I Apologize.

I am sorry.

Things will be sent as soon as I can get them out. 

I thought that I'd be "smart" and wait for Hubby's check to hand him things to mail.  Wrong answer.  What I failed to realize was that this pay had bills to cover as well as each of us having a niece turning sixteen (Blizzard of '96 remains a hassle).  

I also still need to respond to e-mails, but that's a whole different monster there.  

For those of you that e-mailed, I read every single one.  I just haven't put responses together in my head or I've just been distracted.  Again, I am sorry.

If you didn't send your address, please send it. :-P  For those of you who so generously offered to pay for shipping, I thank you, but I don't think anything will be too costly to manage --as long as I look at a calendar once in a while. *rolls eyes* 

So, there we have it.  My dirty laundry airing for all of you to see: I'm a dummy that didn't look at the calendar and realize that asking Hubby to mail things on a non-pay week would have been the right choice.  Who'da thunk?  Some just need a few stamps and I'd hoped to have them out tomorrow, but I didn't package them for Hubby to take to my parents' today, so maybe I'll do that tonight.  If not, it'll be Saturday or Monday for those.  I'll figure this out and get everything out as soon as I can.  ♥  Just... be patient.  I should have planned this better, I know that.  There were a few things, though, that could not have been predicted, so I'll cut myself a little slack there.

I meant to keep this short.  Sorry for the failure in that department.  *blushes*

Again, I'm sorry.  Life would be so much easier if I could take care of mailing on my own. :-/  

Apologetically,
Stephanie Grace

Baked with Love

When I asked about what other crafts you all enjoy, some of you mentioned knitting, so I hope that you all don't mind that this post isn't tatting-related.

Years ago, I learned to knit.  Then, I stopped.  I don't remember if it was because I'd learned enough to say I did it or because my brother saying something about me being pregnant and scaring the knit out of me!  Well, before we left for vacation, I decided to give it another go, stitched enough to realize that I could do it and then we left.

Odd thing: When I first picked it up, I was all Continental about it since it was just natural to me from tatting.  I thought that I was doing it wrong, found it was okay, and moved on.  We came back from vacation, and I'm all English versus Continental. O_o  How did that happen? LOL. 

Anywho, this is a "Baked with Love" dish cloth designed by Rachel van Schie.  It's unblocked and measures about 9" square right now.  It's the second dish cloth that I finished, but I can't share the first yet.  It's done it light blue yarn, but I couldn't get the color right on my phone --with flash, it was harder to see the raised part, without I lost the color.  The pattern, as well as others, can be found here.  What bothers me about this sudden knitting interest is that I learned it because I kept seeing knitted things that I wanted to make.  Since I started knitting, everything yarn-made that I've seen is crocheted and I can not crochet!  Ugh.  >.<  I crocheted some silly little something that looks like a crown or part of a flower, but that's about it.  I have no patience for dealing with my too-tight crocheted stitches.  So, I shall stick to knitting for now.  Of course, I only have two light blue, one off-white/natural/ecru, and one gray shade of yarns, so I'm a little limited at the moment (and only size 6 and 8 needles), but I shall keep on knittin'.  :-)

On the giveaway front, I'm hoping to have a few teaser pictures tomorrow.  ;-)  (As in, I'll show what's going out, but I won't say who is getting what).  

♥,
Stephanie Grace

The Ozzy Has Spoketh.

Unto me he spoketh, "Eleven, Ma?  Really?  Give them each a little something!"

Thus, I say unto you, e-mail me with your address if you are on this list: (Who can resist those curls?  I just can't say 'no' when he shows the twirl of his mustache with the curl around his ears!). 

01. Diane
02. Michelle
03. Bree
04. SuzTats
05. Shannon_in_love
06. Olga Tatiana Rostkowska
07. Beelizabeth
08. H J Hess
09. Bonnie
10. Webbies
11. tatting-marie

I've made my notes and will try to make everyone happy, but, please, don't be disappointed if you only get twelve yards of HDT and some beads or buttons.  I want everyone to get something without giving Hubby a heart attack with postage costs and/or leaving myself with nothing to play with, LOL.  

I also want you all to know that you commenting means the world to me.  I didn't say 'Giveaway' in the title of that post because I really wanted it to go to people that actually read my blog and ramblings.  Sometimes, I feel like I'm just on the outside looking in when it comes to Tatland and YOU are the ones that make me feel welcome.  I can't thank you enough for that.  

