Almost to my Goal!

Day #244
Hearts #334-361

Look at the number above--I'm just 4 hearts from my goal!!

Over the past two days I made the 27 hearts in the picture below (they are piled up, but there really are 27!  There are 10 big tie-dye hearts, 6 of the medium blue hearts, and 11 small hearts.)  My regular reader, Kay, commented previously that she liked the green striped hearts, I decided that would be a good fabric to use again for most of the small ones.  (Kay has fabulous taste, you should see her Pinterest!)

I sent out ten more Hope Hearts starter kits today, and each one had a set of hearts like the three below. Send me your mailing address if you know someone who's ill and could use some hope in the form of handmade hearts, and I will send you a kit.

Twenty Pretty Hearts

Day #242
Hearts #313-333

I made twenty more hearts yesterday, and most of them will go out in the mail later today.  At this rate, I will reach my challenge goal of 365 sewn hearts by the weekend!  Now the question is, how high will the number go by the end of the year??

Each of the Hope Hearts starter kits that I send out today will include a trio of hearts similar to this set, below:

This is a labor of love for me; I enjoy every minute of it!

Eighteen More

Day #241
Hearts #295-312

Another day, another 18 hearts!  These will all be going out in the mail today in Hope Hearts starter kits.

I am purposely avoiding the color pink as I make these hearts, and any prints that look really girly, because in most cases I don't know if the recipient will be male or female; but a few people have told me that they are making hearts for a female friend, so I have a few pink hearts like the one on the left.  I'm also still making crazy bright hearts like the yellow one on the right.  Do you see the little "hope" charm in the middle of it?  I bought 100 of them from Hidden Treasure Jewelry on Etsy.  I highly recommend this store because the owner ships FAST!  Two hours after I placed my order, I got an email saying it had been sent!!  I love that about small businesses!  Her prices are very reasonable too.

Pile O' Hearts

Day #240
Hearts #276-294

Because of the great response to my offer of a Hope Hearts starter kit, free for the asking (just send me your mailing address to leslieandersen4@gmail.com ), my heart count is surging closer and closer to my goal of 365 hearts.  A few months ago I had doubts that I would reach my goal on time, now I am completely confident that not only will I finish this challenge, but I will do so well before the end of the year!

Here are the 19 hearts I made yesterday; most of them will be going out in today's mail.

Here are two of my favorites from this batch:  a new version of the "crayon box explosion" on the left, and a fun harlequin on the right.

Outgoing Mail

Day #238
Hearts #264-275

The response to my offer of a Hope Hearts starter kit, free for the asking, has been great!  I'm very busy sewing hearts to go in the kits; here are the ones I made last night.

I decided to go bright and happy with the colors, can you tell??  The green ones look like a crayon box exploded!

I also decided to use rubber stamp alphabet letters to write the word "hope" on the small hearts. It's a nice contrast to the other two hearts that will be in each kit.

If you would like to request a Hope Hearts kit, just send me your mailing address (leslieandersen4@gmail.com).  I'll get it in the mail within a few days, and you will have the information you need to start sewing your own hearts to fill a jar for someone who is ill.

Five of Hearts

Day #237
Hearts #259-263

Yesterday I posted an announcement about my Hope Hearts kits on my other blog, Leslie's Art and Sew, and it also appeared on Craft Gossip (my thanks to Anne, the sewing editor there).  I got a great response and ran out of hearts, so I had to whip up some more!

These are made with template #2 in the Hope Hearts kit.  I LOVE making them--I just put a colorful little pile of scrap fabric and ribbon in the center, then hold it all in place by sewing on beads, a button and a charm.  The edges of the fabrics are left raw, so it's quick and easy!

To read more about the Hope Hearts project, or to request a starter kit, click HERE.  This will be an on-going project for me, so no matter when you are reading this, feel free to request a kit.

Happiness

Day 236
Hearts #252-258

I saw this quote online-- "Happiness is a form of courage"--and I knew I wanted to use it on some of my Hope Hearts.  I think it is so true that when you are sick, or someone you love is sick, you feel that happiness is forbidden; but I feel that even in the worst times there are moments of happiness, and it takes courage to allow yourself to be happy.

Four of a Kind

Day #230
Hearts #248-251

Here are four very similar hearts I made yesterday for my Hope Hearts kits.  I'm very excited that three of them will go out in the mail today, in three different kits!  I would love to send you a kit too, if you have someone in your life who is seriously ill, and you would like to show your love and support by crafting handmade hearts for him or her.  The kit includes three finished hearts, templates, and an idea/instruction sheet.  E-mail your mailing address to me at leslieandersen4@gmail.com, and I will have the kit in the mail to you quickly!

