Cute graduation gift

So adorable, but I can only take credit for printing, cutting & gluing…

I saw this printable here.

I figured it would be a cute little thing to send up to our niece for her high school graduation. (uhhhhh, there is $$ rolled up in the little diploma, in case you didn’t get the “dough” reference…) (We would’ve much rather been in the crowd watching her walk, but the timing was bad because of a trip to CO…)Congratulations, Anna! We are so proud of you. You are a beautiful woman, inside & out. Love you!

House of Cards…

Although this home houses extreme Red-Bird fans, that’s not what this post is about. (Just know we are very disappointed to be living in the city hosting the Super Bowl & not have our team show up…)

But I did want to share a few paper projects I’ve done the past few months:

A dear man turned 90 today.That’s a whole lotta-lotta candles!

And December 17th a sweet woman celebrated her 90th birthday.(This is a beautiful card cover from Bird’s Cards.)

Here are December 2014’s biscotti tags.

Nothing better than birthday bunting!

Needless to say, I put my heart into the cards I make. But it’s the sympathy cards that require heart, soul & many tears during creation.

I even tried my hand at making seeded paper. Next time I’ll make the paper thinner so I can cut it. (No kitchen shears or box cutters were injured in the shaping of these letters -- but almost!)

I’d have to say on of my favorites was this Scrabble card:(Sorry I’ve had to blur some letters to protect the innocent.)

I’ve some more cards in the works for Valentine’s Day, so keep watching this web space…

baby boy giftings:

The past year has been full of pregnancy revelations, baby showers & births. Here are a few things I’ve stitched these last couple months for some boys:(Doesn’t every nursery need a bear-skin rug?)I “mustache” if you like my binky…(this design comes from Embroidery Garden)And for the sports-minded family, we’ve got an oh-so-soft basketball blankie,a soccer ball hat,a baseball bib,and a football onesie.

I remember a time when each of my boys should’ve been wearing one of these…

And, last but not least,I got to make a few cards with my Silhouette cutter!

…now, I’ve got to go finish up a few girlie gifts…

A Special Gift

My sister's birthday was mdjhe  owuierhths  qpotusf ummmmmmm -- only two months ago... Since she lives a few hours from here, it makes it a little difficult to "party" & I'm usually too cheap  stingy  tight frugal to ship things. I did make her a birthday card:

(little "Subway Art" for the card...)

So, this past weekend I had time to finish the project that I'd started way back in March.

Beverly & our Grandma Hull had a connection. (Being the youngest of the family, I'm sure there was some extra baby-sitting going on.) Grandma was a baker. I am fortunate to have inherited some of her well-worn, well-loved, & well-stained recipe cards. For some inexplicable reason, the top card on the stack was Grandma's recipe for her notorious Peanut Butter Cookies. That was one of their connections. 

(yup, that's Grandma's handwriting)

I don't know if Beverly got to bake them with her while being "sat" or if it occured during her "learn-to-bake" process. (I promise, I won't say a word about putting 1/2 cup vanilla into your banana milkshake, Sis...) I do know that during her college years & first few years of marriage, Beverly was the frequent recipient of Peanut Butter Cookie care packages from Grandma.

I found my "floating frame" at Michael's. It is soooo plain, I thought maybe I should "jazz" it up a little. But, I wanted the focus to be on Grandma's card, so I left it.

(back view of recipe card)

I opened up my embroidery software & typed up Grandma's recipe. I knew I wanted it on a dishtowel, but didn't want to embroider directly on the flour sack fabric (which tends to pull & stretch with this amount of lettering.) After choosing cloth for the lettering & the appliqué I got to work.

(my cookie even has "fork-y criss-crosses")

Happy Birthday, Beverly!

(Now Beth wants me to do Grandma's "Cherry Winks" recipe for her...)

Teacher Appreciation

I love my boy's teachers! This is his 6th year there, and with perhaps one exception, we've had great teachers across all the subject areas. Even if I had an unlimited budget (which we all know I do not) there is nothing I could buy or make that would convey how much we appreciate all that's been invested into his life.

One of his teachers this year is a wonderful woman I had the privilege of teaching with (at a different school) four years before he was born; and one of his teachers is a little girl young woman I had as a student many years ago... Our son has grown so much intellectually & spiritually under the tutelage of these men & women who give beyond the hours spent in the classroom.

I digress... The purpose of this post is to show what I created to express a tiny bit of our gratitude to his instructors.

First, I did let the Scrabble board do my talking for me. I personalized one of these for each teacher. Had to get "creative" with my words, because I used only one set of letters. (I could've cheated with the not-as-vintage board & letters, but I figured since it was for school, my dishonesty might be discovered...)

Then I figured embroidering free-standing lace bookmarks would be within my budget ($0!) Problem was, while I found parts of some I liked, I didn't see anything as a whole that would fit the bill. Sooooo... enter my favorite editing program Embird! I "frankenstein-ed" what I wanted.

I found my cross at Sadia's. I love the openness of this "Grace" lace! (I plan on completing my collection, soon.)

The tassel & "chain" is part of a freebie I cannibalized from Criswell. I'm amazed at how realistic it is after the WSS is rinsed out.

Here's a pictorial tutorial illustrating (for those who care) my process:

1st of seven

"Great is my frugalness!" I embroidered 3 per sheet of WSS!

cut out & ready for rinsing

only 4 more to go...

starting on the chain/tassel

ta da!

despite great frugalness, could only get 2 of these per sheet

trimmed & ready to rinse

final rinse with fabric softener to make them soft

after a couple hours they're ready to dry

dries so nice & soft!

ready for the remaining stray threads to be trimmed

back (left side) showing black bobbin

(this shows bobbin contrast better...)

& ready for giving!

Thus ends another project.