So Lucky with Theodore and Ranger Ink

March 15, 2021March 14, 2021audreypettit 1 Comment

Happy Monday, crafty friends! It’s St. Patty’s week! And although I don’t do anything special to celebrate the holiday, I do always love a good excuse to do a little crafting and decorating. So today I thought I’d re-share my favorite St. Patrick’s Day project from last year, an altered home decor frame that I made for the Ranger Ink Project Page featuring the adorable Tim Holtz Theodore Colorize die set.

I’m always on the lookout for inexpensive home decor items, and this 5×7 thrift store desk frame was an awesome score at less than $2. It was a plain wooden frame to begin with, which didn’t match my project or decor, so step one was to give it a whitewash of Picket Fence Distress paint and a coating of Distress Crackle Texture Paste, followed by a sanding for that perfect shabby finish. I used Oxide-inked patterned paper for the background, and it, too, was doused with Crackle Paste and sanded. The finished product is so smooth and cracked and aged, and totally reminds me of Venetian plaster. I was obsessed with this technique last year.

Theodore is so darn cute! Definitely a favorite from the Colorize line. His lucky clover was made by piecing four small heart die cuts together, and I tucked the clover into his mouth for a bit of fun. I added some Wildflower die cut greens around him, and the sentiment is a mix of alphanumeric dies with an older script word set (which unfortunately is retired now).

The full tutorial for this project is still available on the Ranger Ink Project Page, if you’d like to learn more. Happy St. Patty’s Day, and thanks for stopping by!

Sizzix Handwritten Celebrate die set- retired

February Home Tour- The Entryway

February 2, 2021audreypettit 1 Comment

Happy Tuesday, friends! I’ve been inspired by my recent heart-making frenzy of the past couple of weeks to do a bit of Valentine decorating, and today I thought I would share my new entryway update with you.

I don’t normally decorate for Valentine’s Day. The holiday just comes and goes so quickly, and I usually like to keep out my winter snowmen until March. But this year, because I’ve been making so many hearts, Valentines are on my mind.

Since I am more of a snowman type of gal, I don’t have many Valentine decorations, but this did give me the perfect excuse to display some of my handmade rag dollies. I don’t keep many of my creations, but these right here have always been my favorites.

I have just finished one last set of prim hearts for the season, and thought they would look sweet piled into this old apple basket. Once again, these are made from some of my favorite Tim Holtz Eclectic Elements fabrics that I’ve been hoarding in my stash. If you saw the patchwork heart I made recently, then you may recognize the small “patches” made from those scraps that I added to these hearts, along with a snippet of lace and vintage pearl button. And in honor of my recent return to cross-stitching, I added hand-stitched X’s all around the outline of these shabby sweet bowl fillers. These cuties have been added to my AudOnes Prims Shop, if you’d like to take any of them home.

Speaking of cross-stitch, this is a “save the stitches” framed cross stitch piece that I found at my favorite local charity shop. I don’t know how old the stitching is, but I’m guessing quite, from the discoloration of the linen…. and that dated framing screams 80’s to me. It is probably a section of some larger piece that someone saved behind glass. Sure wish I knew the history.

Underneath the table, is my usual mish-mash of decor items bundled into a favorite handmade basket.

It’s been quite fun, trying something new.

If February goes anywhere near as quickly as January did, then Valentine’s Day will be here before we know it. But as I had hoped to do, I did get my dining room sideboard decorated yesterday, and it feels so bright and cheerful compared to the darker tones of last month. I’ll take some pictures, and share with you all soon.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Tim Holtz Eclectic Elements Patchwork Heart

January 27, 2021audreypettit 1 Comment

Happy Wednesday, crafty friends! Today I am back with a quick post to share a new fabric project with you that I made with some of my favorite fabrics from the Tim Holtz Eclectic Elements collection.

I recently shared some heart bowl fillers that I made for my shop using my stash of Tim Holtz fabrics, and this sweet patchwork heart is a continuation of that project. Occasionally I like to challenge myself to use scraps, and that’s just what I did here. This “crazy quilt” inspired patchwork pillow top is made from all the leftover scraps from the bowl filler project. I cut all those pieces into rectangles and squares, and pieced the blocks into rows and strips. The final outcome is so random and fun.

I topped the heart pillow with a wide band of cotton lace and some of my coveted vintage millinery trimmings. I really love how it turned out, and all the more so for being made from scraps.

This Prim Patchwork Heart has just been listed in my AudOnes Prims Shop. In case you’re interested, you can find it (HERE).