Okay, so since Ozzy decided to be so generous, I'd like to ask that everyone be patient and give me a week or two to get everything mailed since I have to finish stuff, sort stuff, and -of course- work around Hubby's pay schedule... Sorry for the wait.  :-/

♥,
Stephanie Grace

All That Jazz...

...Or maybe not jazz, maybe it's bling. (I can't believe I just "said" bling. So. Not. Me.).  

Again too lazy to re-size.

(From left)
01. I posted this one before, but I added a caterpillar to the bottom.  He came off the sticker sheet while the shuttle was in view, so I figured he wanted to be there.
02. MINE!  I actually kind of love this one.  I used pearl white and metallic silver paints, some flowers cut from shelf paper, and a glittery "S" sticker.  I wanted to use a blue "S", but the blue was the wrong shade, so... yay!  Mine. Mine. Mine.  LOL.
03. On this one, I just mixed lavender paint with pearl and white until it was that color and then added a miniature pressed flower and petals from another pressed flower.  
*On two and three, I also added a layer of white napkin before the pearl/ purple paints.  I'm not sure if it really makes a difference, but the napkin was nearby, LOL. ;-)

I sat with some skeins of HDT that I've had for a year or two (or longer?) today and wound them onto cardboard bobbins and bits.  Then, I grabbed a little plastic box (I'm obsessed with the shoe-box sized plastic boxes, LOL), and well... The "To Give" stash currently consists of:

• Aforementioned HDT.
• Stickers
• Tiny Nail Decals
• Size 70 and/or 80 threads
• Buttons
• A few beads (I didn't touch my bead stash yet, but I had a little envelope with a few beads in it on my table). More beads will definitely be added. 

I have another skein or three of HDT to wind so I can add those ... and beads ... and I haven't even opened my findings and metal boxes.  I also need to look at my boxes of cards since someone is definitely getting a pack or some random cards to decorate and/or use.  My li'l stash of tealight candles might get a good look, too.  I think that, of those who have commented, only Ms. Diane decorates shuttles so she might end up with all the stickers if someone doesn't speak up!  LOL.  ;-)  (Not much of a threat as they're pretty kiddo-oriented, but maybe her granddaughter would enjoy them, so you should all think about your beloved kiddos, too... LOL.).  

I'm rambling.  My fingers got excited when I was typing about the "MINE" shuttle and, well, they don't want to slow down.  Sorry.  

Any complaints/ requests/ suggestions as I'm compiling this stash to giveaway?  The more that goes in the box, the more winners we'll have, I think.  At least, that makes sense to me.  :-P  We're at... eleven(?) comments and I don't think it will get higher, so I'm wondering about consolation prizes.  Maybe beads and at least ten yards of thread for everyone?  We'll see... By the way, if you've commented or do comment of the giveaway post three posts down and read all of tonight's (this morning's) babbling, you can feel free to tell me your preferences about the things that I've mentioned.  I don't want anyone feeling disappointed.  I know that feeling.  It's not pleasant. ;-)

♥,
Stephanie Grace

Winner #1 and More Shuttle Play.

So, I've kind of been itching to pick a winner.  It's really been nagging at me.  I hate waiting.  Well, my brain kicked on and I realized that the list for those who commented on the question post wasn't going to change, so I went to random.org and...

God's Kid, please, send me an e-mail so I can put something together for you!  :-D  

*Note: I still haven't decided if this will be the only winner from that list.  Heck, I still haven't even decided if there will be one winner or more for the actual giveaway-giveaway, LOL.  ;-)  Since there are only nine comments thus far, I'd really like send at least a little something to everyone, but I don't know if I can do that and still have stuff left to do!  LOL.  We'll see what happens... :-)

If you haven't commented yet, got two posts down, read it, and follow the rule to get in on the giveaway. ♥

I'm too lazy to re-size tonight, so this picture is huge if you click on it.  It's all Clovers, though, so I'll go out on a limb and assume you all know the actual size...

