Heart #136
Another wool felt scissors fob. The spool is made of felt, the other details are embroidered.
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Spool of Thread
Day #158
Heart #136
Another wool felt scissors fob. The spool is made of felt, the other details are embroidered.
Heart #136
Another wool felt scissors fob. The spool is made of felt, the other details are embroidered.
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Heart Keychains with Tutorial Link
Day #157
Hearts #130-135
I have six more Heart Keychains to show you today. It was my intention when starting this challenge that no two hearts would be exactly the same, but I'm making an exception to that rule today, because I am still so behind in my count!
I love these cute doggie faces!
Birds are always popular
And my favorite, bright blue and green.
These keychains can be made entirely by hand, so you could bring your materials with you if you wanted to work on a project while travelling. (You just need to get things started at home before you go, since there is some ironing.)
If you would like to make some of these yourself, just follow this link to my other blog: Leslie's Art and Sew. I've just posted the tutorial there. I'd love to hear about it if you do make some; if you email me a picture, I will post it here too!
Hearts #130-135
I have six more Heart Keychains to show you today. It was my intention when starting this challenge that no two hearts would be exactly the same, but I'm making an exception to that rule today, because I am still so behind in my count!
Birds are always popular
And my favorite, bright blue and green.
These keychains can be made entirely by hand, so you could bring your materials with you if you wanted to work on a project while travelling. (You just need to get things started at home before you go, since there is some ironing.)
If you would like to make some of these yourself, just follow this link to my other blog: Leslie's Art and Sew. I've just posted the tutorial there. I'd love to hear about it if you do make some; if you email me a picture, I will post it here too!
Monday, June 4, 2012
Happy Clouds
Day #156
Hearts #128-129
Two more scissors fobs!
I wanted to try an image-transfer technique I heard about on Craftster: using a rubber stamp, stamp the image on the WRONG side of the felt, and use that as your guide as you emberoider. That's how I did the cloud on the left. It worked okay, but wasn't as precise as I would like, so for the fob on the right, I cut felt into the cloud shape and sewed that to the heart. I like that much more!
Hearts #128-129
Two more scissors fobs!
I wanted to try an image-transfer technique I heard about on Craftster: using a rubber stamp, stamp the image on the WRONG side of the felt, and use that as your guide as you emberoider. That's how I did the cloud on the left. It worked okay, but wasn't as precise as I would like, so for the fob on the right, I cut felt into the cloud shape and sewed that to the heart. I like that much more!
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Coin Pouch Heart
Day #155
Heart #127
I saw something similar to this keyring coin pouch online and this is my version. I will test it on my own keys before I make more--it seems a little big! I know some people like something big on their keys to help keep track of them, but I tend to prefer something smaller. We shall see!
Heart #127
I saw something similar to this keyring coin pouch online and this is my version. I will test it on my own keys before I make more--it seems a little big! I know some people like something big on their keys to help keep track of them, but I tend to prefer something smaller. We shall see!
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Pretty and Practical
Day #154
Heart #126
In my ongoing quest to come up with hearts that aren't just pretty, but also have a function, I had a lightbulb-over-the-head moment last night: scissors fobs!
A scissors fob serves two purposes: it helps you locate/identify your scissors (which is useful in a group setting, like a quilt retreat, where everyone has scissors on the table--but I'm sure I will like having a little help spying my scissors in the confusion on top of my sewing table!); and it is a tiny pincushion. This one is 1 1/2 inches wide.
This fob is made of wool felt and cotton embroidery thread; the string is baker's twine.
There will be PLENTY more of these here in the coming weeks! This one was so fun and quick to make, that I want to make more, more more!
Heart #126
In my ongoing quest to come up with hearts that aren't just pretty, but also have a function, I had a lightbulb-over-the-head moment last night: scissors fobs!
A scissors fob serves two purposes: it helps you locate/identify your scissors (which is useful in a group setting, like a quilt retreat, where everyone has scissors on the table--but I'm sure I will like having a little help spying my scissors in the confusion on top of my sewing table!); and it is a tiny pincushion. This one is 1 1/2 inches wide.
This fob is made of wool felt and cotton embroidery thread; the string is baker's twine.
There will be PLENTY more of these here in the coming weeks! This one was so fun and quick to make, that I want to make more, more more!
Friday, June 1, 2012
The End! (of the alphabet)
Day #153
Hearts #124-125
The last two letters of the alphabet hearts are finally done! And they just happen to be my initials!
