Bunted banners

Now I am sure you have seen the past few days the cross stitch banners I finished for Christmas. Now it is time to do something with them!!! :)

First I needed to trim off the excess cross stitch canvas. I used my quilters ruler to trim it to 1 inch on each side EXCEPT for the top. I left that alone and you will see why later.

Now I did that on all of them.

Now I need to back them with fabric b/c no one wants to see the stitches. It isn't exactly pretty on the back side. First I just set each one on top of the red fabric.

I just cut the red fabric for each banner and I am almost ready to sew. Of course I have to remember to put right sides together to sew.

Next sew! I sewed a 0.5 inch seam all around the sides and again except for the top.

Now I trimmed the excess fabric and clipped the corners and turned it right side out. (yes that is Natasha, she was helping like always!).

here they are right side out. And in need of an iron!

This was going to be the order I bunted them too. Now I grabbed some excess extra wide red bias tape I had in my stash. Because I left the room on the top the bias tape will cover it and not cover up the border of each banner. Nice forethought on my behalf. Thank goodness!!!

First I sewed the banners first.

Then I sewed the rest of the bias tape closed. At the ends I folded it inside  to not have any unfinished edges.

Done!! It turned out exactly how I wanted it to look like!

Not bad huh? They are on my fireplace right now, we don't have a mantle here so they are on the screen. It is a fabulous addition to our place. And with that project, I am going to take a break with cross stitching. Off to more projects! :)

xoxoxo,
Lauren

Christmas Cross Stitch Banner #3

Yay last cross stitch banner. Wahoo! Again, this was a kit so no thinking involved. Again enjoy the during photos while they in progress.

Alright 3 banners done! Guess what? I am going to bunt them! That post is coming tomorrow! :) Yay!

xoxoxo,

Lauren

Cross stitch Christmas Banner #2

Ok here is another cross-stitch banner I finished right when we first moved here. Again it is a kit so I didn't invite or design anything. I just followed directions. Sometimes it is just nice to follow directions and not have to think. :) Here are the progress photos which I really enjoy looking at because it shows how it really comes to life. :) Here you go!

So I have big plans with all the banners. I have 1 more left to do! :) Stay tuned!

xoxoxo,

Lauren

Simple Cross Stitch Ornaments!

I have several cross stitch ornaments that I finished a while back and now its time to add them to my tree.

I found some Christmas colored twine in my craft box and this is the perfect time to use it! Pull out the hot glue gun!

Here they are on my tree!

xoxoxo,

Lauren

Yay for Christmas!

Day 12: Christmas Cross Stitch Banner 1!

I have actually had this project done since the end of March/ beginning of April. I call this the "Keep Lauren busy while traveling" cross stitch. Actually, I have several of these cross stitch banners that I wanted to finish for christmas and I was going to bunt them all together and display them on my fireplace mantle in December.

I attended 2 conferences in March/April: SGO and AACR. I was on a plane for a bit not to mention in an airport terminal. So I brought this cross stitch along with me as a way to unwind my poor brain.

And in those 2 weeks of travel and meetings, I actually finished this banner!

I won't trim down until the rest of them are ready. :) Yay! For more of my 60 days of blogging posts click here. 48 more days to go!

Cheers,
Lauren

Finishing a cross stitch

I am working on clearing out some of my craft projects. I finished another small cross stitch and I needed to finish it. Here is a little tutorial on how to finish a cross stitch ornament.

First here is the finished piece..

But it totally needs to fit it in the star ornament shape.

I used the frame to guide and center the teddy bear.

Trace with a pencil. Then cut out.

We are still a tiny too big so I used the backing to nip some of the star.

Pop in....

From the back.

I glue the edges to seal it, just with some hot glue.

Done!

Here's another one I finally finsihed!

Wahoo here's to knocking more off my craft list! :) yes.....

xoxoxo,
Lauren

Cross Stitch Fail- Iron craft #42

This week the iron craft challenge was invisible friend. In an effort to destash my craft stash I opted for again another christmas cross stitch. It was a whizzer- another easy cross stitch from Janlynn. The same type like I did with my elf cross stitch.

So I chose a snowman one and began to cross stitch away. Towards the middle of my project i realized the canvas they gave me was too small for the actual design.



Even if I turned it the other way, too small. It was a square. I would be short almost 15-20 stitches!! WTF!!

So I tried another one.... Another snowman... Same story not enough room. Even If I started at the very bottom or side of the canvas I would be short about 5 stithces. Absolutely ridiculous.



EPIC FAIL!!

Even the 3rd whizzer from Janlynn I measured it out. Too small. So Janlynn's quality control department was not up to par that particular session. I have been sewing and doing cross-stitch and needle point since I was 7. I have never had a problem with any kit before until these. I have decided it is not in my best interest to go out and buy more canvas. So these project have ceased.

Well it is one way in order to reduce my craft stash right?? LOL So 3 more off my list! I am still disappointed!

So this week's iron craft is an epic fail! Here's to next week's challenge and completing it!

XOXOXOXO,
Lauren

Drum crosstitch

So another cross- stitch ornament done! I have been slowly working on this while I have a little break when I work the weekends. Sometimes my brain doesn't work and it is nice to take a break and do some cross stitching. I have been cross stitching since a kid, and I think this is what makes me fast when I hand sew bling onto garments.




I am just happy another craft done. That is one less thing in my craft stash, which is equivalent to my fabric stash. And I am determined to not be a hoarder when I am older. :) I have no idea who I am going to give it to but someone will get it as a gift.

I have picked out a snowman and will slowly plug away at it while I am here during the weekends. :)

elft cross stitch- Iron craft challenge

This week's iron craft challenge was "shrink to fit". Everything is always cuter when it is smaller. :) Now I had to think of what could I do for this challenge? My goal in joining iron craft this year (which I have enjoyed greatly) was to get my butt moving in making a dent in my craft stash. I swear I am not a hoarder but I do have a lot of everything.... a fabric stash that takes up a closet. A pattern hoarde that is over past the shelf I gave it on my desk.... boxes of beads and jewelry findings. A big box (plus a shopping bag) of other crafts- cross stitch, needle point, felt kits. By being a member of Iron craft I have got myself a crafting and a sewing but I still wanted to stay on track!

So thinking about it, I had a mini-cross stitch kit in my pile. Aha! That is what I shall do! Make a christmas ornament b/c it is not too early to start making things for the holidays! Because while I choose this small kit....

I should have been working on my large christmas stocking...the one I only have 1 color started. Sigh...

But I chose my little elf. He was so cute....

Here is a timeline of how long it took. Really it was very easy for a counted cross stitch, I flew through it!

After Day 1- got a good chunk of the lower body done

After Day 2- next we have upper body

After Day 3- all stitches done. Just need to do backstitches but I opted to watch college football.

After Day 4- All Complete Now just need to cut out. Will wait until tomorrow b/c sleepy + exacto knife = hospital trip

Day 5- all done! Iron Craft Complete with time to spare! Yeah! :)

Thanks for reading. Now on to the next challenge. And here is to me using my stash!

XOXOXOXO,
Lauren