Elf Candy Box

Today I have a plastic canvas project to share with you.  I've always loved stitching plastic canvas.  It is the craft that I first learned (well other than sewing in Home Ec) and sold at craft shows.  And like my other crafts it's one that I do in spurts.  Here lately those spurts are because of a precious granddaughter who likes to play in my yarn.  😍  But she was on vacation with mom and dad this past week so I was able to play a bit and created this Elf Candy Box.

This elf is one of many wonderful designs created by Dick Martin.  He was/is very well known for his plastic canvas patterns.  The man was sheer genius and over the years I have worked to build my stash of some of his patterns.

This one is from 1982 and is part of the Canvas Capers line put out by Leisure Arts.  It was an unopened kit that I lucked out and found on either Ebay or Etsy.  He's a cute little guy and I managed to get him finished the night before the kids came back from vacation.  Talk about timing....

Sleeping Mouse

Today I'd like to share one of my plastic canvas projects with you.  While I enjoy working with plastic canvas it takes a while to complete a project.  Especially when you're babysitting your granddaughter and all you want to do is get down on the floor and play with her.  😍

 

After a couple weeks of working on this piece I finally completed it the other night.  This is another piece in the Christmas themed Martinsville collection.  A while back I shared the first piece, the church, here.

 

For this piece I decided that I didn't want to create all the toys and blanket with canvas.  So instead I used fabric and miniatures that I've collected from the after Christmas clearance sales.  I have two drawers full of miniatures and yet I still buy them because who can resist a good clearance sale, and because I never know what projects I'll use them on.  And while the canvas toys for this piece were cute I like the look using the miniatures better.

 

Now that this one is complete it's time to decide which one I'll stitch up next.  I still haven't found the choo choo train - the last piece I need for this set, but I'm still searching.  Until then I just keep plugging away, making the ones that I do have.

Beatles Tissue Box Holder

I found this pattern on Ebay years ago and immediately fell in love.  Not because I'm a huge Beatles fan but because I thought it was different and unique.  Little did I know (at that time) that the Beatles had had their own animated show at some point.  Even knowing that now I still think it's different, unique and certainly fun. 

 

 

So even though I've had this pattern for years I've only made one of these tissue box covers.  Until now.  Since I've cut back on some of my commitments it's freed up some time to do other crafts (such as plastic canvas) that are more time intensive.  I've always enjoyed doing plastic canvas.  It was my introduction to the crafting world since I could never get the hang of crochet.  With that being said you'll be seeing more of this craft along with others through out the coming months.

Martinsville Church

Over the holidays I became a bit of an Ebay fanatic.  I was in search of plastic canvas kits created by Dick Martin who is very well known in the plastic canvas "community".  Back in the day when plastic canvas was a popular craft his patterns were a must have.  Somewhere along the way, between having six children, making multiple moves and a divorce I rid myself of all my crafting wares.  It wasn't until I remarried that I was encouraged to take back up my crafting hobbies.  And now I have more than I did before!

 

Oh yeah, so back to my Ebay fanaticism.  😉  I remembered seeing this series of kits called Martinsville.  There was a Christmas themed one and a Spring/Easter 'ish' one.  Well I decided to begin my hunt for the Christmas version, and I found them.....except one.....the choo choo train.  There are 12 in all so 11 is better than none I guess.  But then, I'm not giving up hope either.  LOL

 

Even though the holidays or over and the new year has begun I thought it would be fun to sit down and begin doing some of my plastic canvas projects.  This way I have plenty of time to just chill while I work on them.  Much like cross stitch this is a craft that can take a while to complete.

 

So I started this set by stitching the church.  I love nativities so it was only natural that I began with this one.

 

Now I just have to decide which one to do next.

Joker Tissue Box Cover

Today I'm sharing another of my plastic canvas creations.  I've been having a lot of fun making the various DC Comic character tissue box covers and this one was no exception. 

 

After making a couple of the 'heroes' I decided it was time to add a villain or two into the mix and thought the Joker would be a great start.

 

Like my other hero tissue box covers, this pattern is from the DC Comics Super Heroes pattern leaflet - #1779.  It was published back in 1997 so it's out of print, and like all other plastic canvas patterns and kits I've drooled over lately can be costly for that reason. 

