Swell Stitches

Just Ducky!

Okay.. so, I know that I've been a wee bit neglectful of my blogging over the past week.  No more of that!  I have been very busy, though.  Recently I stitched up two more things for Tea Towel Tour 4 on Craftster.  One of them I'm very happy with.. the other not so much lol... but we'll just skip over that now! 

For those of you who aren't familiar with the Tea Towel Tour... several people are broken up into groups of about five people and then a sort of Round Robin commences.  Each person stitches on everyone in their group's towel.  In the end you have a beautiful towel riddled with unique, gorgeous stitches!  It really is a lot of fun to do and to watch as your towel progresses.  You can check Tea Towel Tour 4 out here!  be prepared.. there are tons of pictures to look at.. as of today 98 pages!

So, here is one of the most recent things I've stitched for this tour.  She's just a sweet little duck from a repro Martha's pattern.   Luckily for me, the person I stitched it for is a fan of pastel colors... so, I really got to have fun with the color pallette! 

Who's a dork??

That would be me!  I feel like such a dork because I'm soooo excited about something!  I got my first blog award!  I never expected one at all and so early on in my blog's lifespan.. yay! haha..  So, the incredibly sweet and talented Rachel of Cherry Tree Lane gave me the Kreativ Blog Award.  She has a beautiful blog herself often featuring her adorable daughter, Kensington.   Her recent post about decorating for the holidays had me yearning to break out all of my Christmas decorations and whip up a batch of fudge!  Thanks so much for giving me this award, Rachel! 

So, here's the gist of things...

There are a few rules that go along with this award:

- List six things that make you happy
- Pass the award on to 6 more kreativ bloggers

- Link back to the person who gave you the award

-Link to the people you are passing it on to and leave them a comment to let them know.

 

6 Things That Make Me Happy

 

1.  Snuggling with my little dog, Angel.. especially when she nudges her head under my chin and into my neck.. so sweet!

 

2.  Spending time with my Mom.. anything from talking on the phone to eating lunch or putting up wallpaper!

 

3.  Going to the dog park with all of our dogs and playing in the evening when it's nice and cool.

 

4.  Going to the dragraces with my dad.. especially when I'm getting to race.  He always seems so proud of me then.

 

5.  The incredible sense of accomplishment when I finish a sewing project.. whether it's a dress or Christmas ornament.

 

6.  Embroidering.. especially while watching marathons on tv with Angel snuggled up beside me.

 

Now, here are the following bloggers that I truly do admire and give this award to:

 

Knit With Love

Casey's Musings

One Pearl Button

Goody-Goody

Early Bird Special

Pretty Little Things

Sitcher & Scribbler

 

Ya'll should definitely check out all of these bloggers.  Every single one of their blogs is incredibly and always inspiring. 

Thanks again, Rachel, and everyone else who stops in to take a look at my little blog! 

 

 

The Pink Cottage

Full of sweet sugary goodness, this little pink cottage is adorned with crochet lace curtains and lollipop architectural accents!  You can find her on the prettiest street of a magical town.. Sugar Plum Lane.  She's surrounded by satin ribbon trees and and springy glittery trees.. and you will always be able to find the sweetest little poodle here.  This poodle is the gaurd of the pink cottage and never leaves its side.  In this magical land soft glitzy snow always blankets the ground and snowflakes dance in the air. 

I hope you enjoy this little peek at Sugar Plum Lane!

Sugar Plum Lane

So, here's a sneak peek of some more of my Christmas decorations.  In my dining area I have this long bar that usually is just a catch-all for whatever junk doesn't have its own place in my home.. but for Christmas, I decided to clear it off and dedicate it to all of my goodies I've crafted.. besides, they were already made and I needed some place to put them!  So, I laid out the snow and set everything up.. there are pretty ribbon trees, velvet deer, springy wire trees, cute little vintagey snowmen and one of my favorite creations to date.. sugary sweet painted cardboard houses.  I painted them and glittered them up all on my own.  They're not as gorgeous as some that I've seen out there, but I'm still pretty happy with them.  There will be plenty more pictures to come of these little guys.. but for now I leave you with this...

Christmas Sweets

So, I've been working for a while now on several different little projects for the Christmas holidays.  It is most definitely my favorite time of year.  So,  here are just a few of the projects I've been working on recently.  There is much, much more to come! 

