Stitching - Needle Cases

Over the last 4 months I have been working away at making a few more needle cases. I have used a variety of tins and several color combinations.  Some of the tins have been altered.

This case is a simple elegant box of silver toned metal in an oval shape.  I don't know what it's original contents were but now it has been repurposed.

It now holds a stitching needle with 3 applique pins on a felt holder.

I chose to make a black felt holder with an accent of red near the bottom.

This mint tin had advertising on the lid which I was not keen to leave there.  I sanded the lid to remove most of the writing.  I then decorated it with alcohol inks in yellow and blues.  Once it was dry I sealed it with a coat of Modge Podge.

The felt holder has a base of turquoise with a yellow accent on the left hand side.  It holds 1 embroidery needle and 3 applique pins.

A safe way to carry your stitching needles.

This tin had the same issue so I handled it the same way as the one above. 

I chose yellow and pink alcohol inks for this lid and again it was sealed once dry.

The felt holder has a flower stitched onto it and holds 1 embroidery needle and 3 applique pins.

This tin has the Vienna Opera House on the lid which needed to alteration.

I stitched a house felt holder in black and turquoise which holds 1 embroidery needle and 3 applique pins.

This is again a mint tin and I knew that alcohol inks would not completely cover the writing on the it but I think it altered it enough to work.

Again, it was sealed once the ink was dry.

This tin opens differently that the others so I had to alter the felt holder.  I added a ribbon at the top of the tin so it can be pull out of the tin to access the pins.

The felt holder is green with blue on the back.  Whip stitching around the edge with triangles and French knots as decoration.

It holds the same pins as the others.

This is a tall and slim metal tin similar in shape to the previous one. The bonus on this one is the lid is clear.  It closes very securely.

I made the felt holder from burgundy felt with a bit of a flower stitch along one side.

It hold 1 embroidery needle and 3 applique pins.

I spent quite a while thinking about how to package these. I did not want the pins to be touched, I wanted the felt holder to stay with the tin and I wanted the beauty of the tins to very visible.

Here's what I did.  I sealed the felt holder with the pins in a cellophane envelope.  The used a Zot to adhere the envelope to the inside of the tin.  This ensures the needles can not be removed nor can the envelope be removed from the tin.

The envelope can be removed and discarded to use the needles then the felt can be placed back in the tin.

I think this will work well.

Card - Butterfly Sympathy

I created a simple sympathy card for my aunt who lost my uncle recently.

I chose a deep burgundy card in the A2 landscape orientation.

I added a piece of warm purple paste paper trimmed to leave a bit of border top and bottom.

I cut a large butterfly with the Sizzix Winged Beauties thin die set from gold on deep purple cardstock.

I added a gold foil body to the butterfly and adhered it with double sided tape.

Cards - TH Cameo Frame

I brought a piece of pretty floral tissue paper home from the ReUse Center recently.  I decided to make a few cards with it. 

I chose the Tim Holtz Cameo Frame die for one of the layers.

I cut the die from a lef tover piece of ivory card stock which was less wide than the die but I just went with it.  I aligned down the center and ran it through the Big Shot.

I wrapped the gift wrap around the center of the diecut and taped the ends to the back.  I added burgundy ribbon at the top and bottom on the die again taping ends to the back. 

I punched a MS Butterfly in the same color as the card base which is a textured turquoise. I held it in place with a tiny gold brad. It was feeling like it needed a bit more so I added the deep red flowers in the top and bottom arches. These along with a gold flower sequin are held in place with tiny gold brads. 

This layer was then adhered to the card front with double sided tape.  A white quarter sheet insert and a white A2 envelope finish of the set.

This card follows the same basic layout.  I cut the Cameo Frame from pink designer paper. 

Then cut the floral tissue paper to just lay inside the embossed line on the die cut.

I punched a butterfly from gold foil card stock and held it in place with a warm pink tiny brad. 

I added small gold lower sequins in the arches at the top and bottom with the same tiny brads.

This layer was then adhered to the card front in a warm pink card stock.

Insert and envelope to complete the set.

On this card is started with a warm green A2 card base. 

I cut the frame from warm mottled designer paper.

