Short Post and a Freebie!

 My goodness!  Has it really been August 8th since my last post?  Even though neither one of my children are old enough to go to school and I'm not teaching this year, it still seems like the back-to-school chaos got to us!

Things have been pretty busy here with lots of end of the summer activities and lots of fall/Halloween crafting!  I've got several Pinterest Parties on the books (and dates still available for those interested) and I'm busy getting samples and supplies ready.

My main reason for this quick little post is to give you (as promised) a free cross-stitch pattern!  I'm just starting to design my own patterns, because most of what is out there is kind of old lady and not my style.  Anyway, these pumpkins are a cute, simple little project that is great for beginners or those coming back to stitching!  It only uses three colors and you could easily change up some of the colors if you would want to.

Sorry my little sample here isn't done! :(  I hope to finish it this weekend and get the finished product to you soon.  Just shoot me an email (apetalpusher@gmail.com) if you would like this free pattern and I'll email it to you!

The Birds and the B

 I just realized this morning that I had not yet posted my second Fall Pinterest Party project!  If you are a Facebook fan of mine then you have already seen it.  If not, then here is it!

This is my Pinterest inspired bird silhouette painting!  It turned out really cute.  I love the look of the old book pages (although it hurt just a little to tear up a book) with the black silhouette against it.  I would say that the skill level for this project is just a tiny bit harder than the leafy letters, but don't worry, I'll help you make it.

Again, if you are interested in hosting your own Fall Pinterest Party, just let me know either via email or a message on Facebook.  I'm already booking dates in September so the earlier you reserve yours, the better!

In other news, I finished another one of my looming unfinished projects.  I finally got around to framing my cross-stitch letter B that I made for my son's room.  I don't know why I was so scared to frame it, it was really quite simple.  All I did was find some scrap white fabric ( I had some leftover white sheet from making curtains) and some quilt batting (I knew I had been saving that bag of batting from Granny for the last six years for a reason) and then made a little sandwich of them in the frame:  frame back, batting, white fabric, and cross-stitch.  The glass for this frame was broken a very long time ago, which made it perfect for my use!

Here it is in my son's room.  I think it looks pretty good.  It is hanging over his little book nook and he loves pointing at it and saying, "B!  Mama, B!"

Fall Pinterest Parties!

 It's August, the back-to-school shopping is in full swing,  and that means only one thing...Fall will be here soon!  What's not to love about this season?  The days are warm and the nights are crispy, cool, the hayrides, apple treats, and Halloween!  I'm really looking forward to taking my kids to the pumpkin patch and walking on the bike trails when the leaves turn.

Another thing I'm super excited to share with you are my Fall Pinterest Parties!  Don't know what a Pinterest Party is?  Let me fill you in!

A Pinterest Party is where you invite your friends to come over and bring a recipe that they have pinned for everyone to try.  As everyone is enjoying the treats, I will be there to help your guests create a fun Fall craft that is also from Pinterest!  I will bring everything we need to make an awesome fall decoration, wreath, artwork, etc.  By the end of the party, everyone will have something to take home, a full belly, and a smile on their face!

That's the basics, here are the logistics.  Each guest pays $20 to cover all of the crafting materials that we will need.  I will bring everything that is needed right down to the hot glue guns.  The hostess of the Pinterest party just has to invite her favorite people over and let me know how many are coming.  As an added bonus (aside from being a really cool person that hosts a party for her friends) if you host a party, you get to craft for free!

What will we make?  Well, here is the first Fall craft for a party...Leafy Letters!  These are right on trend with using letters in decor for your home.  They can be used as a welcoming Fall wreath for your front door, or as a decorative monogram on a mantle or shelf.  

To book a party, just send me an email at apetalpusher@gmail.com or send me a private message on the Petal Pusher facebook page!  Get your date reserved early so you can be all ready for fall. 

I will be back later this week with another party craft for Fall!

Progress Report and a Thrift Store Save

I've been doing my best to make steady progress on my cross-stitch.  I'm actually feeling pretty good about where this is so far.  Those of you that stitch know that it can be slow going.

I've also managed to finish up knitting two dish cloths.  I think I will turn that yellow yarn into a nice big potholder...because who doesn't love a good potholder!

Since I don't have any other projects going on (ha!) I thought I would quickly fix up a thrift store find.  I picked this needlepoint up a little over a year ago.  I really had no idea where I would put it and my mom and sister both thought I was a little crazy for getting it, but it was only $3!  Also, I hated to leave it there because someone had obviously spent a lot of time and love on it and now it was sitting sad and lonely at the Salvation Army store.  Poor thing!  It needed someone to love it and give it a home.  

I decided that this would be the perfect piece for my daughter's nursery.  The frame was a not very attractive country blue and the mat was a little dirty looking.  After thinking about it for a little while, I came up with a plan.  

