Jenaissance Designs - a craft blog

Giveaway Winner

2012-02-04T09:01:00.002-05:00

And the winner is....

Congratulations to Lesley Evans, who left this comment:

Thank you all so much for entering and becoming fans on Facebook. ♥

Giveaway Time!

2012-01-31T11:05:00.002-05:00

It's giveaway time! I want to say thank you to everyone who follows my blog and to new friends just finding me. I really appreciate your comments and support!

Here's what I'm giving away to one lucky winner:

The pin cushion measures 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" and is completely hand sewn (by me, of course!).

The beaded apple tree is mounted in a 4" hoop complete with felt backing.

Here are the deets:

To Enter: Like me on Facebook and leave a comment here in this post telling me your favorite cartoon character.

Contest Ends: February 4, 2012 at midnight.

That's it! Easy peasy.

Winner will be chosen at random and posted here on Saturday, February 4th.

Oh, and my favorite cartoon character has always been Hong Kong Phooey. He's a number one super star, don't ya know. ;)

Good luck!
♥
PS: Make sure you leave me an email so I can contact you if you win!

***This Giveaway is now closed! Thanks for entering!***

Take a Stitch - What a Cretan!

2012-01-28T13:13:00.001-05:00

This week's stitch (the Cretan Stitch) for TAST was a real challenge for me. There are several variations but I liked the look of the closed stitch best. I thought it would provide an alternative to the fishbone stitch for leaves.

As you can see, I didn't execute the stitch as well as I'd have liked and there was as stunning lack of consistency. On the plus side though, I really like the look of the variegated thread.

Cretan Stitch Leaves

As you can see by this photo from Needle n Thread, Mary is an expert at the stitch and of course I want my leaves to look just as lovely!

Mary Corbet's perfect Cretan!

I do have to wonder if the even weave fabric above made the difference. I will have to give this stitch a go on Aida in future.

Some of my favorite TAST entries have been done by Chris over at Ella's Craft Creations. She's doing a set of mandalas which are incredibly beautiful. Please visit and have a peek.

There are well over 500 people participating so please link to your TAST page so we can all visit your site and see what you're up to. :)

xo

Take a Stitch - Feather Stitch

2012-01-22T12:04:00.000-05:00

Week three of TAST is here!

This week I found a lot of inspiration but didn't have as much time as I wanted to explore all the different variations of this stitch.

What I've done here is very traditional feather stitch, but I did try overlapping them, which went against my nature. lol

Seaweed Feather Stitches

I did experiment slightly with the shape a bit here and there, but over all it was a very tame stitching session!

I like how this side turned out!

Sometimes less is more and that might be the case with this particular design. The right side is much neater and cleaner than the left.

Below you can see that I've used the feather stitch as a filler for her tail. This close-knit stitching reminds me of scales and even chain mail, which may come in handy to know in the future. :)

Well Dressed Mermaid

I sketched this figure ages ago, not knowing what to do with her. She's now a permanent part of my TAST 2012 journal.. Well Dressed Mermaid shows off the feather stitch.

One of my favorite feather stitches from TAST is this one by Smallest Forest. There are way more variations than I imagined and they're all well done. I especially love the Spanish knotted & the ribbed. It wasn't until I saw a photo without the ID circles that I realized it spells Feather. ;)

Thanks for visiting and checking out my stitches. Please leave a link to your own TAST so I can stop by and see what you've done. ♥

Downton Abbey Stitching

2012-01-16T15:45:00.001-05:00

I am a huge fan of Downton Abbey on PBS. Series 2 has just started and Sunday is now my favorite day, having supplanted Saturday; whose claim to fame was pizza day. I watched series 1 on Netflix over the summer and was anxiously awaiting more. And now it's here!

I came across The Sampler Girl's blog while looking for something else online and happily found that she is not only a Downton fan, but had a wide array of free cross stitch charts.

You'll never guess which one caught my eye...

Cross Stitch Pocket Hanging

I attached the stitching to that bit of green fabric I dyed with Kool Aid last week, leaving the top open as a pocket. The fabric has since faded to a goldish green, which happened to match perfectly with one of the suggested DMC floss colors on the chart. They were meant to be together.

I've no idea what I'd put in that pocket.. (my husband suggested a teddy bear.. sometimes I wonder if we're from the same planet) it really isn't big enough for much more than a small envelope. I also think I should have stitched across the top to complete the square, but thought if I did that it wouldn't look pockety anymore.

At any rate, it's the first piece of cross stitch I've done since before my daughter was born (that's 9 years now!) and I was happy to complete it and hang it up.