Again, cut the tissue paper to fit inside the emboss line on the die cut.  The tissue paper had tears and tape in places so I had to be careful how I cut the paper.  The tissue has strategically place pieces of double side tape.

I added a turqoise butterfly punchie in the bottom corner and a handmade paper flower in the upper right hand corner held in place with tiny gold brads.

I put turquoise caps in the arches with my Crop-a-Dile tool.

Layer adhered to the card front with double sided tape and an insert and envelope to finish up the set.

It's nice to have a design element with a good variety of colors that allows me to create several cards which are not exactly the same.

Here I chose Stampin Up Pixie Pink card base.

I paired it with a blue watercolor frame die cut. 

A gold foil butterfly in the top left hand corner held in place with gold tiny brad.

Small flower punchies to match the card base and again tiny gold brads to keep them place.

Layer adhered to card front with double sided tape.

I stuck to the portrait orientation unintentionally.  With this tissue paper I could have easily altered the orientation.

Quarter sheet insert and white envelope.

As I change the die cut color the colors in the tissue paper change and some are highlighted.

Here is chose a warm turquoise card stock for the frame die cut.  

Then I went with a deep burgundy color for the A2 card base.

I added a strip of the same card stock along the left hand side.

I chose a burgundy silk flower with a gold flower sequin and placed it to leave the flowers in the paper visible.   This is layered with a gold flower sequin and held in place with a gold mini brad.

A white quarter sheet insert and a white envelope and another set of cards for the stash is done.

Sewing Project - ReUsable Bags - 2 more shorter ones

These are a very similar size to the California King ones I made earlier. Overall height 20" T x 19.5W - bag  is 13" D.

I brought home some taupe microfiber fabric home from my sister's on Saturday that had been in my Mom's stash.  There was enough to make to 2 bags I thought.

It was very nice weight and I just had to assess the size of the piece and figure out what I needed.

There are some left overs which I have no idea what I will do with it.  The cut outs from all these bags are starting to pile up.

These bags do fold up to a reasonable size.  They would not fit in my purse but they would work for a lot of places.

I hope to find a few nice patterned microfiber fabric.  Doing these plain ones is getting boring.   I likely have enough bias tape to about 5-7 more.

I have started tacking the elastic to the front of the bag with a bit of stitching before I add the bias tape.  It helps to keep in place.

Means that I don't have to manage 2 things at once.

The button hides the overlap of the bias tape which works well.  Hand sewing the button can  be challenging because there are 2 layers of bias tape and the elastic in that spot.

It is working out alright.

This bag is another short and wide one.  

I used dark brown bias tape, black elastic and a brown button on this bag.

The bias tape makes this go really fast. I don't need to pin or anything.  Just open the tape, slip the edge of the bag inside and top stitch the edge. Works really fast but just quite costly.

This is the package of double fold bias tape in dark brown which I used on the bag above.\

Check out the price! It is $1.00 when the current price is now $3.30.  I wonder how old that package is?  70's?   Who knows!

I am starting to have a little basket full of these bags.

Right now the plan is to donate them.

I will bring them to show the girls at quilting on Monday.

Small Gifts - Oil Diffusers - One of a Kind - Set 2

I have started another set of bespoke oil diffusers.

Ice Cream Cone - This is a ceramic Easy Tiger Matte Ceramic Ice Cream Cone mini planter.

I paired it with a warm and fuzzy yarn in peaches, creams and aqua color.  I created one ball for the ice cream you can see then a small one to anchor this one in the cone.  I stitched them together.

I used a silicone bead with a piece of yarn which I wired to keep it up in position as an accent on top of the cone. The tones all work together in this piece of art.

The oil can be dropped on the cherry on top or the ice cream.  

The ceramic cone will contain the oil. 

Red & White Bouquet - A clear glass bud vase holds a red and white bouquet of pom pom flowers.

I have used another wooden spiral to hide the wire armature of the bouquet.

The bouquet is weighed with a wood bead on the inside of the spiral.

The red pom pom flowers can be used to hold the essential oil with little concern of discoloration.

Again, the glass vase will protect your surface from any drops of oil.  

Just 2-5 drops of oil will be enough to give you scent for 20 minutes to 40 minutes.

