Cute As a Button Tin and Purrfectly Silly Tags

Alpha Stamps February theme is "Cute As a Button" and that title couldn't be more true. This kit has kitties, vintage sewing images, mini spools, and a ton of great cat buttons.

I was asked to be a guest designer for Alpha Stamps and came up with two completely different (and cute!) projects. First is an altered tin using one of these Big Eye Anime Cat Buttons, which are just too funny! I decided he needed to be the center of attention, so I used a lovely image from this collage sheet to frame the button. The paper used on the tin came from the Sew Lovely 6 x 6 paper pad and I used 6mm doll buttons as a base for the stamped "cute as a button" title. The tin topper includes a painted wooden mini spool, a vintage satin button, and a bow made from pinky peach seam binding. The base is a larger spool covered with more of the Sew Lovely paper and a tiny flower. I couldn't get enough of that paper!

Here's the supply list:

 Sew Lovely 6 x 6 Paper Pad

Thread Trading Card Cuties collage sheet 

 Big Eye Anime Cat Buttons 

Doll Buttons 4mm 

Doll Buttons 6mm 

Wood mini spools 

Pinky Peach seam binding 

Blank Altoid Tin 

My next project came to me while knitting a hat for a friend. I figured a hand knitted hat needed washing instructions, so these tags were born. (I also kept thinking of those vintage Three Little Kittens  images and HAD to use them for something special.) These adorable tags will add a nice touch to some future gifts.
 

 

Kitties from 3 Little Kittens , Owl and Pussycat, and K is For Kitten collage sheets were cut out, inked on the edges, and glued to tags I cut out from the Sew Lovely paper pad. Have I mentioned how much I am in love with that paper? The tag template was just an ordinary plain gift tag that I traced around.  The edges of the tags were also inked and they were decorated with 4mm doll buttons, 6mm doll buttons, and heart buttons. The kitten washing his mittens got some micro bead bubbles glued in his washtub. A little bit of simple embroidery was stitched on and I typed out some silly sayings to glue to the tag.

 

Supplies List:

Owl and Pussycat collage sheet
3 Little Kittens ATCs collage sheet
K is For Kitten collage sheet
Sew Lovely 6 x 6 paper pad
doll buttons 4mm
doll buttons 6mm
heart buttons 6mm
micro beads- clear

Purrfectly cute.

2015 Already?

Is it just me, or was 2014 six months long? The year just poofed away, right under my nose! I'm pretty sure that's what happens when you reach a certain age. Wrinkle cream, here I come.

As short as it seemed, the year was a productive one for me creatively. I tried many new crafts like paper clay, machine embroidery, and stumpwork. It would be awesome to stick to just one craft with the hopes of getting good enough at it to please myself, but that'll never happen. My hands want to make all the things.

These projects were some of my favourites.

Waldorf Doll for Theo

Brambly Hedge Mousie

Needle Felted Zombie Sheep
to add to a friend's collection

You kind of have to be there.

Paper Clay Bunny Boy
photo courtesy of rackycoo

Machine Embroidered Owl

Polymer Clay Mandrake

Head on over to Craftster and make your own mandrake with my tutorial!

Big Arse Tree Skirt
photo courtesy of Jennie

Cheez-It Hoopla

 I find that funny.

Pom Pom Owls

 Here's another tutorial if you and your kids want to make the owls.

Stumpwork Beetle Inchie

Little Witch and Her Pumpkin Cart

2014 blew through like winter in the south, but I got a lot of stuff done.

Embroidery Hoops...so much potential

Embroidery is a craft I like to do when all is quiet in the house. The needle motion itself is relaxing and I find it soothing, like knitting. The one problem I have with it is the blank hoop. That's a lot of surface area that can be decorated!

This hoop received a crocheted border and it made all the difference.

Thanks for the pic, Jennie!

I was just beginning to add stuff to hoops when this one was stitched.

And another where I wrapped the outer hoop with floral tape, which covered the hoop and held wire leaves and polymer clay dirigible plums. It's not so boring now.

Mini Art Canvases

I have a problem with not throwing away any pile of paper snippy bits from projects. All those useless snippets that are too small to do anything worthwhile with? Yeah, I keep those. And sometimes they come in handy.

Lots of scraps from this Sew Lovely paper were glued to the back of a mini canvas, making a sweet little frame for some vintage cuties. I took the advice of a friend and gave them appropriate titles; names I may or may not have used for certain beasts children that I am occasionally subjected to.