I'd like to note that I took this down for the photo and while I was fiddling with the pictures my cat Q ate the organza ribbon off it. What a twit! Luckily for him I had more.

All the while I was stitching this I felt like I was going blind.. I could barely see the holes. This was a bit of Aida I got from someone and I've no idea about the thread count. Felt like 28.. but it could be 18.

This has also inspired me to do a bit of investigating to see if I can translate some of my patterns into cross stitch charts. I'll keep you posted on the progress of that.

Already waiting for Sunday again! Happy stitching meanwhile and keep your eyes peeled for TAST week 3. :)

Winning with Stitchin' Momma

2012-01-13T15:30:00.001-05:00

Last week I entered a Facebook contest and I won it! I'm always excited to get things in the mail.. especially presents and this time was no different.

Kelly at Stitchnmomma made this beautiful cross stitch fridge magnet. I just received it in the mail and it will look lovely on my black fridge.. which frankly could use a little color.

Cheerful, isn't it?

What I love most about her shop are her beautifully hand dyed fabrics. She does Aida cloth as well as even weave linen. She was the inspiration for me trying the Kool Aid dyeing. As she doesn't use Kool Aid to dye her fabric, she has achieved lovely, color-fast fabrics at a very reasonable price. :) She's even got a newly launched Fabric of the Month club!

Check out this gorgeous medium brown..

Medium Brown, DMC Floss Match 433

And just in case you aren't sure your monitor is showing you the color accurately, she provides the DMC floss color in every listing. Handy.. and that extra touch makes all the difference.

Kelly also has original cross stitch patterns as well as finished products. And, since all that talent is really too much for one location, Kelly has another Etsy shop called Buttons by Stitch where you can buy handmade cross stitch and fabric covered buttons.

Oink!

I'm tickled pink to now have my very own StitchnMomma magnet! Thanks Kelly :) Please visit StitchnMomma and give her a thumbs-up on Facebook if you haven't already.

Keep your eyes peeled, I may have to have a giveaway of my own very soon!

Take a Stitch - Button Hole Stitch

2012-01-13T12:12:00.000-05:00

Week two of TAST is in mid-swing! There have been a lot of really great photos already in the FB group, and links a plenty on the Tast page.

The button hole stitch is also referred to as the blanket stitch, which you will mostly see used as edging for blankets and around edges as it gives them a finished look. In the case of felt, the blanket stitch keeps that edge looking crisp.

I've not ever used this stitch for surface embroidery before and wasn't quite sure what to do. I just put some fabric in a hoop and started stitching. Sometimes the results are surprising!

Button Hole Swamp

I was most intrigued by the button hole bar variation, which is what you see here in blue. None of them came out quite perfectly, but I love the texture of them and this is definitely a stitch I will use more in the future.

Button Hole bars

The button hole wheel is also stitch I liked, but I found myself having trouble with the tension as I went around. Above you can see I did a partial wheel which seemed to work better.

Button Hole wheel

The stems are a variation of the button hole called the 'up and down'. I like them quite a bit also and experimented with them in different sizes and different angles. Fun!

Did you participate in Tast this week? If you did, feel free to link to your site in a comment. I would really love to see your work!

Until next time.. happy stitching!

Dyeing Kool Aid Style

2012-01-10T17:58:00.000-05:00

Well that post title almost has a sinister duality, doesn't it. lol.

Here's my tutorial on how I dyed fabric using Kool Aid. I've done several colors so far including pink, peach, blue, and purple. Today I wanted to do green as my previous attempt at green didn't come out well at all.

Here's what I use for supplies:

Supplies!

1. Unsweetened Kool Aid Packets -I used Blue Raspberry Lemonade, Lemon-Lime, & Strawberry Lemonade
2. Boiling water
3. White Vinegar
4. Whisk
5. Heat proof dish
6. Fabric for dyeing* -- I chose 100% cotton Aida cloth, and a 60/40 Cotton/Linen Blend.

*Note regarding fabric: I've read that Kool Aid dyeing is not suitable for protein based fabrics like cotton or linen as the color can wash out quickly.

Step 1: Boil enough water to cover the fabric while in the dish. I used about 2 cups.

Step 2: Pour the water into the empty dish.

Step 3: Pour packet powder into the dish. I used 1 entire lemon-lime packet, 1/2 packet of Blue Raspberry Lemonade, and 1/2 packet of Strawberry lemonade.

Lemon-Lime Hits Water

Step 4: Whisk thoroughly to fully dissolve powder. As you can see in the above picture it's really very bright green.. about the color of a 7 up bottle.

