Hiding stitching on braids (and a dragon cross stitch)

I have a project that just needed a bit of gold braid sewn on in order to finish it off.  So I stitched it on and sat back to admire THOSE BIG WHITE STITCHES STICKING OUT LIKE A SORE THUMB!

Well OK, it's not that big but it was noticeable.  And there was already a dodgy area where a thread pulled when I sewed it up so I was feeling a bit miffed.  Then it struck me... I just need gold.  Not thread- metallics are often temperamental anyway and besides, I was feeling a little lazy....

So I broke out the gold pens and found the nearest match.  A careful daub on the thread later and...

I mean it is still there if you know where to look, but it is far less in your face.  As a bonus, I also added it to the end of the braid where the white core was showing:

It isn't a perfect match, but it is far less eye catching (and yes, I did go and do the other end after taking this photo!).  A word of warning though- I would be cautious if the object needs to be laundered regularly, you might need to keep the pen handy for touch ups
All that in order to make the final touches of this:
Teresa Wentzler's Delightful Dragon Fob

Those lines in the background are 1cm apart for scale.

 The main change I did with this pattern was to bring out the glow-in-the-dark thread to replace the ecru for the decorative stitches on the back (with the initials) and the background stitching on the dragon.  It is a very subtle effect- I find that the DMC glow in the dark thread is very faint, even when looking at it on the thread bobbin.  But it does glow and I know it glows, which is the main thing as it is stuck as mine now unless I ever met anybody who liked them and who had my initials!

Playing with stamps and glossy card

Guess what!  I've had a chance to finish some craft projects so you get two posts this month.

First up, a beading project that I have had in the queue for some time.  When I finished another project (topic of a future post) I wanted a quick job so I got the beads out.  This is a cute little kit from The Bead Shack, and not a bad price (particularly if you get it when the shop had a sale, as I did).

It comes in a few different colour options and is simple enough that if you wanted to give beading a try and like the look, this would be a good project to go for.

The other thing I've been doing is playing with some stamps that I got from my local Craft Alive, a region craft fair that is in various cities around Australia's eastern states (and SA- I'm never sure if you guys are counted as an eastern state or not!).  I can't speak for all of them, but they are a nice change when the only craft places you can visit locally are Spotlight and Lincraft. While there, I saw the amazing examples at the Eclectic Images stall and did more than a little bit of shopping...

I needed to make something for an exchange with some fellow Discworld fans.  After sifting through about 5 different ideas, I settled on a postcard from XXXX since it let me play with my new stamps and inking onto glossy card to decorate them.  While the top left is dreadful (it was my first and I learnt a lot of what NOT to do with it) I'm fairly pleased with the other three I have ready to go.

The skys are a bit to blobby, but I think that was in part because I was trying to improvise with whatever tools I could scrounge up.  Now I have an idea of what is needed, I can go and get some brushes that will work the way I need to.  I've still got a few more to make before I can post my cards, so I'll show a few more in the next week or so, I hope.  I may also add  something more to the front, so they may appear again.

(note- all the links are just so you can check out the pages if you are interested.  Sadly I am not a big time blogger and the only payment I get is the odd comment that people make- the nice ones, not the spam, mind you!)

Happy official birthday, Liz- cheers for the day off!

Hello Blog readers!

It is the Queen's Birthday holiday and that means I have been able to get a bit done this weekend.  Hooray!

I've lots of projects in progress at the moment but I've finished a few things recently.  My first is a mohair knitted scarf.  It was made using a fine 2ply-ish wool, knit double with two different colours, one cream, one a more brown colour.  Looks lovely after blocking and you can hardly tell where I had to go and fix where a thread was accidentally cut (argh!).

The scarf- pay no attention to the pile of marking on the table...

I've also succumed to the dark side- I've started to buy supplies to get into card making...
Here is my first attempt, using an old shadow embroidery piece that I made years ago.

The only down side is that I was a bit of an idiot and tried cutting some of the circles out AFTER mounting the embroidery.  It wouldn't have mattered except the whole pesky fact I had some glass beads on the piece.  Had being the operative word for several.

After this card I was on a roll.  I went to go on and play with some of the embossing folders and dies that I had acquired.  Then there was a little problem.  The die cutting machine that I had (a hand me down from my very much card-making mother) decided that it was done in a rather rash way- the gears inside shattered (plastic gears it turned out) and was so locked up that it took the embossing folder I had tried to run through it at the same time.  Sigh.

Since I had already now purchased many dies and embossing folders it has meant that I bought a new toy- a new die cut machine- to replace it.  The upshot is, expect to see some more cards in the future.  Well unless they are intended for my Mum who reads this blog, anyway!

I (still) aint dead

Phew, usual long time no post deal.  Work continues to be busy, oh and since I last posted I also moved house!

Anyway, this is just a short update of a few bits and bobs that I finished relatively recently.

Number one, my new craft desk.  Still a work in progress as far as setting things up, but it's nice to have a large flat surface to work on.  I have also started to succumb at least a little to the dark side (aka making cards).  However, since one of the main recipients also reads this blog, I'm not sure how that will work as far as making things a surprise (hi Mum!)


I also finished a scarf/wrap thing that I made using a souvenir ball of wool that I bought when I was in Sydney (wool is a great souvenir as you get to remember the holiday both from the original and then when you use it to make something!).


Finally here is something I found on the camera and seem to have forgotten to post- a pretty blue sparkly bracelet.


Anyway, this blog isn't forgotten, just lacking new material for now.  The spirit is willing but the time to develop them is lacking.  School is back on Monday so that will not change in the near future unless I win the lottery but I do have a new Discworld stamp yearbook that I'll post here for the 2015 calendar year once I finish proof reading it.

Quick and simple earring holder

Yes, it's school holidays again which means I get to see what my house looks like during the day and can pull out the old projects that have been sitting abandoned and alone for months.

Today's project to get me back in to the mood is more practical than pretty although you can glam it up as much as you like.  It's for a earring holder for hanging earrings.  Something I needed as the holder that I had was pretty enough but only really useful for 5 pairs at most.

Picture frame style earring holder

I'll be the first to admit that this is not an original idea (I first found it on Pinterest so who knows where the original came from!)  But I do like the idea it's simple enough that I spent less than $5 on the whole project and most of that came from buying the frame I used from the Salvo's Op Shop.

Materials

• A picture frame
• Pretty paper-  OK, I went with black as I wanted the jewellery to be easy to see but you can go as wild as you like
• String or wire or chain with bigish loops- I used a discontinued product called DMC Desire, it's a wire wrapped with cotton thread

Method

Here is my frame with a pretty but boring and yellowing picture from the op shop.  But who cares, I'm not keeping it anyway.  Oh but do check that it's easy to remove the picture or have patience if you bought a frame with the image stapled in...

 ...like I did *sigh*

Oh well, a bit of leverage with a screwdriver got those staples out and I cut a piece of black paper to fit the frame (hey it could be art- go listen to Martin Pearson's 'The Black Painting Song') or use pretty paper if you prefer!

  Now, assuming that your frame either had glass or backing card, place the paper over the glass and start attaching your lengths of wire.  Just tape should be fine unless your earrings can double for fishing weights.  Do keep in mind how long your earrings are with your spacing.

Then pop it into your frame and you are done.  Ridiculously simple but it holds a lot of earrings in a way that lets you quickly look for and get any pair that you like.  In fact, I think I could get a few more pairs now...