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october's desktop...



I'm so glad that someone around my house mentioned that tomorrow is October 1. (well...sort of...I suddenly feel like I have much to get done in a hurry!) If they hadn't, I might not have remembered that it is time for a new desktop wallpaper!

This month's Crafty Character is Folded Felt. She looks like she could be any old fabric, and you may think of her as you choose...but she's felt. Which means that this month's Workshop in a PDF will be featuring felt. It's going to be oh so cute! And it will come soon-ish. I promise.

For now, download October's desktop wallpaper.

project runway...

fashions...

I don't watch project runway, but it would seem as though I should. When I was younger I used to draw fashion designs with a friend of mine. All the time.

Lately though, not so much. I've had this idea rolling around for awhile...clothing with faces. (because, you know...it's how I do things) Then a few months ago, a very sweet customer suggested that I do a collage sheet that was fashion-themed. A perfect reason to dust off those sketches! But still they sat. Until now.

We needed some clothing images for a game for church. And sure, we could probably find them elsewhere, but again, I thought it would be a good motivator. And it was! There are two complete outfits, with accessories (more than you see above)...and they mix and match.

Now, here's my dilemma: I really like how they look without faces. So do my mom and sister. But...things with faces is my thing. Do I need to add them to fit my style? What to do?!

If you've got thoughts on this, please...put in your two cents!

lovelies from paris...

My dear friend recently returned from a trip to Paris, and while there, she was sweet enough to do a bit of crafty shopping for me! Enjoy this Parisian eye candy!

lovelies from paris...

lovelies from paris...

lovelies from paris...

lovelies from paris...

lovelies from paris...

a september workshop for you...

paper and fabric art...

My dad used to do this little gag where he asked a child to use invisible glue to stick some ripped up paper back together. When they acted out pouring the glue on, he would shake his supposedly gluey hand off, and say, "You learned how to glue in kindergarten, didn't you?" I always thought that was funny.

Well in a tribute to Sticky Glue, this month's Make. Do. Create. workshop in a PDF is some easy artwork that you can make with paper, fabric and several kinds of glue.

The included pattern pieces are a modification of one of my Crafty Characters embroidery pattern, which means you can create different kinds of artwork using this same technique. You could make a whole series of these for a super cute grouping!

the last fair weather friend...

free Windie embroidery pattern

I've been feeling like it was a good time to get this last Fair Weather Friend pattern done and available for you. I was waiting for a windy day to share Windie with you, but I couldn't wait any longer. Just click on the image above to get the download through Flickr. Enjoy!

electricity and embroidery...

Ben Franklin gave us so much. He had his rough spots, but he was wise. And he contributed two things that I would like to highlight.

The first is electricity. I'd like to think that I could make it without power, but I'd go a bit crazy after knowing how wonderful it is. Without electricity, I wouldn't be communicating with you right now!

The best, however, is embroidery. OK, so maybe he didn't really contribute embroidery, but stay with me.

I'm actually talking about Ben Franklin stores. Have you ever been to one? It's been ages for me. When I was little, there was a Ben Franklin nearby, and after it went away, there was still one in a town we visited every year or so.

Recently I discovered Ben Franklin Crafts, and was reminded of all of the lovely crafty things that could be found there. Like, did you know you can get DMC embroidery floss on a 100-gram cone? What color would you choose?

Unfortunately, there aren't any Ben Franklin Craft stores near me anymore, but at least online I can remember some good childhood memories. And perhaps find some wonderful things!



While on the subject of embroidery floss, I saw this item on a different website. I love the idea of getting all that great specialty floss, but can you imagine buying a mess like that? But I suppose it would save me the trouble of doing it myself!

painting or playing...

painted keychains

It has been a while since I pulled out some paint, so last night I did.

Quite honestly, I'm not sure if this was an opportunity for painting, or for trying out my new toy. You see, I never knew what an amazing thing a Crop-A-Dile is. Those holes in the wood discs? I put them there. And it was easy.

But really, the painting was so much fun. I think that I'll make a few more tiny paintings soon. And I might make more key chains too. Oh, and I made some just like these, but without the holes. Can't decide though if they should be brooches or magnets. Hmm...

a few of my favorite (paint by number) etsy things...

It's been a while since I shared some of the things that I'm loving on Etsy. I've recently taken a liking to paint by number. It happened after a visit to a museum, where I saw a house sculpture by Don Baum, made entirely out of old paint by number paintings. There aren't too many things like this out there right now, but here are some that I'm loving:


This artwork reminds me the most of the houses from Don Baum. The cut up paintings give the original "art" a whole new look.


A bag from Erin Michael's Lush fabric is a nice way to wear one's love of paint by number.


And here's a sort of combination of the two ideas above, in the form of a wall quilt.


With this towel you can have a WIP paint by number. If I got this, I would have a hard time deciding if I should leave it as is, or embellish with embroidery...


This is just one in a series of prints with paintings as the backdrop. So clever!

Almost as clever as a series of photos with over-sized paint by number paintings in the background. This one is my absolute favorite!

dear spoonflower...

fabric

...i love you.

