Finally Finished

Yes, the blanket from the last post in January (where has the time gone?) is finally finished. I had a chuckle to myself when I re-read what I had said about the size,  probably only lap size. Well, it grew into something much bigger. 61 1/2" or 156cm. Big enough to sit nicely on a queen size bed. 

Now you may be wondering why this project has taken so long to complete. That would be because I had it nearly finished and then I pulled most of it apart and re-did it. Yep, you could say I'm mad but I was not at all happy with it. It was all squewed and pulled in different directions that no amount of stretching was ever going to sort out so it all came undone, down to the big centre block of squares and I started again. Starting again also gave me a chance to rearrange the colour sequence of the rows around the centre and I'm much happier with how it goes now.

Take a look.

                                   

                                   

For now it has been folded and put away for someday but if anyone is interested in having this big snuggly blanket it is available for purchase.

Made My Own

Very popular these days is art done on canvases or wooden planks, that have an old rustic look to them, that have little sayings on them like 'if you're looking for a sign this is it' or the house rules or place names. While at first I thought they were rather nice and 'oh how I would like one but which one to choose', now I'm seeing them everywhere and they have become quite common and not so enjoyable to me as everyone has one. So I made my own.

I purchased a black canvas (which was on special, even better) wrote out on a piece of paper what I was planning to put on it and got busy. I decided to put the names of places we have visited in New Zealand. By using places we have been it would mean so much more to us.

I pulled out the Cuttlebug machine, bright coloured paper and the alphabet dies and started cutting.

As I cut letters and formed words I placed them on the canvas. Pirongia was first on and in the middle. This is where we live and it needed to be big and bold.

                                   

While I was still cutting out the words and placing them on the canvas, Master 12 came by flapping something, got a little too close and look what happened.

                                   

At first I yelled (very briefly) then I saw the funny side of it and just laughed. Trust him to do something like that! Luckily I had taken a photo so I could put it all back to how I had it. Amazingly I didn't loose any of the dots of the i's either.

When I was happy with the layout (again!) I got the Xyron sticker maker and started to feed the letters through it one place at a time and then stick them on the board. If you are into crafting one of these Xyron machines are so, so useful. This is the smallest but so easy to use, easily moved around, stored and refills of the sticky rolls come in either repositionable or permanent. Not only can you put paper or card through them but also ribbon, lace and probably much more that I haven't even thought about.

Once it was all stuck down I got the Mod Podge out to seal it and give it a finished look. This was the scary part. The Mod Podge is white and even though you know it will dry clear it's still scary to smear it all over your hard work. There is always 'what if' sitting in the back of your mind.

                                      

Of course it dried clear! How silly of me to worry. So after about three coats I deemed it done and onto the the wall it went. It is in our dining area where we all spend quite a bit of time and not just for eating.