The largest independent craft review site since 2007
photo by Robert Burrill, hearts by Elissa Powell
If you are new to polymer clay, you might have missed this fantastic tutorial in the PC Polyzine by Elissa Powell for making a chrysanthemum cane. It’s a simple tutorial that produces lovely results for even a novice caner! If you haven’t tried caning yet because it seems too difficult, click here to go to this tutorial and try it out!
Technorati Tags: chrysanthemum cane, elissa powell, pc polyzine, oldie but goodie
Rhonda’s Originals is an Etsy shop based in Connecticut that does a lot more than cross stitch patterns, but for our purposes we’ll focus on the Miss Prim line of cross stitch dolls, samplers and other designs with a sometimes twisted historical slant.
I really wanted to share these because I came across the Abraham Lincoln doll shown here, and given that his birthday is coming up I couldn’t resist it. His very tall hat says “Oh, Honestly, Abe,” which illustrates that snarky twist I mentioned. This particular design is 67 by 139 stitches, or about 4.75 by 10 inches, or 12 by 25.5 cm, when worked on 14 count fabric.
The patterns include instructions for making them into pillow “dolls.” Once you’ve stitched this one you’re sure to want to add George and Martha Washington and Betsy Ross to your collection (hers says “Heavens to Betsy”).
Among the more than 100 cross stitch designs there’s not really an organization so you’ll have to go treasure hunting. And treasure you are likely to find if you like mermaids, skulls, Pride and Prejudice or old fashioned Santas. To name a few of the things you’ll find. Most of the patterns are shown making these odd shaped pillows, but there are others that are shown as rectangles, and of course you can frame pieces or display them in a different way regardless of what is shown in the pattern.
In addition to cross stitch patterns you’ll find lots of fun printables here including puzzle cards, paper dolls, collage sheets, printable covers to upcycle old paperback books, holiday themed digital clip art you can download and use in different designs, and a fun collection of Marie Antoinette inspired digital designs. This stuff is lots of fun if you’re into collage, altered art, digital scrapbooking or other paper crafts.
Check out all the fun stuff on offer at Rhonda’s Originals, and let me know if you stitch up your own Honest(ly) Abe!
[Photo: Rhonda’s Originals]