January Parties

I've always felt like January was such a dull month.  All of the lights, colors, and glitter of the Christmas season is gone and all you are left with is cold, dark winter.  You go from all of the fun holiday festivities to being shut up in the house for days on end....but not this winter!  January has been much better this year because I've had two Pinterest Parties to host over the last two weekends.  

First up was a party given by my friend Maggie for her friend's birthday.  Isn't that a good idea?  Her friend loves penguins so we made a really cute penguin ornament in her honor.  This group of ladies was tons of fun!  There was lots of singing and laughter and great food.

My next party was my very first in something new and exciting for me.  I am cooperating with the city of Edwardsville to through Pinterest Parties sponsored by the city.  It was so much fun!  This was the biggest party I've ever done.  We had 27 ladies in attendance!  I'm really not used to talking to such large group and was pretty nervous, but everyone was so nice that they put me at ease.  

We made a really cute Valentine's Day plaque and I love how they all turned out!

There were some really creative ideas that some of the ladies came up with...

I just love these!

There will be another city Pinterest Party on February 21st at 7 o'clock on the second floor of the Wildey Theater.  I'll get some more details to you later in the week!

If you would like to book your own private party for the next month, please let me know by emailing me at apetalpusher@gmail.com

Christmas Review and New Year Preview

Where in the world did December go?  I feel like it went by so quickly that I haven't yet recovered.  I guess it is time to go ahead and show you what I made as a Christmas gift for my mom and fill you in on what else has been going on in my crafty life.

My mom gave me all of her cross stitch materials a few years ago when she realized that she really wasn't going to have the time to do it anymore.  Along with lots of floss and fabric, she gave me a pattern that she had started and never finished.  It was basically finished from the row of tulips on down.  If you look at the finished product below, you can probably tell it is a little dated looking in the colors and motifs.  I have no idea when in the world she started this, but the date that is on the pattern above the door of the house reads "1986."  That's right, this pattern is almost as old as me.

So, after having languishing in my stash for several years, I felt that the time had come to finish the poor thing and let it live its life as a sampler.  I think it turned out pretty good!  Please pardon the big fold down the middle...I did my best to iron it out, but if you've been folded in half for nearly 30 years, you'd have some wrinkles too!

One thing that was new to me on this project was doing french knots and lazy daisy stitches.  It is a little surprising that I've managed to dodge them in all of my stitching projects thus far.  The knots I didn't mind too much, but those daisies were a major pain!  My floss kept getting twisty and sometimes I would have a nice little stitch, and sometimes it would look a little anemic.  Oh, well.  At least it is finally a finished product and Mom loved it!

 I've managed to get another new chart up in my Etsy shop...say hello to my Black and Orange Butterfly.  I will be doing several butterflies and bugs so stayed tuned!  You can find the pattern here.

These next few weeks will be busy ones!  I have a birthday Pinterest Party this Friday that I"m really excited about. (What a great idea...crafting with your friends for one of their birthdays!)  I'm also super excited about my Pinterest Party with the city of Edwardsville.  Right now there are going to be nearly 30 people there!  I'll post pictures for both in the next week or two.

My current goals are to finish up my newest pattern (look for it within the next week) and get going on my idea for a Valentine's Day cross stitch.  After getting 13 inches of snow here on Sunday and then below zero temps for a couple of days...my main goal is to just get out of the house!  I haven't left my home in 4 1/2 days!!!

Oh, well...at least I've gotten a lot of stitching done.

Still Alive...

Just popping in to let everyone know that I'm still alive and well.  I've been pretty busy working on new patterns and of course the craziness of the Christmas season.  Here are a few pictures just to show you what I've been doing...

I busted out the felt tree that I made last year for the boy...he loves it this year!

I managed to get two new patterns in the shop...My cute Christmas Angel and

my pretty minty snowflake!  You can find both of them here.

I made this Pinterest inspired wreath...

and then had a fun time making it with these lovely ladies!

I hope to get lots done over the next few weeks (yeah right...because I won't be doing anything) and hope to have some new things to show you in the new year!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Petal Pusher is Open!

I'm so excited to finally talk about the relaunching of my Esty store, Petal Pusher!  I originally opened shop in 2008 at the urging of my husband.  At first, I used it as a platform to sell my original artwork and botanical prints.  After several years, I realized that I just didn't have the time to work on it like I should, so for the last several years it has just been sitting there.

Over a year ago, my sister and I were lamenting how we both loved to cross stitch, but found it very difficult to find patterns that were the subject matter and style that we liked.  Even with all of the possibilities the Internet provides, we still could find very few things we liked.  So, we decided to just start making out own!

I think I'll just talk about my first two today.  If you know anyone who has ever cross stitched, then you've probably seen them make a sampler.  You know, that thing with the ABCs on it.  These are probably the most traditional thing you can make in cross stitch.  It all goes back to children learning to sew and their letters at the same time way back when.  Now, don't get me wrong, I love a good sampler.  However, it is really not my style to have cutesy houses, hearts, and birds in my house.  

So, I decided I would make myself some samplers based on things that I loved...art!  So far, I've made one based on the artwork of Henri Matisse and one on Claude Monet.  I love how they turned out!  

Matisse is full of the bold, bright colors of his paper cut-outs.  The organic seaweed looking shapes, curved lines and bold strokes of the letters really pop!  The font used is actually based on his handwriting...I love that!

