Spring Decor Crafting and Sewing

I love decorating for holidays! I made two little projects for spring and the Easter season.

I used to do more crafting before I started sewing and missed this type of project. The wreath was made with a wire frame with ribbon wrapped around it, ribbon mesh, and plastic eggs from the dollar store. I kept playing around with it and changing it.

Previous versions:

I looked at some tutorials but ended up improvising something very simple and fast, because I didn’t think I had enough supplies for a wreath with ribbon pieces tied on and didn’t have the knack of weaving the ribbon, both of which I initially attempted. I inserted wire into the egg openings to attach them. I thought the wreath needed something else so I added a flower I already had.

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I saved an old ripped quilt with the idea of upcycling part of it in a project. I love textiles, and always have ideas about repurposing. I thought I had better hop to it and actually follow through with an idea so I don’t become a crazy hoarder.

I found a silhouette of a rabbit I liked from Positively Splendid. The pattern prints on one page and I estimated it would be about 9 and 1/2 inch finished. I wanted a bigger bunny, and I found out that this is very easy to do directly in the printer interface. I increased custom scale and selected poster for page sizing. I tried a layout with 4 pages but decided on a 2 page layout with a scale of 125% for a finished size of 12 inches high.

I fussy cut the quilt to place the star on the rabbit body. Then I zigzagged around the perimeter to keep the 3 layers together, and sewed the two sides together leaving an opening for turning. Clip into those curves first!

I stuffed the bunny with pieces of the quilt, hand sewed the opening closed, added a bow, and done!

Cute! Happy Spring!

Finishing up the last day of 2018

It’s the last day of the year!  Anything I didn’t get done will just have to wait.

I finished the year with some Christmas crafting.  I am using some of the Christmas fabric I got for free from the closing of my neighborhood thrift store a few years back.

I made a wall hanging from this Santa panel.  I got the idea to add fiberfill as I machine quilted, to pad out parts of Santa’s body.

That turned out to be not the best idea because the quilt wouldn’t hang straight.  The bells at the bottom were not enough to weigh it down.  I should probably put in a bottom sleeve with a dowel, that might just do the trick.  Maybe next year.

I used two different fabrics for the binding. So pretty!

I ended up using a hanger with clips to display the wall quilt.

I may have messed up on a simple project, but, hey, it’s still Santa, and seven dalmatian puppies!  Can you spot them all?

I also went old school, and made some decorations with just paper and scissors.  Snowflakes! The fun part is unfolding them. I ironed the snowflakes, and put some on a string for display.

Wishing you many happy hours making, creating, and crafting in the New Year, 2019!

2014 Christmas Ornaments

Do you keep your Christmas decorations out through New Year’s Day?  I do, and I hope it’s not too late to share what I made this year.

I have in my possession a book I treasure that belonged to my Connecticut aunt, and eventually ended up with me. It’s called “Harvest of Hope” by Faith Baldwin, published in 1962.  It’s in the form of monthly reflections for a calendar year, and has a wise and timeless quality.

Miss Baldwin wrote “Do not take Christmas up to the attic and put it away with the cartons of ornaments.  Keep it with you all year long–the out-goingness, the giving, the loving impulse.”

I finished a few cross stitch ornaments for the tree, made some rustic plaid stars, and spent a rainy afternoon making some wonderfully fragrant cookie cutter cinnamon stars and hearts from a simple cinnamon and applesauce dough.

  

I also framed one cross stitch piece, and made two Nordic inspired pine cone people with wooden heads, and felt for hats and scarves.

 Happy New Year!

 

Fall Applique, Needlework, and Crafts

Inspired by Pinterest, I made several Fall and Halloween decorations this year.  I especially enjoyed rendering the classic jack o’lantern-faced pumpkin in different mediums: glass, wood, felt applique using a sewing machine, and cross stitch on linen.

Blockhead Pumpkins:

A painted glass jar was surprisingly effective with a flickering light inside.

I wanted to use some of the felt I picked up at a curbside for free.  This pillow worked up so quickly on the machine with the felt appliqued on black canvas. I decided to make the pillow two-sided just before I was about to sew it together.

Cross stitching this design on linen was easier wearing my new prescription glasses for close work, although I still needed the magnifying glass as well.

Every project was finished with twine.  It was fun to branch out and create using natural objects in addition to my usual stitching.

Do you like to stick with one craft or experiment with many?

Wool and Burlap Poinsettia Wreath

I love seeing the Christmas flower, the poinsettia, everywhere this time of year.  This holiday season my crafting vision was to make a wreath celebrating this flower’s beauty from simple natural materials.

I started with a store bought cardboard form, a strip of burlap, and thick wool felt.

I began by wrapping the burlap around the form and securing it with a few staples.  I made 3 different sized petal templates for the flower.

I machine stitched a line down the center of each petal, although in retrospect I could have skipped this step.  When I began hand sewing the petals together, I discovered that the flower came together best when I sewed each layer of five petals together separately, and then attached the three layers together.  I added a few green leaves.  For the yellow flower centers, I pinched off small pieces of wool roving and rolled them between my fingers . I used two squares of the red wool to make three flowers.

Then I decided on the flower placement that appealed to me and attached the flowers to the burlap wreath with wire.  I added a burlap bow and a rustic red and white plaid bow on top for additional decoration.

The wreath was fun and simple to make, and these spectacular blooms will last and last adding beauty and color to any wall or door.