Mr. Rabbit with Tim Holtz

January 17, 2021audreypettit 5 Comments

Happy Sunday, crafty friends! I am so excited today to begin sharing my makes for the Tim Holtz Sizzix Chapter 1 release for 2021! This release is available NOW, and if you didn’t get the chance yesterday to watch the live show, filled with tons of amazing project inspiration, you can catch the replay on the Tim Holtz YouTube channel.

I am so, so thrilled to have been able to create projects for this release. The new die sets are just amazing, and I’m sure you will find many new favorites to add to your wish list. There are adorable new characters in the popular Colorize line, new seasonal selections and steampunk classics, lots of stunning flowers and new funky designs. I think my personal favorite is this guy right here, Mr. Rabbit. So today I am sharing my favorite make from this release, a wool applique pillow with lots of hand-stitching and gorgeous new Tim Holtz fabrics from his Eclectic Elements collection.

Mr. Rabbit is a Bigz die, which means its steel edges are perfect for die cutting thicker materials, like the heavy wool felt that I used here. After die cutting the rabbit, I pinned it in place on a pillow top that I made from the new Abandoned Eclectic Elements fabric line, and then hand-stitched around the outline and detailing with a combination of blanket and outline stitches. I satin stitched the nose, and added a flat black bead for the eye. A chocolate-brown pom pom gives Mr. Rabbit a bit of dimension with a fluffy cotton tail.

The pillow back was made from the same heavy wool I used on the rabbit. I quilted the pillow front, and added a big button and ruffled ribbon and trim to finish the design.

Do you have a favorite from the new Chapter 1 release? I would love to hear!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

A Gift Wrap Pillow with Tim Holtz

December 21, 2020December 20, 2020audreypettit 1 Comment

Happy Monday, crafty friends! It’s here… Christmas week is actually here. And although it’s getting late for holiday projects, I do have a couple left to share with you this week. Today I’m showing a fabric pillow that I made for the Tim Holtz Sizzix Facebook Live in November, featuring the adorable Gift Wrap Bigz die from the Chapter 4 release.

Gift Wrap is a Bigz die, which means it’s perfect for die cutting thicker materials like the wool felt I used to make the colorful presents on this sweet pillow. I went with some traditional holiday colors on this holiday make, but mixed them with several different shades of blue, and I really like how it turned out. It’s easy to see that these cute packages could be used for way more than just Christmas.

Although the tiny gift tags topping the presents and the Tiny Type alphabet letters are both from Thinlits die sets, I did manage to die cut felt with them and use the tags to dress up the tops of the bows. I added machine stitching around the boxes, and made some wonky hand-stitches across the ribbons for that handmade touch. A bit of pom pom trim and some holly leaves and berries finish the design.

I hope you all have an absolutely festive and merry holiday week, my friends! And thanks so much for stopping by!

The supplies I’ve used are linked and/or listed below:

Fabric: Crossroads Denim Collection by Indygo Junction
Craft Felt
DMC Floss
Petaloo Pom Pom Trim

Yuletide Holiday with Therm O Web

December 7, 2020December 6, 2020audreypettit 3 Comments

Happy Monday, crafty friends! How are the holiday preparations coming along at your house? Although I still have a long way to go, I’m excited to say that I got a bit of decorating done this past weekend, and I absolutely love how festive things are starting to look. I hope to share a tour of the dining room soon. But in the mean time, I thought today I would share a peek at a new addition to my sideboard display this year…. some adorable holiday tomato pincushions that I made recently for the Therm O Web blog.

One of my favorite things about the Therm O Web team is being able to play and create with both paper and fabric. So when they asked me recently to make a holiday themed fabric project, I jumped at the chance. If you are at all fond of sewing, or perhaps just collecting vintage things, then I’m sure you’re familiar with the tomato pincushions that these cuties are fashioned after. I just love the nostalgia of these trinkets, and how fun don’t they look in this Tim Holtz Yuletide fabric!

There’s very little sewing involved in the making of these pincushions, and I know that even very beginner sewers could tackle these with ease. I think these would look so cute made up in different fabrics for the seasons and holidays. And they make a great gift idea, too. If you’re interested in learning more, be sure to check out my step-by-step tutorial on the Therm O Web blog.

Or, you can find these available for sale now in my AudOnes Prims Shop!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Wishing you all a wonderful week ahead!

Worktable Wednesday- Prim Fabric Pumpkins & an AudOnes Prims Update!

