Country Flowers in a Frame

Today I was playing around with a little shadow box frame that I picked up at Michaels.  I painted it with cream paint and then added some images from the Country Flowers bundle.  I used white embossing powders for the saying and added some little flowers for embellishments.

This would be great for a sweet little gift for someone or a nice desktop frame.  What do you think?  I might keep it for myself.  
 

Country Flowers

At the OnStage convention in March, I got to pick a stamp set and die cuts for a special night of Make & Take crafting.  I chose the Country Flowers set and honestly, I just love it.  It coordinates with some beautiful papers, Country Lace.   

I got my inspiration to make my cards from Gail Ellis, who made some really cards using this set.  For this card, I used a basket weave emboss folder for the background and added a piece of blue paper from the Country Lace papers.  I used a peach ribbon to accent the blue paper and added a scalloped rectangle for the focal point.  

I stamped the bucket image onto one of the light gray designer papers and cut it out with the dies.  Then I spot colored some of the flowers with Stamping Blends.  I embellished my card with some flower cut outs from one of the designer papers.  

These are some of my favorite colors and I love everything about this set.  :)

This second uses cut a stamped image of a bird and some cut strips from the Country Birdhouse stamp set and Country Woods designer papers.  There's not a lot of stamping on this card, but I just love the look.  I ripped the edges of the strips of paper and if you look closely, I stamped a little flower strip on some of them.  

I stamped and colored in the bird and fussy cut him out.  Although there are cut outs, they don't cut close enough to the little bird.  The saying is stamped onto a little tag and the leaves and flowers are cut out that come with the sets.  

For a little bit of interest, I stamped the flower images and fussy cut them out to add to the card.  Simple and so sweet!

My third card in this series uses the tea kettle image that I stamped onto the designer paper.  For the focal point, I cut out the arch from the Garden Meadow bundle.  I added a little strip of designer paper to the lower portion of it and then added a coral ribbon.  

The cute little bird sits on the saying made from a small tag cut out and the card is embellished with some little flowers.  

Which of the three cards do you like the best?  I just can't decide; I love them all.  

 

Fishy Cards

This week I needed to make some masculine cards, so I took out the Let's Go Fishing designer papers to work with.  I just love the little fish images that are on one of the papers.  I fussy cut them out and they coordinate so well with the remaining papers.  

For this card, I used a saying from Picture Perfect Birthday.  I love this saying because you can use it for any reason  - birthday, Father's Day or graduation.  I thought the card needed something to put behind the saying, so I used a net from Under the Sea dies cut from a piece of light coral designer paper.  Perfect, right?  

Then I added a little sprig and couple of embellishments to finish off the card.  

This second card uses the Pebbled Path colored papers from the Let's Go Fishing set.  I just loved the netting, so I put some on this card, too, along with more cut-out fish.  

Under the Sea dies had some sea grass cut outs, so I put those on my card, too.  The fish have some Wink of Stella added to their fins for a little bit of sparkle.  The saying is from Wildlife Wonder and this can also be used for many different occasions.

My third card is made using Pecan Pie cardstock with a piece of designer paper that I cut about an inch from the edge.  Then I flipped it over to give the left side of the card a bit of interest.  It's hard to tell in the photo, but I "hung" a couple of fish on some twine and then stamped Happy Father's Day into the circle.  The moss sprig is from Under the Sea.  

I had so much fun making these masculine cards.  The only stamping was for the sayings along with a bit of a grunge for the backgrounds.  Now I wish that I had ordered more of this fishy paper before it retired!

What sets do you like to use for your masculine cards?

Bookmarks for the Psalms

During my weekly Bible study group at church, we are studying the Psalms of Ascent, 15 psalms that the Jewish pilgrims would sing on their way to Jerusalem.  I wanted to make a little something for each of them to put in their Bible to mark the psalms.

I remembered the adventure paper that Stampin Up had last year called Enjoy the Journey and thought that would work for the bookmarks.  Some white bookmarks that I had stored in my craft room worked so well for my project.

First I cut up the designer paper into strips, glued them onto the white blank background, then embossed the sayings with black embossing powder.  The stamp set, Greatest Journey, was just perfect for the look that I was going for.  In the psalms, the pilgrims look to see the mountains around Jerusalem.  Although the mountains are not quite this tall there, the papers and sayings worked.

To each bookmark I added a silver moon and some stars, then punched a hole in the top and added some twine.  And guess what?  They were a hit with the ladies.  I even kept one for myself.  :)

 

Attending the Local Quilt Show

 Last weekend was a busy one for me - the Vintage Market and our local Quilt Show!  This year our guild, along with four or five other guilds, put on a great Quilt Show at Fulton Montgomery Commuity College.  I was sad that it wasn't at Shenendehowa School, which is only about 5 minutes away from me, but instead I had to drive 50 minutes out to the college.

I didn't make this adorable quilted jacket, but it was one of the things that I loved at the show.  Maybe someday I will make an attempt at making one.

We haven't had our show in four years, because of Covid, and we usually run the show every other year.  There were so many beautiful quilts to see!  You could walk around all day and just keep finding more treasured quilts.  This is one that I loved the best, a little cabin in the "woods."