"L" is for Leaves and Ladybugs (and Leslie!):
I started this group of hearts with the letter "Z", so it's appropriate that I end with the letter "A"!
"A" is for Alphabet (and Andersen!):
And...since it's taken me so long to get the the end that you have probably forgotten what the first ones looked like, here they are, all 26 letters together:
I haven't strung them on a garland yet, but when I do I will post it on my other blog, Leslie's Art and Sew. I will probably add a lot of random hearts to the garland, too; hopefully it will look fun and eclectic!
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Gumdrops and Kitties
Day #152
Hearts #122-123
Ooh, here we are, just one day away from seeing the whole alphabet in heart form!
Today's hearts are pretty and happy, and they just add to my excitement at being so close to finishing this particular project. (Of course, I still have more than half the year left, so there are a lot of hearts still to come!)
"G" is for Gumdrops:
"K" is for Kitty:
This "kitty" heart is probably my favorite one, because I LOVE pink and turquoise together--and kitties!
Hearts #122-123
Ooh, here we are, just one day away from seeing the whole alphabet in heart form!
Today's hearts are pretty and happy, and they just add to my excitement at being so close to finishing this particular project. (Of course, I still have more than half the year left, so there are a lot of hearts still to come!)
"G" is for Gumdrops:
"K" is for Kitty:
This "kitty" heart is probably my favorite one, because I LOVE pink and turquoise together--and kitties!
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
U and Y
Day #151
Hearts #120-121
I am so proud of myself for getting back to daily posting on this blog! Besides a lot of other sewing that I have to do (keeping my local booth stocked, Etsy orders, and swap packages), I've had to travel twice in the last 6 weeks, which is very unusual for me. I am ready to get caught up on these hearts so I finish the year on schedule!
Today's alphabet hearts are perhaps the weirdest of the bunch; they aren't particularly pretty, but they serve the purpose of representing their particular letters. When they are mixed in with the other letters, though, I think they will be a nice counterpoint to the pretty hearts! Here they are:
"U" is for underwear!
I really struggled with this letter, and ended up choosing (long) underwear (in the upper right corner). I wish I had a tiny umbrella print, but alas, I did not!
"Y" is for yolk!
This one is a bit of a stretch; I don't know what the print on this fabric is suposed to be, but to me it looks like slices of hardboiled eggs. With the "Y" added to it, this heart looks strangely like a face! One of my readers, Kay, left a comment in a previous post suggesting I use a sunshiny-yellow fabric for the "Y"--I love that idea, but I had already cut out this fabric by the time I read her comment!
Hearts #120-121
I am so proud of myself for getting back to daily posting on this blog! Besides a lot of other sewing that I have to do (keeping my local booth stocked, Etsy orders, and swap packages), I've had to travel twice in the last 6 weeks, which is very unusual for me. I am ready to get caught up on these hearts so I finish the year on schedule!
Today's alphabet hearts are perhaps the weirdest of the bunch; they aren't particularly pretty, but they serve the purpose of representing their particular letters. When they are mixed in with the other letters, though, I think they will be a nice counterpoint to the pretty hearts! Here they are:
"U" is for underwear!
I really struggled with this letter, and ended up choosing (long) underwear (in the upper right corner). I wish I had a tiny umbrella print, but alas, I did not!
"Y" is for yolk!
This one is a bit of a stretch; I don't know what the print on this fabric is suposed to be, but to me it looks like slices of hardboiled eggs. With the "Y" added to it, this heart looks strangely like a face! One of my readers, Kay, left a comment in a previous post suggesting I use a sunshiny-yellow fabric for the "Y"--I love that idea, but I had already cut out this fabric by the time I read her comment!
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Dogs and Jack-o-lanterns
Day #150
Hearts #118-119
As I finish the alphabet hearts, I am posting them here in pairs based more on color than anything (they certainly are NOT IN alphabetical order!) Just a few more days until I can take a picture of them all together!
"J" is for Jack-o-lantern:
"D" is for Dog:
Hearts #118-119
As I finish the alphabet hearts, I am posting them here in pairs based more on color than anything (they certainly are NOT IN alphabetical order!) Just a few more days until I can take a picture of them all together!
"J" is for Jack-o-lantern:
"D" is for Dog:
Monday, May 28, 2012
Notions and Buttons
Day #149
Hearts #116-117
I have two more alphabet hearts to show you today. They are so similar-looking that I'm glad they will be widely separated in my alphabet garland!