September 9, 2020September 9, 2020audreypettit 3 Comments

Happy Wednesday, friends! Hope those of you who celebrated had a lovely long holiday weekend. It was quiet at my house, but I had my Pete here with me which makes everything so much better. Took advantage of the extra time to start taking down some of the summer decor and putting up a few fall things. The dining room has now gotten a new makeover. And I’m excited to say that was the push I needed to finish up a project for my AudOnes Prims shop. Finally!

You can tell by these few peeks that I’ve gone with a fall harvest theme for the dining room sideboard this month. I’ll share more pictures in another post soon, but for today, I am so happy to share these sweet prim fabric pumpkins that I’ve been working on for Worktable Wednesday. It’s been quite some time since I’ve been able to craft for my shop, so I’m pleased to finally have some new goodies listed. These prim pumpkins are made from some of my favorite Tim Holtz Eclectic Elements fabric, that has been coffee/tea dyed and paint splattered into the perfectly shabby aged finish. The neutral colors work so well for fall, from now straight through until Christmas. And if you are interested, you can find these available now in my
AudOnes Prims Fall Shop

Thanks so much for stopping by! Wishing you all a very wonderful day!

Worktable Wednesday- A Prairie Schooler Christmas Tree Farm

July 29, 2020audreypettit 6 Comments

Hello friends and welcome back to another round of Worktable Wednesday. As I mentioned last week, this month is Jolly July in the cross stitch and needlework community. Just like traditional Christmas in July, this is the time to get a jump start on those holiday projects. Whether you are interested in working on some Christmas ornaments, or getting a head start on making holiday gifts, Jolly July is a great incentive to get yourself going.

If I haven’t already said…. I have quite the thing for Prairie Schooler designs, and for my second Jolly July finish I tackled the PS Christmas Tree Farm chart. This piece is stitched on 14-count Aida fabric that I coffee/tea dyed using all the called-for DMC floss. The stitching was mounted onto sticky board and for now, clothes pinned to a tin thrift-store easel frame.

This is definitely one of the larger pieces that I’ve stitched since starting up cross stitch again in January, and I just love how it turned out. That wraps up Jolly July for me this year, and I’m already looking forward to the next. My goodness, how fast a month flies by…

Wishing you all a wonderful day! Thanks so much for stopping by!

The supplies I’ve used are linked below:

All Bottled Up with Tim Holtz & Sizzix

July 27, 2020July 27, 2020audreypettit 5 Comments

Happy Monday, crafty friends! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend and the sun is shining on you on this bright and beautiful summer day. It is a scorcher here in the heart of North Carolina. Too hot to spend time outdoors, and way too hot for the poor flowers to bloom. But that’s okay, because I have some flowers to share today anyway.

This sweet pillow is a project that I made way back for the Tim Holtz Sizzix 2020 Chapter 1 release, and features one of the Bigz dies from that collection called Bottled Up. Of course since Bottled Up is a Bigz die, it is perfect for cutting heavier and thicker materials, like the wool felt I used here.

I love making small pillows and pillow tucks to add to my home decorating. They look great just tossed into a chair, or bundled together to fill a favorite basket or bowl arrangement. With Halloween quickly approaching, I’m thinking of all the potions and poison bottles I could make with this die. But for today, I paired it with another Sizzix Bigz die, Large Stems, to create a sweet floral pillow perfect for the spring and summer months.

I did some piecing of the flowers to get the two-toned colors, and left the flower heads free to add extra dimension. Hand-stitched French knots hold the stacked flowers in place. And I used a blanket stitch and outline stitch to add detail around the stems and bottles. A pair of buttons and Idea-ology metal Mini Plaquettes finish the design.

Wishing you all a fabulous week ahead! Thanks so much for stopping by!

The supplies I’ve used are linked and/or listed below:

Other: Wool, Felt, DMC Floss

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Worktable Wednesday- A Prairie Schooler Christmas Eve

July 22, 2020July 23, 2020audreypettit 7 Comments

Hello crafty friends! It’s getting rather late in the day already, but I didn’t want to let Worktable Wednesday slip by without sharing a peek at what I’ve been working on these past couple of weeks.

This month is Jolly July in the cross-stitch and needlework community. Just like traditional Christmas in July, this is the time to get a jump start on some of those holiday projects you’d like to tackle for the year. Whether you are interested in working on some Christmas ornaments, or getting a head start on making holiday gifts, Jolly July is a great incentive to get yourself going.

For my first Jolly July project, I made this trio of cross-stitched ornaments from the Prairie Schooler Christmas Eve chart. I absolutely adore Prairie Schooler, and these are a super quick stitch at only a little over 2″ square.