Today I want to share some of my recent tatting. I made 4 of Ruth Perry's Christmas Trees. I turned 2 of them into snow globes. I managed to break 3 bulbs trying to get my tree straight in the bulb. I finally gave up and let it hang the  way it wanted to. Here is the picture of one of the globes.

The large snowflake is a Ten Point Snowflake, a free pattern from Be-Stitched newsletter, and finally a small snowflake that I made just playing around with stitch counts. While making the Ten Point Snowflake I discovered this YouTube video demonstrating Marie's way of making a split chain. It is the easiest way that I have tried so far. I now have a new favorite way to tat a split chain. Yeah!! Thanks for all who are willing to share their knowledge to keep our craft growing.



I made some items to share with co-workers and will be taking them to work tomorrow.
Each of the techs will receive their initial. These were cut from a cartridge I borrowed from a friend. The letters are chip board from Hobby Lobby's Chip Decor Line. I painted the sides and cut pattern paper for the front and a magnet for the back. I also made some Tic Tac Covers using Make The Cut and my electronic cutter. I used Stampin Up's All Dressed Up die to cut the dresses. I used ribbon, flat back pearls and rhinestones to add some bling. Each contains a Chap Stick. Every girl needs a LiL Black Dress, don't you know!

The last thing of this post is a recycling project. Using soda cans I made these ornaments. I saw this demonstrated at a scrapbooking expo this summer. The demonstrator used the technique to make items to attach to cards, but when I saw these dies I knew how I wanted to use the technique.






Hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!

Thanks for stopping by, happy crafting,

 Gwen

Paper and Vinyl

It's been ages since I have posted. I have manged to complete a few projects since my last visit, I will be sharing some of them in the next few days.

First off an Advent Calendar from Mary at SVG Cuts. I only did a portion of the project since the recipient will be traveling the first part of the month. Mary's designs are awesome. She and Leo are the owners of SVG Cuts and offer some of the best paper crafting kits available. They are the 2013 Winners of the Martha Stewart American Made Award. This week they are giving away a free kit. Yes a FREE kit, so click on over to their blog to get the file, then watch the assembly instructions on YouTube. You still have time to make a few projects before Christmas. You can also use the files with different papers to produce projects for birthdays, weddings for any occasion you can imagine.
(Valid through December 20,2013)



The Second project is a vinyl hurricane lamp. The French Lace Design is another of Mary's. This was the first vinyl project that they have produced. I hope they will continue offering vinyl projects periodically. The lamp components are from the Dollar Tree. I got the idea from several pins on Pinterest and some Google images of similar projects. So with my trusty E-6000, a vase and candlestick from the dollar store I now have a very cute hurricane lamp. I hope to complete a few more for gifts.




This project I saw on Heartfelt Creations. It was a DT idea from Olga. Using my ScorPal, paper trimmer and some dies I made these explosion boxes for the members of my card group. It was a fun project and a big hit at our Christmas get together.







Thanks for stopping by, I hope to share some tatting projects in my next post.

Gwen

Back at It!

August and the local kids are back in school. I have been away, way to long. Thought I would stop by and share what I have been up to.

I haven't picked up my shuttles in awhile, so I have no tatting to share. I don't think I  have done any tatting since my last post.

I did manage to get some paper crafting done. Here are a few of the things that I make. SVG Cuts sponsored two giveaways this summer. With each giveaway they offered a free file. Your mission was to  use the free file to make the project and upload the results per their guidelines. Not bad huh! But there is more,  you then received a $6.99 gift certificate to use on their site. A win win all around. You get a free file and an opportunity to test their files. Then you get the reward of a full collection or kit from their site. The number and variety of entries are amazing.

This was my entry for the Luxury Handbag Giveaway (now closed).












This is for The Make A 3-D High Heel Shoe Giveaway (closing August 12, 2013) 

My other major paper crafting project was this 3-D piano. It was part of birthday gift for a friend.

Thanks for stopping by, will share some paper crafting news next time. Hope to have some tatting as well.
Bye for now,
 Gwen

Free Class

Free lessons June 24-29, 2013.