 

While plastic canvas is not as popular a craft like it used to be I still enjoy it.  And I could kick myself in the tail end every time I think about the multitude of patterns and things I got rid of over the years.   Oh well, live and learn, right? 

Wonder Woman Tissue Box Cover

All right now.  Who doesn't love a little bit of Wonder Woman in their life?  I remember watching this TV show when  was younger and I have to admit that I don't recall missing a single episode.  For me Wonder Woman was just as awesome as watching the Bionic Woman or Six Million Dollar Man. 

 

Yep, I was that girl! 

 

While on vacation over the Thanksgiving holiday I knew that I would have plenty of time for crafting. So this year I decided to use that time for catching up on some of the plastic canvas projects I've been wanting to do.  And this year I settled on creating some of the DC Comic Marvel Heroes.

 

This particular pattern is from the DC Comics Super Heroes pattern leaflet - #1779.  It was published by Leisure Arts back in 1997 so you can only imagine some of the prices I saw for this pattern book while I was meandering through Ebay one day.  Some of the prices were as high as $40, and that's BEFORE shipping.  Fortunately I found it for less than half that price.

 

And so this is one of several TBC that I made over the holiday week.  Stay tuned as I have a couple others to share with you.

Elf Surveillance Cam

 

Happy Saturday everyone.  I am delighted to be your guest designer at Jaded Blossom Stamps today. Christmas is my favorite time of year to craft for and the past several months have been full of inspiration and fun.  In fact, one of today's projects that I have for you is based off a project from one of my FB groups.

 

As I'm sure many of you have noticed the Santa and Elf Cams have been a HUGE hit this year.  Another big hit again this year are the elves from Dollar Tree.  Last year I missed that craze but this year I jumped on the bandwagon. 

 

So for my first project, I made a couple of these fun Elf Cam gift sets using the elves and tins from the Dollar Tree.  My ornaments were made using the floor wax and glitter method.  If you've never made glitter ornaments before you can view a tutorial at the Ornament Girl here.

 

I also wanted to create a "report card" to go along with the set because after all what's the point of the Cam if the elf isn't going to report back to Santa?  For the report card I used the Elf Shoe Frame from the Silhouette store and stamps from the Elf Report Card by Jaded Blossom Stamps.

 

 

For my second project, I decided to combine my love for papercrafting with my love for plastic canvas.  I've had this kit of Toymaker Elves sitting in my stash for a while, and so I decided to take it with me on vacation and stitch these guys together.  I love how they turned out especially once I filled them with some peppermint bark.  The stamps that I used for these are the Winter Candies candy stamps from Jaded Blossom Stamps.

 

I hope that you've enjoyed the projects that I created to share with you today.  Thanks for stopping by, and many thanks to the wonderful team at Jaded Blossom for allowing me this opportunity to be a guest designer for all of you.

 

Have a safe and blessed and Christmas holiday season.

 

Baby Announcement Holder

 

A while back I found this Baby Bear Birth Announcement Kit from 1982 on ebay.  It's one of those awesome creations from Dick Martin.  Well of course I snatched it right up so that I could make it for my Grandbaby, Ocean Rose.  Last night I finally finished putting it all together and got the backing sewed on.  Now I wish that I had had a sturdier canvas to stitch it on so that it wouldn't seem too flimsy.

 

Overall I love the holder and next time I make one it will definitely be done a bit different.  For now though I'm sure that my daughter will love and use it.

Ornament Set

I know.  I know.  Christmas is over and we now have, what? 362 days until Christmas?  But with as busy as things were I never got a chance to share these ornaments with you.

 

The fuzzy slipper ornament is a free pattern that I found at free patterns dot com.  They have a variety of patterns for crochet, beading, papercrafting, plastic canvas, etc.  The other three ornaments:  birdhouse, santa skating and the plate of cookies are from the book Homemade Christmas.  This one was published by Kount on Kappie back in 1989.

 

When I was at Joann's this past weekend I noticed that there were plastic canvas pattern books on the rack.  I saw the same thing when I was at Hobby Lobby in Birmingham over Thanksgiving week.  Who knows, maybe this 'dying' craft is starting to make a resurgence, and we'll see more of it in the coming months.

