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Free Pattern Friday – Buffy Edition

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The first Friday of December really crept up on me! I was planning on designing something more festive and Christmasy, but instead you get a vaguely Christmasy, more nerdy pattern. I watch through a lot of shows on Netflix and Hulu+ while I'm cross stitching and I recently rewatched all of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. I really wanted to make a Buffy cross stitch and I made a huge list of possible ideas. I started stitching this one up but got distracted by all the Christmas presents I'm working on. This quote comes from season 5, episode 9, "Listening ... Read More

Cross Stitching Dough Ornaments – An Experiment!

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This week we are having an ornament decorating party with a few of Evie's friends so we made a batch of this cornstarch dough and went to town with cookie cutters. I always use a straw to poke a hole for the ribbon to hang the ornament, and I got the idea to poke some holes for cross stitching! For the Christmas tree I used the same straw for the holes. They are bigger and that's why I used the yarn for stitching. The holes shrink a little when the dough dries, so I wanted to make sure they were big enough for a needle. They could have easily been smaller though and ... Read More

A Christmas Present Update

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I've been stitching as fast as I can making Christmas presents, and I feel like I'm doing pretty good, all things considered. It's barely December and I have four completed projects and two more in progress. I've been using the opportunity to experiment and try out some new techniques. I tried some blackwork, or more accurately, purplework. I'm currently working on an embroidery that's totally out of my comfort zone, but I am having a blast. I have a very clear picture in my head of how I want this to turn out, and I'm using totally nontraditional methods to make it ... Read More

Blackwork in Purple – Purplework!

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I feel like I've been so productive lately, but I've been making Christmas presents so I can't show them off. But I wanted to show a sneak peak of my current project. Over at &Stitches, they declared November the month of color. They gave the challenge to create a blackwork piece, in color. I had seen blackwork before, and while I found it impressive, I was never really interested in doing it myself. Changing the black thread to a color makes such a big difference, it feels so much more fun and modern. Teresa from Daisies for Violet made an incredible color ... Read More

DIY Christmas Terrarium

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We don't have a lot of Christmas decorations besides ornaments and stockings. Every year I hope to remedy that, but I never really make the things I hope to. I'm determined to change that this year! I saw this tutorial on Pinterest to make a sea salt terrarium and it seemed like a great place to start. I used Crayola Model Magic instead of polymer clay. I bought the clay and intended on using it, but when I realized how small my trees were, it just seemed easier to use an air drying clay and paint it. I put a bit of wire into the bottom of the trees to help them ... Read More

The Crafty Christmas Tutorial Link Up!

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So while I was making the free Santa raccoon cross stitch pattern, a bunch of other talented craft bloggers were making their own patterns and tutorials. I'm so glad that Laura organized this, there are so many fun Christmas projects! Felt House Gift Tag Holder – I ManuFatti Christmas Trinket Hoop Mobile – Carina’s Craft Blog Felt Polar Bear Ornament – La Creature and You Christmas Hoop – Claire Payne Embroidered Christmas Mug Rug – Button Button Polymer Clay Star Ornaments - Saraccino Knitted Christmas Stockings Garland – Knit Me a Cake DIY Christmas Ribbon ... Read More

Free Christmas Cross Stitch Pattern!

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I had planned on doing a free Christmas pattern eventually, but Laura from Bugs and Fishes organized a Christmas link up that got my butt in gear! So here it is, before Thanksgiving even, so you have plenty of time to stitch it up before Christmas! I couldn't decide what I wanted to do for the link up project and kept changing my mind. Eventually I had a sketch book page full of various animals wearing Santa hats and various winter hats and scarves, and I knew I had my pattern. Right now you're just getting the raccoon (he's new and improved from his first ... Read More