Christmas Crafternoon: Snow Scene Pin Cushion & Snowman Counting Pins

Welcome back, Crafternooners! Ready to roll?

Look what we're making today... a snowy pin cushion and some super cute snowman counting pins!

Snow Scene Pin Cushion

What you'll need:

*small picture frame (any shape, but round or oval is harder to make look smooth)
*fabric
*fiber fill
*trim
*tiny trees or other decoration, if desired

Snowman Counting Pins

What you'll need:

*corsage pins
*pearl beads (I used 6mm glass ones)
*black felt
*tiny pom poms (I used 5 mm)
*wire cutters
*glue
*embroidery floss

You may also need a helper to helpfully sit on all of your supplies. It's helpful. 

To make the picture frame pin cushion, use the glass as a template to cut your fabric. Leave a substantial border around the glass, about 1 1/2" -2". You'll use the excess fabric to shape the front (you need enough to pull on). Make a sandwich in the aperture of the frame: fabric first, then a big fat wad of fiber fill, then the glass. 

Close the back of the frame and then shape the front of the pin cushion by gently pulling on the excess fabric on the back. Once you have the front like you want it, trim the fabric on the back and glue trim around the aperture. Add trim around the front of the pin cushion, and whatever decoration to the front you like.

To make the snowman counting pins, first use wire cutters to trim the pearl heads off the pins. Be sure to hold the pin when you're snipping off the head, so that the head goes flying and not the pin! Smear a little craft glue on the end of the pin where the head was, and slide two pearl beads onto the pin. Don't worry if the glue squishes out the bottom (it will dry clear). Cut a tiny felt circle for the hat brim and glue it to the top pearl bead, then glue a tiny pom pom on top of the felt circle to make the crown of the hat. Tie a piece of embroidery floss between the two beads for a scarf.

And there you have them! These take only minutes to make. Super easy.

***
We're having soup today! This is probably our favorite soup recipe and I make it a lot in cold weather.

Creamy Chicken and Broccoli Soup

1/4 c. butter
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 c. frozen seasoning blend (peppers, onions, celery, parsley)
1/4 c. flour

Melt butter with oil in a stockpot over medium heat. Cook and stir seasoning blend until soft; stir in flour, coating vegetables.

3 c. chicken broth
2 c. broccoli
1 c. half & half
2 c. milk

Stir chicken broth into vegetables, stirring until flour paste combines with broth and soup is thick and smooth; add broccoli and cook about 5 minutes. Pour in half & half and milk and bring to a simmer. Cook until slightly thickened, about 5 more minutes.

2 c. cooked, shredded chicken*
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. garlic powder

Add chicken and seasonings to soup; heat through.

*To prepare the chicken for this soup, sprinkle 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts with salt, pepper, and onion powder. Bake at 400 for 1 hour, remove from oven and cover with foil; let stand at least 15 minutes. Shred while hot.

***
Happy crafting... happy cooking! More tomorrow!

Christmas Crafternoon: Stitching is the Best Medicine

Happy Monday, y'all! It's Christmas Crafternoon Week! The sewing room is open, the kitchen is open, and we're ready to go! 

Today's project is so, so versatile. It could be a stocking stuffer, it could be a pick-me-up for someone who's blue or down with a cold, it could be a keep-busy gift for someone who's sitting with a loved one in the hospital, it could be for a long trip... really anything. And best of all, it's so easy to put together from your own stash, you'll probably only have to purchase one item. Let's get started!

Stitching is the Best Medicine Pill Organizer 

What you'll need:

*a large plastic pill organizer (the larger, the better)
*tiny cross stitch freebies
*fabric, floss, needle, needle threader
*prescription form

For this project, I used some tiny freebies from DMC's Spanish blog, but any really small designs will do. Choose seven designs, one for each day of the week.

For each design, choose the necessary floss colors and cut 12" lengths. This should be plenty for tiny designs, as it equals one yard of floss when separated into two-strand lengths for stitching.  Cut fabric for each design, probably a few inches square, depending on the size of the designs you've chosen. Add a needle and a needle threader.

Put a design and its materials in each compartment of the pill organizer. Be sure to include the needle and needle threader in the first compartment.

With your gift, include a prescription form. You can make one up to say whatever you want, but here's an example of what I came up with:

Rx 24-7-365

Prescribed by: (your name)
For: (recipient)

STITCHICILLIN

Take one dose every day for 7 days for relief of symptoms (boredom, stress, the sniffles, etc.)