Key to my Heart - A crystal glass candy dish holds a set of 3 felt hearts.  This were hand cut to match the shape of the glass dish.

I chose red, pink and white in graduated sizes. I added a small gold tone metal key held in place with 3 tiny stitches of cotton thread.

The stitches also hold the 3 felt hearts together.  A Zot on the glass holds the hearts in the proper place in the dish.

The oil should likely be applied to the red heart to avoid any discoloration to the white heart.

Again, the glass dish keeps your surface free from damage from any oil drops.

Sunflower - A handmade felt sunflower in a clear shallow glass vase.  If I had to guess it's original purpose may have been has a terrarium.

Well, it still holds a flower but now it has bright colors of orange, golden yellow and sunshine yellow with a brown center.

I made the flower following this tutorial. Check out the following link for the details. DIY Felt Flowers - No Sew Fabric Flower Tutorial   It fits in the vase perfectly.  

The dark center will be ideal for the drops of essential oil as discoloration will not show.

Glass will protect your surface from stay oil drops.  Love it!

A Glass of Sherry - I wanted this small vintage glass to look like it was filled with sherry.

I chose a loose burgundy yarn with a hint of gold among the threads to fill the bowl of the glass.   I wrapped it around a felt wool ball to give me a stable core and for it to assemble easier.

I chose a gold metal filigree at the top to cap the loosely wound yarn.  I topped it with a glass & gold bead which is held in place with a tiny gold ebead.  It was strung together with gold metallic thread which holds the accent, the loose yarn and the wool ball core as one piece.

Zots hold the nest of yarn to the glass which will protect the surface from oil drops.

Gift - Table Runner Trivet

A table runner trivet is a quilted piece one can place in the center of a table or other serving area to protect the surface from hot dishes.  It replaces the use of several trivets and looks pretty.  Upon doing some on-line research I found a place that recommended layers of terry cloth as good insulation.

I wanted to make this runner reversible so I took my fabric to my sisters a while back and we checked out her collection of fabric and found several pieces that would compliment the fabrics I had chosen.  In the end, I rejected some of the ones I had selected so that both side would work together.

I had just purchased the printed sunshine yellow piece of fabric.

The solid fabric was a left over from a quilt I made a couple of years ago.  The color name I would use is Soft Suede which is a green brown color.  

The cork fabric and the circle fabric came from my sister.  I have now swapped her some from my stash.  

All the fabric is 100% cotton.  

The layers involved are

• cotton quilted layer
• terry towel fabric
• 100% cotton quilted batting piece
• terry towel fabric
• cotton quilted layer

I chose to put the quilted piece in the center of the trivet, the terry cloth goes the full width of the runner.

The front and back pretty quilted layers were stitched to the terry cloth layers.  The front and back are different designs and therefore quilted differently.  I needed to come up with a way to hold the quilted piece to the center of the runner. 

The final measurements of the piece is 14x40 inches and the center is 12 x 37.5 inches. 

The seam in the yellow is the one which goes through all the layers and holds the center batting piece in place. Each side had a yellow in this space.  The sunshine yellow piece on the cork side and a more lemony yellow on the circle side.  Allowed me to have yellow thread in the top and bobbin of the machine.

It would have been really nice to have my walking foot fo rthis project but the order is still on hold awaiting a shipment from over seas.

I decided based on my fabric to make the warm sunshine yellow side in a ladder pattern.  I cut strips of varying heights and 10 inches wide.  The Soft Suede, the cork fabric, some solid burgundy make up the pattern on this side.  

The other side features the circle fabric and this piece was larger and I did not want to cut it up into smaller pieces.  It was also getting late in the day and I wanted to get the project finished. I added some teal from my scrap stash which worked out well. 

I wanted Soft Suede to be on the edges of both side so they would make it the same color no matter which side was showing.

I stitched all the way around with the good sides together leaving an opening then turned the trivet runner inside out.  I top stitched very close to the edge where there was only the terry towel layers.  

The last seam was the one in the yellow that holds it all together.

I hope my niece likes it and it comes in handy for serving from the kitchen island or the middle of her dining room table. 

Decorate A Bag Fundraiser - 2 more

 I picked up 2 more bags when I delivered my 3 pieces of art for the Four Seasons Member show on Saturday.

