A Snowmen Redo, Client Finishes and Chinese New Year at Bellagio

"Brr... It's Cold Outside" from Brenda Gervais got a bit of a redo this year. I found this old tray at a second-hand store and I just painted and dusted it with some white chalk paint to make it look weathered. It happened to be the perfect size for this piece so I just slapped some magnets on the back and called it a day. It's always good when you can redo a piece you're not in love with with minimal effort isn't it?

FEATURED CLIENT FINISHES

 "Love You"

Hands on Design

Mounted Fabric Easel

"Cottage of the Month - March"

Country Cottage Needleworks

Mounted Fabric Easel

"Sampler of the Month - March"

Country Cottage Needlework

Mounted Fabric Flat

This weekend, we made a quick trip up to Vegas (it's turning into our second home at this point) because the Kansas City Chiefs are in the Superbowl again this year and we were able to go to "Opening Night" at Allegiant Stadium. We were lucky to have two Superbowls in our general area back-to-back and even luckier to have the Chiefs play in them.

We grabbed some front row seats and enjoyed being up close and personal with the players. Such a fun night!

We always stop in the Bellagio Conservatory to see what the Botanical Gardens are transformed into. Every season has a new theme and this time it's Chinese New Year. I'm always amazed at how they turn such a large space into a totally different experience, and once again, Bellagio did not disappoint! If you're interested, take my quick tour!

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Let's Go Ride a Bike and a Trip to the Rustic Hutch

Isn't this such a fun chart? I love the trendy bicycle theme and the little snowmen and fox. I had so much fun stitching it that I recently kitted up the spring versions (there are two) and I'm going to be starting those tonight. 

This piece was stitched on 28 ct black Jobelan using the called-for threads. I double matted it, first with red fabric and then again with my standard black and white buffalo check and then mounted it (washers & magnets) to the back of this shiplap frame I found at Michaels. I used some flocked greenery for the top, a denim bow and a little snowflake tag center I found at Walmart last year. It sits on top of my winter hutch in the kitchen and looks so, so cute!

This week I also took a day to go out with my mom and do a little shopping. I'm always looking for unique finds. I've only lived in Arizona for five years, and with Arizona being waaaaaay bigger than Connecticut, I'm always finding new areas to explore. This week's journey led me to two amazing antique stores and a truly unique shop called The Rustic Hutch that offers vintage and/or repurposed handmade crafts, furniture and more. I plan to visit this shop frequently as I love supporting local artists. Here's a little taste of what's inside.

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Joy & Good Cheer

For whatever reason, this latest finish, "Joy & Good Cheer" from Brenda Gervais of With Thy Needle and Thread took FOREVER to stitch and I have absolutely no reason why. There isn't a lot of full coverage, and the design itself isn't that large, but let me tell you -- it's quite deceiving.

I stitched this piece on 32 ct Vintage Country Mocha Lugana (seems to be my go-to fabric when there are a lot of white stitches) and the biggest changes were using Schoolhouse Red from GAST and Black Coffee from Classic Colorworks. The original colors charted are gorgeous, but unfortunately they just wouldn't go with my current decor and other stitched pieces, and you know I wouldn't be able to handle that!

The finishing piece is a wood board I bought at Michaels years ago that I switch pieces out with magnets and washers. The finish itself is just a double-matted mounted flat with a bow and flocked greenery.

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Mr. Snowman

 Hi friends!

After walking room to room around the house with one of my latest finishes trying to find a home for him, I finally opted for a little spot tucked into my hutch. 

I found this pattern when I went to buy the Santa version at Acadia Stitchery. I saw the snowman and I just couldn't resist! He's stitched on 32 ct Vintage Country Mocha Lugana using the called-for DMC threads except for the black which I substituted with Black Coffee from Country Cottage Needleworks.

He fits perfectly on my Prim "Short" Finishing Board with just a little black and white gingham fabric and trim and a bow with snowflake button center.

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A Sweet Song

I can't tell you how long I've wanted to stitch "A Sweet Song" from Teresa Kogut. I had seen a finish of the pretty stitch on Instagram and after numerous searches, found it in Teresa's Patreon (which I'm a happy member of). 

I stitched this piece on 32 ct Vintage Country Mocha Lugana and made a few color changes considering the original was charted on a dark fabric. I decided to not stitch the "Winter" part at the bottom -- the thought of stitching all that white was intimidating -- and instead, I made the piece a "fancy flat" by adding some black snowflake fabric and pom pom trim. I found a frame I had in my stash that I thought would compliment the stitching nicely, but it was a little too big for the piece, so I added a mat of some blue snowflake fabric and then threw on some flocked branches and a bow.

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Chalk Full: Snowy

Happy Friday, friends!

I've been working on getting some winter finishes added to my hutch this year, so I was so happy to get my Snowy mason jar chart finished up and added to the vignette.

The pattern is one of the charts included in Hands on Design's "Chalk Full: Snowy." I stitched it up on some black Jobelan and matted it first with some red fabric, and then again with black and white buffalo check. It's magnetized to the front of my white enamel flour tin that I use in many other vignettes, so it was a really simple finish. I absolutely love it!

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Hello Frosty!

Ever have a finishing idea for a piece and then when you go to actually finish it, you realize you have made a critical error in sizing? Well, that's what happened with this piece. I had "the most perfect" finishing item for this chart, and then once it was stitched and I went to go mount it, I realized it was at least two inches too small.... so I had to start from scratch.

