Day 5 :: Saints 'N Stitches Tutorial {Part 3}

(I apologize for the poor quality of the pictures. My workspace is in my laundry room and these were taken on a very grey and dark day.)

Now that you're little saint is dry and wrinkle free, place him/her face down on the right side of the backing material. 

With a pencil, draw a line around your little saint, kind of a rounded rectangular shape that sits about an inch away from the outside edge. 

Here is a close up.

Stitch along the line you drew leaving open a two inch space at the bottom. 

Here is the opening I usually leave open. 

Trim the edge around. I like to use pinking shears but you don't have to. 

Turn your little saint inside out and press the edges flat, especially the open edge. 

It's much easier to stitch it closed if you have a nice, flat crease there.

Stuff your little saint as much or as little as you want and then pin the opening closed. I like to use an invisible closing seam to close up the opening. You can see a tutorial of that here. It's the same stitch I use to close up my bandana blankets. Once that's closed, you are...

Finished!

Part One : Embroidery Resources

Part Two: Removing the design lines

Day 4 :: Saints 'N Stitches Tutorial {Part 2}

Part One :: Embroidery Resources

How to wash off the water soluble design

 When you are all done and happy with your embroidery, you will want to wash off the blue lines underneath. You could wait until they are all stitched up into dolls and then toss the completed doll in the laundry, but I like to make sure it comes off before then. (I haven't yet had one not come off. )

 Run the design under some gently running cool water. 

 Make sure that the water runs all over the design. When you can't see any blue under your embroidery, gently squeeze the excess water out. 

 Lay out your fabric on a clean towel and roll it up to get all the water out. 

When it's mostly dry, unroll and hang to dry.

When it's completely dry, you can iron all the little wrinkles out.

Tomorrow I'll show you how I turn your embroidered square of fabric into a little pillow doll.

Tips and Resources for learning how to embroider can be found here.

Part Three :: Sewing Your Doll
 

Day 3 :: Saints 'N Stitches "Tutorial" {Part 1}

Tips and Resources

The official tutorial on how to sew one of my pillow dolls is coming tomorrow… this part just has information and resources.

A few people have asked if I am offering any instructions on how to stitch the embroidery kits I'm selling in my Etsy shop. The fact of the matter is that they are each so different and kind of basic (and subject to my whim) that I really can't offer a set of instructions. My goal for these little kits was to offer an easy way for moms and daughters (and sons and fathers if they are so inclined) to have a little fun exploring a new craft with a saintly theme. I used these little designs to introduce my girls to embroidery at a very basic level. We called it "Coloring With Thread". They used a very simple running stitch and 3 strands of thread doubled up and knotted at the bottom. (I always use 2-3 strands doubled and knotted together. It's the way my grandma taught me and Grandma was always right.)

Some of first ones...

If you know the basics of embroidery, you should be able to stitch these little saints easily. You decide what colors you like where. If you want to fill in something or leave it outlined, it's totally your call. If you want to eliminate something completely that I put in the design, just leave it blank and the blue lines will wash away.

If you don't know anything about embroidery, anything at all, then the best place for you to go is Mary Corbett's Needle 'N Thread website. Her how to videos are where I turn to learn new stitches and techniques. I think they are very detailed but also easy to understand. Start with the basics… Running Stitch, Back Stitch, Stem Stitch, Split Stitch. Those are my main go-to stitches. For filling in anything you want filled in, I prefer the Long & Short Stitch (without the shading, I haven't yet done any shading). The important thing is to have fun and be creative!

Tomorrow, I'm going to show you how to deal with the water soluble ink when your design is complete.

Part Two :: Washing Off the Design 

Part Three :: Sewing Your Doll

Day 2 :: A little bit about the shop...

(Psssstttt… I posted more kits last night.)