 (From left to right):
1. Napkin from Diane and some paint.  I thought the blue would tie in with the dots ... It's pretty ugly to me, but I've adopted "Someone will like it" as my motto as of late. :-)
2. Napkin from Diane and gold paint.
3. Painted sky and green and stickers.
4. Pearl paint and decorations cut from... yup, a napkin from Diane.
5 & 6 are just in the beginning stages.  

Under them is a strip of masking tape, I do that whole, roll-it-up with the sticky on the outside thing so I can plop them onto that without touching the tops.  They stay still until I'm ready to touch them again. :-) If you're really into details, the background has one of the ugly throw pillows that came with my couch and the pattern and yarn for a latch hook project I'm working on.  Foreground is nail decal gems and a Boye shuttle that I got yesterday!  :-D  Ohh... and the backing from the shelf paper that's on the pink shuttle.  I think it'll fail and peel off like it did last time, but... we'll see.  Worse comes to worst, I'll just cut the point-part off and paint that pearl... because I love white pearl.  It goes with everything!

Wow... so much for a short post.  Oops.

♥,
Stephanie Grace

Sure, I've played with shuttles...

I may not have tatted a single stitch since my return, but I have played with shuttles!
 

The first two are Clovers.  The last three are eBay cheapies.  Each of them has an end where the ends don't meet. >.<  Still worth the $1.50 each, though, especially since I wanted them to practice decorating shuttles.  All except the middle shuttle are decorated using napkins sent from Ms. Diane (Thank you!!!) The flower and ladybug stickers are from my mom (Thank you!!!). ;-)

By now, we all know that my cell phone hates me, but I tried to get better pictures of the first two...

This one has nail decal flowers and glitter... Of course, you can't see all that.  Stupid phone.

This has glitter nail polish, too... Have I said 'stupid phone' lately? >.<

 

 

 Sure, I'm new to it and they're not all that pretty, but I'm learning.  :-P  Oh, the shuttles are resting on another shuttle that I decorated.  A Susan Bates bobbin one.  It's painted silver and I used the same floral napkin.  

Just so that this isn't all shuttles and no tatting.  Here's a necklace that I sent to a friend a few weeks ago.  The pattern is Ms. Marilee's "Rhapsody Necklace".  It's done in Lizbeth, Size 10 black with pink size 8 beads and a pink glass pearl.  Of course, in the picture that I took with my phone, it looks green:

 My lovely friend, though, took pictures when she got it.  See!  It really is black!  LOL

Well, that's all for now.  Don't forget to enter the giveaway in my last post!  ;-)

♥,
Stephanie Grace

My Turtle Told Me to Give Stuff Away...

...and, being a well-trained pet owner, I figure that I should listen to the little bugger.  So... Comment on this post to enter.

If you've already gone to comment, you might miss this rule, so I hope you actually read this:  Please comment with what crafts you do.  If you only tat, say so.  If you do other crafts, I want to know all of them! :-P  I'm doing it this way so that I might have more to offer the winner(s) since, well, my tatting thread stash isn't all too thrilling so I probably don't have anything there to offer that most of don't own already.  *If you don't comment about your favored crafts, etc... and just leave a comment, it will not count. 

Winner(s) will be chosen by random.org on Friday, September 21st, around 7pm EDT/ 11:00pm UTC/ 23:00GMT/ GMT -4:00.  Thorough enough?  LOL. No comments after 7:05EDT will be eligible. 

As for the other giveaway, for those that commented on my question [before I mentioned a giveaway], here is my list:

 QUESTION DAY GIVEAWAY LIST
01. E-mailer
02. Bree
03. Michelle
04. Shannon
05. Diane
06. Bonnie
07. God's Kid
08. Beelizabeth
09. CrazyKwilter

I never delete e-mails, so I don't know why I can't find who e-mailed me, but I know that someone e-mailed before anyone commented.  I only included those that commented before the next post which mentioned the giveaway in an attempt to keep things fair.  (Those posts were so long ago that I'm probably the only one that even remembers anything ... and only because I looked back!  LOL). 

Well, there we have it.  If you made it this far, you may as well tell me your favorite color(s), too.  Not required, but it could help me with picking from my stash if you win, LOL.  ;-)

Again, nothing extravagant to offer... I wish I had more...

♥,
Stephanie Grace

Ozzy, the giveaway enforcer.