When I heard the mail man's truck stop in front of our house today, I was hopeful. When, through the open window, I heard the rustle of a tyvec envelope as he approached the house, my heart skipped a beat. It had to be my Spoonflower fabric.

It was.

harvesters fabric

Harvesters...oh so wonderful! Right now, I don't have a definite plan for using this, but I don't want to give any up. But I will be parting with some of this in the shop.

panel ornament fabric

spritz ornament fabric

My favorite it this. Cookies for Santa. The top piece is a panel of cut outs, and the bottom is backing. They'll be packaged as a kit to make your own ornaments. This is the stuff that makes my day.

cookies for santa fabric

I also got some of the backing in a larger print, but the colors aren't an exact match to the ornament backing. If you were buying, would that bother you?

One other fabric design is going to be reprinted, due to a glitch. This would upset me, except that it gave me the chance to see what AMAZING customer service Spoonflower provides. AMAZING, I tell you! As in, I would consider calling them up just to have a chat with them and brighten my day.

Oh yes, Spoonflower. I'm in love.

soft bling...

RVA3

This necklace is NOT something I would think to make for myself. But it is one of the projects in the Autumn=Love class from Red Velvet Art. So I made it. And guess what?

I LOVE it!

This just goes to show that taking a class like this is good from time to time. It encourages one to try new things. Which in turn, inspires a bit of creativity.

I LOVE that!

things to do with embroidery...part eleven...

embroidered magnet

We all have things that we need to keep track of, and we often do so by sticking it up on the fridge or a magnet board. With this project, you can use your embroidery to hold up those important reminders.

embroidered magnet

I started with the Frankenstein's Monster Jordnöt that I stitched up on lightweight muslin. (You can find the pattern here.) Lightweight fabric is best for this project. I trimmed around the stitching, leaving almost .5" space. Then I trimmed a second piece of muslin to the same size.

embroidered magnet

I placed a tiny piece of stuffing onto the back side of the front of my embroidery, then I added two magnet pieces. These are small and not super strong, which is why I used two. Ideally, I think one magnet piece that will hold a lot would be better, but this is what I had. DON'T try and use the stuff that comes on a roll.

These have peel and stick backing, so I used that just to help them hold onto the stuffing and shift less.

embroidered magnet

Then I placed the extra piece of muslin onto the back and started stitching around the edge. I found that it was helpful to hold it together with a pin while stitching.

embroidered magnet

And then, done! The magnet is all hidden inside, but will still stick through the fabric and whatever you're holding up. I did try my magnets out before stitching everything closed, just to be sure that it would actually hold up the magnet and some paper. It worked!

embroidered magnet

You could also stitch the whole thing together, and then add a magnet to the outside when you're done, but I sort of like it without that big ol' thing showing.

Oh, and this was inspired by some very fun magnets that I saw here. Also a great recyclable craft!

hot and not...

You know in fashion magazines how they have the "What's Hot, What's Not" page? Loobylu came up with the wonderful idea of doing the same thing on her blog, and encouraged others to try it too. And so I am.

the yummiest...

HOT: Amazing pizza from this place that we can walk to. This slice has shaved turkey, tomatoes, spinach and onions. Yum!

NOT: When you happen to get the piece that has a big bubble of air underneath. I want all the yummy, bready crust I can get!

HOT: DMC Specialty threads. I'm in love with the color variations and idea of metallic thread.

NOT: The extra price tag that these come with, as well as the headaches of metallic.

sisters...

HOT: Looking through teen fashion magazines with your sister over lunch in the park.

NOT: Wearing the clothes that you see in the magazine. You can't tell me that couture hip-hop will ever be seen on the streets in my town!

a little surprise...

On my camera, I discovered a few shots that I didn't take. They were a lovely surprise. From my sweet 4-year-old sister.

found on my camera...

found on my camera...

found on my camera...

found on my camera...

found on my camera...

Now, how to convince her that this can not be a regular occurrence...

caregiver kits...round two...

Caregiver Kit

Back in the spring, I had a wonderful experience. Through God's leading, I decided to donate 100% of my shop profits to World Vision, to purchase and assemble Caregiver Kits. Through the help of many, enough money was raised for 20 kits! Now it's time to do more good.

Until November 15, 100% of the profits from the Wild Olive shop are going to World Vision Caregiver Kits, equipping volunteers caring for those affected by AIDS. My hope and prayer is that we can put together even more kits this time. In the side bar, you'll find a kit count, so that you can see the progress we're making. We're off and running!

For my part, I'll be keeping the shop fresh with new items...I'm really excited about these! For your part, please consider doing a bit of shopping...It will help so many!

Learn more about Caregiver Kits here.

Visit the shop.

how did i...

...live without this?

mouse

No, not just the mouse. Look closely.

roller

There it is. The roller ball on the top, which allows me to scroll in an oh so speedy manner. It has made my life so much easier.

Which is good, because I've been working at finalizing everything for my shop update, which will happen just after midnight tonight! It's also when I'll start raising money for Caregiver Kits again! More on that soon...