I've got some tutorials planned for the next few days that have to do with my little saint dolls and the embroidery kits, but today, I just wanted to take a minute to say that in this world of Etsy shops that can turn into huge business opportunities, my vision for my shop is just like my blog... very small. I am not a corporation and my shop is not a business in the traditional sense. It's an overflow of my life here at home.

Right now, I am on an embroidery kick and I found a way to share that with you all. Next month, it might be baby blankets. By the time we hit July in Texas, it might be underwater basket weaving… who knows! I am not looking to market it or promote it or sign up to be anyone's sponsor but thank you for thinking of me and asking. I'm not looking for it to grow any faster than the natural course allows. And it is completely subject to my whim and fancy. I might close it next week, next month or next year. (Just FYI, I plan on putting the shop on vacation starting April 6th until after Easter to make sure that the last weeks of Lent get the attention they deserve.) I see it first and foremost as a hobby and an experiment. (Especially since my Sunshine has been curious about opening her own Etsy shop for a while now.) In fact, this woman's humble shop has long been my inspiration.

I'm not trying to create a brand and I'm not trying to "make it big". I'm trying to be the best wife and mother I can be and still nurture my creativity in my spare time. I will try to take on custom orders as my time and responsibilities allow. You should always feel free to ask, I just reserve the right to say, "not right now". Thank you for respecting that and understanding.

Day One

According to the Queen of Blogging Link-ups, (that would be Jen), one of the advantages of the 7 x 7 blogging challenge is:

"It’s like a blogging closet cleanout. When I clean out my closet, I have a rule that if it’s been more than a year since I last wore an item, I either need to decide that I will begin wearing it now or give it away — no more looking at it and saying “maybe one day I’ll get to it…”

So, for Day One, I took a look at my draft folder. There were only 6 posts there. A couple of them were BigBoy sayings that never got posted. One of them dates back to 2009! I don't know why they weren't ever posted, so here they are to tickle and amuse him and my big kids who read my blog now almost daily...

AGE FIVE:
(BigBoy writes/types a story)
asthe bugwas tr/terminated.buythe foxTHEY CHEERED.

(As the bug was terminated by the fox, THEY CHEERED!)



AGE SIX:
If you smell rotten eggs, it's me. Oh, by the way... excuse me!



AGE NINE: 
(reading aloud) : The State of Massachusetts absolutely forbids dueling with water pistols.
"Well, I am never going to visit there!"

(Nine year old boys have their priorities you know!)


Oh, how they grow!!!

{p,h,f,r} Dishes

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~ with the lovely ladies at Like Mother, Like Daughter

Today, I'm doing the double link-up thing. 

Cari's Theme for this Thursday is Dishes. I love the idea of mismatched dishes but am just OCD enough not to be able to live with it. The closest I have come is having a mismatched (but still matched) combination of coffee mugs and tea mugs. Guess which is which. :)

{pretty}

Cari's post today also made me think about our experience with wedding china. That story goes something like this…

We were told we had to register for fine china because EVERYBODY registers for fine china. "It's what a lot of people like to give as a wedding gift," we were told. Is that true? I don't know. We were young and stupid. So, we did register for a set of very pretty fine china just like the one pictured above. It was a fairly pricey Ralph Lauren pattern, not the most expensive, but definitely not what I'd consider an everyday china.  And we did receive a few pieces as gifts. Some we were given in reality and some we were given in theory… promised by the store for later delivery. I think it was some time after our first anniversary and way too many frustrated phone calls to count that we took all of the pieces we had in hand and all of those little promise cards we'd saved back to the store and asked for refunds on everything. They obliged. I don't mind waiting, but a full year? Um…no.

{happy}

The one good thing that came out of that year of waiting for our pretty dishes to arrive was that by the time we did finally return them, we had come to our senses a bit, discovered that The Professor was on his way and realized that we really had no good use for expensive fine china no matter what we were told. We still wanted a set of nice china, more formal than our everyday dishes, but we'd come to the decision that we didn't want to shed red-hot hysterical tears if a dish was accidentally broken or smashed by a little person (or a clumsy big person). So, we took our refund from the department store for the few fine china pieces we were gifted and purchased an almost complete set of {affiliate link} this pattern instead. Simple, reasonable, and we still have all the pieces!