I ended up just going with a basic frame. Once I finished the piece and the two backing mounts, it ended up being close to 9x11 inches, so this large frame I had in my stash had to do. I'm super frustrated about it, but at least I have a new piece to add to my winter vignettes this year.

The pattern is "Hello Frosty" from Stitching with the Housewives. It was stitched on 28 count black Jobelan using the called-for colors, except for the jar itself which I subbed out for "Caribbean Waters" from Classic Colorworks.

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Let It *Fake* Snow!

 Hello Friends!

Today I'm posting the last two pieces I have displayed in my winter hutch decor in the kitchen area. (If you follow me on Instagram you've probably already seen the hutch in pieces.)

I finished January Sampler of the Month by Country Cottage Needleworks as a baking tin finish to replace my Baked Goods finish from Christmas. To fit the size of the tin, I had to remove the two layers of snowflakes in the pattern -- which was a blessing because I HATE stitching snowflakes. I also removed the "January" marker. I do this with all of my monthly marker patterns now so I don't have to switch them out each month. Instead, I can keep them out for the whole season.

The stitched piece is matted with some black and white gingham and attached with a magnet since I use this tin in my decor a lot. I added some flocked greenery, a bow and a snowflake button to the top to jazz it up.

Fabric: 32 ct Vintage Country Mocha Lugana

CC: Black Coffee, *1 strand of Deep Fennel (w 1 strand 598)

WDW: Cocoa

DMC: 3363, 3853, 347, White

The second finish was January Stamp by Lizzie Kate. I just stitched the snowman and changed all the colors to match the rest of the decor in the hutch. Then I matted it with more black and white gingham and attached it to the side of this olive bucket I found at Hobby Lobby. I needed to fill it with something, so I found these small fake snowballs at Amazon and threw them in. It's the closest I'll come to snow here in Phoenix! (No, I don't miss it if you're curious!)

Fabric: 32 ct Vintage Country Mocha Lugana

DMC: 598, (1 strand each 3848, 3849), 310, 3853, 347, White

I also added these adorable gingham snowmen from Gena's Country Accents on Etsy to my display this year. They're just sitting on top of this aqua stand I found at HomeGoods. I just love these little snowmen!

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Let's Talk Winter

 Hello Friends!

I decided to use chalkboard cross stitch finishes as features for my upstairs entry winter vignette, so as my focal piece, I used the largest pattern included in Hands on Design's "Let's Talk Winter" chart. 

I matted the stitched piece with some buffalo check fabric, and then with magnets and washers, popped it on top of an 8x10 whitewashed frame I've used in other vignettes. I wanted a simple, clean finish on these, so I made some cording, but opted out on the bow and picks.

For the smaller chart, "Hello Winter," I pretty much finished it the same way, except the washers and magnets are attached to a square, whitewashed plank I picked up at Michaels last year. It sits perfectly in my tiered tray along with some other snowflake and snowmen accessories. 

Both pieces are stitched on 32 ct Charcoal Lugana that I ended up dipping in some black Rit dye to make a little bit darker. I used all of the called-for DMC.

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Brr... It's Cold Outside

Hello Friends!

My second 2021 stitch and finish is the complimentary piece to Mr. Marshmallow, also by Brenda Gervais of With Thy Needle and Thread and it's called, "Brr... It's Cold Outside." I stitched it on 32 ct. Vintage Country Mocha Lugana using the called-for colors.

The stitched piece was mounted on some black and white gingham and then I just glued some flocked greenery to the top with a large red bow. I found these galvanized trays last year in Hobby Lobby's Spring Shop, and since they're galvanized, it makes using magnets that much easier so I can switch out the pieces for each season. 

This particular piece replaces my Cookies for Santa hutch finish from Christmas.

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Mr. Marshmallow

Hello Friends!

We're moving on to winter decor in this house, so my first stitch and finish of 2021 is officially Mr. Marshmallow by Brenda Gervais of With Thy Needle and Thread.

This was a fun stitch as I transitioned from Christmas colors; however, that cup was no joke! It's not extremely large, but I feel like it took forever to stitch it up! I even ran out of Caribbean Waters 3/4 of the way through and had to get a little fancy with blending (can you tell?)

Mr. Marshmallow was an easy finish because it simply replaced "Gingerbread Street" in my kitchen hutch. It's just a mounted flat on a magnet with some greenery and a bow.

It's stitched on 32 ct. Vintage Country Mocha Lugana with the called-for colors, except I substituted Caribbean Waters by Classic Colorworks instead of Lettuce Leaf.

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Goodbye Pumpkin Spice, Hello Snow!

 Hello Friends!

This weekend I worked on transitioning all of my fall decor upstairs to more winter/holiday. I started with my living room shelves which took on a woodland snowy forest theme this year which means I had to say goodbye to Pumpkin Spice....

...and hello to Snow Days! 

This pattern is by Country Cottage Needleworks. It's a popular one, so I'm sure you've all seen it. Besides color substitutions, the only changes I made were not stitching the bottom red and white gingham blocks, and I changed the "O" to red and green instead of the charted red and white. 

I use the same frame for all of my cross stitch pieces in this display, so I finished this piece as a mounted flat and used washers and magnets. The stitching is matted with this really pretty green fabric I found as a remnant in Joann's and edged with some red cording I made. I sprayed some greenery with snow spray, and then put a buffalo check in the center. I love this piece so much!

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