One month down, 11 more to go!

One month down, 11 more to go! This month just flew by didn’t it? I have been busy working on a few projects simultaneously, which is never a good idea. Why? Because neither of them get done and it seems like they take forever to complete! I need to stick with one and see it to completion but I think I get bored and then start another one. So I have been jumping back and forth with them. I did however, make some valentine cards (oops! another project thrown in there). Every year our church has been donating valentine cards to the Veterans Hospital here in Tucson and then they hand them out to the Veterans on Valentine’s Day.

I wanted to use my stamps but I could not find anything “valentine” enough. My next thought was to use a heart shaped punch, but…  I do not own one of those either.  After a bit of looking I came across my Quickutz squeeze and surprise! Heart shaped dies! Quickutz used to be its own company but from an internet search its looks like they have joined the forces of lifestylecrafts.com.  

When using the Quickutz, it is best to use paper with an adhesive back because some of the pieces are so small it is hard to put adhesive on with an adhesive runner. I used a glue pen called Quickie Glue. It worked great when I wanted to apply small controlled amounts of glue to hold those cut outs down. The last thing I used to add a little punch to the card was Glossy Accents. I just carefully applied it to the top of my hearts and then let it dry. I think they turned out great!

I stamped the tree and sewed over the hearts

You can see how shiny the heart is from the glossy accents

This is what it looks like

Well, those are my cards! I like the simplicity of them and that they say “valentine” without all the mush. I don’t know who will be receiving them so I wanted them to be generic. The inside message says “Happy Valentine’s Day! Thank you for serving our country!  That is it for now, I will continue to work on my projects and keep you updated! Have a great day!

New Year, New Beginnings, Thank goodness!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Here we are again at the beginning of another year. This year I plan to not spend as much on fabric and supplies, I want to use what I have on hand. As my husband says, we are the afterhours craft store. I am also going to try and post here a bit more often. I know, I know I said that before… new beginnings right?  Okay enough of that, I have to share with you a few quick things that I did get finished up in time for Christmas!

First thing I made was this cute pincushion owl. I started out by making 4 of them at once but only 1 completed the flight. I am sure the others will eventually get there. I got this pattern off of a website called The DIY Dish . It is an online crafting show hosted by twins! I still can’t tell them apart, but they do have the cutest crafts and ideas. Check them out! I am sure you will enjoy watching them as much as I do.

The lucky owl who left the nest!



Still waiting for the other owls : (



Another thing I made was a little Sassy chick scissor fob! Isn’t it cute!!  Sitting next to it is my Sassy chick pincushion that I used to teach at a local quilt shop The Quilter Market .



One Sassy Chicken



I fell in love with this pattern when I saw it at the Quilt basket . It is from a company called Hatched and Patched . I was surprised at how super easy it was. The best part was I used what I had on hand! I filled it with decorative sand I bought from Lowe’s. I like using sand as it makes it a bit heavier and the bitty grains will help keep your needles clean.



Lazy Daisy Pincushion

Last thing I managed to complete was this adorable moose! The pattern is from Carol’s Zoo  (Read one of my prior posts and you can see the Hippo I made!) Her patterns are pretty easy and always two or three pieces. The time to make this one said “1 hour” on the front of the pattern. It took me at least that long just to cut the pattern out! Maybe I was just being extra careful and methodical. I recommend she just leave the time to make it off completely. Then no one will feel inadequate if it takes them longer. She does have great instructions and even tells you how to stuff your plushy, so make sure you read it all the way through before you start. Isn’t this moose just adorable!



Mr. Moose!

Time to start on some new projects! I’ll keep you posted!! (But just in case? Please don’t hold your breath ha ha ha) Wishing you all the best in this coming new year!