A Friday Finish! Yay!

Hello All!  I'm so excited to say I finished Nora Corbett's Tulip last night!  She is soooo sparkly!  I subbed all of the Mill Hill beads for Swarovski Crystals!  The picture just does NOT do her justice!

The wings were converted to yellow from my friend Mary's conversion that I adapted a little according to the flosses I had on hand.  Also, the fabric is 32 ct Opalescent linen that I named Tulip's Sunrise.  The wing and crystal conversion are available under the "Nora Corbett Pixie Coutore" tab at the top of the page.

Thanks for looking!  TTFN!

Happy Father's Day!

Hello All! I recently found out there was an app to create blog posts on my phone. I know, I'm probably behind the times but this is my first post with it. Sorry about any weird errors in advance!

I finished Tulip's hair last night. All she has left are her wings and part if her dress before I can do the backstitch and beading. I ordered 2 mm faceted Swarovski round beads to bead her with. It was a little pricey, but I'm hoping to use these for Enchanted Mermaid and I wanted to try them out on a less expensive piece.

Happy Daddy Day to all the fathers out there. I'm lucky to have three wonderful dads in my life: my husband, my dad, and my father-in-law. I'm grateful for every thing they've done for me and my boys.


TTFN!

Whew! It's Getting Hot Out There!

Hello Everyone!  I'm sorry it's been so long since I've posted but I have a good excuse and her name is Tulip.  I've only stitched one Nora Corbett pixie completely, mainly because I prefer her mermaids, but I fell in love with Tulip's color scheme and sassy dress, hair and pose.  I've been stitching on her non-stop for several days and she's been an absolute joy!

You can see I'm almost done with her dress.  Isn't the orange and magenta amazing together?  I dyed the fabric for her myself because I just couldn't find anything I really loved.  It's a very light orange and pink mix that I wanted to look a little like sherbet.  I'm hoping to finish her before next weekend.  Fingers crossed!

I finished Part Five of Deep Blue Sea on May 30th. 

Sorry the pic is kind of blurry.  My camera and I have been at odds lately.  I've printed out part six but I've put it away for awhile.  Not only because I've been obsessed with Tulip, but also because I'm hoping to get some serious work done on Merchant Mermaid after I finish Tulip.  If I can finish her by the end of August, I might be able to get her framed in time for Fair season.  

I've gotten some requests for some of my recipes.  Over the next few weeks, I'm going to create a page with some of them.  I'm still working out the format for them.  If there's any of my recipes you'd like me to share, let me know!  TTFN!

Memorial Day: A Day to Remember

Happy Memorial Day to all of the men and women who serve our country and to all of the men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice to serve.  I personally believe that any person who puts their life on the line to protect their country deserves every ounce of respect that they can be given.  To the spouses and children who stand behind our heroes, thank you as well.

To all of our fallen heroes, we salute you, we miss you, and we will never forget you.

Countdown to Summer... 6 More Days!

Hello Everyone!  It has been a whirlwind couple of weeks for my family and I'm so glad to be home!  We spent a week on the east coast attending my brother's wedding and visiting family!  I was only able to get a little bit of stitching done last week and mainly on my Merchant Mermaid.  I worked on her a lot on the plane because the fabric is light and easy to see.  I've finished the anchor motif on the bottom and I'm excited to finally get to her tail!

I've gotten a bit done on Deep Blue Sea this week.  I've managed to finish all of the border, sea weed, waves and squishies from Part 5.  All I have left is to finish a bit of the pink coral and the fishies.

And a close up of the Squishies!  I love them!  They're so cute!

I took a class last month called The Finer Points of Finishing with Jane Timmers.  Jane designs and finished amazing ornaments (she has one published in the JCS Ornament issue every year) and her finishing techniques are invaluable.  If you ever have the chance to take her class, it is well worth the expense.  I stitched a tiny snowflake freebie I found online and I just beaded the whole thing.  Here is my finished product from the class:

And lastly, here is a pic of The Husband and I at the wedding last week!  We had a lot of fun!







Thanks for reading!  TTFN!

Whirlwind!

Hello Everyone!  It has been a busy couple of weeks for this girl!  Last weekend I took a finishing class with the lovely Jane Timmers and this weekend we had a massive Cinco de Mayo party.  I've gotten a little stitching done, but not too much.  I started my Merchant Mermaid a few days after I finished Mermaid of the Pearls.  So far, I've only stitched about 1/3 of the anchor motif at the bottom.

I'm changing the "MH" in the anchor to "SS".  The "SS" stands for "Siren's Song" which is what is replacing the "Mill Hill" at the top.  Amanda has helped me by recharting the words to say "Siren's Song Pub and Inn".  I wanted her to look like an old British tavern sign.  She's being stitched on 28 ct. Ale linen by Picture This Plus.

The reason I've only done a little bit of Merchant Mermaid is because Part 5 of Deep Blue Sea has come out and it's a doozy!  It includes a large section at the top.  I'm working on seaweed and border tonight.

I apologize for the pictures.  I managed to screw up the settings on my camera and I'm still trying to figure out how to get them back to normal!  Also, I want to announce Karen as the winner of my giveaway!  I'll be emailing you soon!  I have some dental work this week and a wedding to attend next week so I will probably not post for a couple of weeks.  Hoping by then to have most if not all of Part 5 to show you!  TTFN!

Persephone is Finished!

Hello Everyone!!  I'm doing a huge Happy Booty Dance today as late last night I finished my Mermaid of the Pearls!  So glad to be done with her!  I feel like she's been a mini-obsession for the last four months.  She was started on December 25th, 2011 and completed on April 27th, 2012.  The color conversion is posted as a separate page on the right side of this blog. 

And of course I have some close-ups!  She has over 3400 beads, 4 Swarovski crystals, 3 Mill Hill treasures and 31 fresh-water pearls. 

First, a close up of the beading on her body:

And here is a close-up of her face:

This is a close up of the cascade of beads and pearls.  I subbed petite seed beads for all of the kreinik in the cascade and fresh-water pearls for the Mill Hill pebble beads.

I chose to substitute the Mill Hill heart treasure for a Swarovski Crystal Shell.  Here is a close up of that shell

And the last picture I want to share is of the frame I bought and plan to frame her in.  I think it suits her really well.

Thanks for all of the support and encouragement while I worked on her!

Also, I'm leaving the giveaway contest open until Saturday night at midnight CST.  If you'd like to enter, please comment on the previous post.

TTFN!