Christmas Eve Ornament

I have another ornament I'd like to share with you today.  This one is from the Leisure Arts leaflet 361, titled Santa's Workshop in Plastic Canvas.  As with so many great patterns from years gone by this was another creation designed by Dick Martin.  (This particular pattern was published in 1985.)

 

I've never created the entire project from this leaflet.  Instead I've only created a variety of the ornaments and this calendar of December 24th is one of my favorites.

 

And since today is December 24th it was the absolute perfect day to share these ornaments with you.

Fireplace Christmas Card Holder

 

While I was on vacation last week I took a couple of projects to complete with me and this was one of them.  As I would work on getting this stitched my husband's little sisters would sit next to me and watch intently, asking questions as I stitched along.  Needless to say before our vacation was over I had purchased a couple of little kits and was teaching them how to stitch plastic canvas.

 

This fireplace is from the Kappie Originals leaflet titled Let the Holidays Sing and was published.in 1993.  I've had this pattern since then and for all the different projects in the leaflet this fireplace is the only one I've ever created.

Superman Tissue Box Cover

Well it's been a couple weeks since I told you that I was working on creating a Superman tissue box cover, and finally it is complete.  It took a bit longer to complete because of my limited crafting time lately.  It's like I say, "I might be slow, but I get there eventually".  And this was no exception.

 

This cover is another one from the DC Comics Super Heroes pattern leaflet - #1779.  It's a leaflet that was published by Leisure Arts back in 1997 and for all the plastic canvas stuff I used to buy back then I'm surprised I never knew this existed.  Thank goodness for ebay and the daily perusals thereof.  Talk about a treasure trove.

 

There are plenty more designs to be made from this leaflet but I'm going to take a break from them so I can start another project I've been wanting to do.  Oh, and I have to finish an order for some crocheted hats.  Thank goodness for vacation so I can play catch up.

 

Happy Crafting everyone.

Batman Tissue Box Cover

Since it's the middle of the week I figured today would be the perfect day to take a break from my card making to share with you a tissue box cover I finished over the weekend. 

 

As I was making my daily perusal of ebay a couple weeks ago I came across a DC Comics Super Heroes pattern leaflet - #1779.  It was published by Leisure Arts back in 1997 so you can only imagine some of the prices I saw for this pattern book.  One seller wanted $40 plus shipping.  YIKES!  Needless to say I didn't pay that much and was fortunate enough to come across an auction that had one bid and was ending in less than hour.  By the time it was all said and done I paid less than $15 - including shipping.

 

But I had to have this pattern because a couple of my children are big on the whole DC Comic franchise so I thought it would be cool to make some of these as gifts and such.  Now that I'm done with the Batman box I've moved on to Superman so I'll be sharing him soon. 

Reindeer Gift Jars

 

Is it the weekend yet?  My goodness I don't know about you but I've had more than a week already here in my neck of the woods.  Then with the time change and being up around 4AM or earlier every day makes for even longer days.  On the bright side I am getting a little bit more accomplished.

 

With all the hectic pace of life right now I'm grateful that I still have time throughout my week to sit and craft a little.  Especially since I have so many crafts I love to do. 

 

So today I share with you another in my plastic canvas "series".  This craft takes a while to get a project done, but seeing the final product makes it all worth while in my opinion.  These little gift jars are fun to do and great for using for gifts whether for co-workers, friends, or family.

 

These are made using a pattern from the Leisure Arts Book #1541 (book three) titled Deck The Halls in Plastic Canvas published in 1994.

Nativity with Stable

 

Yesterday I was able to finish putting together  a nativity that I have been working on.  This is another one of my plastic canvas creations, and while the direction for the pattern were a bit confusing I think the end result is pretty neat. 

 

I did not have any doll hair in my stash so had to use what I did have, and that meant yarn.  For Joseph I decide to try something a bit different.  I used some eyelash yarn I had, wrapped it around a pencil and glued it together in the ring shape and then glued that on for his hair.  It gives him kind of a wild man look but that's what makes him unique.

