Sewing on the Edge

 I love handstitching. Quite honestly, I have yet to even pull out my sewing machine. I think getting that out of the closet would take longer than just handstitching on the page.LOL Sometimes, I want to sew right off the edge of the page. It really is far simpler than you might think.

I first start off with marking my holes. You can do this with a bazzill template. You can also use a piece of plastic canvas as a guide. Or, as in this case, you can draw it free hand. I used embellishments found in the Crate Paper Brook Collection kit as my inspiration. Take your paper piercer and punch the holes. When you get close to the edge, make sure to be very careful not to rip it.

This photo gives you an idea of how close to the edge you can get.

Start stitching away. You may wish to start a little ways from the edge of the page. That way, your knot won't hang off the back edge. When you get close to the edge. You will carefully loop your thread around the page edge and push the needle back through the hole.

Make sure you don't pull too tightly as you can rip the paper or crimp it.

Continue stitching as normal.

It creates a wonderful effect on your page. Here is a close up of the edge.

Handstitching has become a favorite way for me to add accents to my page. Sometimes I use a little:

and sometimes I use a lot:

With Rainbow Popcorn. I wanted to create the look of clouds on the top portion of the page. So I used a cloud stencil. I drew clouds all over the page, then used my paper piercer at intervals. It took awhile to stitch this page, but I feel it was worth it.

* Get the Buggy is Sketch Inspiration # 136, Sketches for you August SGOTM color challenge. Products used are Crate Paper Brooke Collection, K and Company Ancestry paper ribbon and a handmade rose.

*RainBow Popcorn is the sample for my August be Inspired  project at Sketches for you. I used Sassafrass and DCWV papers. the ribbon is from the fabric store. The title is made with Colorbok Punch Out Alphas. I added Diamond stickles and glossy accents to the letters.

Don't forget...if you make a project with a flower, submit it to Scrap our Stash.

Summer kick off Blog hop at PPC

I love a blog hop(who doesn't) and I love a color challenge. So I decided to participate in Picture perfect creations summer blog hop. I used Sketch 204 from Scrapbook challenges.

I loved how the color palette from PPC complemented the photos of DH and DS playing at an outdoor restaurant. We often go to the Green parrot. It's a little hole in the wall place, but it has good food and the harbour views are amazing. Not to mention that the sea breezes are great on a warm summer day.

I added a green feather from an actual green parrot. Now in reality, there are no live green parrot's at this restaurant.However, there are green parrot's in the Bahamas...and that is where this feather came from. I figured it was the perfect touch. I did clean the feather before placing it in the layout by gently wiping it down with a baby wipe. One must be careful with bird feathers as they might harbour small bugs or other unpleasant germs. In cleaning the feather, you must also be quite gentle so you don't pull it apart.

I cut the title on my cricut with the CK Jolly elf font.

Crazy About Stars

I recently read a tutorial about making folded paper stars...and now I am hooked. I just have to figure out what else I can fold or crease. I will admit, that on my last 3 layouts, I have found an excuse to add a paper star.
To learn how to make a folded star, go here:
http://scrapbookandcardstodaymag.typepad.com/scrapbook_cards_today_blo/2010/06/paper-stars-with-kimber-.html

For the current Studio calico blog challenge :
 http://studiocalico.blogspot.com/2010/06/be-bold-challenge.html  and for the challenge over on Frosted designs: http://frosteddesigns.blogspot.com/2010/06/tgif-and-you-know-what-that-means.html , I created this layout about my son and his obsession with me taking his photo while he's underwater. All of the photos were taken using a disposable underwater camera. While I wish I had a nice digital underwater camera or the adaptor for my digital one, I find these cameras work pretty well. I love the bold turquoise color of the photographs...and when I matched the red cardstock to my son's red shirt, I loved the boldness of the color combo. So I chose to stick with these two colors for the whole layout. I cut the star using my cricut, but you could use any die cut or star punch. You could also trace a star cookie cutter. Use your bone folder to crease and fold the star. I folded and refolded a few times to make the creases more pronounced. I chose to add diamond stickles to the star so they would match the chipboard alphas(manufacturer unknown).it doesn't show well in the photo, but the alphas have glitter on them. To help the star keep it's dimension and to help adhere it to the page, I glued part of a cotton ball inside. The ribbon is from Cosmo Cricket's Honey Pie. Since the colors and title were so bold, I chose to keep the layout more simple.

I hope you'll be seeing some stars on one of your next layouts.
Update: and thanks to a comment from craftygirl...I just submited this Lo to Pratical scrappers. Thank you for the tip!