Buttons, Buttons, Who Loves Buttons?

Hey, Stitchers.... Are you captivated by all the different kinds of buttons there are out in the world?  Are you a secret button collector because you can't resist all their history and variety?  Ever wanted some kind of stitching project that incorporates buttons in the design?

Well, have I got a great project for you: my newest cyber class, called "BUTTON BOX".  And I designed it specifically to use with a handful of assorted buttons that you might have in your stash -- maybe in a hand-me-down button bag from your family or just buttons you've collected over the years.

I wanted something fun and easy to stitch.... with ribbon borders and four floral patterns that fill the four different squares of the design.  Then there are holes left along the outer border, as well as in the four corners and centerpiece, to place your collected buttons.   And I offer two colorways for the class: a coral PINK (shown above) and a periwinkle BLUE (shown below in part):

Each colorway is built around a variegated Caron Watercolours skein, with two matching solid colors of #5 DMC, two green #5 DMC colors, a soft ivory #5 for the ribbon work, two soft metallic ribbon threads, and a handful of gold or silver seed beads. And please note that the (warm) pink kit is stitched on the Santa Fe Sage green 18ct. canvas, while the (cool) blue kit is worked on a pale blue (almost grey) 18 ct. canvas.

The kit DOES NOT include any buttons: that's YOUR part of the artistic process, finding the buttons!  

You can see in the photos above that I mixed and matched different types of buttons on my models.  I originally planned to use all ivory/pearl type buttons but realized that putting colored buttons on the piece really added a lot more color and texture to the design - as well as some unexpected pizazz!  And notice on the blue model, I chose a few silver buttons to accent the cooler feel of the piece.

And just a bit of creative brainstorming: you don't have to stick with buttons for your piece.... you could also use charms, cameos, fimo-type buttons, and even larger pieces of jewelry as the main centerpiece!   You can really have a lot of fun embellishing your finished project in this class project.

So, if you'd like to create something a little bit different in a not-very-difficult canvaswork design, please hop/skip/jump on over to my website to see all the cyber class information for this fun new "BUTTON BOX" design.

Four Floral Squares

 Do you enjoy working on smaller projects in between large pieces?  I do!  I have soooo many large pieces to work on these days that's it's a nice break to stitch on smaller designs that are easier to finish and provide a little bit of instant gratification.  And of course, if those smaller projects have a flower in their design, I'm on it!!

Here's a new design I'm releasing this month called "FOUR FLORAL SQUARES":

As you can see, there are four different flowers, done in four different color palettes, surrounded in four different border patterns.  Each design is approximately 5.5" x 5.5" and each features a different flower in the center -- a rose, violet, sunflower, and anemone.

And you know how I love to play with borders, right??  Well, that was my challenge here: create four pieces with completely different borders, each one built around a variegated ThreadworX Overdyed Floss skein, along with matching #5 pearl cottons and 1-2 metallic ribbons for a bit of sparkle.

Here's what they look like up close:

These designs use simple stitches - nothing too elaborate or intimidating - and honestly, I found all the different borders relaxing to stitch, the variegated floss creating a delightful surprise, leaving the fun central flower last to stitch as the final centerpiece. 

So if you'd enjoy working a few smaller pieces between your larger projects, please gambol on over to my website and see for yourself my newest pattern, "FOUR FLORAL SQUARES."