#7

Expires: N/A
Refills left: 1 of 1

May cause neglect of housework. Take with snacks and cups of tea.

***
You may also want to include finishing ideas. The stitched squares could be sewn together to make a couple of bookmarks, or even a tiny quilt. Add an extra piece of fabric just in case the stitcher wants to stitch a signature block for her project.

***
Today's recipe is a savory baked omelet that is perfect for breakfast or brunch, and we even have it for supper sometimes! This is one of Mr. Wonderful's favorites.

Baked Denver Omelet

2 Tbsp. butter
1 c. frozen seasoning blend (peppers, onions, celery, parsley--or veggies of your choice)
1 c. chopped ham
8 eggs
1/4 c. milk
1/2 c. shredded cheese
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Saute veggies in butter until golden; set aside to cool. Beat eggs well with a fork; beat in milk, salt, and pepper. Stir in cooled veggies, ham, and cheese. Pour into a greased 10" pie dish and bake at 400 for 30 minutes or until eggs are browned and puffy. 

***
Have a great Monday! See y'all tomorrow!

Craftin' Up a Christmas Storm!

I've been working away in my sewing room for the last couple of days, makin' stuff. First, a few fox ornaments for my fox tree, which is up and decorated and looking fabulous. I don't have my stitched foxes on it yet because I haven't done the finishing on them, but maybe I'll get to that next week.

I found these cool little plastic jar ornaments at AC Moore for $1 each. Because the entire bottom screws off, it's really easy to glue stuff onto it and get it to look right. They're much easier to work with than the ball ornaments.

This one is the result of me wandering through the floral section at Hobby Lobby and seeing some tiny bird nests next to a tiny figure of a sleeping fox. For whatever reason, I connected the two and came up with a little fox curled up asleep in a bird's nest. It doesn't have to make sense. 

And this one is made from one of those adorable Santa fox buttons I found back in the summer. I just tied one to a sparkly snowflake and wah-lah! An ornament!

Now, BIG announcement!

I've decided to do another Christmas Open House this year and the theme is:

Christmas Crafternoon: Gifts for Stitchers

Next week, from Monday the 14th through Friday the 18th, I'll be opening up my sewing room to y'all for some Christmas crafting! Each day I'll share an idea for simple, inexpensive gifts to make for your favorite stitcher... who may just be yourself! Of course, the kitchen will also be open, and each day I'll be sharing a favorite recipe. 

Write it down on a sticky note and put it on your forehead so you don't forget, and then Monday morning get your cup of tea and your notepad and join me for a week of homemade gifts and delicious recipes!

If you missed last year's Christmas Open House, just click on the label on the right side bar to check it out.

And speaking of Open Houses, if you haven't visited Holly's Christmas Open House over at Misty Hill Studio, you're missing out. She's posting every day and it's absolutely charming!

See y'all next week!

Working on Joy

Here's a quick stitch I did last night. This tiny ornament is one of six in the new "The Joys of Christmas" from The Drawn Thread, which I picked up at my LNS on Saturday. All six of the ornaments use the same color scheme, and all incorporate the word, "joy". There's so much in the world to be worried and discouraged about these days, and I'm really having to work hard on being joyful, so I thought I needed this new chart to come live at my house and encourage me. 

This one is stitched on 32 ct. natural linen, and I changed the green and the red to GAST Bayberry and Pomegranate. The design has a border, but I haven't made up my mind if I'm going to use it or not, so for now, I'm calling it done.

Joy, y'all!

Winter Arrives

Remember my post about meteorological seasons? Well, it's time for my blog to put away her pretty fall colors and bundle up in her winter coat. We won't have snow here for some time yet, but December has started off cold and rainy. I'm in Holiday Attack Mode... making my final "Must Get This Done" list. One of the Must Get This Done-s is stitching our annual Christmas ornaments. If you'd like to see all the ones I've stitched and read about our tradition, just click on the Christmas Open House 2014 label on the right side bar. I'm working on Mr. Wonderful's ornament, doing a complete color conversion. Here's a sneak peek:

I took a little break from it over the weekend, as I wasn't sure I really liked the thread I chose for the border, but I think it's growing on me. Do you ever do that? Lay a project aside and then for a few days, just look at it as you pass by, seeing how you feel about it? That's what I do when I'm not sure about a color choice I've made. I stop, put it down, and then just half-ignore/half-consider it for a little while. Sometimes I change the color and sometimes I decide I like it. I'm leaning toward liking this one... but it might be another day or two before I'm sure. I do like that little "very shiny nose" though.

Ok, enough goofing off on the blog. Back to Attack Mode.

