Again, I couldn't resist the call of natural inspiration. This time I utilized leaves cut from white shell, lovely green glass beads and silver accents and chain.
I love the this necklace and have worn it several times (acting as my own advertising!). Each time I've worn it, I've received several compliments. This is another that will soon be listed at AutumnBlossoms.com in plenty of time to make it a perfect Christmas gift!
Happy Crafting All!!
I love creating little stuffed toys. The pattern for this adorable little guy came from 'Tiny Yarn Animals' by Tamie Snow. I've finished a couple of the patterns in the book and am very pleased with the results. I would highly recommend the book to experienced crocheters. The pictures of the finished animals are fun and inspiring.
This little lamb took me about four hours to complete, start to finish, and is made of inexpensive worsted weight yarn. Cute and durable - a great combination!
Happy Crafting All!
Last week I showed you a simple and patriotic resin heart pendant from my Fourth of July inventory. This week I wanted to show you how easily the same basic pendant can be altered for a completely different look.
While last weeks pendant was highlighted with star confetti and dyed resin, this week's examples illustrate how something as simple as glitter can offer two distinctive looks. The pendant on the left was another big seller on the Fourth of July because of it's patriotic theme. The pendant on the right, however, is a solid glitter for year-round wear.
Using glitter offers you an easy and inexpensive way to create sparkling accents for day or evening wear. Catching the light beautifully, the glitter makes these fun for all ages while keeping the price of the piece cheap to make - and in return, cheap to sell!
Happy Crafting All!
I have three August birthdays in my immediate family - much more once I start counting in-laws and cousins. So over the next couple of weeks, I'm going to share some of the super simple birthday cards I've made to help celebrate these special days.
This card took me about 15 minutes to create. I used a neat birthday paper, a $1 cupcake stamp from Michaels, colored pencils and glue. Granted, the picture is not the greatest, but you get the idea of how quick and easy this card was to put together. Now it is ready for when I need it.
If you were able to find a similar birthday paper in a 12"x12" scrapbook sheet, you could easily make multiples of this card to always have on hand.
Happy Crafting All!
By now you should have all your quilt blocks ready to go. Last week you had your fabric washed and pressed; cut into strips and those strips were sewn together and then cut into your ready-to-use fence rail quilt blocks.
This week is when the fun really starts. Gather your blocks and lay them out on a work surface to design the look of your quilt. It is crucial to know how you want your quilt to look finished before you sew any further. If you make a mistake, you can fix it by taking the blocks apart and resewing them, however that can be hard on the material and it is time consuming. That is way knowing what you want the finished piece to look like before you start is so very important.
There are two popular ways to use fence rail blocks, the first is a very traditional look achieved by alternating between vertical and horizontal lines in the blocks giving the quilt a stair-step look, as showing below:
The second is the one I prefer because of the cute pinwheel-esque design that is achieved with with teal and purple fabrics, as shown below:
To me it gives the quilt a little more personality and focus. However, the design is your choice - I just wanted to illustrate a couple of the options available. Play with your blocks until you find the look you want. Now we get to start sewing your blocks together.
There are two ways to do this:
1. You can sew strips of blocks together, six block long, and then sew your six strips together to form your quilt top.
2. Sew sections of blocks together and sew those sections together to form your quilt block.
I prefer the latter, especially when using the fence rail block to make the pinwheels. By sewing four blocks together to form a pinwheel, I know that I am correctly placing the blocks for the pattern. Also, I find that sewing long strips of blocks together can make it somewhat cumbersome and difficult to line up seams at the block corners so I have always tried to construct smaller sections that will be sewn into the whole. (Hopefully that makes sense.)
Once you have finished sewing your blocks together, sit back and relax, you are done until next week. Are you feeling good about the progress you've made? You should! Your quilt top is nearly completed. Next week you'll finish the top and prep the piece for the actual quilting. Trust me, it won't be as difficult as it sounds!
Happy Crafting All!
I love this layout simply because
I just couldn't resist the lovely glass leaf beads when I saw them. The shade of green is perfect for spring or fall, and amber bicone accent beads are such a lovely touch, giving the piece a very natural and elegant look. The silver plated accent, toggle closure and chain make the necklace deceptively simple looking, even as the chain snakes around the ivy leaves.
I made only two of this asymmetrical design with a front closure. Watch for it to be added to the inventory at AutumnBlossoms.com soon!
Happy Crafting All!
There it is, the completed baby afghan that I first posted about last week. I love the way the colors play off each other and give the blanket a little more personality. It is just four granny squares, slipped stitched together with two rounds of accent border and finished with a round of single crochet. The only thing left for me to do is snip the stray tails and weave them in.
It took me about a week to complete this blanket. I'm not entirely sure who will be receiving this blanket yet, but I know it will be going to a loving home sooner or later!
Happy Crafting All!
Again, I couldn't resist the call of natural inspiration. This time I utilized leaves cut from white shell, lovely green glass beads and silver accents and chain.
I love creating little stuffed toys. The pattern for this adorable little guy came from 'Tiny Yarn Animals' by Tamie Snow. I've finished a couple of the patterns in the book and am very pleased with the results. I would highly recommend the book to experienced crocheters. The pictures of the finished animals are fun and inspiring.
Last week I showed you a simple and patriotic resin heart pendant from my Fourth of July inventory. This week I wanted to show you how easily the same basic pendant can be altered for a completely different look.
I have three August birthdays in my immediate family - much more once I start counting in-laws and cousins. So over the next couple of weeks, I'm going to share some of the super simple birthday cards I've made to help celebrate these special days.
The second is the one I prefer because of the cute pinwheel-esque design that is achieved with with teal and purple fabrics, as shown below:
To me it gives the quilt a little more personality and focus. However, the design is your choice - I just wanted to illustrate a couple of the options available. Play with your blocks until you find the look you want. Now we get to start sewing your blocks together.
I just couldn't resist the lovely glass leaf beads when I saw them. The shade of green is perfect for spring or fall, and amber bicone accent beads are such a lovely touch, giving the piece a very natural and elegant look. The silver plated accent, toggle closure and chain make the necklace deceptively simple looking, even as the chain snakes around the ivy leaves.
There it is, the completed baby afghan that I first posted about last week. I love the way the colors play off each other and give the blanket a little more personality. It is just four granny squares, slipped stitched together with two rounds of accent border and finished with a round of single crochet. The only thing left for me to do is snip the stray tails and weave them in.