Just Checkin' In

Not much has happened since my last post.  I mean, sure, I'm now a year older than I was then, but that's not really a big deal. ;-)  We made it safely to my cousins' house and I have been loving every minute of vacation!  The car was packed with a lot of craft stuff on the way down for us to sort through and I told Hubby that at least half wasn't come back with us ... I forgot that I'd probably replace everything that's being left here with other craft goodies!  LOL.  

They opened a Hobby Lobby near where we live the day we left, so that was the first stop of the day, LOL.  It wasn't really worth the stop, but I picked up some Aunt Lydia's size 10 just so that it wasn't a complete waste.  I'm kind of in love with it now.  With Lizbeth, I find myself constantly having to drop my shuttles or put down the project and let the thread sit a while before I can close a ring (even with size 10, so it's not a size issue).  I don't think that I have ever tatted (with shuttle(s)) anything without letting it rest every ring or two!  

Now, I'm super curious about other threads.  Since I have to order everything online, Handy Hands always seems like the best economical choice, as does Lizbeth thread, but I kind of feel like paying more for a thread that doesn't need to rest so much will make up for its cost just by saving me some sanity.  I could be doing something wrong, of course, but it makes me feel better if I think it's the thread's fault.  :-P  Especially when I don't have the same problems with other threads.  To end this rant:  What's your thread of choice, taking both money and sanity into consideration?  

I really wish that I could see and feel threads before buying.  I know that it wouldn't make a tremendous difference and that I'd still be taking my chances until I actually tat with it, but I just think that feeling would give me a better guess as to how it would tat up and seeing would mean knowing the color(s) exactly.  

Okay, this has gotten really long.  Happy belated birthday to me, glad I got here safely, I'll be leaving in a few days (I don't wanna!), and I will check in when I get home --and then I'll definitely be putting together a few little things to send off for giveaway winners. ;-)

♥,
Stephanie Grace

Still Here

I felt like my next post should be about the giveaways and, since I'm not ready for that yet, I've been silent.  That's probably really bad reasoning and I shouldn't "hide" like that, but there's the truth of my absence.  :-P  Sorry.  The giveaways will happen, but in another few weeks, after I get back from vacation when my stash will have grown a bit, I think.

Since I've mentioned vacation, I figure I'll share that I go to West Virginia to visit family.  Anyone know anything that I should check out?  I found "New Deal at the Crossroads" which sounds up my alley (and mentions tatting!), but I'm really interested in knowing if anyone knows any great places in West Virginia where I might find tatting stuff of any kind. :-)  Remember, I have to order everything online all the time and I've only ever met two other tatters in person, both for very brief times at a bead show.  All experience and proof that other tatters [and tatting itself, even] exists is from online or postal exchanges.  (Even if anyone knows of a few good thrift or antique stores for me to check out, please, let me know). ♥  Thank you!

Now, there has been tatting.  I'll make this brief.

"Lacy Treasure Pendant" designed my Marilee Rockley

Lizbeth Silver, size 10

Hematite-colored beads

"Rhapsody Necklace" designed by Marilee Rockley

Lizbeth Silver, size 10

More Hematite-colored beads

 

No pattern used.

Lizbeth Charcoal Med. in size 20

Lavender Cat's eye bead and 2mm(?) lavender beads

*I sewed in ends and finished with a toggle clasp after the pictures were taken.

 

There has been more tatting completed but, for some reason, those are the only pictures I have to share.  I guess I should start scanning and/or fighting with my cell phone more often. 

 

Before I go, I just want to give a HUGE thank you to Michelle!  Not sure if I'm supposed to give her a public hug, so I'll just put it this way: She made my month!!!  Thank you, again, Michelle!

 

I owe someone else a thank you, but I'm hoping that will fit into my next post, if I can get decent pictures. ;-)

 

♥,

Stephanie Grace

 

 

InTatters (Question) & News

I always forget to sign into InTatters and, sometimes, I find myself bored quickly with the website.  Last night and tonight, though, I'm enjoying myself there... and then BAM!  503 Service Temporarily Unavailable.  


Anyone else have this problem?  It's like as soon as I get all nice and comfy there, I get the error. :-(


Now, some giveaway news: Hubby is letting me order some shuttles and I'm pretty happy with how my decorating attempts are going with the cheap-o shuttles, so this will be happening soon. :-)  (Hmm... I guess I just revealed that there will be a shuttle or two in there, huh?).  ;-)  


♥,
Stephanie Grace

Worth a look?

