Things I Made Recently.

Hello!

I got the worse cold in years, so things are a bit slow here.
But, I am starting to make some progress on my handmade Christmas gifts. I have so many things to do, the cold just messed up everything. But, here you go.

This is Brenda's Frozen blanket. It is one of the top items on her Christmas wish list.
Got the fleece at Joann, with coupons, of course. She is going to love it!
Now I need to work on the Frozen pajamas and the other gifts.

Earlier this month I started to stitch "The Pumpkin Cottage", but lost interest. Suddenly, I don't like the colors I picked, I don't now... it is now is a WIP. We will see...next Fall  I may like it again :)

 

Another blanket. This one I made for a friend's baby. Cute little dalmatian puppies fabric.

 

And here is Brenda as Anne of Green Gables at our Church's Halloween party with her Grandpa.
I made her costume, and the the hat with braids Grandpa got for her last year when he went to Prince Edward Island. Super cool, don't you think? She loved being Anne. We have the DVD series, and soon we are going to read the books.
Hopefully I will get better soon and life can be back to normal.
Anyways, just a little post to register the  stuff I made recently.

Have a good week!

Ana Paula.

Halloween Aprons

Hello!

Hope everybody is having a good week.
This is a very short post.
I just want to share a couple of Halloween aprons I made other day.

First I made this one. A little witches apron. Very cute with details in black polka dot.

 

This is the other apron. I used a vintage style kids Halloween print and a different black polka dot fabric. I just love the way both aprons turned out!
I am trying to post more often now, since I am making an effort to work on my projects, and stop procrastinating! :)  Let's see what I will come up with next...

Thanks for stopping by !

Ana Paula.

Button Heart

Hello!

Hope all are having a nice fall. Here still very hot, but it's getting better. Days ago I finished a new little project.

 

After I made my button monogram, I liked it so much that I started planning a new button picture. Took me a while to collect all the buttons, and figure the whole thing out.  I got most of the buttons at Joann's. The frame is an old one from the thrifty store that I spray painted white.

I planned the buttons placement for a while and started sewing them on. It was a fun and fast project, I finished it in a weekend.

Now it hangs over my bed. I love how it came out, with all those mother of pearl buttons . I am planing more button projects, probably a pumpkin of something like that.

Thank you for stopping by, and have a great weekend!

Ana Paula.

A Black Cat and Some Christmas Blankets.

Hello!

I finished a little cross stitch for Halloween.

This is "Black Cat Alphabet" by JBW designs from the 2012 Just Cross Stitch Halloween issue.
I finished it as a cube,  and decided not to put a bow on the top so it can fit in one of the cubbies of my shelf.

Brenda also made some Halloween crafts...these little spool guys are from " Make it Yourself"  Fall/Winter 2013. But the new 2014 "Holiday Crafts" also has them.

I am trying hard to use the craft supplies and fabrics that I have at home. Just too much stuff! I had some fleece (that is so bulky to store) and some Christmas fabrics.

 

So, I made three blankets lined with fleece.

For these two I used fabrics from the line "In from the Cold" by Moda Fabrics. The polka dot fabric  for the borders is from Joann's.

This one I made using a very old fabric from Daisy Kingdom. I have this fabric for ages and did not know what to do with it.  I normally will not tie quilts or blankets, but because it came out a little puffy,  I did the old tying thing.

 

I am glad I made something useful with some of my "stuff". Now, let's see if we can use them this winter...it's so hot now, that does not feel like Fall at all, here in Southern California.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great week!

Ana Paula.

Witch Cauldron

Hello!

I got the stitching bug and just finished a little Halloween piece.

All started with an empty container of orange hot chocolate that I saved from last year.

So cute, but needed something more...

 

I stitched "Jinx" from Just Nan "Moon Riders" on 28 count evenweave using DMC.
I made it like a padded ornament, and glued it on the lid of the caldron, trimming  with a twisted cord.
I love Just Nan designs, especially the Halloween ones, but believe me, this is my first Just Nan finish ever!

I also glued a Halloween ribbon around the rim of the cauldron to cover the words "orange hot chocolate". To add a little charm, I made a bow for the side of the handle, using tulle and ribbon.

 

It was a fast, fun stitch! Now, I need to find more things to recycle.

I wish you a great weekend, and happy stitching!

Ana Paula.

Christmas Rules Finished !

Hello!

Here in Southern California is sooo hot! Right now is 92 degrees.
School started for Brenda and things are getting back into the normal routine.
I tried hard to finish my Christmas Rules before school started, but it was not possible.  So, I finished it today!

I stitched it on 14 count aida with DMC. I made some changes on the colors and also changed the space between each design. I chose to stitch only the simple border that comes on the patterns to separate the designs, skipping the "box" that half of the charts had. I think it looks less crowded this way.

It was fun to stitch. I love all the little details.

I finished it as a wall hanging / bell pull. I have some hangers that I got years ago on e-bay.  Unfortunately I only had one part on the right size, but I love it!

To finish as a bell pull, I cut a pice of Christmas print fabric of the same size of the stitched piece.
After that, I ironed interfacing on the back of the stitched piece and on the back of  the Christmas  fabric.  The next step was to sew red Ric-rac on the stitched piece around three sides, leaving only the top one.

 Now, pin the two right sides together (the stitching and the Christmas print) e sew using the Ric-rac stitch as a guideline. Trim the seams, turn, iron, and fold the top inside about 1/2 inch. Now, fold the top to the back, about one inch, depending of the kind of hanger you are using, and stitch it by hand.

 

Now, just insert the hanger, and it is ready!

 

Since this is a long piece - mine is about 30x7 inches, I found this finishing style to be very affordable and easier to store, what for me are two very good reasons to do it.
If you find my instructions hard to understand, the Twisted Stitcher has a great tutorial on her finishing blog.

Have a great week, and Happy Stitching!

Ana Paula.

Cross Stitch Family Portrait and Summer.

Hello!

We are having a busy summer here, doing little activities and surviving the heat.
I have done some baking with Brenda, and crafts too. I need to catch up on reading blogs and posting. Just too much going on.

We had a little bit of everything here, even a kitchen flood.
I am still working on my Christmas Rules cross stitch, but took some time to make a smaller project.

 

I was inspired by the many  cross stitch family portraits I see online. Finally, I made mine.
You can find some ideas and free patterns here and here .
I did some sewing too, like this apron I made as a gift for a Bridal Shower.

 

And Brenda made this ornament using felt and  buttons that I got at Joann a while ago. A great way to teach sewing buttons and blanket stitch. She loved doing this. We are now planing an embroidery project using buttons.

Some weeks ago we went to the Orange County County Fair and had a very good time!

 

The flowers were beautiful! And I always love their beautiful displays.

 

 Some of  my favorite crafts at the fair.

 

This was amazing. An Eiffel Tower made of perfume bottles.

 

 A darling Victoria Sampler cross stitch.

 

I love this one too, but I don't know who is the designer. I would like to stitch one someday.

I love this doll and her clothes. Just beautiful!

And this quilt and Halloween dolls are so cute!

 

 
A beautiful quilted tree skirt.

 

I want to stitch this one. It's a Lizzie Kate pattern. I love the finish too.

 

At the garden competition they had this mini garden that is soooo adorable! I need to make one.

 

And this burlap and seed package bunting is so sweet! Cute idea for Spring!
  

This quilt was my favorite thing of all. What a beauty! The pattern is Snowman A to Z from Crabapple Hill. The embroidery and the quilting are perfect, and the colors beautiful.
I really like going to see the crafts at County Fairs, how about you?

 

Enjoy the rest of the Summer, and thanks for reading!

Ana Paula.