You can find the details of the first in this post. 

I was gifted the batik embroidered leaf squares by a fellow quilter a couple of years ago.  I made a quilt with several of them.  Check out the details - Applique Leaves Quilt.

I added a 2" wide strip of black cotton fabric around the square.  I was thinking of making a pocket but I felt the leaf had to stand up straight so that idea was out.  I pressed the edge over and pinned it really well and appliqued it to the front of the bag.

I found on the first one it helped to have a strip at the top to stabilize the top edge.

Here I added a strip of black.  I cut 2 inch strips, sewed them together to have a strip at least 30 inches long.

Sewed it up and turned it inside out.  Once well pinned I appliqued it along the top edge of the muslin bag.

There is a tab of strip which is held down by the blue button.  This gives a place to hook something should the need arise. 

Again, the strip provides some stiffness to the top edge which is helpful with such a light bag.

Love the wonderful blue colors in the leaf.  

The black sashing really makes the leaf the focal point.

The blue button picks up and repeats the blue in the leaf.

I just love the watercolor effect of batik fabrics.  The background as well as the leaf are this type of fabric.

 

The button is simply decorative.

On this third bag, I did put a pocket.   I used leftovers from a man's shirt which I turned into an apron a couple of years ago. 

The pocket was cut from one of the sleeves.  Wonderful navy and burgundy stripes provides a bit of a different style to this one.

Tacked the upper corners well.  Added another strip along the top edge.  I wanted the stripes to go up and down so I had to combine several pieces to make all the way around the bag.  I chose 3 buttons to go on the strip. The center one is shanked to accommodate the loop from the pocket.

I am really happy with these contributions to the fundraiser.  I will deliver them to the gallery later this week.

I like that fact that the loop is long so it will accommodate a book or something a little taller than the 8" pocket.

The loop is just a piece of fabric folded the edges to the center then onto itself and I put one line of stitching down the edge.

The bags are about 13 inches square with fairly long handles.

Makes a great bag for all kinds of purposes. 

A few Cards - Paisley Petals

I made a few cards this week for my Mom.

I choose a sheet of designer paper from the Paisley Petals collection.  The colors featured are Brocade Blue, Bravo Burgundy, Cajun Craze, Always Artichoke.  Blue is Mom's favorite.

I was under a time crunch so I chose designer split layout.  The blue floral is the back of the patterned side.  

I chose Brocade Blue card base, a strip of green card stock with a greeting in blue punched with the Modern Label punch.  

The card on the right is Bravo Burgundy card base with a coordinating banner with an Always Artichoke greeting.  Greetings punchies are mounted with 3D foam tape.

The card on the left features Cajun Craze card base with Marina Mist card stock strip with burgundy greetings.

The card on the right is Brocade Blue base with a corresponding blue paper.   I trimmed it to leave a small border, wrapped a length of white seam binding around and knotted it to the front.  This layer was adhered to the card front and then the greeting punchie was mounted perpendicular to the the ribbon.

I hope she likes them.

Birthday Cards - Big Cards for Big Birthdays

This is a half sheet card meaning it measures 5.5 x 8.5 inches.

I started with a Very Vanilla card base.

I chose a sheet of designer paper from Springtime Vintage Series.  A lovely blue and ivory small floral print.  I cut it to leave a small border.

I added a piece of Baja Breeze Stitched Grosgrain ribbon to the top third of the card and taped the ends to the back.  It was then adhered to the card front.

I color printed a greeting on Very Vanilla card stock and cut it with one of the the Deco Label Framelits.  I then cut a textured Baja Breeze one as well.  I cut that in half and adhered them to the back of the greeting offset for the color to show.  It was adhered with 3D foam tape.

I added 3 pearl buttons in the bottom right hand corner adhered with small Zots.  A nod to the seamstress that my Mom is.

I started with felt finish printed card stock from Authentique - Remberance Collection - Remberance One.

It is printed in burgundy on warm white so I decided to just watercolor the flowers on the piece I had cut leaving a small border.  I chose More Mustard for the flowers and Always Artichoke for the leaves. This was great fun!

