Colossians 3:2 Cross Stitch Finish

Today I finished a project I started about a month ago. The stitching was easy, but it took me a while to "frame" it. The cool thing is that I did it for less than $5.00.

To start with, the pattern was purchased HERE ON ETSY. The colors I chose are different because I didn't have time to go to the store to get the called-for colors. These go better with my house anyway, but I've since decided to give this to a friend for Christmas next year. My first gift is complete!

I started with plain, off-white, aida cloth. After finishing the pattern, I ironed it with Mary Ellen's Best Press. It's a wonderful product that really gets the wrinkles out, even if your work has been in a hoop for some time.

Then I mounted it on a mat board using hot glue. Next I bought a piece of wood with some string on it from Dollar Tree. I pulled the string out, cut and stained the wood and assembled it after it dried. 

The ribbon is a collection of three peach/orange colors I had in my stash. If I had to buy ribbon, I would have probably chosen a larger ribbon for a dramatic effect, but I think this works well too.

Here are a few pictures of the process:

Here's the board I bought from Dollar Tree. The wood is quite hard for it being so inexpensive. There was enough leftover for another small project too.

I measured carefully and marked it with a pencil.

This was the hard part-sawing! I used a hacksaw, but I know the blade could have been sharper. Going to Home Depot wasn't part of my plan. I was able to cut through the plank however. More blades are on order at Walmart!

Staining was the last step. I used some stain that I had on hand. It only took about a tablespoon to cover this plank. I'm glad that I save little things like that. After I stained it, I wiped it down with a paper towel to keep it from being too dark and clumpy. 

I'm really happy with the finished product. It's so easy to just order a picture frame online, but this was an unusual size and I didn't want to spend too much on it. Making the frame this was was easy enough and saved some money too.

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!