"N" is for Notions:
"B" is for Buttons:
These two hearts (and all of the ones from yesterday, and the ones still to come) have letters made from fabric, fused to the heart with Heat n Bond. It is quicker than sewing the letters on, and I like the look of the fabric letters. Most of the previous alphabet hearts have felt letters that I carefully sewed by machine, but this will be a garland, high on the wall, that won't be closely inspected, so I think I can get away with fusing rather than sewing some of the letters!
Hearts #116-117
I have two more alphabet hearts to show you today. They are so similar-looking that I'm glad they will be widely separated in my alphabet garland!
"N" is for Notions:
"B" is for Buttons:
These two hearts (and all of the ones from yesterday, and the ones still to come) have letters made from fabric, fused to the heart with Heat n Bond. It is quicker than sewing the letters on, and I like the look of the fabric letters. Most of the previous alphabet hearts have felt letters that I carefully sewed by machine, but this will be a garland, high on the wall, that won't be closely inspected, so I think I can get away with fusing rather than sewing some of the letters!
Sunday, May 27, 2012
The Second Half of the Alphabet
Day #148
Hearts #113-115
Ooh, I'm excited to be working on the second half of the alphabet hearts I started way back in January! Yesterday I chose all the fabrics, cut them out, applied the letters, and sewed the hearts together for the last 13 letters; all that's left is to stuff them and sew them closed.
I finished three of them last night, and these three have something in common that you can't see: the pretty fabrics were all given to me by my BCF (Best Crafty Friend) Susan! She's such an enabler! Thanks, Susan!
"E" is for Elephants
"I" is for I Love Lucy (I was thrilled to find this in my stash, because I was having trouble with this letter!)
"V" is for Vehicles
Hearts #113-115
Ooh, I'm excited to be working on the second half of the alphabet hearts I started way back in January! Yesterday I chose all the fabrics, cut them out, applied the letters, and sewed the hearts together for the last 13 letters; all that's left is to stuff them and sew them closed.
I finished three of them last night, and these three have something in common that you can't see: the pretty fabrics were all given to me by my BCF (Best Crafty Friend) Susan! She's such an enabler! Thanks, Susan!
"E" is for Elephants
"I" is for I Love Lucy (I was thrilled to find this in my stash, because I was having trouble with this letter!)
"V" is for Vehicles
Saturday, May 26, 2012
W and X
Day #147
Hearts #111-112
I'm still making my way randomly through the alphabet...I hope to finish up all the letters this weekend so I can move on to other things. After the alphabet garland is done I want to do another garland with all kinds of different hearts--all sizes, shapes, colors and styles.
Today I have two very cute letters: W and X.
"W" is for watermelon
"X" is for x's and o's
You would think the "x" would be the hardest to find a fabric for, but I had this in my stash. The two letters that are really giving me trouble are "u" and "y". I have a wonderful umbrella fabric, but the print is so large it won't work very well, and I am totally stuck on "y". I will look through my fabrics again, and if all else fails, I will embroider something!
Hearts #111-112
I'm still making my way randomly through the alphabet...I hope to finish up all the letters this weekend so I can move on to other things. After the alphabet garland is done I want to do another garland with all kinds of different hearts--all sizes, shapes, colors and styles.
Today I have two very cute letters: W and X.
"W" is for watermelon
"X" is for x's and o's
You would think the "x" would be the hardest to find a fabric for, but I had this in my stash. The two letters that are really giving me trouble are "u" and "y". I have a wonderful umbrella fabric, but the print is so large it won't work very well, and I am totally stuck on "y". I will look through my fabrics again, and if all else fails, I will embroider something!
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
More Heart Keychains
Day #137
Hearts #108-110
As you can see, I've made a few more of these heart keychains. I made a few changes, because I want them to be good enough to sell. Today I made up a "kit" with everything in it to make one of these, and brought it with me to an appointment where I knew I might have to wait for a while, and it was easy to do away from home--so I'm going to make up a bunch of kits to have handy when I need something to keep my hands busy!
My lovely reader Kay commented, on the previous heart keychain, that she would like to try one of these, because it is (mostly) hand sewing. I love it when I get comments from readers! I was inspired by her comment to come up with a tutorial for these. I am working on it now, and I will post it on my other blog, Leslie's Art and Sew, when it is done. I will even show you how to do it entirely by hand, Kay!
I redesigned it so there is no stitching to bother with on the back. I also added two layers of interfacing to give it more stiffness.
The hardest part is finding fabric with a small image that looks good when framed like this. Of course, you could always make a small embroidered or cross-stitched piece to go in the center.