For now, you can check out pics of the embroidery patterns, collage sheets and new printable celebration banners over on Flickr!

keep them busy...

busy work

Staying busy.

That's a typical answer for me when someone asks how I am. Silly really. Why should I feel that I need to stay busy?

But kids are another thing.

Sometimes kids just need something to do. And so the busy work you see above was found. We'll call it "Scissor Skills." These are some extra prints of things I've been working on, and I passed them along to little ones just when they were about to make someone (ME!?!) crazy. Oh how they love to cut things out...

sisterly bragging...

last game...

A pause in the craftiness, as I brag about my talented brother.

Anders is 15. He loves baseball. Girls love him. He loves baseball. He is funny. He loves baseball. He drives people crazy. He loves baseball. And he is one of the sweetest kids I know.

Oh, and did I mention that he loves baseball?

He writes a blog devoted to baseball and recently added a podcast. I haven't listened to the podcast yet, but his writing on the blog is always very enjoyable. He has a knack for it.

So if you love baseball, or have a brother, husband, best friend, boyfriend, whatever...check out The Go Ahead Run.

more adventures in fabric printing...

yucky printing

So, yesterday I showed you a success in trying something new. And today, a failure. Sort of.

Have you ever tried inkjet printing directly onto fabric? It works. And it's not too difficult. In Amy Karol's new "Bend the Rules with Fabric", she shows how to do this, and it's not new. I have done this successfully before. You just iron some fabric onto freezer paper (to stabilize it...it comes off afterward) and then print on the fabric. You can also chemically treat the fabric first to make it colorfast. One time we even printed on interfacing (it didn't need stabilizer), and then used the prints to stick onto a felt board.

less yucky printing

But the inkjet printer we have these days gets a little funny. It pulls things through differently, sometimes a little crooked or scrunched, with black streaks. It did this to my fabric. I guess I'm not too surprised. The rest of the printing looks ok...just not the extra marks. I'll probably try this again, as the muslin is cheap, but it is a bit disheartening.



In happier fabric printing news, the above pattern is a Halloween Jordnöt fabric that I entered into the latest Spoonflower contest. I'm getting ready to order some fabric, but I may not order all of the designs that I've uploaded there. If you really, really would like to see a particular fabric design in my shop, let me know. It will give me a better idea of what to have printed this time around.

In the meantime, please vote for Halloween Jordnöts here.

iron it on...

transfer

I almost feel silly writing about this, because I feel so behind when it comes to this technique. But perhaps you are like me, so I'll go on.

The pattern you see above is one of mine, from a new pattern that will come out next week. And I transferred it to my fabric by ironing it on. But not with special paper. Not with a transfer pen either. Nope. I just printed it on a laser printer. It is my understanding that a photocopy will also work.

Why haven't I done this before?

Actually, I heard about this a long time ago, and did try it. But it didn't work, so I gave up on the idea. I tried it again after looking into having my patterns made into regular iron-on transfers. The search for info didn't turn up what I wanted. But this type of ironing on came to mind.

I haven't played with it a lot, but here are my thoughts. Light colored cotton is a safe choice (I used muslin). The pattern should be printed on a laser printer or photocopier...something with toner. I ironed my fabric first to heat it, like you would with other transfers. Then I just placed the printed pattern face down and ironed like crazy. It's not a real dark print, but it's close to when I trace with a pencil.

Now, a few side notes:

This is a candy apple that will be in a new pattern called "Trick-or-Treaters." They are Halloween candy types of things.

The embroidered piece that you got a glimpse of in yesterday's post is a Diana-type camera, and will be a new $2 mini-pattern. It's a slight variation of a pattern that is in the Photo Fun workshop in my shop.

More info on my upcoming shop update will go out in a Mailing A-List email tomorrow. If you're not on the list, this is a good time to join. You'll find the subscription box in the sidebar. There are benefits...trust me!

click...

Just a quick pic of something I made today:

click...

I've thought that hanging things with pants/skirt hangers is such a great idea. So I picked up two of them for $1 at Target. (Such a deal!) I was planning on using them for artwork, but then I thought ooh...for some embroidery! And why not add a little something to it? So I painted "Click.." onto the wood. Love it!

labor of love...

Did you have a good Labor Day? I hope so. I loooooved my day! It was so beautiful, and just relaxing.

sky

My brother and I went to a baseball game, which was very fun. It was the last game of the year for the minor league team we frequent. Kinda sad...

labor day game

Then we came home and had a cookout of sorts. My little brother asked if we were going to have a stakeout. Isn't that too cute?!? We grilled, but ate indoors, as it was a little chilly outside for my grandparents.

Labor Day Dessert Bench Monday

We finished up the meal with a Boston Creme Pie Cake...YUM!

i just can't get enough...

more stitching...

I've been doing a lot of this lately, which is fine, because I love it! It's also good, because I have a lot more of it coming up. So many projects planned...

For now, I'm very, very sleepy...

and more stitching...