THE Cowboy

This one was another stitching down to the wire. This card is also the largest card I’ve made with a cross stitch. I stitched out this pattern on 22 count off white Aida cloth using DMC 3371. I know this color quite well because I had to buy more of it to finish at the very end.

 

the supplies

The amount of thread I had in this picture was what was left in my mom’s collection. Then I moved onto a (presumably) full skein from my cousin’s collection. Then had to finish with some from a brand new skein.

 

side and back view of card

For being a non-contact-non-sport I hurt a lot after finishing this one. Hours and hours of hunching over to see the little holes has taken it’s toll. I also hand-held the thing which isn’t recommended. This pattern is over 90 stitches wide and 115 high.

close up of corner

To create this card I wanted to make it look “rustic”. That’s the word that comes to mind with ripped edges and a messy edge around the stitching. Assembly was pretty straight forward and old school. I got out my box cutter and ruler to cut out the paper for the card and inside piece.

inside of card

After cutting the paper to the correct sizes I tore the paper. The inside piece took me a bit to figure out that if I ripped it one way the white from the back showed, however if I tried ripping “backwards” it looked so much better! Being a lefty is hard sometimes. I’m not one to rip paper so this was a new experience for me.

close up of card standing

I’m glad this card came together quickly to be sent out. I’m not sure if this will make it to Texas by today for my uncle’s birthday, but it is on its way!

 

Stitching

Started: February 4th
Finished: February 18th

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full card, cropped

Customized Thermos

I’ve been seeing more and more customized products, mugs, tumblers, wine glasses, etc. Before the end of last year I thought people were just magical being able to create such items.

The backstory: I wanted to create my own stencils so I wouldn’t have to rely on other people’s designs and size constraints. I started looking into flexible plastic (still haven’t gotten any) and how to cut it with more precision than an exacto knife and hand drawn lines. That’s when I stumbled on a product called the Cricut.

Upon this discovery my husband set out on a journey to find which machine and starter kit would work best for my beginner needs. I ended up with the Explore Air 2 which had just come out and a huge variety of items to try out.

thermos_0718_01My favorite item so far has been the adhesive foil. I have a variety pack of metallic adhesive foil that I have used on a variety of cards and paper projects. This is the first project where I am using the foil on a much used item.

I’ve had this thermos for many years, as you might be able to see it’s a little beat up, the paint is chipped…it’s seen better days.

I wanted to get a purple one, but can’t find it in stock. So I am still using this one and wanted to make the leap to making something that’s popular. Luckily I have a graphic design background and understand Illustrator, making the Cricut less of a learning curve than it seems to be for many new users. I drew the camera in Illustrator and exported my SVG file to cut out my pattern.

I know the foil isn’t considered “permanent” but we don’t use the dishwasher so I think with hand washing it should stick for a while. So far it’s made it 3 days.

thermos_0718_02

 

 

Follow along on Snapchat!

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