Step 5: Add secondary colors and whisk thoroughly.

Blue Raspberry is on the scene

While it's hard to tell, that is, in fact, blue raspberry which is not really making the green less vibrant.

Step 6: Add tertiary colors and whisk thoroughly.

Strawberry Lemonade into the fray

The addition of the reddish/yellow color will turn this more towards olive. Hopefully. **I add all the colors separately to make sure I'm happy with the color before proceeding.

Step 7: Add vinegar and whisk thoroughly to distribute. I used a "sploosh" (or 1/4 cup) for the 2 cups of water. This is where you lose the fruity smell and get a punch to the face with hot vinegar.

Hot vinegar stinks!

Step 8: Add fabric.

Aida gets a green bath

The Aida cloth was rinsed thoroughly in cold water to rinse away the stiffener. I frankly didn't notice much difference .. I think it's just a naturally dense, stiff fabric! Also, you'll notice my use of a chop stick there. (Yay for Pei Wei!) I make sure the fabric lays flat in it's bath and I don't use my hands because it's boiling water! ;)

Step 9: Wait!

Insert Jeopardy Theme

Step 10: Become impatient and check your fabric.

Hmmm

Step 11: Decide it's not taking the dye well and while it's still warm-ish throw in another layer of fabric.

I didn't want to waste the batch of dye so Step 11 is entirely optional. ;)

Step 12: Time's Up!

90 minutes later...

Step 13: Remove fabric to a clean bowl for rinsing.

Look at that gorgeous green! SQUEE!

Step 14: Rinse well with cold water, which will remove the vinegar smell and some of the excess dye.

As you can see.. not much color came out.

Step 15: Assess the pan!

Uh oh

This pan has too much color left in it. My previous experience with this has shown me that this water should be nearly clear, meaning all the color has soaked into the cloth. This does not bode well for a decent green in the end. At this point you could boil this again and re-dye your fabric or just sally forth as I did.

Step 16: Dry the fabric. For Aida I simply laid it flat until it was dry. I was afraid to put it in the dryer with the cotton/linen.

Rinsed, but wet.

At this point I was very pleased with my green cotton/linen but less so with the Aida. I'll wait to see them both fully dry before deciding though. I've noticed that applying heat can turn the color much more vibrant than it might be otherwise.

Step 17: Check your work.

Oh well..

As you can see.. the cloth on the farthest right is bright white.. that's what the Aida looked like before the Kool Aid Dye. The middle piece is the Aida.. which is a very pale minty green, which honestly doesn't look green unless you look at it against something white. The far left piece is the cotton/linen which has a very interesting greenish/reddish speckling to it. I'm not thrilled with the dried colors.. the wet were much prettier!

I'll be giving this yet another try because I really do enjoy coloring my own fabric.

Here are a few pics from my other Kool Aid dye atempts.

Ecru Cotton/Linen - Strawberry Lemonade

Ecru Cotton/Linen - Blue Raspberry Lemonade

Yep - it works on hair too!

Despite the boo-boo face, my daughter loves her cherry red stripes. For dyeing her hair I simply filled a mug with boiling water, put some mix in it and dunked her hair in there for 5 minutes. This was done on 12/18 and while not as vibrant today.. she's definitely got stripes still.

Yep.. the dog too! lol

Daisy did not want to be left out.. but only the very tip of her tail went into the mug and only for about 30 seconds. It washed out during her second trip to the dog park. ;)

To sum up...

The Good:
1. Somewhat inexpensive -the Kool Aid mix is about 18 cents a packet.
2. It doesn't take long and clean up is a breeze.
3. The possibilities for color variations is myriad. Experimenting is half the fun!

The Bad:
1. Results vary based on cloth type. It's hard to tell what the finished product will look like.
2. Since results vary you may wind up using more cloth and/or packets than you expected.
3. The dry powder will stain like crazy the second it hits anything wet (other than the dish of course) so be careful with it. I don't use gloves or put newspaper down on the surface, but I'm a risk taker that way.

The Ugly:
1. The green color I wound up with this time around. Just sayin'.

Hope this was helpful! I'm not an expert, but I'll try to answer questions if you have any.

Happy dyeing!
xo

Take a Stitch - Fly Stitch

2012-01-07T12:41:00.000-05:00

This year I'm participating in a challenge called "Take a Stitch Tuesday" (TAST). It involves learning a new stitch every Tuesday throughout 2012. There are over 500 people participating from all over the world. The challenge is organized by Sharon from Pin Tangle and you can read more about it here. And join in, if you'd like!

