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Project 16 and a stitchy update

I'll be writing two posts this weekend, but one of them will be writing based, as I have hit 75 pre-orders. I've still got a long way to go so if you fancy reading a post-apocalyptic book with a twist, head on down to britainsnextbestseller.co.uk and check out Lonely As A Cloud.

This post is craft focused. I've completed another project in the project book, this one called Forever and a day. It was designed by Hels Sheridan. Here is her version


Here is mine




Im going to start with the things I'm happy with. The layout is good; for once it's straight and clean, an the banner really works. The heart is nice and bright, and I like the alternative to the leaves. It's actually a grungeboard star, inked in peeled paint, sprayed with green lustre spray and cut in half. I think it works better than traditional leaves with the type of flower I chose, plus it illustrates how you can use things in your stash in a completely unusual way.

Now for the thing I don't like: the background. I think the problem with these project books is the assumption of a level of crafting you may not be up to. I followed the instructions and, as you can see, the background did not turn out like the original at all. When it was drying it looked ok, but once dry it faded all into the same colour. I also lost my script stamp so substituted it with a music stamp. 

Can someone tell me what I've done wrong? Is it because I should be keeping the inks I've dabbed onto the craft mat relatively separate, or that when I swipe the card through the ink I shouldn't move it around too much? Or is it because I left it to dry naturally, not having a heating gun? Any tipswould be greatly appreciated.

Aside from that this week, I've been working on a couple of things. One is not near completion yet so I won't post any pics, and one is finished, but I want to finish all of them before I post them up. Believe it or not it's actually a christmas present! Everyone is getting the same thing but a different design, so I want to finish them all first, although I may change my mind if I haven't got anything else to post!

I've also been making progress on the starry night cross stitch. Here is the update thus far


I spent money this week on one thing, and I blame Cobs! If you have a chance, check out this card Cobs has made . Isn't it gorgeous? It made me want to buy a better flower die than I have currently, so I ordered the tattered flower garland die. However, I did shop around first, finding the cheapest option. I ended up getting it from amazon for 11.86. It arrived this morning, so you'll soon be seeing them in a few pieces!

Now for the task update

1. Starry night cross stitch (page 3)
2. ~Complete project book (16/21)
3. Complete book plans (no progress this week)
4. Read and review 100 books (33/100)
5. Make 15 christmas presents (made a start)
6. Make 12 birthday presents (6/12 and started a new one)
7. Make calendar and box and tags (tags made, progress on the box)
8. Hit minimum savings target (12.9%)
9. Kili cross stitch (no progress)
10. 50,000 words (no progress)

If you have a chance, check out the next post. It'll be a quick read, and an introduction to the protagonist of the book.

Happy crafting 
Ems



Comments

  1. Josie22 February 2015 at 03:15

    They are both gorgeous and I love how you made the design your iwn x

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous27 February 2015 at 16:50

    Hello Ems ....
    (playing catch up again ... health is still problematic, and the doctors can't seem to figure out what's causing the problems and why, after so many (5 or 6 now) rounds of various & different anti-biotics, a course of steroids, plus various other things, why this problem(s) doesn't want to go away. sigh)

    Love the project - and although you didn't get the result you wanted with the background, I think the result you got was pretty. It had a sort of soft, far away kind of look to it, and I think it works with the whole card. I also like the clever trick with the star! Great thinking outside the box work!

    Thank you BIGLY for the mention and link to my blog and card. Feeling guilty about causing you to spend money. eeek! (See ... if we lived closer, you could bring your cardstock around and cut out your flowers here! lol)

    Have to admit ... the tattered flower die is one that I don't use enough - but when I do use it I say, every single time: "I should use this more often, because I LOVE these flowers". But ... I forget about the die until it suddenly catches my eye and then it comes out of hiding and goes through the big shot a couple of times.

    It's a fabulous bit of equipment and was one of the first dies I bought when I first bought my die cutting machine. You'll love it. Keep your scraps of card when you're making anything because you'll use them up with this die. It gives me tons of chances to use up all sorts of colours of card.

    Sending love and crafty hugs ~ Cobs. xxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ems8428 February 2015 at 00:40

      I'm sorry to hear you're still ill Cobs :(

      Had to link to your card - i've said it once and i'll say it again - it's gorgeous!!!! Do you have many different floral dies?

      Ems

      Delete
  3. Anonymous28 February 2015 at 03:22

    I have a few - but I'd like more. Problem is .. dies can be SO expensive and I sometimes wonder exactly how much the mark up is on them. I imagine that they produce each die for very little but in MHO I reckon that the mark up on each die - from the initial cost right through to end seller, is such that it can put the die(s) in the 'unafforable' range for a lot of us crafters.

    Because of that I make sure, that when I buy a die, I look at it as a big investment, and because of this I look carefully at each die to make sure that it can be used in different ways for different projects, so that I get my monies worth out of it.

    The Tattered Flowers from Tim Holtz which I used on the Make a Wish card is a perfect example of a die which can lend itself to a variety of styles of flowers. It crams a whole lot of dies onto one big, long die - which can make things fiddly when you've got lots of scraps of card - but if you use some removable tape (my very most favourite is Scotch Removable), you can tape the pieces of card in place and it works brilliantly.

    Scotch Removable Tape is THE VERY BEST lo-tac tape for us crafters. Use little amounts and remember to save the tape - is stick it to the sides of my die cutting machine so I can re-use little bits - so that you can use it more than once! You can buy it in big rolls, or in little rolls - from Tesco - normally in a pack of three. Once you've tried it Ems, you won't ever use any other tape for crafting ever again. It's perfect and it doesn't pull your paper or card apart, and it leaves no residue.

    ReplyDelete

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