What drew me in is the gorgeous wreath on the cover. Yeah, I actually thought I'd be able to whip that one out in time for Thanksgiving this year. Delusional much? Snort. I haven't even started stitching it. Inside though, I saw a neat Owl Candle Band and I thought my friend, who loves owls, would like this as well. Only not as a candle band. She's not a fan of candles (we have a lot in common, I'm not such fan of them either). 

It's kind of hard to take photos of stitched projects. I think the camera is great at emphasizing the holes in the paper! Click to enlarge if you like. This is also stitched on perforated paper. 

Here is my alternative to a candle band.

I found a jar at Hobby Lobby that the band would wrap around. I added a tube of cardstock.

I filled that tube with dark chocolate M & Ms.

yum

I added some tinseling fluffy stuff in fall colors to hide the tube.

And attached the band to the jar using super sticky tape. 

I got the tube idea from one of my new friends and co-workers who is a crafty gal. Her idea was to use the tube on a smaller scale as way to give money as a gift. She saw it on Pinterest, I think.

And finally, Jessica had a birthday last month. I saw a card idea I knew she would love on the Lawn Fawn blog here. I watched the video and figured I could make it, if I had the  images used. I got some help from a friend(thank you so much, sweet friend) since I didn't own the kitty and frame stamps needed (I had other stamps to do the rest) and got to work casing the card.

Jessica loved it! 

She has a cat loving friend who attended the birthday party who loved the card, too. 

So, when the friend's birthday came around, I made her one, too.

I used Distress Inks-Spun Sugar, Picked Raspberries and Squeezed Lemonade.  The frame and kitty images are from my friend(Lawn Fawn sets). The cupcake is from an old Doodlebug birthday set. The word birthday and hat are from Lawn Fawn's So Much to Say set. The letters for purr-fect are an Avery Elle letter set. The banner on Jessica's card is a heart stamp. I was in Michaels recently and came across a wooden stamp two-fer that had the banner on the friend's card. Whoo hoo! The coloring on the cat, frame and banner is done with Primacolor pencils and odorless mineral spirits. 

Whew! 

That is it from me today.

Thank you so much for stopping by and reading if you got this far.

Have a happy and creative day!

Hugs,

Jeanne

Made it to Summer Break!

Hello there! 

Oh my goodness, what a crazy time it's been for our family these past several weeks. Not bad, for the most part, just busy with the end of the school year approaching at breakneck speed and mom furiously trying to keep up and get everyone where they needed to be at the right time. I think this year has been the busiest yet in terms of activities. Friday was the last day of school and now we can all release a huge sigh of relief along with a heaping feeling of accomplishment. Yay! I know I have been very quiet and I am really hoping to be able to sit down and create  projects to share now that our summer vacation has started. Fingers crossed!

Hope you don't mind a photo heavy post right about now. I thought I would share the gifts I created for the teachers and staff at Jessica's school. This was her last year in elementary school and I wanted to give a gift to a few more people than usual to let them know how much we have appreciated them over the years. 

First up, though, Amy and the girls in her Girl Scout troop had worked very hard most of this year on earning the Silver Award and upon running a weekend encampment for Junior Girl Scouts in April, they succeeded. The award is service based and the girls planned the activities so that the Juniors would earn various badges by the end of the weekend. Amy taught the girls about making campfires. Amy and her troop had their end of year meeting and awards ceremony last week where she officially received the award. Yay, Amy! 

Here is Jessica with her teacher. 

I think great minds must think alike as she was coordinated outfit wise with her teacher, her best friend and the principal! *Ü*

This set was for Jessica's teacher. She had kind of a tough group of boys this year and when I saw this counted cross stitch pattern, I thought she'd appreciate it. I have tried to crochet a lion (school mascot) for most of the teachers over the years. Jessica liked this one with the cute belly button for her teacher. 

I 

The school had a new principal this year and she has been an amazing addition to the staff. I had to make her a lion, too and love the loopy mane. :)

After lots of thought and searching and trying out different ideas, this is what I came up with to give to some special people at the school. 

I used a technique called needle tatting to create the bracelets and earrings. 

Tatting has been around for a very long time and is more commonly made using a shuttle (or two). I don't know how to tat that way(looks way too confusing to me), but a few years ago I came across a book on needle tatting. I really like the lacy look. It's not hard as there are only a few "stitches" to learn, but it can get confusing figuring out which way to turn this or that. Thank goodness for You Tube videos! :)

Detail shots

Jessica and Amy both helped decide what color would best suit each recipient. 

Thanks so much for stopping by.

I hope you have a relaxing Memorial Day weekend.

Keep a thought for those who have served and sacrificed so that we can enjoy our many freedoms. 

Hope to see you again, soon!

Jeanne