Stitched Stationery

Without a television to watch in the evenings, I am finding myself working on my crafting projects more and more.

I just started the art of "stitched stationary" and love it.

I was looking over a few patterns over at Sublime Embroidery, and saw "Stitchable Stationary" but found it was out of print.

Looking a little deeper, I located the blog, The Stationary Place.  She posted instructions that got my mojo going to give it a try.

I searched the internet for coloring pages that were printable.  I re-sized them to fit my note cards.  I used her tip on punching holes over the pattern, and into my cardstock.  I simply held the printed picture with an office clip, and used a bright light to see where I was punching holes with a pin.

I then took embroidery floss and connected my dots, using my pattern for guidance.  I started with this basic cat.  But one thing led to another. 

I found this cute goat, and made him too.  And it kept going from there.

I challenged myself with this barred rock.  Boy, there were a lot of holes for this one.

 And of course I had to embroider a camper (he he!).

If you are interested in making these yourself, I simply cut cardstock in half, width-wise, to make two cards.  I cut white cardstock so it was just a bit smaller than the front of the card itself.  I embroidered the pattern, then attached it to the front of the card with double-stick tape.  I hand stamped the back with a rubber stamp that says "Handmade with Love" and I signed my name underneath where I had stamped.

Oh, and I don't know why I just kept on making cards with the farmyard themes, but I plan to expand on that too.  Maybe flowers, a cabin, cookery, camping, and all those fun things in life.

Camper and Clean Up

I never thought I would use the camper as my opportunity to find useful homes for things I had stored away in my house.

I bought these red dishes about 16-17 years ago, and have moved them twice, and just dug them out.  They will be perfect for the camper.  I'm not filling the landfill with stryofoam and plastic, and I'm not packing glass (which Hubby doesn't want packed in there, and I agree). 

Also in my dusty pie safe, was my grandmother's can opener.  I washed it up and it's going on the camper too (you never know).  Grandma would be proud to know it's still being used. 

Another item in my pie safe, was this vintage cup rack. At our last (city) home, I had a "coffee house" theme in my kitchen.  I had all sorts of coffee house signs, espresso cups and stand, and all the decor you could imagine.  After moving to the farm house (with very little wall space in the kitchen, and counter space), I put this in storage.  Now, it's in the camper. 

We stopped at a thrift store over the weekend, and found this old pink tupperware container, and it holds our mix n' match silverware now - $1.00.  The silverware cost us $.10/each.  

Now I have room in my pie safe for my jam maker (which was stored on top for a year).  Yay!  It's been a win-win situation. 

And because I am unable to sell my crocheted blankets over at Rooster's Crow Farm Store, I removed this one to use in the camper.  It's perfect for the couch that turns into a bed.

Update on the homemade bathroom cleaner.  I found this recipe over at Crunchy Betty's Blogspot.  I was simply searching for a cleaner that was as good as Scrubbing Bubbles, but made with natural ingredients. 

It worked great on my tub, but I have one tip.  Run your washing soda through a food processor to free up any clumps, before adding it.  Otherwise, the end result will be more clumpy, and difficult to use.

As for the "extreme clean" (the "Get'R Done" list), we had 25 things on the list.  I'll have an update on that soon too.  I'll have an update for you on what I get done without a TV anymore as well.  It rained yesterday, and I am madly doing laundry.  More rain is in the forecast (sadly) and it may put a poo poo on Farmer's Market day.