Fairy Tea Party Block

We just finished a teacup challenge block contest over on the HGTV board. So, I can now post photos of my block. Over 30 ladies entered their blocks, and they were stunning! Check them out here: TEACUPS

The hostess sent us three small pieces of fabric, 2 scraps of white, and a cream background teacup. To this she added a snippet of lace trim, a pewter teapot charm, and a brass basket charm. Eclectic mix to be sure!

I pieced my block of creams and white with lot's of lace to make it girly! Next I found a photo of some Mary Engelbret stickers and enlarged them, printed on silk, and added fusible to the back for adhering to the block. I treated several seams as "shelves" and set my ME teapots and cups there. The white/cream backgrounds in the patches bothered me...so I stitched some "wallpaper" on them.

An applique teapot and an embroidered teapot were added to the mix; along with several of my pewter fairies.

The fairies and the pewter teapot charm were painted with nail polish. The basket charm was also painted to blend with all the other elements.

Lot's of beads, silk ribbon, buttons, and stitches...

and voila a Fairy Tea Party Block! I like the "wallpaper" and will do that again...but hand stitching all those back-stitches and wrapped back-stitches took some time!!

Here's the close up of the teacup fabric square...filed with flowers and a dancing fairy.

Pewter Charm Painting!

Just spent a lovely couple of hours with my granddaughter...playing with fingernail polish! And we didn't make too bad of a mess!

 We polished up some pewter charms, like this birds. Not hard to do, and if you let the polish dry completely (before picking them up) you don't get it all over your fingers either.

Of course, that's not an easy concept to get across to a six year old!

I was painting some fairies for a customer...

And while looking for some charms for Aidan to paint on I found these cute little strawberries...so, of course, I had to paint them up too!

I think there is a fat quarter of strawberry fabric around here somewhere...if I can locate it, a pincushion might be in the works this week!

And...these photos were taken with my new phone. I upgraded my service (another 2 year contract with Verizon) but that's okay since I like their service. Anyway, the phone cost me a whole $12 in shipping...and it has a 5.1 mega pixel camera (the real reason for me deciding to upgrade). My actual camera is a 3.2 MP and is starting to make strange sounds...so the phone is my backup plan if the camera goes out completely.

So, if ya'll have pewter charms and want to add some color to them...just pull out your fingernail polish and go to town! I buy up the "odd" colors when they go on sale...and have about 30-40 shades now. If you don't have any charms...and want some...just check out what the Studio has (link above). I'd be happy to polish them for you at no charge if you like. But, I encourage you to give this a try...it's loads of fun!

Lot's of fun for kid's projects too! And if you don't like the results...just a cotton ball with fingernail polish remover clears all of your mistakes away!

Great Giveaway!

A fellow Crazy Quilt International member, Gerry, is having a stupendous giveaway on her blog Older Rose.  She is giving her readers the chance to win one of two gorgeous prizes.   A stunning beaded pincushion that is beyond beautiful!

And a set of vintage hand-painted MOP buttons that literally made me drool!

And, Gerry made the pincushion...and painted those buttons! How talented is that!!!! Wow, I wish I had both of these!! So, go check out her blog and enter her contest. Oh wait...don't enter...I don't want the competition! But, do bookmark her site...cause she is constantly doing super work for you to drool over! All that talent!!

Hussif for my Polly

I am in the HGTV "All I Want For Christmas" swap...and have been gathering and making things for my secret "polly" to receive for her Christmas.

When I saw this hussif pattern, I just had to try my hand at red-work embroidery...and it's my first project in red-work, so don't be too critical!  The pdf pattern is by Kaaren Johnston who has wonderful things to share on her blog!

I changed the design up a little by adding a pocket for bead containers, and adjusting the layout to fit the size I wanted.

Embroidery for Aidan

Aidan is always asking me when I'll have time to stitch something "beautiful" for her. So, here are two embroidery blocks that went into creating her a little waste basket...which she filled with her jewelry instead!

I really enjoyed stitching them, and am going to do them again...for another project! Perhaps in a different size...but I want to do more embroidery work now. Some how, it is my current craving!

Portable Table

This table is designed with the camper in mind...but, I think it would be great for lot's of things.

The Dimensions are 27" x 16" so it's small, but not so tiny it isn't usable. Add a collapsible or folding chair...and a trip to the park becomes a great place to stitch!

If you have a really small apartment it could be covered with a cloth and make a great little table for $41. Or haul it to the park for that play date with the kids..an keep their juice/food off the ground and away from the ants!

It is made of dark satin hardwood, is easy and quick to set up/take down, and includes a carry bag! It is lightweight and durable!