Sunday Mystery Sampler Update: Seventh Day

My color choices (apart from the border, all threads are Caron Wildflowers):
border: DMC 938
words: Blackwatch
snowflakes: Dawn
mom & dad: Snow White, Dark Shadows, Spice
crown: Spice
cygnets: Dark Suede, Dark Shadows
water: Evergreen

I've decided to take an operational pause on this sampler. After seeing the block for the eighth day, I want to see what the next one (or two) looks like before I go on. I'm strongly leaning toward some major tinkering with the eighth block, but before I do, I need to see the direction in which the rest of the sampler is going. I've been thrilled with the design so far, and I will definitely finish it, but it may look quite different (as if it doesn't already!). We'll see.

So that frees me up to do some ornament stitching this week. Yay! 

Sunday Mystery Sampler Update: Sixth Day

I've finally caught up to the current block! *big sigh of relief* I plan to get the seventh block whipped out as quickly as I can today/tomorrow so that I can maybe squeeze in a small finish or two before next Sunday's block is released. Mr. Wonderful likes this goose.

My color choices (apart from the border, all threads are Caron Wildflowers):
border: DMC 938
eggs: Natural
holly: Cinnabar, Moss
bowl: Blue Spruce
words: Blackwatch
snowflakes: Dawn
goose: Dark Shadows, Natural, Sable
crown: Spice

I am having so much fun stitching this sampler and seeing the different ways others are stitching it. Thanks for all the kind comments and for cheering me on. I thought I was insane to take on this project at this time of year, but it has turned out to be a blessing in a number of ways.

Happy Stitching!

Sunday Mystery Sampler Update: Fourth and Fifth Days

SO close to being caught up! Should be able to finish the sixth day today and move on to the seventh!

My color choices (apart from the border, all threads are Caron Wildflowers):
border: DMC 938
words: Cinnabar
garland: Blackwatch
snowflakes: Dawn
crowns: Spice
birds: Dark Shadows

My color choices (apart from the border, all threads are Caron Wildflowers):
border: DMC 938
words: Cinnabar
crown and rings: Spice
snowflakes: Dawn
tree trunks: Sable
tree needles: Evergreen, Moss, Pine Forest
pots: Redwood

Sunday Mystery Sampler Update: The Perfect Green!

Guys, guys, GUYS! Both of my thread orders arrived on Monday! Hooray! Apart from ripping open the packages to see if The Perfect Green was in there somewhere, I practiced super-human self-discipline and went about my work for the day and by the time I got everything done, it was too late to start stitching. But Tuesday I was able to finish the second and third days. 

Delicious thread stash (world's cutest nose in the background).

Behold, The Perfect Green:

My color choices (apart from the border, all threads are Caron Wildflowers):
border: DMC 938
crown & urn: Spice
snowflakes: Dawn
turtle doves: Dark Suede
flower blossoms: Cinnabar
flower stems: Moss
words: Blackwatch (aka, The Perfect Green)

My color choices (apart from the border, all threads are Caron Wildflowers):
border: DMC 938
tree needles: Moss
tree branches: Sable
pot: Redwood
hens: Copper
snowflakes: Dawn
crown: Spice
words: Cinnabar

If you're not interested in this sampler, I have to warn you, it has taken over my life and until I get caught up (hopefully this week) I won't be posting about anything else! I've got Christmas ornaments to stitch, Woodland Sampler blocks to work on, and oh yeah, I was supposed to be finishing my wedding sampler. *sigh* I knew this would happen if I started this, but I couldn't help myself. If-I-can-just-get-caught-up!

I'm halfway done with the fourth day, the fifth day should be pretty fast, and I'm itching to get to that wonderful plump goose on the sixth day!

Off to stitch as fast as I can... which is... not fast.

Happy Stitching!

Sunday Mystery Sampler Update: Green-less 2nd & 3rd Days

Thank you so much for all of the very kind comments about my sampler! I am really enjoying it, even though I've run into a small obstacle. As I mentioned in my last update, and as all of you well know, it's difficult to choose colors by looking at a picture on a computer monitor. As a result, I have yet to settle on my predominant green, so I'm sort of stuck as to how far I can go until I get that settled. My LNS does not carry the full range of Caron Wildflowers, so I have no way to see the colors in person. I'm currently waiting on two orders with 5 different shades of green... surely I'll find the perfect one! Until then, I'm just stitching with the colors I'm sure of, and waiting on the greens and the colors that depend on them. It's a little frustrating, as I am really trying hard to catch up to the point that I'm only having to stitch the latest block as it is released. I have so many other things I need to be working on... but I am obsessed with this sampler!