{funny}

Finding out that one of your best online friends has the exact same china pattern! (The reasonable one, not the impossible to actually deliver Ralph Lauren ones.) Hah! Jessica, I am convinced that we were supposed to be sisters!

{real}
A little slice of real life...

 There is no fancy fine china in the world that could mean more to me than this. 

Saints 'N Stitches Pillow Dolls

I've been working on some new designs and testing some of them out, playing around with different stitches and different fill in techniques. I decided to stitch them and put them up in the shop. I'm still working on some others. Here is a sneak peek for you…

Quick Takes on St. Valentine's Day

~1~

Joining in for the first time in a long time to Jen's Quick Takes Link Up. I wish I could join in on the Edel excitement and giggling, but not this year. Maybe next year! But I can't wait to see what all those lovely ladies report from it.

~2~

Happy Feast of St. Valentine! I made some of my kids' favorite muffins for breakfast and decorated them with some candy heart toppers. I tried to make this beautifully creative pound cake but ended up just covering the bottom of my stove in burnt cake and filling my kitchen with smoke. I think my pan must have been way too small. Oh well, when life hands you busted pound cake, make trifle!

~3~

I restocked some of the kits in the shop yesterday. St. Therese and St. Elizabeth seem to be the favorites. If you have any requests for a particular saint, feel free to email me here or through Etsy and we can chat about it. I can't make any promises, but I've found myself enjoying the challenge of creating some new ones so I am considering the possibility. I'm also planning to post some completed dolls for sale at the end of next week.

~4~

Mary, Queen of Heaven

~5~

We discovered that BigBoy had not yet read The Chronicles of Narnia. Whaaaaaaaa???? Tell me that's normal for the younger ones in the family! We took care of it immediately. According to Jessica Spice, I have ruined my children by having them read the books in the wrong order (chronological, not published order), but I'm hoping to set aside enough money to cover their therapy bills someday. ;)

~6~

And because Miss Cupcake (also known as Feisty Pants around here) always insists on looking at puppies on the computer, I'm posting these two pictures:

Our dog, Crouton. Technically, she's a Rat Terrier/ Chihuahua Mix. We call her a North American Food Hound.

~7~

Crouton's dress up stunt double.

Cupcake calls him, "Puppy Baggins" after our friends' real life dog named Baggins. 

St. Joseph Coloring Page

St. Joseph coloring page

~ click here ~

St. Brigid of Ireland Coloring Page

St. Brigid coloring page

~ click here ~

St. Blaise Coloring Page

St. Blaise coloring page

~ click here ~

St. Valentine Coloring Page

St. Valentine coloring page

~ click here ~

St. Josephine Bakhita Coloring Page

St. Josephine Bakhita coloring page

~ click here ~

St. Paul Coloring Page

St. Paul coloring page

~ click here ~

Holy Name of Jesus Coloring Pages

Most Holy Name of Jesus coloring page simple

~ click here ~

Most Holy Name of Jesus coloring page window

~ click here ~

{p,h,f,r} February 6

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~ with the lovely ladies at Like Mother, Like Daughter

{pretty}

I added to my little stitch sampler dishcloth. When I posted this on IG, my daughter pointed out that the red and gold stitch in the middle kind of matched the colors in those Beth Levine designed "Flaming Sandals" pictured on our art calendar {affiliate link} in the background. Looking at them close up, they kind of even match the stitch!

(BTW… If you find me on IG and I don't approve your request to follow me, please don't take offense. I am purposefully keeping my IG account very small. Even though I use my blog name, it really is more of a private account. My Sunshine has recently taken an interest in IG and while I help her navigate this new medium we are keeping her account even smaller.)

