Embroidery - again

I signed up for another embroidery course. Two actually - this time courses that are a bit more straight forward. Craftsy were having a sale, you see, and I just HAD to take advantage of it. Design It, Stitch It: Hand Embroidery is the first course. I signed up for the Mastered course a few months back and while it is very good (high quality with great lessons and helpful people) it is a little less about the stitches than I was hoping for. So far Design It, Stitch It: Hand Embroidery is hitting the spot. It is giving me the tools I was looking for - the stitches, from basic to advanced, and the inspiration to keep going with needle and thread. Once I have finished it I will go back to Mastered and finish what I was doing there. 

I have actually been so inspired that I can't stop myself from embroidering. I started practising stitches just for fun on scrap bits of fabric. It turns out that these scraps are called doodle cloths which I think is a great name. It really is just like doodling - shutting your mind off and randomly drawing with thread on fabric.

Stupendous Stitching: Adventures in Surface Design is the second course I signed up for. It is all sewing machine related and encourages you to try out all the decorative stitches you have on your sewing machine. Unfortunately I have a sewing machine that only does straight stitch, zigzag and buttonholes. You can't even change the stitch width or length. And I hate it! It grunts and snorts and rumbles and rattles - even after I have put in a new needle. It has to go. So, come Christmas, I am hoping to get a sparkly new machine, one that does a few decorative stitches. That is when the course comes in to play. Definitely something to look forward to.

And one final piece of embroidery is my stumpwork butterfly. I started it about a year ago and only just got around to finishing it. I'm not totally happy with the stitch work but as it was my first butterfly I'm sure it will get better over time.

Cute little box

I picked some plain boxes up from the craft centre a few weeks ago. They are nice and chunky and open to so much creativity. This is the first of the ones I have decorated. Wrapped in paper, touched up with ink, a couple of decorative buttons and a tiny tassel on a cord.

I'm on a roll!

My second downloadable tutorial is ready! Hooray! It seems I am on a roll. I had been struggling for months trying to get one done then I get two finished and a third written in one week.

This tutorial is for making paper jewellery components that I call Paper Pebbles. You can turn them into pendants, earrings, rings or brooches. You can even add them to scrapbook pages or cards if you want. I love the feel of them in my fingers. They are rounded and smooth - just like a pebble found on the beach - which is why I call them paper pebbles.

Here is a photo of some of the things I have made with the pebbles. They are very versatile, addictive to make and use watercolour paper, glue and some sanding skills. I hope they will inspire some people to create something a little different.

Tutorials!

I have started selling downloadable tutorials on Etsy! Yes, I have caught my fear by the tail, given it a shake and told it I was going to give this a go. Having been asked a couple of times in recent months to write tutorials for publications. So I thought I had nothing to loose in selling digital downloads of some of my paper jewellery ideas. I really hope people enjoy them. Personally, I have spent a small fortune on digital downloads for a variety of crafts and always enjoy learning new things from them. I would love to think that people are inspired by what I show them - and that I show them in a clear manner that makes it easy for them to learn.

The first digital download is for a Paper Bracelet Cuff. It is simple and uses watercolour paper, glue and some pretty papers to make a lightweight but sturdy and interesting item of jewellery.

My next download, which I hope will be up very soon (but I will keep you up to date here about that), is for paper jewellery components I call Paper Pebbles. After that I have another tutorial in my head. I just have to sit down and write it out. Who knows where this will go but I have enjoyed producing them. I hope people will enjoy playing with them just as much.