The first stitch was announced this week and already there has been overwhelming response on the Facebook page! I thought it would take people a few days at least.. but people were posting their work that same day!

I haven't made a final decision about how I'll showcase my work, but I am leaning towards a fabric book of stitches. I want to keep it simple and just be inspired by each stitch.

Here she be.. the Fly Stitch:

I love how the stitch can be used for many things.

Birds & Butterflies

Flower stems

Wheat & a Kite!

A pretty spring scene

The fabric is a remnant of a piece of cotton/linen blend that I hand dyed with Kool Aid. (Blue Raspberry Lemonade to be exact) I think I will keep to this size and shape which is sort of trade paperback-ish.

We've had too many cloudy days here, which makes for mostly terrible pictures, however, this blue seems best captured on a day like this.

I'm looking forward to next week's stitch and to checking out the many blogs and flickr sites of the other participants.

Are you stitching along? Feel free to link to your own TAST, I would love to visit and see what you're doing!

xo

Quick Ornaments

2011-12-19T15:27:00.000-05:00

Today I had some free time (I know, right?) so I thought I would create a few quick ornaments to hang from the Christmas presents I'll be wrapping this week.

Since 90% of my gifts were homemade this year, I thought it would be nice to continue the theme.

As many of you know I make jewelry and have quite a lot of supplies. I've tried destashing them on Etsy, trading them up, and even giving some away. I still have tons! Crafters know that supplies multiply the second you look away. I like being able to use them cross purpose. It's so satisfying. lol

Here are a few things I had lying around that worked up very quickly into some really cute ornaments.

Freshwater Pearls

Swarovski Glass Pearls

Shrinky Dinks with Vintage Sewing label Graphics

Shrinky Dinks with Vintage Sewing Labels Graphics

Both of these sets took me about 1 episode of Doc Martin on Netflix. Which is to say about 50 minutes from design to photography. Not bad at all, considering I was going to watch Doc Martin anyway. :)

The shrinky dinks were left over from this project . I didn't bother waterproofing them as they shouldn't be getting wet. Watch them get wet now! lol

The hangers are made from nylon coated wire and a crimp to hold the circle. A tiny dab of crazy glue keeps the crimp hidden behind where the ribbon is tied. I embellished them with a bit of organza ribbon and in the case of the vintage style ones I used some baker's twine that was wrapped around a gift I received. (You're probably realizing that's why my supplies multiply.. I save practically everything.)

I also made a couple of paper ornaments which I wound up not liking enough to photograph. Maybe next time?

Have you made any ornaments this year? Let's see them!

My Secret Rooms

2011-12-17T10:03:00.000-05:00

I have a love for eye candy that probably goes beyond normal into a little bit obsessive. For that reason, I love Pinterest. It's always a source for beautiful images and inspiration. It's also a super way to keep track of things I would love to have, places I would travel to, and spaces I would live in, if only.

Here are some spaces that speak to me. Maybe they'll speak to you too. :)

pink for my ultra feminine side

bookshelves for my love of reading and built-ins

black and white and pink for when I'm feeling NY French Chic

deep reds and browns for quiet moods

for posh sunday morning breakfast

cottage chic for every day

rustic for rainy days

stairway for finding magical places

It would be a frightful home that included every one of these rooms - but how does one choose which style to go with when you love so many of them?

I would love to see some of your favorite spaces so please do share!

Sew Jenaissance News

2011-12-01T07:40:00.000-05:00

Last week, Helen from Bustle & Sew contacted me. I've been a follower of her blog for a while now and just love her style. Helen is very talented and has beautiful original patterns in her Etsy shop.

Bustle & Sew also publishes a monthly online magazine which includes three free patterns from Helen each month, vintage knitting and crochet pattens, and news from other designers. If you're interested in subscribing, simply visit Bustle & Sew - a subscription is only $4.50 a month.

Now for the reason Helen contacted me. She is going to do a feature on Sew Jenaissance in her January issue! I can't tell you how excited I am! Well, ok, I can. I'm super excited!! In addition to the feature, there will be an exclusive free pattern from me, available only through the magazine. So please consider checking out the January issue, or even subscribing. The magazine does not disappoint.

A huge thanks to Helen for thinking of me and including me in her awesome magazine. I will be sure to post a reminder when it comes out!

More news to come soon! Until then.. xoxo

Let It Snow Free Pattern

2011-11-26T11:10:00.000-05:00

I'm wishing for snow but we're having temps in the mid-60's. Not at all my idea of late November!

Here's a little something to pass along my wish.

