Giraffes at Rest - Complete!

I've been waiting a few weeks to post up my finished efforts of the Giraffes at Rest piece.

 

I also got it professionally stretched and framed. (I've just picked it up today!)

Of course I've been working on another cross-stitch project in the meantime! I'll post up pics soon.

Crafty Rach xo

Giraffes at Rest - #4

Today marks 8 week's worth of work on the "Giraffes at Rest" piece.

 

It doesn't look like I've achieved much... however, my fingers would have to disagree! (I've managed to receive a couple of painful pin injuries thanks to the closeness of the stitches I've been needing to do...) 

 

This week I've finished the fill of yellow thread in the top left hand corner. I'm also happy that the first complete line of the picture's border has also been stitched.

 



I must admit that I'm starting to get a bit bored though... so I'm hoping week 9 is a little less repetitive (as I'm aiming to finish the border - which involves both full and half stitches, just to keep me on my toes!).

 

Giraffes at Rest... update #3

It's been a bit over a week since my last post. This stitching project has taken a bit of a backseat for a couple of days while rest and recouperation were higher priorities for me...

However, progress has still occurred!

 

 

Giraffes Resting - Post 2

A photo update of my progress... now two Giraffes are complete!

 

 

Giraffes Resting - Cross Stitch

Not the greatest photo, but this is the latest cross-stitch piece I'm working on at the moment. I'll post more photos as I progress...

(For those who are interested the design is stitched on 16 count aida cloth (really small squares) and measures 20cm x 20cm.)

Craft Blogging Hiatus + Christmas Presents Part 2

Long time, no blog! I've been meaning to resume blogging again, but have procrastinated in doing so. Appologies to my readers who have been hanging out for more "Crafty Rach". (Please comment so I know who you are - haha!!) Hopefully the appearance of this blog entry will be a suprise?!

Yes, there IS a Part 2 (and final part) to my Christmas present craft-madness caper! To round things off, I've decided to post a few pics of the memo boards I designed and decorated as two other Christmas presents for 2011.

Both memo boards started off looking a little bit like this:

Primed and sanded: The memo boards came in three MDF wooden bits. The kits also provided hanging hooks and a paper memo block.

Base colour coat: Both memo boards were painted in the one base colour coat - the colour above is a combination of "Southern Ocean Blue" + white. I painted the other memo board a light metallic pink.

 Frills and trimmings: For both boards, I used a crackle medium to paint top and bottom decorative trims. I also accentuated the memo board's wooden curls by painting these a contrasting colour.

Final decorative touches: I had sets of "Rub On" stickers that I used to press on to the MDF surface. Surprisingly enough, the stickers adhered quite well!

Here are the final results!

 Until next time...

Crafty Rach xo

Christmas Presents: Wall Decorations (Part 1)

Hello! Long time, no blog! Yes, it's that time of year again, where everything goes a bit haywire - and then eventually settles down well after the new year has begun. Bring it on I say!

So I decided to make a few Christmas presents this year. I have been very busy to say the least. I did get to a point where I was questioning my motives for doing so - is it so I can save money, show off my skills or just purely because I enjoy giving my creations away to a deserving home? Honestly, these statements couldn't be further from the truth. I actually find: I spend more time making presents (which ='s money); most of the time my skills (unfortunately) aren't appreciated; and, it very difficult to part with the creations I make (as I believe they are almost an extension of my very being). I'm still not sure why I wanted to make Christmas presents - and will definitely be reminding myself of this fact next year.

Despite my rant - it gives me further opportunity to show you what I've been up to. These two projects are "hot off the press" - and will be given to my nieces on Christmas day. Hopefully they will treasure these for some years to come!

I seem to be all about Kaisercraft products at the moment (which will be true for the next couple of blog entries). This is only because I bought up big during the latest sales at both Kaisercraft and Spotlight and my craft cupboard is overflowing with stuff!!

Kaisercraft has brought out a new product range - wall decoration shapes - that come in all different sizes. I chose to decorate a butterfly and a teddy bear - one for each of my nieces.

Prepping the surface:

Butterfly: I started on this wall decoration first. Decided to paint two coats of

gesso primer on the front, and one on the back.

It was fun having to also paint the sides of this shape! (Not!!)

Teddy Bear: Similar to the butterfly. I noticed the shape was a little bit more

rough around the edges. I took extra care sanding him once the gesso primer was dry.

Painting the base coat:

First attempt: I decided to paint Derivan Matisse Structure paint "Purple Dioxide" straight from the tube onto the front surface. Turned out black, flat and lifeless. Not something you'd want to decorate a 4-year-old's bedroom with. Even my husband agreed!

Second attempt: Happy this time around. Added Iridescent Medium to the purple dioxide paint, which just lifted the colour immensely! You can see the difference here between the plain and the iridescent sides. 

Final result: An iridescent, purple butterfly!

First and final result: I didn't even try to attempt to paint straight from the tube for the teddy bear (given the initial results of the butterfly). I added iridescent medium to Derivan Matisse Structure paint "Crimson Red". I think the results speak for themselves!

Decorating:

I actually managed to not take any photos of the butterfly as I was decorating it. I used Jo Sonya's Opal Dust - painted this on the front only. I know kids just love things that sparkle!

For the teddy bear, I took a different approach - and used "rub-ons" (stickers that are pressed onto an object, usually by using a paddle pop stick or something similar). This was because there was a lot of empty space on the legs, and I also found these really cute, bright and bubbly rub-ons.

Work in progress: Half done here. The right leg has already had its rub-on stickers applied. On the left side, you can see that I'm in the middle of making sure the stickers are in the right spot. 

Final result: I did a fair bit of trial and error prior to adhering these stickers to the teddy bear. I found that rub-ons can be applied to MDF (wooden) surfaces. However, if the surface has been primed and painted this produces much better results, particularly as the stickers remain in place!

Applying patterned paper to the gaps:

Animal paper: Applied to the teddy bear. I thought it would be a great idea to "feature" some of the animals in the cut out holes that were left for the tummy, nose, mouth, ears and eyes. I even made the eye shape out of the octopus head (far top left corner). (See final results below.)

Polka dot paper: This paper is just gorgeous! Worked really well with

the iridescent purple and opal dusted butterfly!

Work in progress: The way in which I attached the paper to the backs of the animal shapes

- using double sided tape!! 

The final product:

Back: To be attached to the wall using double-sided tape or something similar.

Front: Once finished, I added jewels to the middle of the butterfly. It's my Mum's favourite.

Back: Doesn't necessarily have to be neat as the back will be pinned to the wall.

The other thing that made it tricky to have it neat was the fact that I aimed

to feature different animals in the cut out holes.

Front: Oh look there's a Giraffe! And an elephant! And if you look harder

you might be able to spot a lion, crocodile, turtle, whale...

 

All in all, I'm glad these have been finished in plenty of time before Christmas!

Crafty Rach xo