When I think Monet, I think waterlilies.  The cool blues and greens swirling together make me happy.  I also got a chance to use a fun new thread on this one.  It is a type of thread that fades from one color to the next.  If you look closely at the letters in this one, you will see the subtlety of the colors changing...perfect for Impressionism.

I hope you enjoy my artist samplers.  If you cross stitch, please try one out...if you don't cross stitch yet, this is your perfect opportunity to start!  

Who is your favorite artist?  Maybe I'll make a sampler for them next!

Brave New World

It has finally happened.  I have joined the rest of the world and finally gotten an iphone...and I love it!  Henceforth, you might be noticing more posts on my Facebook page because I'm figuring out how to use the camera and upload straight to there.  I know, I know, lots of you have been doing this for years now, but it is all new and exciting to me!

I've been working hard on some cross-stitch projects (I can't show them yet.  You'll just have to wait for the big reveal...you might see a sneak peak on Facebook) and I did get my big Parrots and Hibiscus cross-stitch back from the framers and up on the wall.

I just love it!  I see it every time I come down the stairs.  Look at those colors!  The first time I got it back, I looked at it, brought it home, went to hang it, and then realized that they had wired it to hang horizontally. :(  So, about a week later when I had a kid free moment, I ran back to the store and they fixed it quickly.  

The kids' Halloween costumes were a big hit!  Now on to Christmas! (sorry Thanksgiving)

Halloween Costume Making

Wow, I'm really slacking off lately on this blog.  For some reason, my four month old thinks that she doesn't need to take long afternoon naps and it is seriously hindering my crafty progress!

Anyway, now that it is October, I've been busy working on Halloween costumes for my kids.  I love making costumes for them each year!  Can you guess what they're going to be?

Maybe this picture will clinch it for you?

That's right, it's Mickey and Minnie Mouse! My little boy just loves Mickey and we often call my baby girl "little mouse" because her eyes are so big she looks like a little field mouse.  So, it was just perfect to have them be Mickey and Minnie...plus how many chances am I going to get to have them coordinate?  I figure I better do it while they have no say!

I try really hard each year to use "real" clothes that we either have already worn or can wear in the future.  I just can't justify spending money on a store bought costume that they will only wear a few times for a couple of hours.  Plus, I have the fun of coming up with an idea and making it happen.

I'm just about finished...I still need to add the bow to Minnie's hat, tails to both costumes, big felt buttons on Mickey's shorts, and make some sort of yellow shoe covers.  I found the pattern for the crochet hat on Repeat Crafter Me. (I highly recommend playing around on her site...she has some great things!) I'm trying to figure out how to make one big enough for my son's pumpkin head...we'll see how that turns out.

Now that Halloween is approaching, I better start working on Christmas projects!

Party Time!

Now that September is fully upon us, I have been happily busy with Pinterest Parties and making letter wreaths.

So far, I've done two parties... and they were a blast!  The first one, hosted by the lovely Miss Hayley, was a Leafy Letter party.  The ladies all did a great job and their letters looked fabu.

This last weekend I did a party that was a little different than the norm.  My sister hosted a spooky mother-daughter party.  Each little girl and each mom got to make a mason jar lantern.  It took a little longer than I thought it would, but the results were well worth the effort.

I love the way these look all lit up!  Once you figure out how to make these, which is pretty simple, the possibilities are endless.  You might notice we have a not so spooky, but still cute, snowflake, palm tree, and peace sign.

One wonderful discovery at the lantern party was a super tasty fall punch.  It is made with apple juice, cranberry concentrate, orange juice, and sparkling moscato.  It was really, really, ridiculously good.  Here is a link to a similar recipe on the blog Fleur de Lolly (the pretty pic is her's too), just substitute your favorite fizzy beverage for the ginger ale...or keep it if it needs to be kid friendly.  Enjoy!

Fall...Who's Ready For It?

Alright, it's September.  Bring on the fall weather!  Mind you, we've had a really cool summer here this year and it was great after last summer's inferno.  I just love fall weather though!  It really is the best.  The days are warm enough to get out and have fun, but the nights get nice and cool so you can just snuggle down under your blankets all warm and cozy!  And then there's the food!  Pumpkin bread, apple crisp, hot chocolate, chili...mmmmm. 

Over the holiday weekend, I decided that even though it will be up in the 90s for the next week, I was going to change the home decor and officially make it fall in my house!

Most things I have I've collected over the last couple of years from mainly Wal-Mart and my fav, Target.  I scored those cute shiny pumpkins last year at Target for like three bucks each!  My new favorite thing this year is that cute little hooty owl(he was kind of hard to photograph because he is so shiny and adorable but he's there between the lantern and white candle thing)....Wal-mart, two dollars and change.  I know, right!  

He's super cute and he had a little squirrel and raccoon friend that also had to come to my house.  If you hurry, you might still be able to get one although I know that my Wally was down to just a few raccoons the last time I was there.

I also have put up my fall wreath that I made last year.  I really need to figure out a way to hang it on my front door, but my husband is paranoid that my over the door wreath hanger thing will scratch up the paint on our new front door.  So, for now I guess it will just hang on the wall.

Oooooh, I almost forgot to tell you....I can't show you yet, but I finished my Parrots and Hibiscus cross-stitch!  It looks really good.  You'll have to wait until I get it all framed to see it!

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!