A New BellaArt Creates Series
Hi my friends! I hope you're having a great day!
For each post in this series, I'll choose two projects from my crafting catalogs and spend a little time talking about them. They might come from any of my crafting categories, so we could be looking at anything from cardmaking and paper crafting to crochet, sewing, knitting, felt stitching, or one of my many other projects.
Today's post is a fun one for me because I'm taking a little trip back through my craft catalogs. I decided to make this a recurring series here on BellaArt Creates because I think it's a lot of fun to look back at things I've made and remember the stories behind them.
Last week, I published, "Why I Write About the Things I've Already Made", this is kind of an introduction to this series and I think you'll like reading that first and then come back and read this post!
Sometimes I remember exactly what I loved about a project. Other times, I look at something and think, “Wow...that didn't turn out quite the way I thought it would!” And sometimes, I'm simply surprised that I liked the finished project as much as I did.
For this first post, I'm looking at a Christmas card from my Cardmaking catalog and a mitten ornament from my Felt Stitching catalog.
So, let's dive in!
A Little Christmas Card
This card is really unique because it started from a watercolor panel that already had all of the images on it—the Christmas tree, the snowman, snowflakes, and even the sentiments. I purchased a pack of these types of panels, and all I had to do was bring them to life with my own coloring. I used my inks and paintbrushes along with white gel pens.
For me, this was one of the easiest ways to color because I'm definitely not an artist! LOL! But I really enjoyed playing around with the colors. For each of the sentiments, I used a combination of ink blending and smooshing to add the color right over each sentiment. I wasn't really sure how it was all going to turn out, so I let my card dry and waited to see what I had.
And you know what? It turned out sooo cute!
I honestly had no idea if I was even going to like it, much less take pictures of it and share it. But once it was finished, I was really happy with how it came together.
I added a few gems, found a matching envelope, and just like that...
I was done!
Next Up!
Felt Mitten Ornament
I love stitching on felt, and I have quite a bit of it in my craft stash. So naturally, I had to choose a felt project for this first trip through my catalog.
I love stitching on felt, and I have quite a bit of it in my craft stash. So naturally, I had to choose a felt project for this first trip through my catalog.
This little mitten came from a stitching die set by Memory Box. I thought it was just the cutest thing and wanted to make a few of them as ornaments to hang. The felt I normally use comes from Spellbinders, but I had run out of white felt. So, in order to finish this project, I purchased some white felt at my local Dollar Tree.
Normally, I wouldn't use that particular felt for a project like this, but I only needed it for the cuff. I figured if I doubled up the white felt, it would be sturdy enough to stitch and would hold together without fraying. And it worked!
If I were to make this project again, though, I'd definitely invest in some 100% white wool felt. Since the doubled-up white felt worked so well for the cuff, I decided to push the envelope a little further.
I die cut some poinsettias from the felt and doubled that up, too. I knew I wouldn't be stitching through the petals themselves, other than adding the button in the center, and I only needed a little stitching to attach the leaves. I was so taken aback when I saw how cute this little mitten turned out!
I added a lacy ribbon at the top and stitched through it so the mitten could hang nicely. I also carefully stitched the snowflake using that same Dollar Tree white felt. And there you have it—a cute little felt mitten ornament that came together with a little creativity and a bit of improvising!
Looking Back Is Half the Fun
I love being able to look back at projects I've made and remember the little decisions, surprises, and creative experiments that went into them. Sometimes the finished project is exactly what I pictured. Sometimes it's completely different. And sometimes, like these two projects, I'm pleasantly surprised by how much I like the finished result.
That's what I think will make this new series so much fun. There are lots of projects tucked away in my catalogs, and each one has its own little story.
And if you'd like to take a look at some of them yourself, just hover over "My Projects" at the top of the screen and click on any of the categories. You'll find lots of pictures from my crafting adventures over the years!
I'll revisit a couple more projects from my catalogs in an upcoming post.
Until then...Happy Crafting! ❤️
Oh and before I go...
A little side note: If you're wondering if I'm planning to share what I'm making now...don't worry! I have projects in the making that will be posted!
0 comments
I'd love to hear from you! Leave a comment and thanks for stopping by!