First up are a few of the ribbon trees that I've made so far.  There are more, but this is a nice glimpse.  I'm really proud of how they turned out.  I just dreamed them up one day on a whim.  I used the cones you find in the floral department of any craft store and then wrapped them, making pleats and pinning along the way, with various colors of satin ribbon.  Then I adorned the tops and bottoms with paper flowers and buttons.  

Next up...

This is a little paper mache deer that I painted with a light pink acrylic paint and then covered with a pink flocking powder.  The texture is really beautiful in person but sort of difficult to photograph.  I then adorned it with buttons and the most adorable aqua velvet ric rac. 

And lastly.. for now anyhow...

Some sweet little ric rac flowers.  I had a lot of fun making these.  I used the very simple tutorial located HERE at Knick Knacks & Ric Rac, a really fun blog. 
I have several new ric racs that I purchased recently.. so, there is most definetly more to come! 

Pie Anyone??

Retro Housewife Embroidery Upclose
Originally uploaded by swellstitches

I embroidered this little housewife recently for a towel on the Tea Towel Tour 4 on Craftster. She didn't turn out anything like I planned, but I'm still pretty happy with how she turned out altogether. I based her off of a Sublime Stitching pattern.. the diner girl from the Krazy Kitchen Sublime Stitching pattern set. I modified almost the entire pattern, though.. everything from the hair to the dress and apron.. to her holding a pie rather than a tray. Sorry for the shabby picture.. I took it in a rush!

Spidey Love

Okay.  So... in real life, I absolutely loathe and completely fear spiders.. big, small, it doesn't matter.  It can be the tiniest, most microscopic spider on the face of the Earth, and I will freak out!  But... when it comes to Halloween, I always go for spider decorations.. like right now if you  look at my balcony, you'll see a giant, furry black spider hanging on a glittery web... odd, I know, considering my fear of the fuzzy, eight-legged abominations.  So, when I find cute spider decorations for Halloween, I always get excited.. but never have I seen one as cute as this one that Jenny from Stitcher & Scribbler dreamed up.  I absolutely adore it and am dieing to make it for my apartment, but Halloween is almost here!  By the time I have it made, it will be over!  So, I'm just going to have to make it for next year.. anyhow, enough gabbing.  It's time for you-all to see the cutest Halloween decoration I think I have ever seen!  Oh, and make sure to check out the tutorial for this cutie, here!  You can make one of your very own with the easy, cute tutorial made up by Jenny!

I've got Pumpkin Fever!

I've been being inspired by all of the beautifully carved pumpkins out there throughout this entire holiday season.  There are so many inventive and beautiful ideas.  I love how pumpkins aren't just being adorned with cutouts of bats and cats and simple jack-o-lanterns now.. but with beautiful, intricate lace patterns, gorgeous flowers and bouquets.. and even being cut into cute little bird feeders and treat containers!  However, I must confess that I always used to adore going to the church down the road with my Dad to buy a pumpkin and carve a few triangles and a one-toothed mouth into it.  It was always one of my favorite things to do growing up.  I hope you-all are as inspired by this collection as I am! 

Head Over Heels

So, I have discovered the most amazing artist on Etsy... {Tabitha Emma}.

Tabitha is one of Sydney, Australia's up-and-coming designers and trained at a highly esteemed fashion institute.  She has committed herself fully to her art, and I, for one, think it was definitely worth the sacrifice.  She is incredibly talented.  I adore her use of color, and the images she creates are just so sweet.  Below are some of my favorites, but this deer is my absolute favorite of all.  I must get this for my apartment!!!

Here are a few of my other favorite creations by Tabitha...

 

Make sure to check out her shop.  I'm sure you will love it!!

Black Apple Stitchin' Sweetness

I stitched this little cutie up for a towel on Tea Towel Tour 4 on Craftster recently.  I'm really happy with how she turned out with her cute little plaid apron and striped stockings.  I've been accumulating yummy wool felts recently so that I can make me some of the Black Apple Dolls dreamed up by the wonderful Emily, creator of Black Apple.  Check out her blog, Inside a Black Apple, for tons of crafting inspiration!  I'm really coveting this particular doll below.  I'm definitely going to make one with sweet cotton-candy pink hair!