I will list my color choices for the second and third days when I finish them. I plan to spend today getting as much done as possible on the fourth day. I won't be able to post this weekend, which is why I'm updating today, and sadly, no Saturday Sampler. Y'all try to make it through the weekend without one! *wink*

Everybody cross your fingers and toes and hope that my orders arrive by early next week so I can get on with it.  Oh! And if you're stitching this sampler, please let me know in the comments so I can follow your progress as well! 

Happy Stitching!

Sunday Mystery Sampler Update: First Day

First, thank you for all the kind comments about my pears! I have to confess, that color choice was a happy accident. The thread is Caron Wildflowers and the color is Antique Brass. I had intended to use it for the crowns, but when it arrived I decided it wasn't golden enough. When I saw how much green and peach it had in it, I swapped it for the color I had originally intended for the pears. Such are the trials of trying to choose colors online!

Now, my initial thoughts on this sampler. When I first saw it over at Plum Street Samplers, I thought, "Wow, what a generous freebie!" It's not really the style I usually stitch, but I thought it was neat and that maybe I might stitch it some day. I thought I might stitch each block individually and finish them as ornaments, since I normally stitch smalls, and tend to avoid large pieces that need professional framing. So it was a "maybe some day". But the more I thought about it, the more I was intrigued by the idea of stitching it with lots and lots of color. That led me to conclude that if I chose an elaborate color scheme, it would have much more impact stitched as one large sampler instead of individual blocks. And one thing led to another and I ended up jumping into the deep end of the pool and tackling this project, even though I've got so many other things I should be working on.

Here is my color palette. I probably won't use all of these colors, but I wanted enough variety to allow me to make choices... the right red, the right green, the right brown. All of the threads are Caron Wildflowers. I love the colors, the texture, and the fact that I can stitch with one strand. It's so much faster (no railroading necessary)! I'm stitching on the 28 ct. natural linen shown in the pictures. The shot on the right is more true to the color of the linen. 

And here's the First Day:

My color choices:
border: DMC 938
crown: Spice
partridge: Dark Suede
tree: Sable
pears: Antique Brass
rogue pear: Marigold
couple: Mahogany
words: Cinnabar

This is a mystery sampler not only in the sense that I don't know what the next block will look like until it's released, but I don't even know what the block I'm stitching will look like until it's finished! I'm choosing colors as I go, and so far it's been fun to see it develop, and somewhat surprising to find that a color I thought would work, doesn't... and one that I hadn't considered, is perfect. 

I'm hard at work on the Second Day. Stay tuned to find out how it will look... we'll find out together! Happy Stitching!

Saturday Sampler: Halloween Edition

Happy Halloween from The Girls!

Belinda, Penelope, and Sally

These little gals were originally published in the Just Cross Stitch special Halloween issues in 2008, 2011, and 2013. They weren't available separate from those long sold-out issues... until Friday! Brooke Nolan made them available as a set in her Etsy store. 

Last Sunday, I made up my mind to take the plunge and do the Plum Street Samplers 12 Days of Christmas free mystery sampler that I mentioned in last Saturday's Sampler (is that a confusing enough sentence?!). So I spent Sunday afternoon choosing colors for it, placed my order, and then spent the week cyberstalking the progress of my threads across the country to my house. I can't be the only one who does this. How did we survive in the days before we could track our goodies as they moved through the postal system?

My threads arrived Friday, and I spent that afternoon deciding on fabric and getting everything ready to start, which I did manage to do last night. I'm going my own way with the colors, but more on that tomorrow. Speaking of color, we're at peak fall color right now. This was taken early this week, and today there is no green to be seen on this tree.

Tiger Lily has been enjoying the cool air at her windows.

And finally, here's a Saturday sneak peek of the mystery sampler.

Check back in on Sunday for a mystery sampler update and a little more about the colors I've chosen for this wonderful freebie.

How to Make a Big, Splashy Bow

Here's Penelope, all finished!

I thought I'd offer a little how-to on making those big bows. This isn't the only method, of course, but this is quick and easy... and on most stuff, I'm all about quick and easy! 

First, thread a needle with 2 strands of floss (or sewing thread) and tie a knot in the end. For this purpose, I use the old-fashioned knot-making method of wetting my finger, wrapping the floss around the tip of my finger a few times, then sliding it off into a fat knot. It's definitely not the tidiest knot, but... quick and easy! (Also, it gives the glue something to stick to apart from that smooth ribbon.)

