Get Your Retro On

I recently finished this darling retro coffee ad for my kitchen,

but I was sorry that I used such a bright white fabric. 

It just didn't seem to match the 1950's tone of the pattern.

Here is the finished piece with the white fabric:

Well?  I thought I would try dying the fabric in coffee to see how it would turn out. 

Having never done it before, I was a little nervous,

 seeing how I already had stitched the entire thing (I'll never get those four months back...)

I started with really diluted coffee, since I wasn't sure what the result would be and then slowly added more of the coffee into the bowl to darken it.

I checked the fabric every 10 minutes or so. 

When I was happy with it, I rinsed it out with fresh water and let it hang dry. 

 Then, I ironed it out and framed it with a walnut frame I found at a flea market (perfect size!)

I probably could have gone a bit darker, too, but I didn't want to alter the color of thread too much.  Hope this inspires you to play with dying your own fabric - it's really quite easy and lots of fun!

Happy crafting!

xoxo

Genevieve

FREE Easter Joy Cross-Stitch Pattern

Easter is all about joy, so I thought I would spread a little of my own with this free, one-of-a-kind cross-stitch pattern:

Click here to download the pattern from Scribd.

This darling project will be about 14x21.5 inches when complete (based on a standard 14 ct. aida cloth, although you can use any size you like).  Chart comes complete with the list of DMC floss needed.

Please send me photos when you're done with this piece - I would love to see this adorable chickie finished!

xoxo
Genevieve
Bella Stitchery

Springtime

A breath of fresh air throughout the city and children coming outside to play after school each day - must be Spring!

I wanted to celebrate the season with some fun, happy cards.  Springtime means color, new life and joy.  I made this cute ducky card for my sister using some adorable paper from October Afternoon.

I love this paper!  The houndstooth pattern is the backside of the duck print.  I used some Thickers to spell out "Spring"and then topped it off with some Vintage ribbon and flowers.

Then I thought, why stop there?  Any cheerful pattern will make a fun Spring greeting!

I used the same card layout design to make this polka dot piece.  I really enjoy working with monotones, so I used the teal blue for the top of the card, along with the lettering.

This one is available at my Bella Stitchery ArtFire shop and is fully embellished inside as well.

Hope you enjoy the season and take time to enjoy the delights of handmade!

xoxo

Genevieve