Hearts #108-110
As you can see, I've made a few more of these heart keychains. I made a few changes, because I want them to be good enough to sell. Today I made up a "kit" with everything in it to make one of these, and brought it with me to an appointment where I knew I might have to wait for a while, and it was easy to do away from home--so I'm going to make up a bunch of kits to have handy when I need something to keep my hands busy!
My lovely reader Kay commented, on the previous heart keychain, that she would like to try one of these, because it is (mostly) hand sewing. I love it when I get comments from readers! I was inspired by her comment to come up with a tutorial for these. I am working on it now, and I will post it on my other blog, Leslie's Art and Sew, when it is done. I will even show you how to do it entirely by hand, Kay!
I redesigned it so there is no stitching to bother with on the back. I also added two layers of interfacing to give it more stiffness.
The hardest part is finding fabric with a small image that looks good when framed like this. Of course, you could always make a small embroidered or cross-stitched piece to go in the center.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Heart Keychain
Day #131
Heart #107
I saw a cute heart keychain at Toastie Studio this week, and I couldn't rest until I tried one myself. I changed it by putting a layer of felt over my printed fabric so it is reverse appliqued. The edges are hand-embroidered.
Front:
Back:
In my hand:
It has imperfections because this was the practice one...I needed to get a feel for how it would go together. Normally after the first one, I make changes and do a second and third one before I get something I like. This time, though, I like it just like this! It seems just the right size and weight and sturdiness to be a functional keychain, so I think I will make a few more, with different fabric centers and different color combinations.
Heart #107
I saw a cute heart keychain at Toastie Studio this week, and I couldn't rest until I tried one myself. I changed it by putting a layer of felt over my printed fabric so it is reverse appliqued. The edges are hand-embroidered.
Front:
Back:
In my hand:
It has imperfections because this was the practice one...I needed to get a feel for how it would go together. Normally after the first one, I make changes and do a second and third one before I get something I like. This time, though, I like it just like this! It seems just the right size and weight and sturdiness to be a functional keychain, so I think I will make a few more, with different fabric centers and different color combinations.
Friday, May 4, 2012
The Alphabet Continues...
Day #125
Hearts #104-106
Three more hearts with letter-appropriate prints:
F is for Frog
S is for Star
T is for Tootsie Roll
I'm really looking forward to having all the letters done and hung up as a garland in my sewing room!
Hearts #104-106
Three more hearts with letter-appropriate prints:
F is for Frog
S is for Star
T is for Tootsie Roll
I'm really looking forward to having all the letters done and hung up as a garland in my sewing room!
Monday, April 30, 2012
Three More Letters
Day #121
Hearts #101-103
This is a quick look at three more of the alphabet letter hearts; I'm doing the letters in random order. When I have the whole alphabet completed I will show you a group shot. Here are my newest hearts:
C is for Candy Corn
M is for Mittens (the mittens are somewhat obscured by the M; I will have to take that into consideration as I choose fabrics in the future)
R is for Ring (I like this one the best!)
Hearts #101-103
This is a quick look at three more of the alphabet letter hearts; I'm doing the letters in random order. When I have the whole alphabet completed I will show you a group shot. Here are my newest hearts:
C is for Candy Corn
M is for Mittens (the mittens are somewhat obscured by the M; I will have to take that into consideration as I choose fabrics in the future)
R is for Ring (I like this one the best!)
Sunday, April 29, 2012
100th Heart!
Day #120
Heart #100
Wow, I've made 100 hearts! But I am falling behind a bit, which I don't like at all...so I am going to try to catch up in the next few weeks. First, I will finish up the series of alphabet hearts I started in January; after that, who knows?
Today I finished the letter "O". I love that the owl is framed by the letter!
I have another half-dozen letter hearts started, but this is the cutest one, so I finished this one first!
I've decided that when the whole alphabet is done, I will run a cord along the top of the wall in my sewing room and hang them up there where I can enjoy them every day. I also intend to do a group shot of all the alphabet hearts together when they are done. I can't wait for that!
Heart #100
Wow, I've made 100 hearts! But I am falling behind a bit, which I don't like at all...so I am going to try to catch up in the next few weeks. First, I will finish up the series of alphabet hearts I started in January; after that, who knows?
Today I finished the letter "O". I love that the owl is framed by the letter!
I have another half-dozen letter hearts started, but this is the cutest one, so I finished this one first!
I've decided that when the whole alphabet is done, I will run a cord along the top of the wall in my sewing room and hang them up there where I can enjoy them every day. I also intend to do a group shot of all the alphabet hearts together when they are done. I can't wait for that!
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