Found this link and thought I'd share for those of you that do quilting, sewing, etc...  Valdani thread is also in there, but 3-ply.  It appears to be mainly an embroidery or quilting site...  


http://www.hannahspinkeep.com/

♥,
Stephanie Grace

Clash of Seasons

The beloved, self-proclaimed 'Old Git' (I think OG stands for Outstanding Genius, but whatever...), Jane asked for some sunshine, so I loaded some thread on some shuttles and thought, Yeah, I can do something....

Yes, it looks more like a star than a sun.  If I would have thought about it more, I would varied the chain lengths, maybe made more, etc...  I am, however, thinking this could easily be manipulated in a Christmas star, right?  Do you see it? By the way, be kind: The sun really is just a big star, after all. ;-)

Now, for the clash!  Before Jane's post, I was trying to cool off.  I really hate spring and summer.  They depress me.  So much sun and it's so hot and it makes me feel all dirty.  I mean, really, what's worse than stepping out of a shower and feeling dirty ten seconds later?  Thankfully, my weather forecast is looking good: Air Conditioned for at least the next 90 days!  LOL. ;-)

So, here's what I was doing:

 Thread is LizBeth size 20 in white.  Pattern is Elegant Snowflake from Tatted Snowflakes by Vida Sunderman.  I am in love with this pattern!  I went with the suggested thread amount and had a lot left on my shuttles, so there will be math involved when I tackle this one again.  :-)

 This one is tatted with blue perle cotton.  I can't remember who sent me this *blush*  I've had it for a while but never used it because it's so pretty that I didn't want to waste it.  The pattern Ribbon-Floss Snowflake from the aforementioned book.  I enjoyed it, but I pulled an 'oops' and tatted over the tail in the beginning ring so had nothing to knot at the end for security.  This will end up on a card or something... or stiffened, maybe?  Something that will make it secure. :-)

I know that I said I was hoping to announce the giveaway this weekend, but I still haven't sorted all of that out.  I'm thinking I might hold off until the shuttles I ordered come in.  I'm good with decorating them, yet, but I think I'd like to include one or two... maybe?  We'll see. In the meantime, I'll start putting things together.  :-)  

Love and Happy Tatting to all!

♥,
Stephanie Grace
P.S.  A HUGE thank you to everyone that has commented/responded lately.  I'm behind with e-mails, but I'll get on that tonight, hopefully! ♥

Answers :-)

First off, thank you all for responding to my question.  It's good to know that I'm not talking to myself (At least when I'm offline, I look like I'm talking to my turtle... On here, I have no such cover-up!).  ;-)


It was interesting to me that many of us seem to stay silent for the same reasons:
1. Saying 'Beautiful' or 'Wow', while genuinely our response, seems to be trite.  To elaborate a bit more, I think most of us also think using synonyms thereof are still just... the same.  
2.  That said, and what I didn't mention in my post was being unoriginal.  We stay quiet because what we want to say has already been said by someone else.
3.  Laziness and/or Lack of Time.  I'm grouping these together because, well, lack of time leads to laziness and laziness leads to lack of time.  With so many blogs to follow, even just typing one word on each one, every day, would be quite a time-consuming task.  


I truly didn't mean for this to turn into a poll-type-thing, but I'm one of those people that notices patterns (I swear I don't obsess about it, LOL), so I thought I'd share my findings.  :-D  It's also made me want to make more of an effort to at least say something when I visit a blog.  Sometimes, I feel like the person that shows up late, in the ugly dress, and I don't want to ruin the party, but I think I need to get over that.  Even if I just say, 'Hey! I came, I saw, I loved it!', it might just make someone's day... who knows?  Copy and Paste will be my friend if I really just use that over and over!  LOL.  We mean it every time we say such a thing, but we feel like we're not coming across as genuine.  Sometimes, just taking a second to give a virtual pat on the back means more than the actual words, right? Beside that, they don't have to respond if they don't want to.  ;-)


That said, I've decided that, once I put things together for a giveaway, there will be a winner from only those that commented or e-mailed about yesterday's question.  :-)  I love you gals!  (And was floored by a few... I mean, really, to know someone that you admire reads your blog?  It's mind-blowing!).


