Artsy

First of all, thanks for all your nice comments on my embroidery! I haven't been very crafty this past week, because we've had a friend stay with us and she's not the crafty type - didn't want to bore her with discussions about fabric and paints. :-)

I did do one crafty thing before she arrived though - I've decided to start an altered journal! I've seen so much beautiful altered art online, it inspired me to make my own. This is the book I chose:

It's a really pompous old book entitled "the value of character" - like a self help book anno 1910! It seemed perfect for altering. I haven't finished any pages yet, I've only started prepping them. It was scary enough to put paint on the pages!

I'll let you know how this projects works out once I feel brave enough to actually finish a page!

Time for some embroidery!

I don't think I've posted any of my embroidery on this blog yet, so it's about time! I've been working on this piece for ages, little by little, while enjoying the Lord of the Rings audio books. I didn't want to show it before it was completely finished, but now it's finally done. Yay!

I've been planning to embroider this sentiment for a while now, but I wasn't sure what style I wanted... Then I noticed the awesome new banner over at feeling stitchy (made by the lovely PlanetCoco) and knew I wanted to make something similar. Plus, it was a perfect way to practice new stitches! I tried a couching stitch for the first time, so pretty and simple to do! My camera doesn't do too well with macro shots, but I'll try to show you a close up:

Basically, a couching stitch means laying your thread down on top of your fabric, and using a second thread to attach it to the fabric. It feels a bit like sculpting or painting with thread, and I love the resulting texture.

As you can see I used fabric for some of the letters; most of it thrifted, in keeping with the theme of the piece. The other stitches used are back stitch, split stitch, chain stitch, running stitch and satin stitch. I had planned to add a border as well, but in the end I thought it might be too much so I decided not to. I just finished it up and framed it. Here it sits on my desk, to remind me what matters in life - and what doesn't! ;-)

My latest ATCs

I'm busy preparing for yet another exam, so I haven't had a lot of crafting time... Just thought I'd show you my latest ATCs. I'm in an alphabet ATC swap at Craftster, and we've reached J, K and L. Here are my contributions:

This batch was a lot of fun to make! The L card is my first fabric ATC, it's a bit wonky but it was fun to try something different. I favorite is "J is for jam", I love working with watercolors!

And just for fun, here's another pic of little Stella!

Happy surprises

I love surprises! I went to visit my little niece Stella again this weekend (I can't believe she's a month old already!) and when I got back home yesterday I found I have been given two blog awards! Thanks so much guys!

First up, Anke over at Anart Island Studios gave me this great blogger friends "gold card". Thanks Anke!

The rules for this award are:
1. Only 5 people allowed.
2. 4 have to be dedicated followers of your blog.
3. one has to be someone new or recently new to your blog and live in another part of the world.
4. you must link back to whoever gave you the award.

As this blog is only a little over a month old, I don't have too many regular followers yet. But some people have been with me since the beginning, and I really appreciate that!

1. Cecilia over at Nifty deserves to win this award because her blog is a great source of inspiration for me, and her comments always brighten up my day. Plus, it's always fun to meet fellow Swedes out there in the craft blog universe!
2. I'd also like to nominate Robyn over at Craft With Me, stop by her blog for some inspiration and a peek into her crafty life!
3. Autumn of Creative Combustion is another of my regular visitors, and all her encouraging comments have really raised my crafty confidence. Thanks Autumn!
4. Next up is Cassie of Gifts for Nonnie. I love her blog - she is a great photographer and I I am in total awe of her embroidery skills. Make sure to drop by and check out her latest pieces!
5. Last but not least, I'd like to nominate Jenny from the lovely blog Jenny S Stitcher and Scribbler. She visited me after I joined her in celebrating her 100th (!!!) post last week, and I hope she'll drop by again in the future!

And as if that wasn't enough, I received a second award from Robyn of Craft With Me, thank you so much!

Here we go:

Here are the rules for this award:
1. Put the logo on your blog;
2.Add a link to the person who awarded you;
3. Nominate at least seven other blogs;
4. Add links to those blogs on your blog; and
5. Leave a message for your nominee on their blog.

1. I love to visit Laura of Bugs and Fishes and see her latest felt creations. She is also the creator of the Crafting 365 flickr group - these ladies are amazing!
2. Hanna of iHanna's Creative Space is another Swedish crafter and artist who makes the most amazing things! Visiting her is always a great injection of creativity.
3. Goody-goody is another one of my favorite blogs, always an inspiration to visit, and lots of great tutorials!
4. SweetJessie is another great blog filled with vintage:y goodness and beautiful projects. Pay her a visit and see for yourselves!
5. Dandelion Daisy is a blog specialized on ATCs, and I love to visit her whenever I get stuck on what to make for the Craftster ATC swaps.
6. Amy of LucyKate Crafts is an amazing seamstress who designs great stuffies, cushions and craft kits. I especially love her little birdies!
7. Finally, ArtsyMama is one of my all time favorite blogs. It just has it all: great photography, beautiful art, vintage and estate sale finds, fun stories... Make sure to drop by!


What a great way to start the week!

Recent purchases

I visited the most amazing fabric store the other day: Skroten, highly recommended for anyone within driving distance. It's huge! Lots of cheap and unexciting fabrics of course, but also the most amazing quilting section - and very cheap, at least by Swedish standards. I came away with this bundle:

These fabrics are a perfect sample of the color scheme in our living room, and they are going to become a warm and cozy lap quilt to snuggle under when the the rain pours outside. Did I tell you that Gothenburg gets the rainiest winters on the entire continent? Because it does. Or at least it feels like it... When we were done at the fabric store (which took a while, needless to say) we passed by a shoe store where I got a pair of really neat rubber boots, which will be keeping my feet dry September through February at least:

I took them for a test walk today and they are incredibly comfortable. I am now officially ready for fall!

Last of all my purchases is this pretty postcard, talk about old school embroidery!

My inspiration board

Hello again, sorry it's been a while since my last post... We have been visited by Keith's little sister, who stayed with us for a couple of days for a mammoth paper making session... Fun!

Today I thought I would show you a project I started a couple of weeks ago, and finally finished yesterday. My new inspiration board! It started out as a really simple cork board - this one from IKEA. I decided to jazz it up a little using acrylic paint in a lovely egg-shell white. Here's an in-progress shot:


Even I was surprised how much paint the cork board soaked up! I had bought a large tube of paint to make sure I had enough, but I still nearly ran out... Anyway, after 3+ coats and some embellishing, here it is:


I had to put it on the floor to get a decent picture, my wall is not that color... As you can see, I added a bit of ribbon, and I painted a bunch of clothespins to hold some of the pictures. Stella is on there of course... A couple of close ups of other things on the board:


The dog bookmark is a thrift store find, and the thread comes from my late grandmother's stash, some of which I inherited. I have been really into these light, dusty blues lately... Too bad they don't match any of the rest of our apartment! I might have to redecorate. :-)

And last but not least, here are some of the cute button thumbtacks I made for the board. You can also see the detail of the painted cork in this picture:


I really like them, and they were so easy to make. Just glue the buttons on to regular pushpins with craft glue, and you're done! I'm planning to make some more to add to swap packages in the future. Button magnets would be fun too. Our fridge is already full of magnets from my last marble magnet making session though, so they will have to go to someone else... A blog giveaway perhaps? What do you think?