Stitching Lotus

Welcome, Mortals

Posted on October 4, 2021 by Heather

Welcome, mortals. I mean: hello, Stitchy Friends! I’m back today with another Cricut craft.

I love decorating for Halloween. Usually, though, I don’t decorate until after Thanksgiving. This year, however, has been long and dull and a little sad, so I wanted to get an early start with my Halloween decorating.

Welcome Mortals Cauldron

I picked up this very cute cauldron planter from Lowes on the weekend and then added some extra Halloween magic to it using my Cricut. The words “Welcome Mortals” are cut from purple glitter vinyl and applied directly to the planter. The witches legs are layers of kraftboard and paper glued to wooden kabob sticks. Super easy, and super cute if I do say so myself!

You can find the Cricut Design Space project here. It is free to cut if you have Cricut Access. Assembly is simple: glue everything together in the order it is presented in Design Space and then hot glue to wooden kabob sticks. For the glitter vinyl, be sure to use the strong grip transfer tape that comes in the centre of the roll.

Do you decorate outside for Halloween? I’d love to hear all about it.

2 Comments | Posted in Cricut | Tagged Cricut, Halloween

Grim Grinning Ghosts – Part One

Posted on October 3, 2021 by Heather

Hello, Stitchy Friends. Or should I say “Welcome, foolish mortals”? Today I’m sharing my current big stitching project.

Grim Grinning Ghosts SAL WIP, designed by Keturah Farnum of Supernatural Stitchies

Do you recognize it? This is the Grim Grinning Ghosts SAL from Supernatural Stitchies, which is based on the Disneyland (California) version of the Haunted Mansion.

I am really, really loving this SAL. Not just because the Haunted Mansion is my all-time favourite ride (quickly followed by Hong Kong Disneyland’s Mystic Manor, and then Ariel’s Undersea Adventure/Under the Sea). I love this SAL because so many of the stitchers have added their own customization to it.

Grim Grinning Ghosts SAL WIP, designed by Keturah Farnum of Supernatural Stitchies

For example, these over-one portraits in the ballroom were designed by Mitzi Young.

Grim Grinning Ghosts SAL WIP, designed by Keturah Farnum of Supernatural Stitchies

And my Madame Leota (who is my favourite part of my favourite ride) has changes from Mitzi, me, and others.

I’m stitching this using DMC thread (including some glow-in-the-dark thread to outline the ghosts) on a piece of hand-dyed evenweave from Enchanting Lair (probably colourway Purple Horizon, but I’m not sure).

Keturah Farnum, the designer behind Supernatural Stitchies and the Grim Grinning Ghosts SAL, has been so wonderful and accommodating. It is nice to see a designer who not only enjoys all the alternations to her patterns, but actively encourages them. Together, I think the community has created an amazing collection of rooms that captures our love of this iconic ride.

All of the parts of the SAL have been released, and you can find them in the Facebook group for the SAL along with all sorts of variations and versions of the rooms. Keturah is also running a Pirates of the Caribbean SAL that will be starting next year.

More spooky crafts tomorrow. Hurry back! Hurry back!

3 Comments | Posted in Cross Stitch | Tagged Cross Stitch, Grim Grinning Ghosts SAL, WIP

Spooky Cards for World Card Making Day

Posted on October 2, 2021 by Heather

Happy World Card Making Day!

I know I said I was going to share a stitching project today, but I totally forgot that today is World Card Making Day. How can I let the day pass without sharing a spooky card or two?

Best Witches Cards

First up is this Best Witches card I created within Cricut Design Space. I used elements from Cricut Access and two different backgrounds. I created the darker background using Nuvo Shimmer Powder, so it has an amazing glowy shine to it. (Check out this post from Craft with Sarah if you’d like to learn more about Shimmer Powder.) For the lighter background I used Tim Holtz Distress Ink and Distress Micro Glaze. (I learned the technique from this video by Kristina Werner and Simon Says Stamp.) The witch was cut from holographic foil cardstock on my Cricut Maker 3. (You can find the Design Space project here.)