There will be another open for all followers, especially since some people may have passed up commenting because of good ol' Reason Number Two, but I feel like those that took the time to help me feel less insane yesterday/today deserve a giveaway of their own.  I'm hoping to have the prizes sorted out this weekend, but we'll see how that goes (whenever I 'announce' something, something always seems to come up... Ugh...).  I'm warning you: It will be nothing extravagant.  My craft cubbies look loaded only because of my love for plastic organizing boxes.  My stash is bare bones compared to many that I've seen, but I will try and make it worth the commenting, I promise! :-*  If it's not, just let me know and you will all wait until I have better offerings.  :-P


I don't want to do to two posts in a row without pictures, so here's my kitty, Aerosmith!  Sometimes, you just know when your furbaby doesn't want the channel changed! ;-)

Happy crafting & tatting and love to you all!


♥,
Stephanie Grace

Question for ya...

I ramble a lot, I know that, so I tend not to comment on blogs because, well, I feel like just saying 'beautiful' doesn't cover my thoughts (even though it usually does).  


Anywho, I've realized that most comments here come from the same two or three people (whom I cherish and love dearly --THANK YOU!!!).


My question is: Does anyone else read this blog or visit once in a while?  I want to put together a giveaway, but if I really only have three followers, it seems easier just to mail each one a little something instead of having just one 'winner'.  


(*Note: Mom, you don't count, dear... Sorry.).  ;-)


Thank you!  :-*


♥,
Stephanie Grace

New Hobbies Part 3 of 3 & Tatting!

I'll be honest.  I blame Ms. Diane - The Lace-lovin' Librarian for this next venture.  Seeing her go through her gorgeous shuttles and her sharing some 'blinging' tips on her blog (Thank you for pointing that out --how did I never see that link?), made me salivate to the point of envy! :-P  My shuttle collection has reach 5 and they're all so plain!  I've been unable to convince Hubby that I simple must have new, pretty shuttles, so, here's what happened:

Bad picture --Cell phone hates me and, in my excitement, I didn't care that it was too dark for a picture.  :-P

What I used:

Vinyl shelf paper that I picked up Michael's last year for around thirty cents. :-)

A little pearl accent.

Clay roses that I made a while back.

"Triple Thick" brush-on gloss glaze by DecoArt (A.C. Mom couldn't find her Mod Podge and I was too antsy to wait, so I had her send over the tub of this stuff.).  ;-)

The roses were only used because I went into my organizer looking for a flat clay accent.  These screamed at me, though, and were sick of being neglected.

My cell phone didn't hate me as much today while the sun was still up. ;-)   I really thought the roses were going to fly of the first time I tatted with this shuttle, but the pearl got in my way more!  O.o  Go figure.  It's no where near perfect and I'm sure it'll fall apart on me next time I use it, but I'm pretty proud.  :-P  (As an added 'Yay' this project used up things that were sitting in my craft cubby being neglected.). 

A HUGE THANK YOU TO Fox FOR THIS SHUTTLE!!!  Not only did her generosity help me get comfortable with shuttle tatting (I cherish my Clovers!  I thought I'd love bobbin shuttles, but, nope, these are my favorites so far!).  :-D  Thank you, thank you, thank you, Fox!!!! ♥

And, now, some tatting!  LOL.  A friend asked for a dragonfly so a dragonfly she received...

The pattern is one of the amazing Jane's.  I had to take out my needle for this, though, because I just can not seem to manage a split ring on the shuttles --yet!  :-P  

Well, I got a bit hooked (and had more requests, LOL), so...

...And then I got caught up on Ms. Margaret's dream catcher pattern and, well... I think I'm all caught up...

Oops.  That's a lie.

Mr. Tatman's turtle was also completed!  :-D  I made a huge mess of this little guy last time I tried him, but it was smooth sailin' this time!  Isn't he adorable?  I wish I had threads to match my turtle's coloring!!!

Well, that's all for today.  LOL. 

Happy tatting to all!

♥,

Stephanie Grace

New Hobbies? Part 2 of 3

To me, you can always tell when someone enjoys what they do when they want to share it.  By that, I don't mean show pictures, etc... I mean that they'll give some supplies or teach someone how to do what they do because they want to share their enjoyment of the craft.  This was the case with a wonderful woman on Facebook who saw my cross-stitched 'S' and thought it was missing some sparkle.  After a short (haha! I say that like there was no rambling...) conversation with her, I was suddenly stalking the mailman waiting on a package.  Why?  She wanted to share her craft with me!  