Click the image for full size, right click and save.
Happy Stitching!

Fridge Magnet Tutorial

2011-11-15T17:40:00.000-05:00

It's tutorial time! YAY! I was finally able to get this tutorial done, despite the lousy weather making it nearly too dark for photos.

I actually discovered this idea on Pinterest, which is where all good ideas wind up eventually. I wanted to share my own take on it with you.

So here we go, Fridge Magnets from super cheap clothes pins...

First you'll want your supplies:

1. Clothes pins - cheap ones from Walmart are fine. They were $1 for 50.
2. Paper - I'm using scrapbooking paper, which is akin to card stock as well as wrapping paper.
3. Peel & stick magnet sheets from Joann's. It was 2 sheets of 4"x 6" for $2.
4. Cutting tools - I used a scissor, a paper cutter, and an Exacto knife.
5. Mod Podge & a paint brush
6. Various embellishments
7. Hot glue gun and crazy glue to attach various embellishments

The only thing I had to shop for especially for this project was the clothespins; everything else I had around house from previous craft projects. The wrapping paper came around a gift from my sister-in-law and I've been saving it. I really love it!

Now that I've got the supplies out I'm ready to begin. You'll want to check out my super exact measurement system for getting the paper to be the right size for the magnet.

Exacto? Uh, nope-O!

For the wrapping paper I laid the clothes pin down and used the Exacto knife to trim around it. Not very scientific at all.

Proceeding with the wrapping paper clothespin, I'm going to Mod Podge the surface of the clothes pin, and then put another coat of Mod Podge on top of the paper.

This is not the best brush for Mod Podge

Notice the divot in the clothes pin? Since this is only paper thin (no pun intended) I can trim it after the Mod Podge dries.

It's a divot.

I used my finger and a bit of Mod Podge to smooth out those wrinkles you see above.

While that one is drying, I'll move on to the scrapbook paper, which gets treated differently because of it's thickness.

For the card stock scrapbook paper I used a much more precise method of measurement. As you can see here:

Yep there's a ruler on the guide bar, but I'm not using it.

In my typical "eye ball it" fashion, I've laid the clothespin on the paper so I know about how wide to trim. If I were doing this as a gift, would I be more exact? Nope. I'm a pretty good "eye-baller". ;)

Now that I have the paper cut, I'm going to lay the clothespin on top and trim the ends and/or edges if necessary.

Ends are trimmed!

Now. We have to deal with the gap. The gap I'm referring to is the little concave area where the hardware nestles. This can either be covered by the paper or the span can be clipped. If you clip it, you can see that it's a clothespin and everyone will know how clever you are that you made a magnet from such a dreary doodad!

Mind the gap!

Since the scrapbook paper is already thick, I will not wait until the Mod Podge is dry to clip it. I have tried doing this both ways and will tell you that it was a terrible pain in the neck to try to cut through after the the Mod Podge dried. So, instead...

Keep minding that gap!

I made tiny marks to indicate the width of the gap and snipped the paper with my scissor. Now the paper fits beautifully on each part and you can tell it's a clothespin. Right!

The next step is to Mod Podge this one too and then let it dry. While they're all drying it's time to look over the embellishments I've collected.

Bits and pieces

I've chosen a few things that I have around the house to add onto the clothespins. At this point I'm gung-ho and really excited about adding tiny bits to my magnets. I have beads, bead caps, a couple of crocheted flowers and even a slice of a branch from the yard. Cool, huh?! Well.... maybe.

Through the magic of blogging, my pins are dry and it's time to break out the glue gun. Here's a clothespin that hasn't been trimmed and is getting a flower!

Hot glue is hot. Be careful!

In retrospect I would have used epoxy I think, the hot glue was super stringy and great wisps of it wound up everywhere, even on the camera. Let's not tell the hubby that though! ;)

A crocheted flower with a bead center.

While I was at it, I thought I would try gluing some embellishments to a tagua nut I had lying around.

Hot glue on metal is hotter than you think! Be extra careful!

I didn't quite burn my fingers, but it was hotter than I anticipated. Next I used my large crochet flower and some seed beads.

Surprisingly neat looking in the end.

Now that everything's dried, it's time to apply the magnets. You can cut and measure using a ruler and your Exacto knife. Or, you can use my method and cut haphazardly with scissors. :)

Peel and stick rocks!

A note on the magnets: The heavier your clothespin gets (with embellishments etc) the sturdier you are going to need your magnet to be. For my purposes these magnets, covering the whole back of the clothespin, keeps them securely on the fridge.

The magnet covers the entire back

And here we are, all done!

