Category: Sewing

Completed Craft Projects Page November 2020

A list of my completed craft projects. This page is periodically updated. Unfortunately, I still have various art projects I have not posted to this list yet. This is not all of my artwork and craft projects. There are also quite a few projects from several years ago that I still have not finished. In the future, I plan to go through all of my artwork and craft projects and add more photos and notes.

Year Completed: 2020 – 2018 – 2017 – Childhood Art

2020 Completed Craft Projects

  • three cats partial diamond paintingThree cats diamond painting
  • Year Completed: 2020
  • Notes: Reminds me of my cat Tabby at the shelter with her two other sisters. They all got adopted. I still remember going to the shelter with my dad. This was a kit purchased on AliExpress over a year ago. I glued it to mat board and it did warp. In the future I am not using mat board, only canvas panel or stretcher bars with acid-free foam board. I did seal it with a glaze (Judikins Diamond Glaze) and I learned you have to be somewhat slow and gentle applying the glaze or some of the diamond drills will become loose and you will brush them off of their original placement.

 

  • Chateau chateau de chambord craft projectDe Chambord, France
  • Year Completed: 2020
  • Notes: I purchased the canvas poster from AliExpress.I added the ribbon and some patched and picked out the fabric from the remnants section at Joann Fabrics and Craft store. Next time I might glue the poster the canvas parially as it is just not flat on the fabric. I satin stitched the sides and then hand stitched the ribbon. I stapled it to stretcher bars with foam board. In the future I will probably glue the fabric to the foam board. I actually put it in a frame with plexglass and am hoping to get a point driver for Christmas to secure it to the frame.

Yellow Roses Diamond Painting Kit Completed

  • Yellow Roses Diamond Painting Embroidery Kit
  • Year Completed: 2020
  • Slideshow: Yes
  • Blog Post: No
  • Notes: Used yellow fabric for the background. Actually sealed the diamond painting with acrylic matte gel medium (probably not the ideal sealer) and it still has a nice since. Framed on 16×20″ (40.64 cm x 50.8 cm) stretcher bars. The kit was purchased on AliExpress. It uses round diamond and not square. I currently prefer the square diamonds. I added ribbon and the picture frame/decorative bookend corners using acrylic matte gel medium. I signed the back and added my custom sewisabel stamp. The kit may have cost around $5 and the stretcher bars and fabric etc maybe around $10 plus labor and shipping costs. I think a fair price is at least $30 for the completed and framed kit.

2018 Completed Craft Projects

Tabby Cat In Flower Pot Diamond Painting Embroidery Kit

  • Tabby Cat In A Flower Pot Diamond Embroidery Painting Kit
  • Location: Displayed On Wall At Home
  • Year Completed: 2018
  • Slideshow: Yes
  • Blog Post:

 

  • Doorway Diamond Painting Embroidery KitDoorway Diamond Painting Embroidery Kit
  • Year Completed: 2018
  • Slideshow: Yes
  • Blog Post:
  • Cost:
  • Supplies:

 

  • Maple Leaf Park Paint By Number CompletedMaple Leaf Park Paint By Number Completed
  • Year Completed: Probably 2018, did not write on back yet
  • Slideshow: Yes
  • Notes: I have this framed in a Blick (R) wood gallery frame (16×20 size or 40.64 cm x 50.8 cm) that holds stretched canvas up to 1.5″ deep

 

 

  • Happiness and Longevity Pig Cross Stitch KitPig Cross Stitch Kit
  • Year Completed: 2018
  • Notes: Kit purchased on AliExpress. I signed the back using fabric marker on an additional piece of fabric I attached to the back. The back turned out really nice, but I ended up covering it didn’t fit in the embroidery hoop without extra fabric.

 

2017 Completed Craft Projects

Going forward I plan to frame my diamond painting kits using acid-free foam board and stretcher bars or just adhere them to a canvas panel board or acid-free foam board. I did not glue these to the foam board and used to thread to secure the back and add the string or yarn.

