Hallowe'en Blog Hop

Welcome to the Hallowe'en Blog Hop

I made these little felt sugar skulls following this tutorial at Manitas de Gato 

Your letter is 

and your next stop is Cabbages and Kings

Have Fun!

Cover Kits, Ornaments and Challenges

Cover Kits. Not usually that great if I'm honest. Scratchy aida, mis-shapen beads, too short threads. These are NOT a few of my favourite things.
I especially don't like it when a  magazine gives as its free gift a "Chart Book" filled solely with charts that have been in the magazine before. All well and good for the one off purchaser, but a bit of a slap in the face for those of us who subscribe.
Sometimes magazines get it right however.

This was a cover kit on Cross Stitcher recently. It's not easy to tell from the picture but that is a perforated wooden blank. It was great fun to stitch on, and the finished effect is lovely. I did bondaweb a bit of felt on the back to cover all the ends, but otherwise it is as it came with the magazine. It even had a carbine hook to use it as a keyring, but given the rough handling my keys get I missed that off and hung it from one of my kitchen cabinets instead. I can always use the keyring piece for something else.

I find more often than not that I cannibalise the cover kits and use the various parts in different projects. Like I did with the card kit that came with this month's issue. I used the card blank to mount my challenge piece for the Monthly Challenge at Needlecraft Haven. This month the design was this one from Homespun elegance. It's stitched on the aida (ick) that came with the card kit using oddments of thread. I missed off the candy cane part of the design and added a couple of star shaped buttons I had lying around, punched the card and added a ribbon to make a gift tag.

The kit also had some tiny bows and bells in it, and I borrowed a couple of them for this project. This is a felt Bambi ornament based on a design in the newest edition of Mollie Makes.

I just adore the retro feel of this one. Makes me want to have a Babycham. Well not really because I hate the stuff, but you know what I mean...
Oh, and I see that I am at 199 followers. When I hit 200 I'll have a giveaway.

Jelly Roll Race Completed, Challenge Finished Late and a Little Bit of Geekery Achieved

I've finished my Jelly Roll Race Quilt and it's all ready to take up to Eloise at half term. It took longer to do this part than it did to make up the quilt top! The backing is an old duvet cover cut up and the binding is purchased black and white polka dot bias binding.
I've also finished my September Challenge Piece for the Needlecraft Haven Monthly Challenge ~ one day before October's is due! Think I might be late with my October Finish too.

The challenge for September was a reindeer design from Kissy Cross. I stitched this one pretty much as given in the chart (colours weren't specified) except that I substituted two small star shaped buttons for the two button shaped stitched motifs in the design. I finished it as a small runner, to fit the top of the bookcase in the hall. Look! Stripy ric rac! Half of Truro probably heard my squeal of delight when I found that! The other finishes are in the album here
And finally, something for my Geekmas tree. This has the official Naomi seal of approval and has been pronounced "Cool".

If you want to make your own little festive Snowballing Ironman bauble you will need:
an open glass ornament (I got mine from Queen of Crafts)
a small amount of cotton wool
a few sequins
some tiny white pompoms
a 2" tall Ironman figure (or another superhero of your choice)
strong craft glue

First glue a little cotton wool into the bottom of your bauble to make a snowy base. My bauble has a flat bottom which made this easy. If yours is completely spherical you'll need to use something more solid to make a platform to stand your figure on

Glue a tiny pompom into Ironman's hand, and when this has set, put a generous amount of glue on his feet, wiggle him into place and hold him in position until he has stuck.

Finally glue the sequins and remaining pompoms in a pile at his feet as ammunition.

Linked up to Think Pink Sundays at Flamingo Toes (button in side bar)

Now, I've got the rest of the pack of baubles left, so I need to decide what else would look good in them. Any ideas?

A Minimalist Joker Cushion and a Gift

So, the Harley cushion I made for Eloise last week was feeling a bit lonely without her Mr J to snuggle up to on the sofa...
Presenting the Joker Cushion!

Quite easy actually, I drafted it out on paper first but it is just a triangle and two trapezoidal shapes pieced together, the flower and bow were made separately and stitched on at the end.

I was lucky enough to win a prize in Kerry's blogoversary giveaway, and she made me this gorgeous bracelet in my favourite teal blue colour with little charms to represent all my interests, there are buttons, a sewing machine, stitching stuff,, knitting, a watering can, a little book and two teeny tiny penguins!

Check out the fabulous matching penguin earrings too. Thanks Kerry, I love them.