Another Batch of Hope Hearts

Day #229
Hearts #241-247

I've finished seven more hearts for my Hope Hearts kits.

Two of these will go out in the mail tomorrow as part of two kits that were just requested.  If you know someone who is seriously ill, who could use the tangible sign of caring and support a jar full of handmade hearts will provide, just send me your mailing address and I will put one of my kits in the mail to you.  You can e-mail me at leslieandersen4@gmail.com .

Matchbox Art

Day #228
Hearts #239-240

Here is the first of many "art" matchboxes I plan to make and abandon for my Art Abandonment project.  I love how this turned out, and I love that it includes TWO sewn hearts, so I can count it twice!

The outside:
I covered a matchbox with paper cut from the pages of a book (I bought this thick, boring book for $1 at a bookstore, specifically to cut up).  I scrubbed the paper with white acrylic paint to soften the look of it.

I sewed a little "patch" for the top, featuring a winged heart, using fabrics from my scrap bag.  It's so small (2 1/8" x 1 1/2") that it takes very little fabric to cover the top.  I used my favorite color palette, and my favorite image!  I sewed it all together, leaving the edges raw, and glued it to the top of the box.

The inside:
When the finder opens it up, he or she will see a stuffed heart posing the eternal question, "got art?"  The words are stamped on with rubber alphabet stamps, and the heart is another raw-edge fabric collage.

I covered the inside of the box with book paper too, and added a paper heart to the bottom to jazz it up a little.

After I make a few more of these I will print out some tags (so the finder knows that this is a free gift) and then I will secretly abandon them around town.  I can't wait!

Ten More Hope Hearts

Day #227
Hearts #229-238

I'm working on a stockpile of hearts for the Hope Hearts kits I plan to distribute.  Each kit will have three different heart templates, with one finished heart made from each template.  These 10 hearts are made with the small template.  I will post a more complete story about the kits when they are finished; but in the meantime, if you know someone who is ill, who could use the encouragement of hand-made hearts, and you would like to organize a jar of hearts for him or her, please request a kit from me (leslieandersen4@gmail.com) and I will send it to you free of charge.

Hope Hearts

Day #223
Heart #227-228

I'm sending these hearts to a reader who requested one of my brand-new Hope Hearts starter kits.  The kits provide directions, templates, ideas, and actual sewn hearts, so friends and family of a person undergoing medical treatment can express their care and support by making stuffed hearts.  A jar full of hearts made by loving hands can give a huge emotional boost to a sick person.  If you would like a kit, just send your mailing address to me at leslieandersen4@cox.net , and I will put a kit in the mail to you free of charge.

The large heart on the left has already been included in my countdown to 365 hearts.  It started out as a pincushion, so I opened it up and took out the plastic insert to make it a Hope Heart. 

This heart (below) is my favorite new design--a pieced heart with a small fabric-and-object collage in the center.  All of a sudden, I just can't get enough fabric collage!

I will be working on (and posting) more Hope Hearts in the next week or two.  I want to have plenty on hand so I can immediately fill any requests for Hope Hearts kits.

Matchbox Heart

Day #222
Heart #226

I'm taking a break from the wool felt scissors fobs for a while (I have a few more designs in mind for those, so I WILL do some more before the year is out).

Today's heart is in fabric-collage form; it is sewn together with a lot of different fabrics and trims, and glued onto a paper-covered matchbox.

It just so happens that the matchbox will hold one of my scissors fobs perfectly!

Next week I expect to have time to make a LOT of these; I've been trying to think of something to do for the Art Abandonment group I belong to on facebook, and I think these would be perfect (with some other words than "Happy Birthday", of course!!)  The idea is to make a piece of art and leave it in a public place to be found and claimed by a stranger.  I will put each fob-filled box in a plastic bag with a card explaining the concept, with the groups' email address so the finder can let us know that they found art (if they choose to do so).  Exciting!

Hedgehog

Day #217
Heart #225

Cute little woodland creatures are popular right now, so I wanted to try a hedgehog on a wool felt scissors fob.  He joins the fox and raccoon I made a couple of weeks ago.

Crab

Day #215
Heart #224

Returning to my beach/summer theme, I made this wool felt scissors forb with a bright orange crab last night while watching the Olympics. (Yes, Helen and Kay--my British readers--I DID think about you!  Congrats on the great job your country is doing hosting the Games! )

Veggies

Day #214
Heart #223

I had the idea for this veggie-themed wool felt scissors fob and I couldn't put it out of my mind...so I will return to the summer/beachy hearts soon!