This fix-up was pretty simple.  I rummaged through my huge pile of scrapbook paper and found a color and pattern that I liked and cut it into strips to cover the mat.  Next, I used some white craft paint to paint over the frame.  I didn't remove the picture to do this since I was going to cover over the mat, it didn't matter if I slopped paint on it or not...plus I didn't know how to get the piece out of the frame.  Finally, I just used some double-stick tape to attach the scrapbook paper and Voila!

Now I have this super cute vintage artwork for the nursery that also looks nice and fresh.  I love it!

Serial Starter

 I have a major problem...I'm a serial started.  I get all excited about a project, buy the materials, come up with a great plan, start working, and then....
Well, that's the problem.  Life interferes with the progress, I lose interest, something doesn't go as planned and I get frustrated etc.  Maybe if I air out my dirty little secret, it will help me get some of these projects done out of pure shame and embarrassment at how long some of them have been around.  

First up: Monogram Cross-Stitch I designed for my son's bedroom.  I began it last summer, stitched it up mostly during vacation only to discover that I was off by one row on the zig zag to the right of the B and needed to tear it out and redo it.  So, it sat for almost a year.  I made myself finish it this spring before my daughter was born and now it is just hanging around waiting to be framed...someday.

Second: Burp cloths for the baby.  These haven't been around too long because I really need them fast. I've already made some, but got seriously delayed when our basement flooded a month ago.  Oh yeah, that is where all of my arts and crafts stuff is located. :(

Third:  Fabric that I purchased to make a toddler quilt for my son's bed.  I bought this beautiful array of oranges and greens as a birthday present for myself and was planning on making a quilt for my son's 1st birthday that he could use on his toddler bed.  He is almost 27 months old now and this is now going to be made into a twin bed quilt because I figure by the time I actually get this done, he will no longer be in a toddler bed.

Finally:  This is the most embarrassing....This is a mural that my loving husband asked me to make of a White Oak tree...his favorite tree and the name of the street where we live.  He gifted me all of this canvas to do with what I wanted and hang in our stairwell for our 2nd anniversary...we celebrate five years this August.  Ooops.

Well, there you have it.  Those are the projects that are sitting in limbo just aching to be completed.  Oh yeah, and I still have this to work on too.  
I'm ready for a nap.

Outlines finished!

Mission accomplished!  I know that I am posting this a few days late, but I did manage to complete all of the black outlines on my cross-stitch by the end of the month.  I don't think I'm going to set any specific deadlines for the rest of this project, but just do my best to keep working on it.  I'll keep you posted on my progress.  I think I'll start on the branches and leaves first.  For some reason, I want to save the bird for last.

It has been pretty crazy around here lately.  Lots of summer traveling and home improvement projects going on around here which means that my house is in total chaos and doesn't leave much time for crafting.  I have managed to start working on knitting some new dishcloths using my favorite cotton yarn, "Peaches and Cream."  I have a hard time passing up buying this yarn when I see it...especially when it is on sale.  

In other news, my garden is doing great!  Don't think that I have a green thumb or anything.  It has been so cool and rainy here this year that everything is growing like crazy.

Hopefully, my home will be back to normal soon and I can post some more new projects and progress on some older projects.

Patriotic Wreath

I know that I should just be busy working on my cross-stitch project (my deadline to finish the outlines is quickly approaching), but I just had to do something quick and easy to get that instant crafting gratification.

I decided that it was time to retire for the year my Spring wreath with daffodils and peonies and update to something a little more Summery.  I wanted something that would work for a good chunk of the Summer.  Something that was patriotic with out screaming "I'm a flag!!!"

Here's what I used:

• 1 styrofoam wreath form that I got at Salvation Army
• 1 sheet of craft grass paper in blue and silver
• several stars of various sizes
• craft paint in white and silver
• red and white fabric from Wal-Mart

This came together pretty easily.  In fact, I managed to make it during nap-time!  Cut the fabric into strips and wrap around the wreath sticking it down as you go with plenty of hot glue.  I painted all of the stars with craft paint I had around the house.  Glue the big stars to the grass paper and trim to make circles (I just eye-balled it, but you could use something to trace and make a nice circle).  Glue all the stars to the wreath and try not to burn your fingers. 

 Voila!  Your wreath is done!  Now to get back to my stitching...

Stitching Away!

So, I've decided to start a blog in order to not only share with everyone what I'm doing, but also to motivate and hold myself accountable for getting things done.  With a two year old and a one month old here at home, I don't always have a lot of time to do what I want.  My hope is that this blog will help me show people what is possible with maybe only an hour a day...if I'm lucky...and not too tired.

So, what's up first?  I've had this awesome cross-stitch pattern of a Tiffany Glass Reproduction of hibiscus and parrots....for about two years.

This is the biggest cross-stitch pattern I've ever tackled!  I got it as a gift, but it comes from this great store on Etsy called Ladybug Designs.  I've done a pattern from here before of Matisse's "Beasts of the Sea"

My goal is to work on this every chance I get and get the outlines done by the end of this month.  

I think that that is an attainable goal....maybe.