Graduation Album

Using files from SVG Cuts' Graduation Day Kit, I made this:

 
It was given to a friend that earned her Bachelor's Degree. Wishing her much success as she pursues her Master's.

Just in Time

My Clover Doily is finished. Yeah!! Super excited to have that done. I finished the Clover doily several weeks ago but forgot to post. Here are the pictures.

I have wanted to make some tatted flowers for a long time. The few that I had tried up to this point had not been very successful. I just could never seem to get the hang of turning the tatting into something that remotely resembled a flower.  I had been playing around with several designs for rolled and other paper flowers when I came across instructions for a tatted flower made from a string of graduated rings. This was right up my alley.  I used the flower instructions from Claudia  and two different leaf patterns, one from Heather and the other from Frivole , to make some pins for my sisters and nieces to wear on Mother's Day.







Hopefully this will be my first step to working up some to the other tatted flowers I have collected.

Finally Row Nine and Thank You

This is my small start on row nine of the Clover doily by Eileen Stafford. It was many years after I learned to crochet that I learned to tat. It always frustrated me that you couldn't climb up to that next row when tatting. This slowed my progress since I hated to cut and tie, then turn around and hide all those ends neatly. When I heard that it was possible to climb up in tatting by using a split ring or split chain I was intrigued. A solution was in sight.

It took some researching to find instructions on these new-to-me techniques. After much trial and error I was still not getting it. Then I tried finding instructions online. Enter You-Tube. Thanks to the generosity of fellow tatters I found several videos demonstrating split chains and rings. Linda Davies' video proved most helpful to me. Using her instructions I was able to move from one row to another without the dreaded cut and tie for most of this doily. I am really grateful for those who take the time to share. As we continue to share and grow this art form that we love will continue.

 

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Doily and Snowflake

It's been a few weeks since I picked up my shuttles or did any paper crafting.  The first piece of tatting I picked up was the Clover doily (designed by Eileen Stafford) that has been neglected for over a year. My how time flies.  Row 7 seemed to take forever but I stuck with it and it is done. Yeah! I even made it through 3/4 of round 8. I only have one more round after that. Feeling pretty ecstatic right now.


Then I started a Snowflake #7 from Festive Snowflakes and Ornaments For Needle and Shuttle Tatters. 










Need to get off the computer. We are in the middle of a severe thunderstorm,
Till next time,

Doodads, snowflakes and TIAS

I have been checking out several tatters's blogs and have fallen in love with the doodads added to their tatting. I stopped by Hobby Lobby and picked up a few that I thought might work.

My first was a bit of a failure. I didn't pay close attention when I selected the first pattern and doodad. So that will be scrapped.





My second and third were much better and now I on the look out for some more patterns and doodads to try. I even added beads to the third snowflake.  An order to Fire Mountain Gems is definitely in my future.

 I am playing catch-up. I finally started T.I.A.S. Here I am through row #2.


 Lizbeth sz 20 color 115

Snowflake 1

 Snowflake 1

Festive: Snowflakes and Ornaments

For Needle and Shuttle Tatters

Edited by Barbara Foster

I found a shuttle with some mystery thread this weekend. I used this shuttle to make a snowflake. Making projects this bare thread is not my favorite type of tatting but as I was not sure of the identity of the wound shuttle I forged ahead. I hope that after I block and/or starch this, it will hold its shape. If not I guess I will be adding it to a ball as suggested in the book.

Earrings and Snowflakes

 I made 9 pairs of Marilee's earrings for Christmas gifts they were a huge hit.



Pattern: Floret - Marilee Rockley
Thread: Manuela sz 20 Color 034
Delica 11/0 beads Color 042



I have started 2013 making snowflakes, then I saw a picture of Marie's snowflake laden tree on Diane's blog. Now I'm more inspired to make this the year of  snowflakes. Not sure I will ever have a tree that beautiful but it will be fun working toward it. Hope to add some bling and do-dads also.

Pattern: Snowflake - Sharon's designing primer post Oct.2006
Thread: Flora sz 20 White


edited source