Hello!
I've been working on a bunch of projects before I move later this month.
I'll miss daily life in Brooklyn terribly but I've decided to stop blubbering and have a go at living happily in the wild west.
I have my cowboy hat ready and even scheduled some driving lessons.
I already feel sorry for whomever my driving instructor is.
Earlier this week I found the world's coolest advertisement- an ugly black and white taxi sticker with the New York City skyline in the background.
I decided to poke some holes in it and turn it into an embroidery stencil.
First resulting page:
I loved this first page but thought the night sky in the background clashed with the photo's twilight setting. I used regular embroidery floss minus 2 strands so it was easier to stitch some of the details like the windows. It's too easy to pop a stitch so use a thinner needle and thread, work with short thread lenths and be patient- not my strong point.
The Amy Tangerine letter embroidery stencils are amazing. The letters are perfect for a large title that doesn't interfere with the background. Layering a few semi-circles under the "right now" button helped it stand out against that fabulous sunset orange color.
On my second attempt I used a quote from a hand-made sofa cushion I spotted at the Brooklyn Museum as my main inspiration:
My desk is even messier than usual now that I'm packing. These bits would have ended up in the trash as they are lonely left overs from other projects but I liked them too much. I used the border from a neon pricing sticker sheet, some leftover washi tape, the sticker stencil (now completely trashed) and some of my all time favorite alphabet stickers- American Crafts "doll", October Afternoon mini market alphas, and Jillibean Soup Alphabeans which are THE perfect size and font.
I have 10 blacked out Instax prints. I'm not sure why I have so many as it's a super easy camera to load. They make great backgrounds for Project Life and I have totally cheated by printing a regular photo and cutting it down to fit within the frame- at least they are being used.
I used the following Flair Button packs for these projects:
NYC flair I used the Brooklyn Bridge badge for my page so it's not in this photo.
Anything can be turned into a funky stencil.
I've used a sticker here but I've also used chipboard designs, flat toys (my fave? those flourescent star stickers they sell for kid's bedrooms) and cups to make circles.
It's also a good idea to use a foam pad (like in the Amy Tangerine stencil set) or an old mouse pad to make poking holes into the paper easier and to avoid ripping paper which leads to poped stitches.
Have a great week!
Michelle
