Hand-Sewn Felt Seashells

When I was a young girl, I was fascinated with seashells, even though I lived far from the ocean in Northeastern Pennsylvania. A friend of my grandparents, whom my siblings and I knew as Uncle Bozo, would bring me a few shells for my collection whenever he visited. I even had a little guidebook that contained illustrations of hundreds of different seashells that could be found all over the world.

I'm not sure what happened to my original seashell collection, but over the years I have gathered many shells during my own visits to East Coast beaches. I keep them in jars and baskets around the house because I'm still fascinated by their shapes and textures.

I tried to celebrate--not duplicate--the beauty of seashells with a collection of felt shells that appeared in the Summer 2015 issue of Craft Ideas magazine. I used felt and embroidery floss to create replicas of a scallop shell, oyster shell, sand dollar, and starfish. (I think the scallop shell is my favorite.)

If you'd like to try to sew your own seashell--or the whole collection, click here to go to the instructions and patterns on the Craft Ideas website.

"Citrus Motifs" Design Featured in Just CrossStitch Magazine

Wow, summer is just flying by! The August issue of Just CrossStitch magazine is on newsstands now, and my citrus design is inside. The design features bright slices of orange, lemon, and lime--cross-sections of avacado and kiwi too (they may not be citrus, but they certainly are summery). The bottom left photo shows some of the detail. 

If all that fruit is intimidating, you can stitch just one slice of citrus on perforated paper and make it into a refrigerator magnet. By the way, don't you just love that beautiful flamingo on the cover by Marie Barber?

Farmer's Market Tote

It's farmer's market season again--time to stock up on the fresh fruits and veggies our local farmers grow. I bring this canvas tote along to carry the zucchinis, carrots, beets, and greens I buy. 

The vegetable shapes are cut from wool-blend felt sheets and appliqued to a felt background panel. Simple embroidery stitches--backstitch, split stitch, French knots, satin stitch, and straight stitch--add color and texture to the veggies. If you're intimidated by this project, don't be--it's easier than it looks. I purchased the canvas tote ready-made at Michael's and just sewed the appliqued panel to it. 

This design was originally published in the 2015 Garden Issue of Craft Ideas magazine. Click here to go to the instructions on the Craft Ideas website. You'll find a link to the patterns there too.

Summer Craft Roundup

Happy Fourth of July! To celebrate, I've rounded up six of my favorite summertime crafts. They're all simple projects that you can cross-stitch, crochet, stitch, or craft. Click on the title of the project below to visit its original blog post. 

Crocheted Sea Glass Pendant

Use embroidery floss and crocheted chain stitch to transform a piece of colored sea glass into a unique pendant.

Star-Spangled Garland

This simple paper star garland can be a family project--grownups can do the tracing and cutting, the kids can glue the layers of stars together with glue stick.

Crocheted Paillette Necklace

Another easy crochet accessory. This one uses paillettes (oversize sequins) and embroidery floss to create a frothy necklace.

Summer Sun Watch

A little cross-stitch sun replaces the clock face on this wrist watch. Who cares what time it is when you're on vacation?

Flowery Fabric Pendant

To make this summer accessory, embellish a scrap of pretty fabric with embroidery and mount it in a pendant setting.

Felt Watermelon Basket

This fresh felt watermelon basket looks good enough to eat. You can use it to hold coasters or other tabletop trinkets.