I am SO glad that she did!  I'm in love with it!  

Before this, I'd never tried beaded needle point.  I thought for sure that I'd be a bloody (literally) wreck after just a few beads, but there was no blood at all!!!  :-D

In side the package, was a gorgeous strawberry kit and an starter kit using an initial.  Being me, I dove right into the strawberries, but I wanted something to show right away, so...

I'm still debating how to use it, but there's my 'S'!  :-D  I love that the beads were hematite-ish!  I love hematite! ♥

Yesterday, I FINALLY finished the strawberries!  In my excitement, I forgot to scan it before framing it, but whatever. You get the point.  :-P  This was not only my first time beading, but also my first time ever using a stamped pattern.  It was a bit confusing (especially since I swear the package picture is all done in one red shade), so there are mistakes, but it's done and I love it!  

Cruddy picture (my cell phone hates me), but I absolutely enjoyed this project!  It was so refreshing for me to do something that required no thinking of a plan of attack.  Very relaxing!  I can't wait to do more! Hubby probably doesn't realize it yet, but this means I'll definitely need more kits --and makes growing my bead stash even more crucial!  LOL.  

Okay, okay, enough rambling.  

Happy crafting and tatting to all!

♥,

Stephanie Grace

New Hobbies? Post 1 of 3.

I've learned something about myself this year: I don't know how to take things slow, LOL.  I just dive in head first and hope the doggy paddle can save my butt from drowning.  Don't believe me?


#1. My mom is a very crafty person and I was raised in a home filled with her various crafts and supplies (hence me dubbing her 'A.C. Mom').  Quilling is something she's done off and on, but I never really tried it.  One call to A.C. Mom and bam! I'm quilling.  Of course, though, I dive right in.  No beginner patterns or children patterns for this chickadee!  No, no, no!  I had to dive right in and try something beyond my inexperienced skill set.  

See that... That is not a circle.  Ugh.  At that point, you'd think I'd go to the basic patterns, but, nope, played around more..

After those three, I got inspired, I guess.  I completely stopped using designs and patterns and just did what I wanted, what the paper told me to, LOL...

Lesson learned from this: Sometimes, I'm much better off if I just go with my instincts instead of trying to follow someone else's design or pattern.  Sometimes. ;-)


I'll be back soon to do the next two posts, I promise (I should be back in an hour, but who knows... LOL). 


Happy crafting and tatting to all! 


♥,
Stephanie Grace

I'm a Horrible Blogger...

What happened to me getting into a routine with this?  Anywho, just a quick post because I'm kind of in love with my latest project...

It's a bad scan and I wasn't able to get a good photo with my phone, but I still really like it!  :-) 


The pattern: Margaret's Designer Cards Patterns -- Tatted Dreamcatchers
The thread: Lizbeth size 20, 662 and 693


This is my second attempt --the first was a disaster!  This was made for my wonderful cousin, Sue!  I hope she likes it as much in person as she did when she saw the picture!  :-)


I also have a question: Anyone have any suggestions or tips about "blinging" shuttles...  Even right down to what do you use...  I bought some super-cheap shuttles online and I want to try decorating them when they arrive, but I'm scared that I'll just mess them up and end up in tears over ruining a shuttle...  :-(


Well, love and happy tatting to all!  


HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY, in case I don't post tomorrow...  


♥,
Stephanie Grace

Remembering to Floss...

No, not that kind of floss!  But, we really should remember to use that kind, too. ;-)


Before I start, did anyone receive the HH Newsletter?  I'm going crazy because I was starting to get Hubby on board with me putting in an order, then I realized it was April so I decided to wait until the 10% coupon shows up.  :-(  I figure it's probably just been delayed, but I always worry about things getting lost in the mail...


A friend saw a simple flower that I tatted and wanted one in different colors.  This is what happened:

Two things about it: 
    1. Those beads are pink and are a good match for the thread.  The became pearly and white when added to the black... >.<
    2. This is the first time I shuttle tatted this flower and it looks... anemic to me.  Might this be a pattern that I should only use with the needle?