Pet Travel Bag

Check out the great pet travel bag I just found. It is perfect for short trips...but I like the idea of carrying it on my bike for our walks on the bike trail near my house. (Well, Buddy walks...or runs...and Aidan and I bike.) And, it's only $30 bucks! It's durable, and should last a long, long time. (I think the side zipper pockets will be great for my car keys and cell phone!!)

Piedmont doesn't have much...but we are right on the bike trail leading from Anniston, Alabama all the way into north Georgia! It was an old train track..and the rails have been removed and the area filled in and cemented over...so it makes a great walking trail (no motors allowed).

Buddy loves the trail; but it is a real a hassle to try and carry a few treats, water bowl, water bottle...and petal! I've been using a tote bag, but is too long...and messes with my bike wheel. So, this is perfect!

Thought I'd share! You can order directly from my blog with the Open Sky link...couldn't be easier! Hope you give this a try for your pet.




Oh, and look what goes perfectly with it! A water and food bowl...loving it! I've been using a butter-bowl and a ziplock sandwich baggie! But, this would be so much easier since it fits in the carrier!...and the water and food are separate...and no more water bottles for Buddy! Yeah! The $20 price is more than butter bowls...but the size is ideal for the travel bag...so that's a big plus for me.

""""ETA""""
Just got an email from Josh, over at Open Sky. Here's what he had to say:

QUOTE: "Promotion for your readers (AND you):
- From tomorrow through August 16, when you or your readers use coupon code EXCITE25 you'll receive 25% off any product on OpenSky." END QUOTE

Isn't that great! So, if you like the pet travel bag and the water/food bowl as much as I do...you can get them and SAVE 25%!!! Woot! Woot!

Of course, you can buy them after the 16th too...but will not get a discount! (and I'll remove this part of the post on the 17th so as not to make folks feel bad later on...that won't get the discount. (but still will be getting a great deal)

Beaded Button Tutorial

A few of the ladies on HGTV Message Board had a beaded button swap not long ago.

We decided to make the use of button "blanks" optional...so I created a tutorial on how to make beaded buttons, without having to purchase button kits.

Here's the link to the tutorial if you want to make your own beaded buttons!

Stitch Templates

I've been posting about stitch templates since beginning the Twelve Dozen in Twelve Months (TDiTM) series of stitches. And, I have always had to direct readers to the free wiki site that has the files loaded...since it is not possible to upload pdf files directly to the blog.

However, through a handy tip about blogging...I have found you can upload any pdf file (that you don't mind being in the public domain) directly to Adobe and they will store it free of charge. And they provide you with a handy link code for you to re-insert into your blog so folks can find the file.

So, I thought I'd share a favorite template sheet of mine; and hope you enjoy working with these. The file takes a minute to load, so have patience. Then just print...copy to a transparent sheet (any copy place can do this...we used to call these "over-head projection sheets"). Cut the template into different strips so each stitch is it's own separate template. Punch out the little black "dots" so you have holes for your needle...and viola! Your own templates...and they are free!

Link: https://acrobat.com/#d=BI0Dlp1fzJb1IolnhEYoEw


Or just copy the image above, and paste in into any word or publishing or paint document. Re-size as you wish! Just, don't resale it as that would be against my copy write.


Of course, if you would prefer not to do all of this work...I will do it for you at a minimal cost...just send me a note. Or if you are on Facebook...just send a message to Shawkl Design Studio and we'll work out the details.

And, the CQ Wiki site has more of my free templates...just go back to the first posting about TDiTM to find out how to get to the site.

If you enjoy using templates for your stitching...you might want to do a web search because there are companies that do sell various templates. Primarily they are plastic sheets that have holes punched in them in various grid patterns. Most come with a booklet that shows you which holes to use for what type of stitches. These are good...and I own about five different types! However, I frankly don't use any of them...I don't have the time to "figure out" which hole every time I want to do a stitch...so, I created my own. I like seeing the triangle, or herringbone, or circle...etc. It makes it faster for me to pick up a template and "draw" some dots on my seams so I can stitch faster with great results. And, I don't mind sharing...which is why you get them free...if you don't mind doing a little of the work.

Free Baby Blanket Pattern

Here's a new shadow applique pattern for you. It is fast and easy! So, if you have new babies entering your life...consider making this scrappy little quilt.

The center design and four corners are shadow-work applique...just fuse the pieces down, cover with chiffon or organza, and stitch a simple running stitch (quilt stitch) around each piece.

The pattern pieces and the pattern layout are both pdf files and I have uploaded them into my adobe acrobat account. Just click and they are available to you...free!

Enjoy!

If you like working with shadow applique, don't miss the angels, florals, and fairies in the Studio...link to my shop is at the top of the page.