The Finally Scarf

This is the Finally Scarf because I Finally found a stitch pattern that I liked and I Finally found a use for the yarn. The yarn isn't at fault, it is Plymouth Encore Tweed, a yarn that I like. I was originally going to make a sweater for myself but didn't like the way it was working up. I tried a boxy cardigan but ripped that out. I was going to look like blue moving van if I wore it.

This scarf is 7 feet long without stretching. My son is happy with it so I am happy. I like a scarf to look on either side so the stitch pattern was important to me. This has ribbing on both long sides and in the middle with panels of Irish Moss stitch in between.

I still have yarn left so a hat is likely to be made and maybe even a thinner, shorter scarf for me. Other projects have priority now and I don't want to tempt Mother Nature to deliver more cold weather by making winter accessories right now.

Birthday card for a quilter

I'm on a roll here, posting another card today. This one was made for a dear friend who is a quilter. The dies used to create the image on the front of this card are Stargazer Layering Dies from Birch Press, item #56089. 

The stitiching line inside and out, plus the sewing needle are from My Favorite Things, a stamp set called Stitched With Love.  The script Happy Birthday inside is a die cut from a Lawn Fawn set of dies.

Art Deco Anniversary Card

I recently made this card with items from Hero Arts' Monthly Kit for February 2019. The Happy Anniversary sentiment is from another source. That greeting and the inside sentiment and image were embossed with gold powder. The car in the bottom photo was simply stamped in black on an envelope.

I have really enjoyed all the components of this kit. The black die cut on that shiny gold paper made me happy but was difficult to photograph. I was wearing a red plaid shirt the day I took the photos and I kept showing up in them. Oops!

Pyramid card / mini photo album

Thanks to Create with Cayleigh, I was able to make this card for a good friend. The directions are
here. Her blog page has the cutting instructions spelled out and there is a video to watch for assembly. This went together very easily. It is a bit time consuming but not difficult, and worth the effort in my opinion.

Because my friend hasn't received this yet, I haven't been able to ask for permission to share the actual photos. I've covered faced with bits of paper and Post-it notes. All of the pages open on the right as a book would do, but some pages have extra flaps to them.

The upper most layer opens to show these two photos first. The part under the Post-it Note opens to the right to reveal one more photo.

The next page (next larger size square to the pyramid, opens to reveal these two photos. The right side is an accordion fold that reveals more photos, including photos on the back side of the accordion pleated paper. 

The next level is a standard pair of pages without extra flaps. I stamped some sentiments on vellum so that the photos could still be seen. Originally, these added sentiments were only attached on the left sides of the photos but I thought the loose ends could get in the way of folding the card closed again. The blue hearts seen on the vellum strips only have adhesive on half of them, allowing the vellum to be tucked under the free end.

The next level has a plain page to the left and gatefold on the right side. It opens to reveal one large and two narrow photos. That is me on the left, the only photo not obscured.

This layer has a plain page to the left and a half page flap on the right.

Plain page to the left again, and two large flaps on the right, giving the right side 5 photo areas.

The card/album ends with two plain photo pages. Any of these pages could have held ticket stubs, pages from programs or flat pieces of memorabilia to make a special album. A pocket could have held loose photos or stubs, but that didn't apply to what I was doing here. My friend doesn't know this is coming. I copied her photos from Facebook to make this. Mostly they are images of her, then her with her various family members. I think she will love this.

I think for the presentation, I will tie a ribbon around this to hold it closed. Despite the extra layers of paper, it is remaining closed well, I tried to keep bulk down to a minimum.

Bunny jumping through a wreath

When I saw this on Maymay Made It's site, I argued with myself for a week before buying it. I have no idea where I am going to store it after Easter but I love it and will figure out storage later. Heck, I haven't even figured out where to hang it yet! MayMay's website is here: Maymay Made It  The link to her YouTube directions is here: Maymay's tutorial on how to make this

For a general overview, here are my photos taken during the process of creating this wreath.

The kit (currently on waitlist) included the bunny butt and ears, both wired for assembling onto the wire frame; three rolls of mesh; 24 chenille stems; and a 16" wire wreath form.

You begin by rolling out the netting, stacking the three colors for easier cutting.

Per Maymay's directions, I cut them at 11". Precision is not necessary, I took a rough measure and cut with scissors.

 You will need 24 sets of cut mesh. They look like old fashion hair curlers, don't they?

Roll one of each color into a cylinder from cut edge to cut edge. The top and bottom edges are the selvages of the ribbon. Wire these units together with a chenille stem.

Doesn't look like much of anything yet, right?

Here is the pile of 24 units, ready to be tied onto the wreath form.

 Four units are wired onto each section of the form.

This is 12 of the units in place. They fill in the form quite nicely.

Here is the form with all 24 in place.  Time to get the bunny butt and ears!

The bunny body has four pairs of wires to attach to the frame. This is the underside of the wreath. The bunny is designed for this purpose and finished off flat with the wires embedded.

This view against the carpeted stairs shows the colors clearly. 

This is the wreath on my craft room door. That glow around the left side of the door is sunshine. Or maybe it is the awesomeness of my craft room glowing away. 😊 Either reason for the glow makes me happy.

And temporarily, on my inside back door. The mesh ribbon would hold up to weather but not the plush bunny so he will stay inside. I have one more place to try but I need to a ribbon for hanging this on a wall and I'm not convinced that is what I want to do.

Total time, start to finish was 75 minutes.

Let's Toast!

Another Lawn Fawn card, also for my grandson. Yesterday's card will be given at today's family party. This one will go to him on his actual birthday. Toast, specifically cinnamon toast, is "our thing". The little bottle left of the toaster hints at a label reading "cinnamon sugar". I was done with the card and had taken these photos before I realized I hadn't included a "Happy Birthday" greeting. I will add that when I sign in. Stamps and coordinating dies used were LF1820 (stamps) and LF1821 and 1822 (dies). Coloring was by Copic markers on X-Press Blending Card.

Magic Picture Changer Birthday Card

I knew I was going to love Lawn Fawn's die set Magic Picture Changer the moment I saw it previewed online. It was difficult waiting for it be available to purchase and also waiting for it to arrive. I'm not saying the delivery time was long, I was just READY to play with this before it arrived.

Sometimes a multi-step stamp set or a die set that creates moving parts requires a trial run. This set is so well designed the many YouTube videos I watched while waiting for its arrival gave me the confidence to skip making a test on scrap paper.

In addition to the die set linked above, I also purchased the Magic Picture Add On. The boy, video game equipment and birthday sentiment are all from Lawn Fawn's stamp set, Screen Time. The birthday cake is from Elfie Selfie. 

The mechanism is not as difficult to use as it looks in my video. I haven't mastered taking a video while reaching over my phone on a tripod. I should be able to turn my phone to parallel to my work surface but that wasn't happening last night.