A Christmas Pin, a lace flower and some Passementerie

Hi all,
Sorry I wasn't able to post this morning but I am on new meds and they made me very tired last night so I was in bed before I had time to even think about the blog.

I mentioned to you in a previous post that I was having a bit of time away from cardmaking to create some flowers and Christmas decorative pins.  Today I am going to give you a glimpse of what I made but instead of showcasing just them I have made a card using one of each to show you them in situ.  I think they turned out rather pretty, I hope you like them too.  I will show another of each in a different colourway tomorrow;  red and green for a very traditional feel.  But for now, lets see todays card shall we:-

As you can see I kept the flourishes and embellishments to a minimum as I thought the flower and button were quite bold.   Those of you who have been with me from the beginning will know that button wrapping (Passementarie) is another of my crafting hobbies.   Passementarie is the art of making elaborate trimmings such as wrapped buttons, braid, cording, tassels, rosettes etc.  This form of decoration was used hundreds of years ago but is still used today in many different ways on Military dress uniforms, wedding gowns, couture clothing and plush furnishings.  Infact if you have ever covered a button with fabric, you have practiced one part of passementarie.  I use threads to cover mine so I can create different patterns in the weaving.  Todays pattern is a star.
I like to make as much as I can for the cards I create and so on todays card I made the braid,  crocheted lace for the flower, wrapped a button and of course, made a Christmas Decorative pin.

In these side views you can see I decorated the inside again and even added a mini banner to carry the greeting and edged it with a small piece of the sky blue braid.  The side angle shot also shows the dimension of the lace flower with all its frills.  You may not believe it but that piece of lace is actually less than 2inch long.


I crochet my lace approx 12inches at a time, then I can cut it to any size required.  From the second row I increased in every stitch and then 3times in every stitch in following rows to get this fabulous frilled effect, which means I use very little of the lace each time to make quite a full and pretty flower.  It can also be made into a rolled flower but that is so 'big' (high and full too) that it is mainly used for headbands, clothing, cushions or bags.
Here is what it can look like:-

This particular flower was made in a circle as I only wanted to make the flower and not a piece of

lace. You can see in the picture below how small the circle is in the center. 

This is the pattern for the above flower.

Chain 6 and ss to make a ring
1st row:- Ch 2, *sc, ch1* 13times to end, join
2nd row:- Ch2, *sc, ch1, sc, ch1 into every (sc, ch1) space on previous row. Join. (inc row)
3rd row:-  ss into first ch1 space then Ch3, 2tr into gap then *3tr into every ch1 space* repeat  from *to* until the end. Join. (inc row)
4th row:- 3tr into every tr below (inc row). Join.
5th row:- 4Ch picot.  (Basic picot not traditional). Ch4, ss into next tr in previous row, repeat to end.


For the lace for todays flower

Make a chain max of 2inch for a single flower or as long as you desire for more uses.
1st row:-  Sc to end.
2nd row:- Ch2, then Dc into every sc below.
3rd row:-  Ch3, then 3Trebles into every dc below. (inc row)
NOTE.. If you would like your lace a little less frilly, only do 2trebles into every dc.
4th row:-   Into every tr below:  *Tr, ch1* repeat to end (inc row)
5th row:-  4Chain picot edge:- Ch4, sc into every ch1 gap on previous row.
This final row can be Ch3 also for a smaller picot.  There are various edges you can use to finish it off so play around a little and see what you come up with.

As this flower was cut from a long piece of lace I had a raw edge to contend with.  What do we do about that?  Well personally, I always use a strong, quick drying tacky glue  (I use Crafters Pick Incredibly Tacky Glue from Wild Orchid Crafts.  It is by far the best and quickest).
I dab a little of the glue across the cut end and then press a tiny bit of the opposite end ontop and leave to dry completely.  When it is fully dry, bend the lace back into shape to form the frills and the join should become almost invisible.   This pattern is very simple but very effective and looks fabulous as frills on a little girls headband, across a crocheted bag and as a guest towel edging it is beautiful.  One last thing, which you will see on tomorrows card, these lace pieces with regular gaps are fabulous for threading ribbon through also.






This last picture shows clearly my decorative pin, lace flower and even the star in the wrapped button.
I am feeling  a chair groove coming on.....  (it's just my version of the happy dance ...lol!) as  I managed a card, some braid, a decorative pin, a bit of passementerie, 2 lace flowers and two little crochet patterns (sorry they are not done professionally, I am good at the crochet, not good at writing patterns!
I am sorry it was such a long post, but I had so much I really wanted to share with you today.  I do hope you are all having a good day, weather aside that is.  I don't know about where you live, but here in South Wales we have been having horrid drizzle all day.  YUK!
So keep dry and keep crafting.  Biggest hugs to you all.   Linda x

