Charley Harper Design: Needlepoint

Charley Harper is one of my favorite artists and I found some of his famous prints printed on a needlepoint canvas online. I got very excited until I saw the prices which ranged from $55 to well over $100! Yikes! These prices are just for the canvases and threads aren't even included!

Then, l I found one of the images of the canvas big enough to where I can see the details of the mesh. So, I decided to use that image to chart the image myself! Here is a cute fawn that will be transformed into a needlepoint creation!

The Fawn by Charley Harper

The process is very straight forward; I transferred the image to a small grid graph paper which I printed from online, counting each colored section. I bought an 18 count mono canvas and embroidery floss colors #780, 783, 779, 310, and white. I would say I saved at least 50 bucks by doing it this way :-).

Transferring the image of the needelpoint canvas I found online to my graph paper.

Here is my progress and I love it so far! The pattern is very simple and easy. I think this will be a great beginner's project. I really should've started off with this pattern instead of the humming bird design. What was a I thinking?

My progress.

I will be adding a background color but I'm not sure what. I'm thinking a shade of green but what do you guys think? Your advice will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks for reading and happy crafting!

Antique Style Lace Earrings

Another tatted earrings I finished using a pattern I bought. This pattern was difficult and frustrating for me because I kept messing up! Literally, I restarted the pattern 10 times. I almost went crazy.

After all, the earrings turned out beautifully. and I'm very pleased with them. The pale pink and the bronze findings go perfectly with the antique theme. I ironed and stiffened the lace for more stability. I love how these earrings are light weight! These are available for sale in my shop!

Tatting is a Challenge!

Thanks to all the encouraging words from my followers, I was able to finish my miniature stationary set, which I made 100 sets. I worked my butt off and made about 20 sets per day. Crazy I know, but I'm done, it's in the past now and I'm not looking back lol. Now I can dedicate my free time with some enjoyable crafting! Yay!  :-)

I've been practicing my tatting skills religiously for some time since my first tatting post. I do have a confession to make though! Please ignore what I said about how tatting is not that difficult. I take it back! I think I meant learning the basic stitches is not too bad, but making the actual tatted pieces correctly is very difficult! Apparently, the motifs I made earlier from my last post were wrong...

It's been a frustrating process because I was having a hard time with consistency and making them look neat. After much practicing, making many mistakes and wasting a lot of threads, I finally accomplished my first project.

Tatted lace earrings.

Tatted lace earrings! Making two motifs exactly the same was difficult, but I did it.  They turned out beautifully.  I've always been fascinated with tatted lace earrings. They're dainty and elegant, but can be worn casually. I stiffened the laces and added Swarovski crystal elements.  They're for sale in my shop! :-)

I've also added these cute cherry blossom earrings to my store. They scream, "Spring is here!" I just adore the pink and green color combo.

Cherry blossom earrings.

Thanks for reading everyone and happy March!  Spring is almost here!

Happy Crafting!

So This is What Cheap Labor Feels Like

I bought a miniature kit from a miniature manufacturing company beginning of this year to try to make some money since I didn't have a job at that time. I guess you could say I was pretty desperate. Basically, I have to make and package 100 sets of these little stationary sets to get paid $75, which I have 60 days to complete. You don't actually purchase the kit, you actually put a deposit on it, which you will be refunded once you complete the kit.  When I first ordered it, it sounded very appealing and I thought it was going to be a piece of cake.

The set includes 3 stationary papers and 3 envelopes.

I didn't start until this week because ironically, I got a job around the time I received the kit, so it wasn't urgent for me to start. However, now that I'm on my break from school, I decided it is time to start on it before the deadline or before I lose my money.

The kit comes with detailed instructions and I have to make everything neat and perfect. I made 8 sets and realized how tedious and miserable this process is going to be. There's a lot of cutting and gluing involved which means a lot of time spent on my desk bent over. Much back and neck pain; which also gave me a headache. I spent about 7 hours total to make ONLY 25 sets. I can't believe I have 75 more to go!! Ahhhh! So this is what cheap labor feels like!

I apologize for all the complaining, but this is the main reason why I haven't been doing my own crafting. Plus this is a good lesson; don't bite off more than you can chew. I need a lot of luck to finish this!

My Etsy Store Grand Opening!!

YAY!!! I opened my etsy store finally after thinking about it for a while. I was hesitant to get it started because I didn't have much to put in the store, but I decided to just go for it. You have to start somewhere right? I can start building up my inventory as I go.

Right now, I have my crochet miniatures up for sale, but I'm planning to add hand made jewelry in the near future. I'm very excited for this experience of having my own store!

Please come visit my store at http://www.etsy.com/shop/AmysDelights

Also, please visit and like my facebook page! I would appreciate it your support! Wish me luck!

I'm All Tatted Up!

Nope, no tattoos here! I'm talking about tatting. I've recently discovered this art and fell completely in love with it. It's an old lace-making technique that uses series of knots. There are two ways to tat: one is with a needle and the other one is with this thing called a shuttle. It's an odd looking instrument indeed, and I'm so intrigued by it. Apparently, many tatters collect antique and hand crafted shuttles.

Tatting!

The shuttle.

I was determined to learn how to tat using a shuttle, so I made it one of my new years resolutions for this year.

I bought my shuttles and did all my research online, looking at tatting forums, websites and how-to videos. Then, I started to put my hands to work by practicing different stitches and made some motifs with patterns I found online.

My first few motifs I tatted. A little sloppy.

I've been practicing a lot since I took the photo of these motifs and I'm getting better each time. I will post the better ones in the future.

People say tatting is hard to learn, but it's really not that bad, thanks to all the youtube videos out there!  I think if you're familiar with other needle crafts like crocheting and knitting, tatting is not too overwhelming. I still had my fair share of frustration and some swearing though :-)

I'm definitely looking forward to exploring more of this art and you will definitely see more tatting posts in the future! Wish me luck!

I hope everyone is doing well with their projects! Happy crafting!

Winner of My 100 Followers Giveaway!

I used random.org to generate a number and I got number 4. Which means, the winner of my 100 followers giveaway is...

Kikka!!

Congratulations, Kikka!! Please contact me through email for your postage info so I can send you the prize. You can find my contact info in the "contact me" tab on the top of my page.

Thank you everyone for participating and thank you for following my blog!

Oh yes, almost forgot, Happy Valentine's Day!