Deer Diamond Painting Embroidery Kit Completed

  • Deer Diamond Painting Embroidery Kit
  • Location: Storage
  • Year Completed: Probably 2017, did not write it on the back

 

 

 

Park Diamond Painting Embroidery Kit Completed

  • Park Diamond Painting Embroidery Kit
  • Location: Personal Home Storage
  • Year Completed: 2017

 

 

 

  • 20180203_192840Tabby cat with flower diamond painting kit
  • Location: Personal Home Storage
  • Year Completed: 2017
  • Slideshow: None
  • Blog Post: None
  • Cost:
  • Supplies:

 

 

 

Cross Patch Bead Embroidery Craft Project

  • Cross Patch Bead Embroidery Craft Project
  • Year Completed: 2017
  • Slideshow: No
  • Blog Post: No
  • Notes: This was just a cross patch I purchased on eBay and I added it to an embroidery hoop. I added a few extra beads to the patch and added some black tulle to the fabric for more of a shine. I painted the embroidery hoop and added a glaze.

 

Plaid Bucilla ® Stamped Embroidery - Bee Yourself Kit Completed

  • Plaid Bucilla ® Stamped Embroidery – Bee Yourself Kit
  • Year Completed: 2017
  • Slideshow: No
  • Blog Post:
  • Cost:
  • Supplies:

 

Don't Let Anyone Dull Your Sparkle

  • Dimensions (R) embroidery kit number 72-74048
  • Size: 6″ (15.2 cm)
  • Year Completed: May 2017
  • Slideshow: No
  • Blog Post: No
  • Cost:
  • Supplies:

 

  • Below are 3 coloring canvases of Johanna Basford’s Secret Garden that my dad got me as gift for either my birthday or Christmas. I colored in the flowers and leaves with marker and used yellow acrylic paint for the background. In the future I may add a fixative spray to them.
  • Then there are two partial round drill diamond mosaic paintings I purchased from AliExpress (the sunflowers and deer).
  • Then there is the winter tree cross stitch kit I purchased on AliExpress for myself. It was a good deal. It was 11ct printed and I added the sequins and beads around it. The size is 14″x14″ (35.56cm x 35.56cm). I have all four seasons of that tree, and plan to put them together in a 30″x30″ (76.2cm x 76.2cm) piece with my dads help. I can buy a 30″x30″ frame that is 2″ (5.08cm) deep from Jerry’s Artarama such as the Gotham Black Deep Gallery Frame and fit each of the four cross stitch trees in that. Otherwise I would have to go a custom route which is generally more money. I plan to frame each of the four seasons trees on 14″x14″ stretcher bars and then my dad is going help me put spacers between them and then I am going to frame them in a 30″x30″ extra deep gallery frame.

 

completed coloring canvas Johana Basford

Miscellaneous

I decided not to frame the diamond painting kit of a park below and only consider it partially completed (since it is unframed). It was foolishly sealed with matte gel medium and it has no shine except for a a little glitter. The plan is to just let this sit in storage.

Diamond Painting Kit

I decided not to frame the snow castle cross stitch kit below. I kind of learned the hard way why they are never framed with ribbon and fabric. I ended up ironing the ribbon (from the dollar store) which has wire and the wire melted and it ended up not having the look I wanted and it would just take a long time to redo things. Maybe later I will come back and finish this.

Snow Castle Cross Stitch Kit

  • Snow Castle Cross Stitch Kit
    • as of April 2020 have it is basically done except for embellishing the frame and then stapling it to 11 in x 14 in or 27.94 cm x 35.56 cm stretcher bars
    • this kit was purchased September 2017 was probably around $5.00 or $4.25 plus the cost of the ribbon and stretcher bars and fabric and beads and acid free foam board and the frame and labor.  The total is probably around $30.