Wrapping Paper Clip in Action!

The Scrapbook paper clips:

Scrapbook Paper Clips

The wrapping paper clips:

Wrapping paper!

And now for the good, the bad, and the ugly of my project.

The Good:
1. These work up quickly - you can absolutely assembly line these and make dozens at a time.
2. There is a lot of versatility with materials - any kind of paper will work.
3. It's an inexpensive project - most of us have these materials hanging around. You can even make your own Mod Podge if you don't want to buy the brand name stuff. See recipe at the end!
4. These make great stocking stuffers for the holidays and can even be adapted to ornaments.
5. There are wicked huge clothespins at the craft store, they would be RAD to use!

The Bad:
1. The heavier embellishments require a stronger magnet. Stronger magnets may not be as "invisible" from the front.
2. Hot glue is messy. I would use epoxy next time if I decide to embellish them.
3. A sponge brush is better for Mod Podge/decoupaging than a bristle brush. I used what I had at hand. Next time I won't.

The Ugly:
1. The embellishments I had were perhaps not the best. I dared to be a little too funky with these. I actually prefer the plain paper clothespins, with the hardware showing. I think the charm of these is that they are clothespins and I don't want to hide that fact, even with really pretty paper.
2. Mod Podge smells FUNK-AY. Kind of like an old hotel room. Maybe mine is just old. Be sure you have good ventilation!

Mod Podge Recipe: (Oo, a tutorial in a tutorial! )
Water
Elmer's Glue
Empty jar

Simply fill the jar about halfway with equal parts of Elmer's glue and water. Close it up. Shake it up to mix and you're ready to go.

I hope you enjoyed the tutorial. Feel free to comment if you have questions or suggestions for future tutes. :D

xoxo

Suzy's Artsy Crafsty Sitcom

2011-11-14T11:40:00.001-05:00

Just popping in to mention that Suzy from Suzy's Artsy Craftsy Sitcom included my Matryoshka doll pattern in her Monday Etsy Madness post. I'm so pleased she liked my design enough to give me a shout out among so many other beautiful Matryoshkas. Thanks heaps and bunches Suzy!! :D

Suzy's blog is chock full of tutorials which makes me entirely jealous! I'll get there, slowly but surely. Definitely stop by and check her out.. but bring coffee, you'll want to stay awhile.

Been there, Embroidered it.

2011-11-09T06:39:00.001-05:00

I came across this awesome idea on Pinterest and wanted to share it. I find the best things on there! It's sort of a shortcut for me to find out what's crafty around the internetz. I just don't have time to look at everything. Srsly.

This is a Good Thing from Martha Stewart - embroider your trip route and frame it.

Embroider your trip

This actually opens up a world (insert groan at bad pun here) of ideas. Where have you been lately?

The Not So Crafty Craft Fair

2011-11-08T18:09:00.001-05:00

So the craft fair wasn't quite as successful as we had hoped. We did sell a couple of items though so it was some kind of success. lol. We said goodbye to a couple of amigurumis and a set of fridge magnets.
Yep magnets. (Didn't know I made those did you.)

The fair itself was more of a local flea market and thus a little disappointing. There were some vendors selling clearly handmade things, though they didn't fare much better than I did. Still, it was a good experience. My poor MIL didn't sell a single American Girl dress, which she worked so hard on. Her shop, Seams Dressy, will be filling up with lots of clothes in the coming weeks, so please stop by and have a peek.

Now that the fair is over I can stop crocheting every minute of every day and get back to embroidery and making patterns. Yay! Here's a sneak peek of what I'm working on...

Fishy fishy

I'm also doing a 100% handmade Christmas this year, so I've got a ton of things lined up that need to be made.

Most everyone is getting some form of amigurumi (yep.. I've gotten silly about the whole thing! They are so much fun to make!); Mario brothers characters, a goblin, a robot, and even a badger are on the list. For my MIL I'll be making some embroidered Christmas tree ornaments for her new skinny tree.

My husband is getting dysmorphic wool socks. I bought the yarn at Jojo's (Joanns) and can't wait to finish them...the feel of the wool on my hands is just awful and it leaves me mega itchy. It may say it has natural lanolin oil on the label, but I sure can't feel it. :( I wonder if alpaca may have been a better way to go. Perhaps I should make these huge and felt them? Maybe his feet aren't as sensitive as my hands? Maybe I should just buy him socks? lol. So many options. ;)

This week the newsletter is going out come hell or high water, so anyone looking for news about what's coming for the holidays, plans for the coming new year, and a free embroidery pattern (or two!) should sign up on the right. :)

Until next time!

