Countdown...

Day #247
Hearts #362-364

Here they are, numbers 362, 363, and 364...

I was so focused on making and mailing hearts last week for my Hope Hearts starter kits that it's really just a coincidence that I didn't breeze right past my goal number of 365 hearts...if I had made just a few more, I think I wouldn't have noticed until later that my goal had been met!  After my last post, it occurred to me that I should make a special heart for the 365th one, so I'm working on that now.  It will be ready in a day or two, then I will continue counting hearts until the end of the year.

Chickens and Number 200

Day #191
Hearts #199-200

I've reached another milestone in this heart-a-day challenge--my 200th heart!  Wow, that's a lot of hearts!  And it just happens to be my favorite heart so far--I guess "practice makes perfect" applies to this situation!

My Craftster friend waggonswest requested that I make her a chicken scissors fob for a personal swap.  Since I LOVE chickens, I was glad to comply!  Last night I made these two; which one will she choose?

The one below is based on a felt badge I just finished for a swap.  (I haven't sent it yet, so I don't want to show it here in case it spoils the surprise for my partner!)

The one below is my favorite.  It too is a miniature version of a felt badge I made for a swap; you can see the original at the bottom of this post.  These scissors fobs are just under 1 1/2" across, and the felt badges are about 3" across, so it's a huge difference in scale.

Here's the felt badge:

Both the fobs and the badge are entirely hand-sewn using wool felt, embroidery floss, sewing thread, and a bead for the eye; the fobs are stuffed with polyfil.  One reader asked how long do I cut the twine?  It's 9"; I knot the ends together, hide the knot inside the fob, and sew through the twine so it won't EVER pull out!

Winged Heart #4

Day #105
Heart #97

The wings of this are satin, sewn wrong-side-out so it has more texture and less shine. The heart is cotton fabric.

I love the way the beads accent the geometric design; I want to do a few more that are similar to this! This heart has a pin back sewn on.

Approximate size:  3" x 2"

Valentine's Day Garland

Day #45
Hearts #57-60

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Heart Bombing

Day #28
Hearts #44-45

After posting 15 new hearts yesterday, you would think I would take a little break from hearts...but no! 

Rebecca (aka CraftyMamaBee) on Craftster recently found out that a close relative has been diagnosed with cancer.  Rebecca decided to do something similar to the "hope" hearts for Amanda that we did on my other blog (Leslie's Art and Sew) a few months ago--she started crafting a jar of hearts to express her love and hope for healing for her cousin.  I wasn't sure if she wanted help, so I didn't jump in until I heard that Wendie (aka wendiek on Craftster) had sent her some hearts!  At that point I couldn't sit by any longer--I HAD to make her some hearts!  Here they are:

 While reading some posts on Craftster yesterday, I came across another person who said her swap group had sent hearts to two people who needed encouragement; she called it a "heart bombing".  I LOVE that term so much!  I wish I had made it up!!  Having a term like that to apply to this activity makes it seem so...official... in a grass-roots kind of way. 

I'm very happy to be able to add to Rebecca's jar of hearts, and I'm sending good thoughts and prayers to her cousin; I hope she is healthy again soon.

More Good Word Hearts

Day #27
Hearts #29-#43

I have FIFTEEN new hearts to show you today!!  Wow--I'm excited about that!  These are the rest of the series of Good Word Hearts I started last week.

I started by choosing appealing fabrics from my scrap bags.  I was hoping to stay with a tight color palette, but I found that if I wanted to use only scraps, my choices were limited.  So I chose fabrics I liked, and then tried to match the words with the feeling the fabrics gave me...the best match in this group is "joyful"--it really fits that fabric!

Of these three stronger colors, I like the fabric on "forgiving" the best; but I think "industrious" is the best match for its fabric.

Here, I put "soft" words with soft fabrics:

and here, things are kind of random!  I like "hopeful" the best.

I was fortunate to have onegroovyday for my wonderful partner in a recent swap on Craftster.  She made this amazing coiled fabric bowl for me (hi Mindy!).  It's the perfect place to store and display these hearts.  Don't they look awesome all together like this?