Tuesday Tips - Tutorial on how to secure your thread neatly

I was going to save this post for a later date, but I realized I’ve been slacking lately. So here is my first official tutorial! It is also going to be posted on the Etsy CREST blog this week as part of their needlecraft week. (If you don’t follow etsyCREST, you should! :-) )

Many of my friends comment on how neat the back of my stitching is. True, there is a bit of planning involved in my stitching “trail,” but much of it is how I secure my thread when I begin stitching. This may be non-traditional for many and some may feel that I am cheating. It is a sort of knot, which is a no-no in cross stitch! But it’s a nice flat knot, I assure you! (I’m such a rule breaker!) This was taught to me by a friend of my mother’s when I was a few years into my stitching habit.

Note: This only works if you are stitching with an even number of strands.

1. Start by cutting a piece of floss twice as long as you normally work with. I tend to cut mine about arm’s length.

2. If you are stitching with 2 strands (the most common), separate out only 1 strand of floss. Fold it in half and thread the open ends through the eye of your needle, leaving the loop on the end you will stitch with.

3. Bring the needle up through the back and make your first stitch as you normally would. Instead of leaving a “tail” to stitch over, bring your needle through the loop and pull taught. This creates the flat knot. (Images are of the back of the fabric.)

Note: Don’t pull too tight or you risk pulling the knot through to the front.

4. Continue stitching as usual and when you come to the end, thread the needle behind the last few stitches as you normally would. Be sure to clip the threads close to the fabric so you don’t leave thread hanging out. In the images, I started in the bottom left corner and ended in the top left corner.

So essentially the back looks the same as before, you just have fewer “beginning and ending” spots visible, which makes it look just a little cleaner.

Friday Fun Finds - Upcycled and Recycled!

I'll be honest:  the most recycling I do is separating my paper from plastic for the recycle guys on Monday morning.  It always amazes me what people come up with for their old stuff that may still have a little life left.  So, what do they do with all those things? Well, these fun finds have found some truly unique uses for old jeans, records, and magazine advertisements.

I don’t have any children myself, but I understand they grow up fast, often before their clothes run out. So, unless you have other children who need the old hand-me-downs, you can find a use for those jeans. For example, Nico Papergoods has made these great little journals out of children’s clothes. They come with a pocket already attached for holding pencils, markers, or other small treasures. Check out the other journal designs and map notebooks from this Swiss-born bookbinder!

Remember those days of old when we pulled out the old turntable to listen to some tunes? Well, those days are gone with iPods and such, but I’ll bet you can’t part with all those old LPs. Reclaimed Wreckage found a use for her’s in the form of a unique purse. Molded carefully and secured with a seat belt, this makes for an interesting accessory. This girl can find a use for anything: plastic shopping bags, spiral plastic rings, newspapers, bike tires. I think she’d be able to turn just about anything into a piece of jewelry, bag, or other accessory.

And finally, you know all those magazine subscription cards that fall out of your favorite zines? Don’t throw them away! Let Make Shop Live turn them into an address book for you! It makes perfect sense: the name, address, and sometimes phone and email lines are already there. Keep checking their shop this summer for more items that didn’t get thrown out!

Now that you’re inspired by all these cool ideas, go turn that old shower curtain into something fun!

Friday Fun Finds - Think Spring!

I don’t know about you but I think I’ve had enough snow to last me quite a while! So this week I am “Thinking Spring!” with my Etsy finds.

For Valentines Day, there was a chalkboard placemat. For Spring, we have chalkboard pots by Chalk Notes. These 5” pots hold your pretty spring buds and have a little space where you can write a quick note! They come in five different colors: pink, purple, yellow, green, and cream.

Now that it’s getting warmer (or supposed to be!), we need to think about getting outside to play. And who doesn’t like bubbles? As a musician, I just love this Treble Clef Bubble Wand by Purple Bus Studios. It is almost 8” long and made of copper wire and colored glass beads of your choice. My kitties would love to chase the bubbles this creates!

And after having all that fun outdoors, you’ll probably have some pictures to display. So put them in one of these “Cool Spools” by Iris Blue Artworks. Made from vintage sewing spools, the curled wire is just flexible enough to hold your pictures, notes, or whatever else you can think of. These come in lots of fun colors and designs, so of course I choose the kitty design. :-)

All pictures were used with permission from Etsy sellers.

Etsy shop update - new listings!

Boy, I can get so much stitching done when I don't have to go to my day job!  While I've been snowbound this week by 30 inches of the white stuff, I have finished and listed the following 3 projects and posted them in my shop.

8" x 10" framed Old Irish Blessing
This popular blessing was inspired by a gift I received from an old friend as a housewarming present.  It has become one of my favorite sayings as the words bring comfort to my heart.

Bookmark  - "Is it getting good?"

This is another one of my vinyl weave bookmarks, featuring a cute brown puppy.  He is anxiously awaiting the exciting climax of the story you are reading.

Magnet - "Call your mother, she worries."

Good advice for all those busy, young people out there.  Just give them a gentle reminder to call home now and then.

Friday Fun Finds - Valentines for You!

Since Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, I thought I’d do a search on Etsy of fun V-Day stuff. There are hundreds of items to chose from, so here’s just a sampling…

First up, is a chalkboard placemat by Custom Kid’s Shop. It is geared towards keeping kids busy at mealtime, but why can’t you leave a (not so) subtle hint for your sweetie about dinner plans?

Next, it’s time for a game. Tiny Mishap’s sells a set of 2 or 3 Valentine’s Bingo cards. Play with your single friends or just check them off as the week goes by. Get your daubers out!

And finally, something to snuggle up with. These pillows from Sofa Garden make it quite clear what is on your mind this Valentine’s Day.  They look pretty comfy even without a special someone!

So make sure you have a little fun this Hallmark Holiday!

Coolest Cat Tree

How cool is this cat tree? My boys would be in heaven if this were in my living room! I saw this while surfing around on Etsy one day and thought, "What a cool idea!" Just goes to show what some creativity (and carpenter skills) will do for you. Maybe a little pricey for me right now, but there has to be someone out there who will buy this.

The couple that creates these (Pet Tree Houses) uses real cedar and oak wood and silk leaves for an "outdoor" feel. Of course the inspiration came from her own four-legged children.