Craft Fair A-go-go

2011-10-22T09:20:00.000-04:00

In just two weeks time on November 5th, Sew Jenaissance, Jenaissance Designs, and Seams Dressy will be at the Middlebrook Pike United Methodist Church's annual Arts & Crafts fair.

This is our first craft fair, ever! We've been crafting our little hearts now, non-stop getting ready.

Jenaissance will be selling handmade earrings, bracelets, and necklaces.

Agate and Amethyst Necklace

Seams Dressy will be selling handmade American Girl doll clothes - from pj's to prairie dresses.

Calico Pinafore

Sew Jenaissance will be selling finished embroidery hoop art, embroidery patterns, stitch markers, felt needle cases, pin cushions, crochet scarves, and crocheted amigurumi dolls. Hopefully something for everyone!

Chocolate Brown Betty

Red Flower Linen Pin Cushion

If you're local to Knoxville be sure to mark your calendars! November 5th from 9am to 4pm.. stop by and pick up some awesome handmade holiday gifts!!

Pixlr - o - Matic

2011-10-04T11:46:00.000-04:00

I came across this cool website called Pixlr that lets you alter your photographs by adding effects to them. I had so much fun using it I had to blog it.

Here are a few before and afters.

This first one gets a vintage look. If not for the abundant cat fur on my curtain, I think the after photo is magazine-ish.

Before

After!

My daughter was a spider queen for Halloween last year and I am still in love with the photos of her from that day.

Before

After!

Before

After!

The NoOb took some really nice photos of our garden this year. I particularly liked this one, which had a cool angle to it to begin with. One overlay and a frame and the after looks completely professional to me!

Before

After!

I could literally spend all day at this website. It makes me feel like a photographer! There are so many effects, overlays, and borders that there are millions of combinations. You can also download the Pixlr program, use it on Facebook and they even have an app for your iphone. Cool, huh?!

Avast!

2011-09-19T19:34:00.000-04:00

It's International Talk Like a Pirate day! Did you roam around saying things like "that tickles me wooden leg, matey?" I don't celebrate beyond being happy it's the actual day. I have no idea why I look forward to it, I just think it's cool. And I like my pirate name, Mad Jenny Flint. I think I'll keep it.

Arrr!

I'm super behind on blogging.. I have some ATC's to show you from my aforementioned swaps, as well as some really lovely artwork I got from a new friend across the pond.

We are gearing up for a local arts & crafts show in November, with the MIL, (whom I also need to blog about, as she's opened up her own Etsy shop) which I need to tell you about.

I will be sending out a newsletter in October which will include a free pattern for the holidays. This will be exclusively for subscribers.. so sign up while you can.

I'm thinking we will also be having a giveaway for the holidays.

Lots of good stuff coming up in future posts.. please stay tuned!

Color inspiration

2011-09-16T11:11:00.000-04:00

I find quite a lot of color palettes and inspiration from unlikely sources. Here are a few I've found on my travels around the interwebs. :)

Cold Steel & Warm Wood

Earthy

Yellow and Aqua - A New Fav

Delicious

Black and Lime - one of the best palette combos.

There are tons of color resources out there, especially if you're crafty and looking for something different, but these two captured my heart and unless someone new can really wow me, these guys are my go to's..

COLOURlovers is amazing for discovering new and unexpected color combinations.

Design Seeds is relatively new but I loved them from their very first palette.

Where do you find your color palettes and inspiration?

Stitching Like Mad

2011-09-02T16:56:00.000-04:00

It's been a lil bit since I posted.. I've been stitching up a storm over here. I wish I could do that literally, maybe it'd bring some relief from this heat! MY GOD THE HEAT!

I've got what seems like a small list of stitching to do this month, but I have a feeling it will snowball into a frenzy of floss and yarn. Save me.

I was the winner of the EtsyNEAT team challenge this month! Whee! I never win anything, so I am super pleased. And quite frankly super surprised. I was up against a lot of talented people and entries. The prize was to pick the category for the next month's challenge. Which I have done. It hasn't been announced so I won't give it away here. Suffice to say it was a super cool idea in my head. Now, of course, I'm wondering what I'm going to enter because I wasn't cool enough to pick an idea for my piece and then pick the theme. Good work, Jen.