Quick post

Good morning all,
A very quick post as I have a very busy day ahead of me.  My son comes home from University today!!  Being that Anthony is my youngest and the last one at home,  when he is away at Uni the house becomes very quiet indeed (except when the grandson is with us).   He is quite a quiet lad and keeps himself to himself alot, working on his pc in his room alot of the time. However, I still miss him around the house.  I walk past his door and go to look in on him or I suddenly remember and feel a little tug in my tummy.  Oh us mums are daft things at times aren't we.
Ok, now on to todays card.  I'm sorry I wasn't able to do my 'something different' card,  I haven't had the time.  I made alot of the items on the card myself.  Something, as you probably know by now, I like to do alot.
First was the flower, I bought a bag of Petals from the NEC approx 3years ago as they were selling them off rather inexpensively and I thought they would come in handy.  Well I started with a circle of card and my Incredibly Tacky glue and just layered the petals in circles until I had filled to the center.  I trimmed it back a little until I was happy with the shape and then fixed my pretty center and left it overnight to dry.

I found a use for the layered border die pieces that I created the other day. and I think it looks very effective here.   Also I used the waste pieces from cutting the borders and added them top and bottom for added effect.

I decorated the inside quite simply, using just a matching embossed card with a waste border piece again.  The flower is made from a layer of white card and a layer of matt silver.  You will never guess what I used for the lower flower.  It is not mirri board or foil,,,,..................  it is the thick, foil lined pockets that my Fentanyl patches come in (how about that for recycling!!!!!)  It cuts and embosses beautifully and unlike mirri card it is not quite so shiny and therefore I am more inclined to use it as I am not a great lover of mirri card unless in very small doses.

The center of this flower is really effective, don't you think.  I created this by squeezing a 10p sized ball of Creative Expressions PVA in silver onto my craft mat and then I shook over some silver Decoballs (similar to Microbeads and Beadazzles). I let it dry overnight and then attached it to my card with the Incredibly Tacky glue.  To save waiting time for future projects, I made up a couple of these, some in different colours too.

 

The center to this flower was created using a method that the lovely Jenny used on her fabulous card too.  PVA glue with seed beads.  I used Pearl PVA with irridescent seed beads and a sprinkling of Creative Expressions Aurora glitter, just a tad more sparkle.





This is more 'over the top' for me, but I do like to ring the changes and after making that lovely big flower, I just got carried away.
Well thats it for today, I'm sorry its so short but I am shattered and need to sleep.  I just hope I haven't made any bad errors with my grammar or spelling....LOL!. 
Thank you for stopping by, I will do my best to visit everyones blogs this evening and see what lovely creations you have to share.  Take care and have a fab day.
Regards Linda xx

Communion Invitations

Hi everyone,

I am sorry I haven't been about for couple of days but I had to finish the First Communion invitations for my great niece and they had alot more work in them than I first thought.   The specifications given to me were to somehow incorporate a Tiara, small roses, bling, pearls and a cross, of course  (she is under 10 so I had to allow for this also).  It took a bit longer than I allowed and that is why I had nothing to show on my blog the past two days.  I do hope you understand.
I do have a picture to show you at long last.  Now, we already know about my photography skills (yea, I know... 'what skills?'), well I actually managed to get a good clear shot, but realised, only on cropping, that there are more shadows on the card than there are under my eyes!  So have a  little giggle and tell me what you think. 

Here's a close up of the floral piece, with the 'Tiara' beneath it.

I also took a picture of the flowers in the 'make-up' stage, with the dies I used  (only 'cos I want a bit of sympathy :)   I had to cut 7 layers for every single flower, which meant 350 layers with only two dies, it's no wonder I don't want to see another flower;  well at least for a day or two anyway!  Woe is me......!!!!!  (now come on guys, help me out here, I am... really.. really woeful.....ahhhhh!) hee hee hee.

 

My recipe - Base Card 300gsm Centura Pearl,  Fretwork mask,  Pearls &  rhinestones from my stash,  Spellbinders Rose Creations, Labels twenty, and Antique fframes & accents  Spellbinders Spades border die (I think it is out of production)

NOTE The cross is made from two pieces of the Spades border die and interlinked.  I have searched high and low on the Spellbinders blog to find the number for you but cannot find it anywhere on there.  I purchased it from Create & Craft on a show Sue Wilson did back in 2011, but after checking they don't have it either.  So, I will contact Sue to see if she knows anything about it and I will let you know in due course.  I am so sorry about that.  

Well I hope you liked my invitation and think that it passed muster.  I have another card for you tomorrow, so I hope you will pop by.  Don't forget we only need one more follower to have the next candy draw, so tell your friends and make sure you have left a comment on the new Candy post, then I can send out another parcel of goodies.

I hope that today has found you well and you are not getting that 'cant wait for the end of week' feeling quite yet.  I don't know about you, but the only thing I can't wait for at the moment is a steady week of warm sunshine.  The rain was so miserable yesterday, here in South Wales.

Ok, bye for now and enjoy your day, whatever it finds you doing.  Regards and best wishes Linda xx