Slow Stitching - Door Decor - Bethlehem Star

 I made a Christmas piece for my door.  It features the Bethlehem Star.   I chose a dark blue background fabric with a flannel foundation layer. Cut 6x8 inches. The star was cut with the Sizzix Star and Starburst die from white felt. It was stitched along each of the points with white thread.  The stars around were stitched with white thread as well. I tried to have a variety of sizes. 

I used some eyelet lace and other lace to create the hills around the town.  I put the building in the v shape where the hills met. I hand cut the buildings from grey felt and added yellow windows. I did highlight the building in white to help them stand out a bit more. 

Again, the backer fabric was dark blue cut to 8x10 inches. Folded to the front and folded again and top stitched to create the frame.  I added a hanger on the back of twill tape which I attached by hand.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

A night shot of lights on a very cold night.

The streets are icy and traffic is sparse.

There is nice moonlight.

I had problems with the toilet at my temporary accommodation.

The arm on the float broke so the tank was not filling up.  I had to fill the tank by hand.

A quick call and a plumber arrived to fix it.  Great service.

The Postmistress by Sarah Blake is the book I finished this week.

Iris James is the postmistress in coastal Franklin, Massachusetts. She know more about the local than anyone.

She holds many secrets as part of her job. One day she does the unthinkable: she slips a letter into her pocket, reads it and does not deliver it.

Frankie Bard broadcasts from overseas with Edward R. Morrow.  Her broadcasts begs listeners to pay heed to the Nazi bombings of London. 

Each woman delivers news in their corners of the world, at one point, yet find themselves unable to do so. 

Another great WWII story with strong women doing their part. Great read.

It turns out based on decisions made that can not be reversed that I have to paint the bathroom because it is not within the scope of work.

It was great to have the adjuster reach out and explain the situation.

It is very cold and I head over to get it done.

The vanityhad already been put into the space so I had to work around that.

I remember painting that room before I move in all those years ago.

It took about 4 hours.

Fortunately, I had the tools and the paint to get it done.

Card - Slow Stitching - Shooting Star

Another slow stitch piece.  

I started with the shooting star to follow the yellow fabric in the piece. I included a piece of glitter organza for sparkle.

I added the diamonds on the right which can represent houses in a village.

I added the house on a hill with it's bright windows. 

I then added the white stars in the dark sky and the green of the land.

It was adhered to the white A2 card base with double sided tape and pressed under books.

Photo Shoot - Chrismas - Tiny Wood Stable

I found this tiny wood stable ornament at the ReUse center.  They always have a bit of Christmas all year round which works for me. I am sure it olive wood.

I just removed the eyelet and string hanger from the roof of the stable. 

I added the white fiberfill batting around the base making sure to cover the transition from the table to the background. 

I used my gold foil star die cuts again on this  composition.  I wanted to leave some space at the top so I can add digital elements as I go along.

The star background again is 12x12 designer paper by Creative Imaginations created by Helen Dardik.

This will work for a 3.5x5 inch layer on an A2 (4.25x5.5") card, a 4x6 print on a 5x7 A7 card, a 4x6 photo background for the Christmas Countdown calendars. And who knows what future projects.

This process entails taking many photographs, tweaking the composition, post production work including cropping and sizing for specific outcomes.