I've also entered into two ATC swaps. These will be my first swaps and I'm looking forward to them. What's an ATC you ask? Well, I'm happy to tell you!ATC stands for artist trading card. You can read about them in detail on the wiki if you want. Or you can trust me when I say they are 2.5" x 3.5" works of art in various forms of media that artists trade with one another. Remember when you were a kid and flipped and traded baseball cards? Kinda the same thing only now it's art. I've heard it becomes quite an obsession in regards to collecting them. Just what I need..something else to obsess over. :)

The swaps are for the two stitching groups I belong to, which you can see over there on the right. --------->

The first is with the Hand Embroidery Network . The theme for this group is music. I wonder if I can fit 76 trombones on an ATC. Hm! But I digress. My swap partner is a graduate of the Royal School of Needlework and has worked in the National Gallery of Victoria. Yea! So I'm a bit nervous about stitching something for someone that's a complete expert in needlework. You can check her out here. Be sure to see her gallery where she's got silk shading which is to die for.

The second is for Stitchin Fingers. For this swap we're doing a round robin and the theme is local wildlife. I'm thinking Black Bears and/or raccoons. This one feels like less pressure to me since I'm not receiving a piece from the person I'm sending to. Both groups have equally talented people though and I'm sure that I'll be getting something amazing, which I'll be sure to share with you.

In other projects:I'm also helping the hubby with the biz closing for the beading/jewelry biz over on Etsy. There's lots of destash beads and findings yet to list and at some point we'll be knocking percentages off on the jewelry. Head on over there if you want a good deal.

In addition I'm the hubby's resident photographer and/or photographer's helper when it comes to his food blog. You should check it out if you have time. He makes the most amazing food and is the reason I will never lose weight no matter how hard I try. His latest gourmet delight was a lemon streusel. To his credit he took the photos of the final product. Here's what I did while he was mixing and rolling and pinching and measuring.

Egg. A Study.

I took 167 photos during his baking extravaganza, of which 25 were actually useful to him. The others were similar to the above photo. He callously deleted all except two! I had some really awesome retrospectives on crumbs and knives! I even managed to take photos of actual photos that were hanging on my fridge. Like this....

Spider Queen 2010

As you can see, I get up to quite a bit when no one is paying attention. With that I will leave you so I can go taste the homemade salsa that is now occupying a rather large bowl on my kitchen counter!

xoxo
♥

EtsyNEAT August Challenge

2011-08-23T08:08:00.000-04:00

The EtsyNEAT team has a challenge every month in which members create artwork based on a particular theme. This month's theme was "natural history".

When I read that I first thought of fossils and dinosaurs which is a throwback to my visiting the Natural History museum in New York. Luckily for me though, it was defined by Etsy as:

"Woodland forest themes and animals, namely birds, owls, squirrels, hedgehogs, chipmunks, bunnies, butterflies, feathers, nests, eggs, acorns, leaves, trees, branches, woodgrain, and natural colors"

Whew! That's much easier. I didn't relish the idea of trying to embroider a trilobite. I decided on something autumn-like.

The winner of the challenge (decided upon by the team members) gets to pick the theme for the next challenge. A daunting task in my mind. I was just happy to be able to participate. :)

Here is my entry:

Two Birds

Beads for musical notes

Celebrating fall

Beads for flowers too

I love trees and embroidering them. I hope to do more. I'm thinking something pine-ish for winter this year. :)

If you love this design you'll be able to find the pattern in my Etsy shop later today!

♥

If you're stopping by from etsyNEAT feel free to link to your own challenge entry!

Hula Hoops Weird Woolly Goodness

2011-08-17T15:29:00.001-04:00

This week I've been able to spend more time poking around the Hand Embroidery Network. There are tons of creative people and I really enjoy looking at other people's work. :)

Yesterday I came across a forum post asking if there were stitchers willing to give feedback in exchange for a free pattern. I was more than happy to help Stephanie of Weird Woolly Designs out!

I immediately checked out her pattern which was chock full of info, from a materials list & instructions on how to complete the pattern as she did, to links for stitching and product resources, and even finished design ideas. It was very well put together and I'm sure when she starts selling her patterns she'll get no complaints.

I transferred the pattern onto a piece of fabric that I've been dying to use.

Notice the texture at this angle.. quite obvious!

But from this angle, not so much with the textture..

Here it is stitched in it's teeny tiny glory (I used a 3" hoop)

Redwork!

I worked each of the hula hoop sections with a different count of thread from one strand in the top right corner to 6 in the bottom right corner. I also used fewer strands on the border to the left to give the design even more dimension. I think I will work this around a small frame and hang it.. a touch of red is always welcome in my house. :)

You can visit Stephanie at her blog or her Etsy shop for beautifully finished artwork!

♥

2011-08-17T06:18:00.001-04:00

everything is normal now except the size of this font!