Happy Halloween Flowers

This card is probably my favourite card from all of this year. I used a tutorial by AmyR of Prairie Paper & Ink, but switched up a couple of the stamp sets. I think I used Gina K’s Timeless Poppies for the flowers on the front and a layered rose stamp set from Dollarama for the interior. I used the word “happy” from Simon Says Stamp Rainbow is My Favourite Color. The background web is also from Simon (Spider Web Background) as are the spiders (Spook Up Some Halloween Fun). The interior sentiment is Inside Greetings: Halloween from Papertrey Ink, and the outside sentiment is just the font Nightmare printed on my printer. I used a mix of inks, watercolours, and glitter to decorate it.

Happy Halloween Flowers

While I am likely to spend the rest of the day making cards, tomorrow I will definitely share my stitching project!

1 Comment | Posted in Card Making, Cricut | Tagged Card Making, Cricut, Halloween

These Old Bones Sparkle

Posted on October 1, 2021 by Heather

Happy October, Stitchy Friends! This is my favourite month of the year (although, if you ask me in the spring, I’ll say May is my favourite month…), and what better way to celebrate it than to share a spooky project everyday. Some days it will be stitching, some days it will be a Cricut craft, and some days it will be card. Who knows! Creepy cute is my favourite thing, so I’ve got lots to share!

Jolly Jointed Skeleton, designed by Dreaming Tree

I’m starting off with the Jolly Jointed Skeleton from Dreaming Tree. He is about two feet tall and jointed! How cute is that? I used a super sparkley white/silver glitter paper for his bones, so he really shines. And, to make him extra special I used lavender brads for his joints. Like most of my papercrafts, he was cut out on my Cricut Maker 3.

Dreaming Tree also has a jointed witch and a jointed pumpkin man that I am seriously thinking about making. They are just so cute, and I’m a sucker for the vintage-y Halloween look they have.

Tomorrow I’ll share one of my stitching WIPs that it seasonally appropriate. I had hope to have it done for a trip we were supposed go on this month, but it’s still a WIP and our trip got moved (again).

Happy Spooktober!

2 Comments | Posted in Cricut, Papercrafts | Tagged Cricut, Dreaming Tree, Halloween, Papercrafts

Every Child Matters

Posted on September 30, 2021 by Heather

Today is the first ever National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada. It is an extension of what we used to call Orange Shirt Day, which was a day set aside to remember the lost children and the survivors of Canada’s residential school system.

In short, First Nations children were taken from their parents and placed in residential schools. The goal was to “take the Indian out of the child”, according to Sir John A. McDonald. The result was schools that were unfunded, where children received the bare minimum of care, and where many ultimately died of neglect and disease. Those that survived lost the vital link with their culture and had to deal with the trauma of their experience for the rest of their live.

Orange Shirt Day/the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is a difficult day. Canadians like to think that we are a tolerant, progressive culture, but like most (all?) countries we have many dark periods. The residential school system lasted well into my lifetime, and it still has repercussions today. We can’t change what happened in the past, but we can work to make sure it never happens again.

One small, simple step is to actively recognize that we live on lands that were once, and still are, part of the First Nations. Many organizations, schools, and businesses in Canada now do land acknowledgements daily or at the start of an event. If you’d like to discover which land you live on, I highly recommend Native-Land.ca. (I live on the lands of the Haudenosaunee and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nations, among others.)

The Orange Shirt Society has produced a video about Canadian relations with the First Nations and the history of the residential school system.

You may live somewhere where something similar to this happened. Or, perhaps your country has its own dark issues it is trying to deal with and heal from. Sometimes it is hard to face to past, especially when it is something terrible that you know you would never, ever condone. But, as they say, if we don’t study the past we are bound to repeat it.

