I am tearing my hair out in frustration!!! When I was at the last leaf, I was horrified to find out I had miscalculated yet again. Not just there but at at least 2 other positions. See the spot where the needle is and the leaf directly above and the flower? :-( By then it was too late to rectify... it would mean ripping out half the design :-( :-( So, I'm going to leave this aside for now and when I have finished "mourning" it (lol), start afresh again. Wish me better luck next round :-)

Labels: 2008, Biscornu, Craft

A few weeks ago (or was it months???), my sister-in-law got me started on my first biscornu. Well after having sat on it like forever, I finally picked up the piece again tonight. I'm beginning to see some semblance of a design now but I've still a long way to go. It's really a challenge, this one, cos the squares are tiny and I have to use a mix of cross stitch and satin stitch. I have never attempted anything like this before. As you can see, I must have miscalculated some cos the flower is not sitting in middle. I will need to rip that out later and redo again. Darn! However I love the colours. Obviously, my picture-taking skill here is particularly in question tonight! The material is a far lighter shade and it is really very pretty in real life. I will try to take another picture tomorrow when there is more light,

Labels: 2008, Biscornu, Craft

Had these made up for friends. Quite versatile since one can hang it anywhere - onto a handphone, in the car, as a bag charm or a key holder... creativity is in the head of the beholder ;-)

Labels: 2008, Beaded Crosses, Craft

My hybrid hibiscus has bloomed again! Not the easiest of hybrids to grow, I have seen these bloom to a size bigger than an outstretched palm. Mine is only a modest 12cm across. Not bad, I guess, considering it's in a pot :-)

This beauty in my neighbour's garden is the common garden hibiscus. This variety is a native of Malaysia and is our national flower. Not as huge as some others, but still a pretty sight to behold, especially when gathered into a bouquet and displayed in a goldfish bowl.











Found two more varieties down the road where I live. These are multi-layered ones.

Labels: 2008, Gardening, Hibiscus

The perfect solution for my insomnia last night! Do up my round tin. What better way to spend the time than tossing and turning in bed or staring at the four walls or counting sheep :-)


Had no sample to guide me but I've always believed in midnight inspiration! I'm actually quite pleased with how the tin turned out, considering the condition of the stitched piece which I showed you all in the previous post. But LTC (loving tender care) seems to work :-) The tin I used was also quite old and unsightly but at one o'clock in the morning, beggars can't be choosers!







Sorry, the inside is out of bounds for now (LOL) But if insomnia strikes again, I'll post that, first thing I finish :-)

Labels: 2008, Craft, Round tin

This piece of cross-stitch has been lying around for quite a while. The Christmas design was adapted from a cross-stitch magazine and I had been meaning to do up a round tin. I guess I lost interest when the words didn't quite turn out straight. Maybe this weekend, I should give it a second chance? But first, a loving wash and some gentle pressing.....

Labels: 2008, Craft, Round tin

Nothing delights me more than fiddling around with my odds and ends and coming up with something pretty at the end of the day. Made of lace, paper roses and left-over card stock from my scrapbooking projects, this wall plaque will be saved up for another fund-raising day. Incidentally, I purposely left out the glass on this recycled frame otherwise the paper roses would be crushed.

The quote by Hannah Whitall Smith says:

Labels: 2008, Craft, Wall Plaque

2 hankerchiefs and a bar of soap..... Not much but wrapped with much love for all the fathers in our church

Happy Father's Day!






As for Mother's Day last month, we ladies got a pot-holder and an oven glove :-)

Labels: 2008, Father's Day

Labels: 2008, Craft, Lacy Bookmark

This lace cross tutorial is specially for you, Littlehands. Hope you can follow my hurriedly made-up instructions :-) Have fun!

Materials:

1 pc 14 cm length eyelet lace (12 holes)
1 pc 19 cm length eyelet lace (16 holes)
1 pc 9 cm length ribbon
1 pc 25 cm length ribbon
1 ribbon rose
UHU glue


Method:

1. Bring both ends of the eyelet lace towards the centre and glue in place.
Make sure the holes are aligned properly.

2. Repeat the same for the other piece of eyelet lace.



3. Weave in the ribbons and adjust their lengths.












4. Position the 2 strips of lace into a cross and apply some glue at the centre.











5. Decorate the centre of the cross with the rose ribbon.
Add other embellishments (sequins, beads, etc.) if you like.

Labels: 2008, Craft, Lace Cross Tutorial

Have been doing a spot of gardening lately. I re-potted some fu kwai fa (prosperity flower in Chinese). Frankly, have never really liked these plants but after giving them my "professional" treatment, I thought they looked kind of cool ;-)













See the interesting shapes of the trunks? This stout fella looks like a man walking. The one above reminds me of a hungry nestling with its wide-open beak. What do you think?

Labels: 2008, Bonsai, Gardening

Handicraft sale last year (22nd Oct... if I'm not mistaken!) during the Methodist Women Thanksgiving Nite at the Parsonage. This was my tiny way of chipping in to help raise funds for our new church building. Can you spot my etui box? ;-) Sigh! Wish for the thousandth time I had taken a close-up shot of it!

Labels: 2007, Craft, Fund-raising

Sweet dainty lace crosses for bookmarking my scripture readings. Simple and fun to do, I taught the ladies in church how to make them (including the ribbon roses at the centre) last year during our Methodist Women meeting in September. The feedback was encouraging. It was also a great honour to find my little bookmark being replicated as a decorative piece on the menu cards of the MLM dinner last month at Star City :-)

Labels: 2008, Craft, Lace Crosses

Ta dah ta dah!!! All the hard work last night paid off handsomely as I am now admiring my own etui box. This is definitely not for sale! Hope to find some time before school reopens on 8th to finish up the inner box. For the moment, it's back to my core business - marking my students' test papers... How unexciting :-(

Labels: 2008, Craft, Etui Box