an embroidery hoop~with pocket

you will need:
an embroidery hoop
fabric {for the hoop}
alternating/complimentary fabric {for the pocket}
a needle & thread
beads & crimp beads {for the hanging attachment}
paint & paintbrush {if you want to paint the hoop}
& if you want to put a bouquet of flowers in:
fabric {for the flowers}
& toothpicks {for the stems}
& glue :)


carefully paint the outside & front
well, any part that will be seen. because my fabric was lace, i also painted the inside of the inner hoop & the front of it as well


make sure the fabric is snug
& place the pattern of symbols where you think they will stand out or look the nicest


roughly cut the shape of a pocket. for a more crisp look, cut one side to the shape you like, then fold in half & cut around to even


then fold the top down, placing the backs of the fabric together.

then sew a straight stitch across & gather the top of the pocket, so it kind of puckers up femininely


tie that off so it holds & continue to straight stitch around the edge of the pocket {without folding a seam} so you can pull it into a gather at the end.
the pocket can now be sewn onto the embroidery hoop, i just stitched in a few places because of the delicacy of the material.
~ also, i felt like there was too much pocket material sagging so i pinched some up towards the top & stitched it into a sort of a double collar for the pocket. then i rolled up a tiny scrap of material into a log & tucked it doen the bottom of the pocket to help it keep its shape.


next add the contents to the pocket, either a sweet little book, note tied with string, or fabric flowers{on a toothpick}.


then embellish the outside of the pocket with some more lace & a ribbon


be imaginative with the little flowers


add embellishments as you desire


& then you'll have somewhere to keep special things...


hope you all have a lovely week!!!

~coming up...pockets! ~

see you as soon as i possibly can :)

upcycled window

you will need:
an old window
cabinet fixtures/hardware
screws & nailgun{or screwdriver}


i began by washing the window in warm soapy water because it had been sitting so long in a kind of warehouse. i then washed all the fixtures.


once its clean you can begin to decide what positions look best, group the types of hardware together for a more unified look. {ie two doorhandles, three hooks etc}


i kind of cheated & got my Dad to use his nailgun & screw the hardware on, because he knew exactly what size/type of nail & what took him 10 minutes would have taken me an hour.


then decorate. :) it would look just as beautiful drapped in pink scarves & glistening beads!!!


kind thoughts

personalized sillhouettes ~

sillhouettes are very much in vogue right now, & they are fairly easy to create & use to adorn the home as pieces of personalized artwork!!
all you need is a camera, & some alternating papers{colours that contrast so the sillhouette pops} or you can get more detailed & add embroidery etc...


start by taking a photo of you or your family as a profile shot. this then becomes your template for your artwork. of course, as with any art, creative license is yours & you can change features like your hair as you choose. basically just print it out, resize it if you like, trace it & cut it out :)





this piece began as an embroidered sillhouette {chain stitch} & just kept growing...a few petite flowers, ruffles, beads, bows & bits of lace cut of a hanky were used to make up the hair, & some embroidery under the actual sillhouette. i also added some tulle tied into a makeshift bow with some sparkly adornments glued on top.


a simple sillhouette framed with some scrapbook paper can be beautiful & effective.


or for the sillhouette on the petite green book, i ruffled a scrap of fabric into an Elizabethan collar & cut out some paper flowers to complete :)


& there you go :) personal sillhouettes...have a beautiful day!!! lovely thoughts

a beautiful bookmark

you will need:
embroidery thread
beads
glue

first cut a length of embroidery thread a couple of inches longer than the book you'll use it in. i like to run the whole length of it over a gluestick to make it a little stronger.


then i glue the ends & twist them to a point with just a tiny bit of glue.


thread the beads on one end before you tie any knots. my beads were a pink pearl & rose quartz. let them run into the middle of the thread & tie a knot as close to the end as you like.


then push the beads back close to the knot & tie a knot at the other side of them, to keep them in place.


& then you can enjoy your lovely creation!!!

a little book

you will need:
a 12" x 12" piece of cardstock {plain or patterned}
a small scrap of cardstock{approx 3" x 8"~thats just a guess!}
scissors
glue
ribbons
embellishments{a scrap of fabric, some paper flowers, a paper sillouette}

Begin by folding the 12" x 12" cardstock in half, then folding each side in half, so there are 4 creases horizontzlly. then fold in half vertically, & fold each half in half, so your paper ends up looking like this...


cut along where i've shown you{i made a mistake & had no to sticky tape mine while i was figuring out the pattern :) }


accordian fold beginning at the top lefthand square, start folding the end square up towards the next one, so that when the paper is flat, lift the top left end square upwards & close it down on the next one as though you were closing a book


once its accordian folded properly the inside of the book will be complete except that you will notice where the back of the pages need to be glued together because otherwise it wont be sturdy {for example the back of squares 2 & 3 will end up being glued, as they become part of the same page.}


then trace around the bookpages, leaving about half a cm for the cover to overlap.
leave 2cm for the spine as well, so as you trace its, cover ~ spine ~ cover.


cut out the rectangle & score along each of the markings for the spine so its easy & crisp to fold, then fold :)


put glue on the two pieces of ribbon.
then glue in a square around the two portions of the cover, but dont glue the spine

\
& voila! a little place to record thoughts, sketch ponderings, paste photos & bits of lace.


lovely thoughts!!!

a little preview...

its been difficult to squeeze in time


but as soon as i can


i'll share these :) precious thoughts