 

Overall I love the way that this nativity turned out, and really love the uniqueness of the set.

 

This particular pattern is from the 1984 leaflet Projects Galore published by Butterfly Publications.  I had never seen this pattern before and came across this gem while perusing ebay.  Needless to say, I peruse several times a week - always on the hunt for those unique patterns.  And I have found some - just keep tuning in to see what I create next.  :o)

    

Mini Nativity

 

Happy Thursday everyone.  I have one last plastic canvas project to share with you this week. 

 

This one comes from the Hear Me Sing leaflet by Kappie Originals in 1989.  I used to make a lot of these nativities back in the day.  Only back then I used to have little music button boxes that I would insert into them.

 

I've seen these used as a small decorative piece on a shelf or used as an ornament.  Either way they make up quickly and I love the end result.

Santa Pants

It's the middle of the week and thank goodness.  I don't know about you but I've already had a whole lot of week packed in to only two days.  I love what I do for a living and thank goodness because it's about enough to make a crazy person go nuts.  So it's a good thing that I have a couple of hobbies I enjoy that help alleviate my stress in the evenings.  :)

So today I bring you Santa's Pants.  This was a fun plastic canvas project that I boughtform from Mary Maxim.  These will work great for using as treat holders or a way to give someone a gift card. So if you enjoy doing plastic canvas or never have before but have been thinking about giving it a whirl I'd recommend this pattern.

Santa Gift Jars

So this week I thought we'd do something a little bit different.  I thought I'd "showcase" another craft that I enjoy doing but don't really show and tell as much as I do with my papercrafting.  Some of you may have heard about it and some of you may even enjoy playing with it yourselves.  It's called plastic canvas and I've been doing this stuff off and on since I was about 20.

It's not as 'popular' a craft nowadays but it is still around.  However, the vast majority of projects I create are from patterns that were published in the 80's and 90's when the craft was at its height of popularity. 

This particular project is one that I used to make a lot of back in the day.  It was always a popular seller and I enjoy making them.  The only drawback is that this is made with the smaller 10 mesh canvas and that means it's more intricate and daunting for my poor eyesight.  Somehow I muddle through and get them done though.

This pattern is from the Leisure Arts #1541 (book three) titled Deck The Halls in Plastic Canvas published in 1994.

Frog Flower Pot Holder

Can you believe that today is the last day of January already?  Time is just flying by.  Of course that makes me happy because it means spring is just around the corner and that means it's time to plant and garden veggies and flowers!  Not only that it means WARMTH!  

So in the spirit of gardening and all things warm and spring-y I wanted to share this cute little flower pot holder I made from plastic canvas.  I thought this frog and his little fly buzzing around was just too cute.  

Now for those of you that stitch plastic canvas like me this pattern is from an out of print book called Clay Pot Huggies by Kathy Wirth.  If you do a search you can probably find a copy on ebay or Amazon though.  That's how I found mine....

Post-It Memo Purses

You know how the office supply stores have all these great "fashionable" ways to house your supplies like high heel tape dispensers and purse post-it holders for the accordian style pads?  Well today I want to share with a couple of the purse holders I made for post-its using plastic canvas.

Using a couple patterns from the Mini Memo Purses book and a few glass beads these homemade covers made up fashionably nice.

I'm really loving the way this beach scene cover turned out.  Of course I'm kinda partial since I live in the Panhandle of Florida where the beach is basically my back yard.  

Then there's also this one, with it's big, bright yellow flower spreading some cheer.

Or how about this cute little plaid cover in pink and yellow?  What I really like about this one is how the flower buttons up top help to set the tone and pull the colors of the purse together with the handle. 

I just wish that I had been able to snap some better pics for you as these just don't do justice to the purses.  That's how it goes sometimes and it's just too dark and cold outside to try taking pictures tonight.  And because it's been a while since I shared a plastic canvas project with you I couldn't wait another minute to post and share.

Now I just have to figure out what to do next.  Right now I have a new hat going on the loom and I really want to do some more embroidery and sewing.  But at the same time I've been telling myself I'm going to get back in scrapbooking my pictures.  It's enough to drive me crazy.

Oh well, Happy Crafting............