Childhood & High School Artwork Photos

Below are photos of some of my childhood artwork that my dad saved. I took the photos in August 2020. Some of it is definitely from the 90s.

childhood art

first to third grade art

childhood art 4th grade

fourth grade coloring project

coloring fourth grade

fourth grade coloring project

love my daddy childhood artwork

high school self-portrait7th grade art

Blue Winter Tree Cross Stitch Kit Slideshow

The slideshow below is made up of twenty photos I took of a blue winter tree cross stitch kit I completed. It is posted on YouTube also. As of writing this it is my second uploaded YouTube video. My first one is a watercolor logo sketch video. I decided to frame the blue winter tree cross stitch kit on 14″ x 14″ stretcher bars after reading instructions on the website NeedlepointTeacher.com. The kit and stretcher bars were purchased on eBay and the slideshow was put together by a seller on Fiverr.com. This really is my first completed cross stitch kit. It appears to be part of a set of winter, spring, summer, and fall trees. I later purchased the other ones and plan to complete them. I used the YouTube channel Peacock & Fig to help me learn to cross stitch. Completing this kit has helped increase my focus and it was meditative and relaxing. I definitely enjoyed it.

I added some silver metallic thread to the embroidery thread and that is evident on the bottom of the tree trunk and other parts of the piece. A few spots I used too manyBlue Winter Tree Cross Stitch strands of thread, it was too thick and difficult to work with. I learned the importance of using three strands for eleven count and two strands for fourteen count because of this. A few spots I temporarily confused the numbers five and six. I came across some knots in the thread I had to undo when I was stitching. I was getting used to using the long thread. Some parts on the back I made the thread travel far. In some cases that seems necessary, so I wonder if that would take off points if it was getting judged in a county fair. I actually have few squares where I added extra diamond embroidery kit non-shiny rhinestones under the cross stitch ‘x’ in the upper right of the tree. It does not look horrible, but I decided against it as it would take more time and it made it more difficult and it was not necessary. I added sequins and beads around the tree to look like snowflakes. I used a very small amount of craft glue on two of the snowflake sequins because they got slightly bent when I was framing the piece. There are a few parts on the back where I thought I pulled the thread all the way through but I did not. I had issues with the metallic thread coming apart because it went through the cross stitch aida fabric so many times. It seemed the silver metallic thread was wrapped around a white piece of thread or one side of it was not metallic and occasionally I had issues with that. Still, it made something beautiful.

I decided to sign the back using the pen name Michelle A Meadows for privacy reasons (identity theft, gossip, interference with employment etc.). It was something that came up on a pen name generator. I considered whether to choose a unique or common pen name. A chose a somewhat common name for a pen name again for basically privacy issues. The kit was purchased on eBay for under $4 with free shipping. This cheaper price has served as a gateway into cross stitch for me. I would not have bought it if not for the cheap price. I now want to complete more cross stitch kits in the future. The stretcher bars were purchased for just under $10 on eBay. The cheapest price I have seen online for completed embroidery kits is $40. If I were to sell this I think $40 is definitely a fair price because of the cost of shipping and supplies and labor. Most cross stitch kits are over $4, but not this one. I did come across one nice piece of fiber art at a thrift store for $3 with a wood frame, but it was damaged and needed some cleaning. Thrift stores are generally hit-or-miss and a lot of people resell items from thrift stores online.  Oftentimes the thrift store is not exactly what you had in mind or it is something another person did not want or items that were difficult to sell. You are lucky when you find what you are looking for at a thrift store.

Craft Projects April 2017

Below are some photos of projects I completed this month and a few months prior. The paint-by-number and cross stitch of a winter tree were purchased on eBay. The coloring canvas is of Johanna Basford’s Secret Garden (#johannabasford http://www.artalternatives.com 10″ x 10″ or 25 cm x 25 cm). I used felt tip markers to color the flowers and acrylic Naples yellow paint for the background.  The diamond embroidery was completed several months ago and is of a vase of sunflowers. I am not sure if I am going to frame it or exactly how I am going to finish it. I have a few other diamond embroidery kits completed I have finished but not framed. The cat in the embroidery hoop is a finished dimensions punch needle kit. I plan to sew the back instead of gluing the fabric to finish it. I want to put some handmade and sewIsabel.com labels (that I have purchased of AliExpress.com) on the back and eventually try to sell some of these on Etsy and or eBay and hopefully this site someday. The sewIsabel.com labels from AliExpress.com I have just purchased and have not received in the mail yet. I also want to put a date and sign my name with some Fabric Markers on the back of the embroidery hoop. Most of these projects are almost finished. The cat embroidery I purchased from Jo-Ann Fabrics & Crafts and the BeeYourself embroidery kit was probably from CreateForLess.com.