Quick Fall Cross Stitch Freebie

I’m taking down the Halloween decorations today and getting ready for a dinner party tomorrow night. While going through my autumn storage bin, I came across this cross stitch piece that I finished last year, but never stuffed. 

It was a freebie that I found on Pinterest. You can find the pattern HERE. It was super quick to stitch up, and you can really use any colors that you want.

I finished it into a pillow by using calico fabric that I purchased at Joann's. I really miss them so much!I took this piece in there and searched for a fabric that would be just the right colors. I won’t be able to do that as easily anymore.

The little bit of trim came from Hobby Lobby. I like to stock up on little things like that know knowing that they’ll come in handy someday. 

Even though I wasn't crazy about this piece last year, I really like it. Sometimes I'm just way too hard on myself. After all crafting is all about having fun!

Time Out Challenges #300

Today's card is a really fun one! One that I certainly would have never made without the help of Time Out Challenges #300 in which they want you to make an autumn card with an international flair! 

I don't have a lot of stamps that would fit this bill, but I do have Italian heritage in my family. My grandparents on my mom's side were both born in Italy and came here through Ellis Island in the 20's or 30's. 

I never learned much Italian, but it was the first thing I thought of when I saw this challenge. I wondered if they celebrate Trick or Treat in Italy, and sure enough, they do! I got all of my information from THIS YOU TUBE VIDEO. It was really fun to watch it and to be exposed to something a little different.

I took a screenshot of "Trick or Treat" in Italian and created this card. I didn't have much room for anything extra, as the words took up so much room. But I like that the paper still shows through.

Here's my very short but complete supply list:

• Stampin' Up! Tangerine Tango Card Stock 
• SU! Daffodil Delight Card Stock
• SU! Little Letters Dies 
• Recollections Patterned Paper

I think I'll drop this off at my mom's house this Friday. Hopefully she'll appreciate it! Her Italian is quite good! 

Lastly, I just had to include a picture of my "Nonna." She is the little girl in this picture with her mother. They lived on a farm in the Trieste area of Italy where they raised chickens. And from what I understand, the clothes that they have on most likely belonged to the photographer, as people back then usually wouldn't have had such fancy things.

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Tiny Town Halloween Cross Stitch

Here's a sweet little stitch project that I actually finished last Halloween. It's from a popular series called "Tiny Town" by Heart & Hand Needleworks. The pattern actually has a few more houses, but I was stitching this in Wisconsin with my then 6 month old grandpuppy, Maggie, nearby. She thinks anything bright is a toy. I think I must have gotten tired of trying to keep the floss away from her, as I gave up stitching midway. I think I added the last tree before finishing the buildings, making it shorter than the original pattern.

I threw it in my suitcase and headed for home. When I went to frame it this summer I found a perfect match in size for the frame on Amazon. It all worked out so well. 

As for the cloth, I used 14 count Tarnished Aida from Fabric Flair. I thought it turned out well for a spooky looking background.

I bought both from 123stitch.com and here are the links to both:

TINY TOWN HALLOWEEN CROSS STITCH PATTERN

14 COUNT TARNISHED AIDA

I love shopping at 123stitch because their prices are the same as any store, and the shipping is always $3.49. I love that! I've priced some things at Amazon and it's actually the same price or cheaper to pay their low shipping and get it from them.

As for my props, the ghosts are actually measuring cups that I bought at T Maxx. They often have the cutest holiday decor, but you have to shop early. The pumpkins are resin and I got them at an antique store. And if you're ever looking for a riser to display your items, this is simply a bamboo spice rack that I bought at Walmart.

Thanks so much for stopping by and checking out my little cross stitch finish today!

Stamp Simply Giveaway with Word Art Wednesday

Today over at Word Art Wednesday there's a brand new challenge, a new Bible verse, and a chance to win a $25.00 prize from Stamp Simply! You don't have to use the Bible verse to play along, and the theme is always "anything goes," so be sure to hop over and upload a family friendly card and join us!

My card is made using Stamp Simply's Birthday Sentiments. It's a great set that includes many different birthday greetings, including a belated one, which is always great to have on hand!

Here's my complete supply list:

• Stamp Simply Birthday Sentiments Stamp Set
  
• Paige Evans Patterned Papers
• Stampin' Up! Berry Burst Card Stock
• SU! Gorgeous Grape Ink
• SU! Highland Heather Ink
• SU! Vellum Card Stock
• SU! Embossing Folder
• Platnum Planet Brillance Ink
• Papertrey Lovely Lady Card Stock
• Big Box Store Light Blue Card Stock
• Offray Ribbon

This was a really fun card to make, and I have just the friend that I'll be sending it to in early November. The card started out as a 5 x 7, but then I realized I had some clear envelopes that are just a tad bigger than that, so I added the light blue back panel. I've already got the envelope stamped. You can see it below. I think she'll like getting this in her mailbox!

The butterfly is tilted as if he's flying away! Well that's all for today. I'm so glad you stopped bu, and please check out our fun new challenge over at Word Art Wednesday! We love seeing not only everything that you create, but hearing about your lives as well!

Concord & 9th For Word Art Wednesday

Hello stamping friends and welcome to another round of fun over at Word Art Wednesday. This time our sponsor is none other than Concord & 9th!  I'm so excited about them because they're a company that I'm familiar with and I love their stuff. And we have a $30.00 Gift Certificate to their online store, which is really exciting!