I added a twill ribbon of Bravo Burgundy topped with a grosgrain ribbon in More Mustard.  These were adhered to the back of the layer then adhered to the Bravo Burgundy card front.   I printed the greeting on Very Vanilla card stock and ripped the top and bottom.  I adhered it with 2 More Mustard mini brads.  This one is for my Aunt who celebrates a special birthday later this summer.

Card - Puffin Birthday

A Puffin is the featured accent on this card.  A maritime bird who lives along the rocky shores.

I found it in my stash of ready to go elements.   Trying to use up what I have.

I trimmed it and then added a burgundy layer.  Found a deep blue card base for it.  It still needed something so along came the strip of yellow for behind the accent.

A greeting from the stash of printed ones. Addition of a bit of black grosgrain ribbon below the greeting.

The Puffin is mounted with 3D foam tape.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

I captured this cute squirrel having a late afternoon snack. 

He had been digging under the snow at the foot of a small birch tree and I wondered what he was looking for. When he found it he came and sat in this tree and nicely posed for a photo.

Love how the color of what he is munching on is repeated in the orange on his head and tail.

I have put up the second photo shelf in the front hall.  I placed my award winning "Silver Roadster" framed photo on it along with a white ceramic tree.

This shelf is Mosslanda from IKEA which is 21.75" wide which was perfect for this space.  They make on which is 45" wide which I will use in the living room.

I ended up with black ones because that is all they had when I went shopping. With shopping in the pandemic I was not willing to just come back at a later time.  I was really wanting to test out how these would work before I invested bigger money in the 6 or 7 needed for the living room wall.

I am happy with these and will move forward with getting the wider ones.  I means painting the walls as well so it is not a quick job.

This is the reverse side of the blue one I posted last week.  It is a back drop for my photo studio made with a 18x24 inch artist board which I recycled.  

This is the actual canvas textured side of the board. I was going for warm tones on this side.  I cleared out a lot of my acrylic paint a couple of years ago and only kept a small box.  

The color I chose is Artist Pigment Burnt Carmine which was lighten with Warm White.  I created 3 tones, the original color, the base coat which has some white added then the lightest with more white added.

The whole board was done in the medium base coat.  It was recommended that we then apply some dark and lights and work them into the somewhat still wet base coat. On this side, this process almost completely removed the base coat from areas.  Maybe it's because it had been painted before but I had put 2 coats of primer on before the base coat.  I did the best I could then let it completely dry.  I then went back it with all three colors to cover the near bare spots.  Turned out alright.   And as luck would have it, I found a large cellophane envelope this morning which will protect it when it is stored with the other backdrops.  Yeah!

I've changed up my exercise routine.  I have been doing the last one since October 1st. With a new year I was ready for a change of moves.  I started doing the 1st mile of this DVD by Leslie Sansone.  I can choose to do any of the 5 miles so I can a different routine every day.

I don't think I will ever do 5 miles at one time which would take about 2 hours.

I created a stand for my new backdrop.  

I used some 2x4 and cut it into about 6" tall pieces. I sanded the edges then held them together with very long nails. I drilled a pilot hole through the first piece so it would be easier. Worked great!

In the video, they used big clips which I did not have so I used 2 small ones. A bit of a pain but it will do for now.

 
The challenge at Flickr Macro Monday is "Lockdown Song".  Music is not a big part of my life and then trying to interpret it into a photo was very challenging.  I was ready to pass this week but I went on line and search happy song.  The song HAPPY by Pharrell Willimas from Despicable Me showed up.  I had a Minion toy so I thought this could work.  This is the shot I submitted because I did not have a lot of options. 

You can check my Flicker photostream (SMDPics).

I am sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #115 and Mersad who hosts Through my Lens #276.

Thank You Cards - Compassion House

I worked on my Thank You cards for Compassion House which I will deliver next week.

These are mainly DSP Split lay outs with a variety of greeting styles.

This one is red and grey designer paper in stripped and geometric. Paper cut to 4.00 x 5.25 inches then cut again at 3.5 inches. The smaller piece turned over and taped back into one layer. 

I added white grosgrain ribbon across the join then adhered to the front of a deep grey card. 

I added a scallop greeting in red and white with grey text.  The greeting is adhered with 3D foam tape.

Some are leftover kits from the class at the house.

Looking forward to my class.