A few days ago (okay, maybe a week or two), I decided to go through the box o' fun that I inherited from my late aunt.  My thought was if I'm not going to start using stuff that I have, then I should get rid of it.  I liked the former answer a lot better...


I've been admiring Suz's amazing talent for a long time.  I've drooled over her embroidery stitches and been terrified of to even think of trying it.  I mean, I can't even draw a straight line!


Well, a pair of once-favored pants were grabbed from the to-go bag and...

I can stitch a square better than I can draw one!  LOL!  This has been added to as I've tried out other stitches, but, see!  Proof that sometime ya just gotta try something new.  (No, there was no pattern, nothing in my head, etc... I just had it.  By the time I got to the line between the triangles, I had decided that I saw a wolf so I didn't make it straight. LOL).


Of course, while I had the floss at, I couldn't stop there!

The left is an 'S' for which the pattern can be found on this blog. (Note: it's not in that post; I bookmarked the wrong post and I'm too lazy to search... Such pretty alphabets there, though!  Definitely worth a gander if you cross-stitch or embroider --the ones with an asterisks would be for embroidery, i believe.).  
The thing on the right is "Sailor Jupiter" from the anime Sailor Moon the pattern for which is at this blog post. I have a friend that loves anime and the Japanese culture and her birthday is coming up, so I tried out the pattern.  I wasn't too thrilled, so I grabbed my graph paper and sketched something of my own:

I like it better in some ways (I didn't have the eyes outlined in my sketch, so I didn't do the second.  It was just to see how it would come out, so I didn't worry about perfection.).  However, I learned that I cannot sketch hands, even on graph paper.  So, first pattern with just backstitch border instead of the thick black is what I think I'll be using for the gift.  :-)


Finally, this is what became of the "S":

I sewed it to some fabric from the aforementioned pants.  Not sure what it is (I'm calling it an ornament), but I think I might toy around with this somewhat.  I want to make another with a tatted edge --of course, the floss I used here is right in the middle of LizBeth Gold and LizBeth Golden Yellow Med. so I don't have a perfect match unless I use the floss and that scares me!  Maybe I'll make the next one a little bigger and than I can call it a shuttle holder! ;-)


Wow!  This is a long post!  Sorry 'bout that.  P.S.  I've surpassed 100 posts.  I think there's a giveaway on the horizon...


Happy tatting to all!


♥,
Stephanie Grace 

Life is a Carnival

When I first received "Tatted Jewelry" by Marilee Rockley, I got hooked on the Keyed Up pattern.  Then, I finally figured out shuttle tatting and, well, didn't have the bravery to touch the book.  


A few weeks ago (okay, probably more like a month and a half ago), I tried the Carnival pattern.  I could not get rings to close for me at all.  I mean, to the point where I thought that I just couldn't tat anymore.  I finally got to the point where you add a bead and Bam! I realize that I wasn't supposed to cut the thread from the ball. 


Well, I revisited the pattern today...

It's sloppy, but it's done! :-)  (Sorry for the terrible scanned images; my cell phone wouldn't take a clear picture either...).  This time, I didn't have a problem until the very last ring (go figure).  Sometimes, when I think, I need to relax a bit before I tat that, I should listen to myself!


Here's another scan (with my tatting friend, a yellow jar opener, in the background. 

It's tatted in LizBeth size 20, Silver with pearly size 11 seed beads, a blue sapphire-y bead and an 8mm Faceted Cat's Eye bead (also sapphire-y).


I think it's going to end up attached to the zipper on my purse (Where it will end up destroyed and I'll cry...). 


I finished another coaster in blue and black, but I still need to hide the ends...


Well, happy tatting everyone!


♥,
Stephanie Grace

Sulky Blendables

Not a real post, but I know that a lot of you have been trying Sulky Blendables (which I'm finally reading with the pesky 'l'... Hehe...) so I thought I'd just share that JoAnn has them 40% off. It's only available online and free shipping doesn't come into play until you spend $50, but it could still be worth it.  :-)  (Of course, my Hubby isn't taking the bait to let me order anything... *sigh*)


http://www.joann.com/sulky-blendables-thread-30wt-500-yd-many-colors/xprd1130585/#pro_colors

♥,
Stephanie Grace