2 Comments | Posted in The Outside World |

Autumn Cricut Crafting

Posted on September 29, 2021 by Heather

Hello again, Stitchy Friends! You may or may not know that I love crafting with my Cricut. I bought my first Cricut cutting machine, and Explore Air 2, back on Amazon Prime Day 2017. Since then, I’ve upgraded twice. First, to the Maker in 2018, and then again just this month to the new Cricut Maker 3.

Happy Haunting reverse canvas

I’ve loved paper crafting since I was a very little girl. My parents used to have to hide the tape and scissors from me, otherwise I would cut apart tissue boxes, magazines, and anything else I could get my hands on to make houses and cars for my Barbies. I have a very fond memory of making a multi-story Barbie house one summer sometime before middle school from shoe boxes and paper.

I’ve outgrown Barbies (sort of…), but I still love paper crafting. And autumn, especially Halloween, is one of my favourite crafty seasons.

Layered Fall Shadowbox, designed by Debbie O’Neal

This past weekend I took part in an online class called Diva Days, run by Cricut expert Debbie O’Neal. We made three great projects in one day, and she gave out some challenges for us to work on during this week for a chance to win some prizes. I love the challenges because, although I love to make things, I’m not always sure what I want to make. (I’m more of a process maker than a product maker.)

Pumpkin & Flowers Sign, designed by Debbie O’Neal

I’m also following along with Craft with Sarah’s Halloween Craft Countdown. Sarah is a UK Cricut fanatic, and she creates some really wonderful projects. She is especially known for her fabulous layered dog designs.

Layered Pumpkin and Flowers, designed by Craft with Sarah

I also sometimes watch Melody Lane on YouTube and make some of her projects. The other week she shared this very cute vampire card. I made mine using wood-look paper for the outside, and I attached the vampire with an action wobble, so he wiggles when you open the card. A few sprays of Tim Holtz’s new Distress Mica Spray in the colourway Peppermint gives the look of blood splatter inside.

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I still have a ton more projects planned. But Thanksgiving is just around the corner here in Canada, and then it will be Halloween before you know it. It’s okay if I run out of time. Christmas is almost here, and I have so many projects planned!

Do you have a Cricut too? They have become so popular in the last couple of years. Do you enjoy papercrafts? Or, are you mainly a stitcher? I like to keep busy, so I enjoy doing many different crafts. If I don’t feel like stitching, I’ve always got a couple (or ten… or twenty…) other things I can work on. 😉

2 Comments | Posted in Cricut, Papercrafts | Tagged Craft with Sarah, Cricut, Debbie O'Neal, Melody Lane, Papercrafts

Time for Spooky Stitching

Posted on September 22, 2021 by Heather

Hello again, my Stitchy Friends. I’m finding it a little bit difficult to get back into the habit of posting after taking such a protracted break. I am posting semi-regularly again on Instragram, where you can find me as @stitchinglotus. I’ve been sharing some of my papercrafting projects as well as some very pretty pictures of my vacation back in August.

Today is the first day of Autumn! This is my favourite season by far. Warm sweaters, fires in the fireplace, hearty soups, and seasonally appropriate stitching! Okay, here in Southern Ontario we are still several weeks away from actual cold weather (I’m still wearing my sandals on my walks), but cooler weather is on the wind for sure.

So, what is a stitcher to do when the weather turns cold and Halloween is right around the corner? Well, stitch something spooky, of course! ?

The Queen That Was, designed by Ink Circles (WIP)

I’m currently working on The Queen That Was from Ink Circles. I’m stitching it on a random piece of dark blue evenweave I found in my fabric stash, and I’m using most of the suggested DMC colours. I’ve substituted some Petite Treasure Braid for the Kreinik #4 braid. I expect she will probably be finished in a few days as she looks to be a very quick stitch.

Are you working on anything spooky or seasonally appropriate? I’d love to know! Please leave a comment. And, if you are on Instragram, please let me know your username as I’m trying to rebuild my account and I would love to follow you.

Happy (spooky) stitching! ☠