Using however many colors of 1/8" ribbon you like, make loops and secure them on the needle, leaving the tails a little long so you can trim them later. Now, you can make all the loops the same size, but I like to just make them any old way. I do this because to my eye, a slightly sloppy, "splashy" bow is a nice contrast to the precision of the stitching. Remember as you're making loops that you're working from the bottom of the bow to the top, so you might want to make your first loops a bit larger, and make them a bit smaller as you go. Also, odd numbers are more pleasing to the eye than even, so instead of making four or six loops, make five or seven, or however many you need to make the bow the size you want.

When you have the bow like you want it, pull the floss through the bow until the knot is at the back, and put a couple of stitches through the center of the bow to secure it.

To finish off the bow, you can sew a bead or a button onto the center, but here I just tied a small bow and glued it to the center.

And here's the finished big, splashy bow!

Not perfect... but festive!

Meet Penelope the Pumpkin Girl!

Thanks for the enthusiastic support for the Saturday Sampler!  Remember those cute shoes? They're Penelope's! Behold... in all her un-cut-out glory!

This is Brooke Nolan's Penelope the Pumpkin Witch, but sort of "de-witched." She is supposed to be holding a broom in her right hand, with the crow perched upon it, but I left off the broom (and had to fix her dress on that side, as a result) and cut out Mr. Crow so he could perch on her arm instead. Normally when I stitch one of Brooke's witches, I change the hat, but this one looked like an upside down pumpkin blossom to me, so I left it. When I do the finishing on her, it will have a big fluffy bow on it.

I changed her green eyes to brown, changed her eyebrows, and changed the color of her mouth. If you've been following my (slow!) progress on the Advent Animal series, you'll notice that I'm always changing eye color to brown, or to a darker shade of whatever color is called for. I do this because I think the darker eye color gives the face a little more depth of expression, if that makes any sense. To me, the light eye color gives the face a slightly blank look. 

Penelope has a couple of sisters... a Spooky Stitcher (who I need to name!) and Belinda the Bat Girl, who needs finishing. I wonder if I can get the finishing done on these girls in time to show off a family portrait for Halloween. Hmmm...

Saturday Sampler

Mr. Wonderful and I were having a quiet Saturday, watching college football. I had been stitching, and uploading some pictures for a blog post, and I was thinking about what to title the post. I said, "What's a word starting with 's' that means 'odds and ends'? I want to call this post 'Saturday... something'." Without missing a beat, Mr. Wonderful said, "Saturday Sampler!" I nearly fell off the couch! It's perfect! Sometimes this man amazes me, y'all. 

So here we are, our first Saturday Sampler. I'm not going to promise I'll do this every Saturday, or even most Saturdays, but I thought having an occasional "hodge podge" post at the end of the week might be fun. Just a little re-cap of the week, things I've found shopping, things I've found wandering around the web, things I've been working on, and of course, Tiger Lily. Let's see what we have today...

Have y'all seen the FREE 12 Days of Christmas SAL from Plum Street Samplers? The first three days were released last Sunday, and the remaining days will be released each Sunday until the sampler is complete. I haven't decided if I'll stitch it or not, but I'm saving it... it's pretty neat!

I found this little fox ornament for my Fox Christmas Tree. Yeah, he looks kinda like a dog, but he's still cute... and I know he's a fox.

Every year Mr. Wonderful and I choose our Christmas ornaments from the annual Just Cross Stitch Christmas Ornament issue. If you'd like to see all of them, just click on the "Christmas Open House" label on the right sidebar. Anyway, although I didn't choose it for my ornament this year, I really liked the Mani di Donna "Christmas Carols" ornament. I found the beautiful button for it at Down Sunshine Lane and ordered it, just in case I want to stitch it some day. 

Speaking of ornaments, have y'all seen the super cool Mid-Century Modern set of Christmas ornaments from Misty Hill Studio? I love, love, LOVE how they look grouped together... so mod! Check out what I found at Hobby Lobby to use on ornament finishes:

Perfect, right? When I saw the black and silver, I was like (gasp!), "Holly's ornaments!" 

Here's a shot of Tiger Lily taken this week. She was sitting in her "donut" patiently waiting for me to finish my housework so we could settle down and stitch. Seriously, that's what she was doing... waiting on me!

And here's a sneak peek of what we've been working on all week. Somebody's got some cute shoes!

Okay, y'all, that wraps up the Saturday Sampler. Hope y'all enjoyed it. Have a great weekend and Happy Stitching!