{happy}

 Shortcake was inspired by Miss Karen's (Hallion) beautiful artwork and created this LoTR/Doctor Who mash-up. She calls it "Legolas, what do your elf eyes see?" Seeing my kids be inspired to explore new arts and crafts makes me very happy.

{funny}

Speaking of IG, Sunshine's dearest friend had a birthday the other day so Sunshine bombed her IG account with cute little pictures and birthday greetings filled with party hats and balloons and bow ties courtesy of Picmonkey. When Cupcake saw her "disters" pictured in party hats, she insisted on having a party hat too. Oh yes, she knows she's adorable!

{real}

Speaking of Miss Cupcake, she's a big fan of music. She listens to this album 25 times a day {affiliate link}. I know most sane people think VeggieTales are annoying and if she couldn't take it with her to go play and was making me listen to it all day, it would probably find it's way to the trash. But listening to HER rendition (in the video above) makes it all worthwhile! She even asked me to make her a "key-tar" so she could strum it while she sings. This is the original Baby Elf song. If you have a toddler, I'm so sorry.

I asked my baby, my baby elf

a couple questions about myself.

If I was handsome, if I was nice.

I was lookin' for her advice.

She looked at me and shook her head, and this is what she said:

[yelling in Elvish]

In the shop...

"It's like coloring with thread!" That's what my girls said when I first introduced them to basic embroidery. These kits would be great for an older child's Easter basket. Slip it in as it is and then watch them explore a new hobby. For younger children, there is plenty of time before Easter to make one up yourself. (Lent hasn't even started yet!)

Embroidery Kits are now available in the shop: St. Catherine of Alexandria, St. Clare of Assisi, Blessed Mother Teresa, St. Therese the Little Flower, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, St. Josephine Bakhita, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Michael the Archangel, and St. John Bosco. Limited quantities.

Projects...

Project #1: QOV Square

You know how some people stress clean? I wish I could be one of those people. Instead, I stress craft. That's what prompted me to sign up for Miss Cari's QOV project. What do you think of my "simple" little design? I had originally planned to only outline the medal but once I started, I kind of got carried away. (I promise you, that medal is actually purple, not maroon. I have no idea what's going on with the colors in these pictures.) I had the idea of honoring my grandfather in some way. I haven't had a chance to talk to my Granny yet (I plan to soon) but I did pull out some old emails that Pawpaw sent before he passed in which he detailed some of his war experience. Yes, emails! My Pawpaw was the most high tech septuagenarian I have ever met. That man could have taught Steve Jobs a thing or two! My favorite email, besides the ones where he talks about WWII is the one he sent telling me that he really hopes I will try to breastfeed The Professor for at least a little bit because he believed that breastfed babies are healthier. He was quite an exceptional man, that guy!

He was in the Navy during WWII as a utility/mechanic pilot, not a fighter pilot. He was active mostly in the Pacific Theater and received an injury over the Philippine Sea that earned a Purple Heart. Family lore says that all of his medals were stolen many years ago. So, never having seen his medal myself, I wanted to incorporate a Purple Heart into this design, letting the recipient know that they are not alone. So many have been touched by war. The Quilts of Valor project helps to comfort them. 

Project #2: Find a job

MY HUSBAND ACCEPTED A JOB OFFER LAST NIGHT!!! We are so excited and thrilled. He had a couple of other offers that he knew might be coming in later this week but this one (from his first choice company) surprised him late last night. Thank you all for the prayers! I know that have gotten us through this time of trust and patience.

Project #3: Embroidery Kits in the Etsy Shop

Remember these little dolls my girls and I made some year back? Well, at the suggestion of a sweet friend, I'm putting together some little embroidery kits to sell in the Etsy shop. She thought they might make fun little Easter basket goodies and I think she's right. I need to go get a few more colors of floss and then they will be up soon. Here is a sneak peek...

 St. Therese the Little Flower

St. Elizabeth of Hungary