I bought a few items from them back in the summer and have been having so much fun playing with them. One is this bundle called Make A Wish. And talk about a good deal, even if you buy them individually they're under $25.00. 

This set really captured me because I struggle making guy birthday cards. It's so easy to make a girl birthday card. Pretty much any flower goes and you can just stamp a sentiment on it. But for the guys, it's not that easy. This set makes it a snap to quickly create a guy, girl or little one card.

When I started out, I knew I wanted to make not only a masculine card, but a whimsical one too. Again, this set made it so easy.

Here's my complete supply list:

• Concord & 9th Make A Wish Bundle
• Stampin' Up! Blueberry Bushel Card Stock
• Big Box Dotted Gray and Blue Patterned Paper
• Stampin' Up! Marina Mist Card Stock
• Stampin' Up! Daffodil Delight Card Stock
• Darice Star Embossing Folder
• Darice Striped Embossing Folder
• Recollections White Embossing Powder
• Doodlebug Yellow Enamel Dots

One note, hubby gave his approval for the "masculineness" of the card, but didn't approve the yellow enamel dots. I couldn't resist! I think they add a lot, especially since I wanted a really fun card, and I don't think that they're feminine at all. 

I'd like to also enter this in other challenges as well. First, over at NBUS this definitely qualifies because this is my first time playing with this bundle. Then at Can You Handle The Pressure I've used two embossing folders and one heat embossing product. 

We would love to have you join us over at Word Art Wednesday and remember that the theme is always anything goes. We have a lovely scripture that is one of my absolute favorites that you can use if you like, and if you have any Concord and 9th products we'd love to see your creations with them too. But neither are required. The only requirement is to have fun!

Fearfully Made Card & Free Printables

Happy October to everyone! I'm ready to kick off the start of the holiday season with a cute card and some Trick or Treat Printables. I'm entering this not-too-scary guy in four challenges:

1. Two Old Bats Halloween Challenge-October Anything Goes
2. Cards 4 Guyz #378 Autumn/Fall
3. The Four Seasons Challenge-Fal and a new one for me:
4. Rock Paper Scissors #9 (I used a variety of papers and hand cut the little bats with scissors.)

First, I created this printable on Canva Pro with the intent of printing them out on 100# card stock, cutting them and giving them to the kids at Halloween this year. I used to hand out cute pre-made business card size Halloween cards made by a company called Pass-It-On. I haven't been able to find any in several years, and since I like designing on Canva I thought I'd make my own. 

Our house is right across the street from a park, and our little town always has a festival in the park, and when the kids are done there they come right down our street to Trick or Treat. The most we had that I remember is 300 kids. And I'm expecting that many this year too, as Halloween is on a Friday night, so they won't have school the next day. I only printed 200 of these out, but I will plan on 300 pieces of candy. (Thank goodness for Sam's Club!)

I was able to get 9 on an 8.5 x 11 sheet of card stock. I have
FedEx print them on 100# card stock for about $1.50 each.
They do a great job and the color doesn't run like it does when
I print them on my home computer. 

I should have printed this image in a larger size to make a card, but since I didn't I used one of the small ones that I'm going to pass out. 

I decided on the slimline card size because I had an orange envelope and I thought that would be perfect for it. I bought that in a multi-colored pack from Amazon. They have really good deals on colored envelopes.

One crazy thing that happened while making this card is that I wanted to use some dog bones paper that I thought I had. I looked high and low for it and couldn't find it. I even took a couple of hours and cleaned out all my patterned paper boxes. I had to opt for some other cute fall paper, but it's now exactly what I had in mind. I do, however, have the most organized patterned paper ever!

Here's my complete supply list:

Black Card Stock (Michaels)

Pink & Main Little Critters Patterned Papers

Stampin' Up! Halloween White Core 12 x 12 Card Stock

Lawn Fawn Trick or Treat Stamps

Copic C5 Marker

Free Printable (below)

Pink & Main Enamel Dots

Here's the free digi. As always:

1. Snag it to your desktop or photos.
2. Put it in a Word or Pages Document.
3. Resize it to the size card you want to make.
4. Print it out, either at home or at a copy center. 

I hope you enjoy the freebie! Remember that all images are for personal use only, please! 

And before I go, here's a little close up of the card. I used the torn paper to hopefully give it a bit of a scary look!

I carried the theme on the inside as well:

And lastly, here is just one of the boxes I went through looking for that dog bone paper. I feel much more organized now and I'm thrilled to find things I didn't even know I had! 

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful day! 

Halloween Corner To Corner Throw

This crochet piece took me several months to finally finish, but on the first day of October, it’s finally done. (I spent most of the crocheting to make that happen!)

This throw is made mostly from Herrschner’s Halloween yarn. I also used Three different types of black yarn. Hopefully that won’t show in the future. I think they matched well enoug

This was a fun and simple corner to corner stitch to do. I wanted something fun and festive for the living room, and to match my little ghost that I bought at Ross.

The border is a simple double crochet twice around with black yarn, then once with white yarn. 

Super simple! 

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a blessed day!

Here it is with the ghost pillow!