Here is a photo of the quilt full size!  I think most of the fabrics were Tilda fabrics and it looked so amazing.  Our show doesn't give cash awards, but we do have a judge that we hire to come in to judge the quilts.  I think this quilt won a vendor award and they usually give out fabric prizes to the winners.

This is another quilt that I loved.  The time that it took to put script fabric on each book for the pages, match up the covers with titles on the edges is just amazing.  I would love to make one of these, but I know that I would never finish it, maybe that is one of the reasons why I admired it so.

Close up, you can see the thought and work that went into it.  :)

I spent the entire day at the show, viewing the quilts, hanging out with my quilty friends and checking out the vendor booths.

While there, I was careful to check out the names on the quilts so that I could see what ladies in my guild have made and entered into the show.  It was fun congratulating them and sharing in the excitement of having their quilt in the show.  

Why didn't I put a quilt in the show?  Honestly, I'm not sure.  I could have entered my sewing machine collage quilt or others that I have.  I guess at the time of entry, I couldn't think of anything to enter.  Next time, for sure.  After all, it is on my bucket list of things to do.

One of the booths had this cute bunny panel made into a small quilt.  I loved it so much that I bought it.  We'll see how long it takes for me to actually make it.  PS- I wouldn't hold your breath.  LOL

Trip to the Vintage Market

Last weekend I some of my friends and I went to the Vintage Market in Rutland, VT.  I'm always on the lookout for old quilts that are reasonable priced so that I can cut them up and make things out of them.  :)

I found a tattered old quilt and a jar of vintage buttons for my treasure hunting.  Yesterday I cut up parts of the quilt and make some vintage hearts out of it.  I used the vintage buttons on them and two items paired nicely together.  

This week I'm going to put them into the Opportunity Raffle at my quilt guild meeting.  I think the ladies will love them.  They can be used as bowl fillers for decor or for actual pin cushions in their sewing room.  I added a couple of sweater hearts to the basket.  

We had a fun day looking at treasures and meeting new people.  (I'm the second one on the left, wearing the green coat)  It was a cool day, but warm enough to sit out in the sun at lunch time.  

There were some new vendors this year and it's always fun to see the different crafts that each person makes.  

It's fun to see all the beautiful displays, like eye candy for crafters.

Do you like to go to vintage fairs or country fairs?  There's always some treasure to find!

 

Beaded Bracelets with Words

My sister wanted me to make some bracelets for her with words on them so I decided to give it a go.  This was my first creation and with a lot of trial and error, I finally got it to turn out the right size to fit me.  I think I remade it four times to get the right size!  I didn't realize that you needed the exact measurement of the wrist before you can make the bracelet.  Now I do.  LOL

Here are some of the bracelets that I worked on - these came out larger than my wrist, about 7.5".  So I cut out some cardstock and make bracelet holders so that I can give them to my friends.  

I may have gotten a bit carried away making bracelet sets but I think I have worked out the kinks on what to do now.  They are all various sizes from 6.75" to 7.5" so I need to work on making the pairs the same size.

Now I've got to work on some for my sister.  She likes dog crafts so I'm off to work on something with that theme for her birthday. They may be a few days late, but at least they will fit her.  :)

 

Crocheting Washcloths

I've been on a kick to use up supplies that I already have from my craft rooms.  Wait, what crafter says that?  Ha ha-  I'm trying to limit my spending on craft supplies this year.  

Anyway, I found a basket of crochet cotton yard from Hobby Lobby that I've purchsed over the past several years and I've been making some washcloths out of it.  You can crochet an entire cloth in about an hour and I usually work on them in the evening while I'm watching tv.

It was fun matching up the colors and I found that they worked up very quickly.  I use them in the kitchen and they hold up their shape and wash nicely.  My sister likes to pair them up with her handmade soaps and they make a nice gift.

I put them out for sale in my vintage "shop," aka the dining room.  I might pair them up and put a ribbon around sets of 3 or 4, but for now they are all individual cloths.

Here's the pattern if you'd like to make them:

Crochet Washcloth
Use Hobby Lobby cotton yarn
Use Size 8 or 9 hook
Finished size: approx 8-9" square

Row 1:  Chain 23.  Turn

Row 2: Skip the first ch, single crochet in each chain across.  Chain 1 for turning.  - 22 sc

Row 3:  *Single crochet in the first sc, Half double crochet in the next, repeat across.  Chain 1.  Turn. 

Row 4:  Repeat Row 3 putting a single crochet into the half double crochet stitch and the half double crochet into the single crochet from the last row until you have 22 rows.  (11 ridged rows looking at the front.  1 ridged row=2 crocheted rows)

Binding:  You are now going to single crochet all the way around the cloth:

Row 5:  The right side of the cloth should be facing you.  Single crochet in each stitch across top, 3 single crochet in the last stitch (to make corner).

Continuing along the left side, make one single crochet at the end of each row, being careful to only make 22 single crochet along the side, keeping things square.  

Look at the photo and you will see the single crochet all around the edge.  This is what you are doing.  Make 3 single crochet in the last stitch to make the corner as you turn.

Single crochet along the bottom (22 sc), 3 single crochet in the last stitch for corner, and then single crochet along the final side.  

Make 2 single crochet in first stitch along the top to make the corner.  Then slip stitch in the next stitch.  End off and sew in your ends.