Embroidery Essentials

If you're a crafter, you can focus on a single craft or try out different ones. I love how the world of crafting can be so diverse, the options are limitless! Lately, I've been enamored with embroidery. 

But before embarking on my first project, I've assembled a few key items or "embroidery essentials". Maybe this will be useful if you're considering embroidery, too.

 Embroidery floss in different colors

 Embroidery hoops - I have a small one {four inches} and a larger one {six inches}

 A sharp pair of scissors to trim thread and a seam ripper to undo stitches.

Embroidery needles {these have bigger holes/longer eyes compared to regular needles to fit multiple strands of thread} and pins {to secure patterns to fabric}.

 A pin cushion {I'm using this tiny stuffed toy as my sewing mascot}

Different kinds of fabric {cotton in plain shades are ideal but I'll be experimenting with printed ones and fabric scraps...an easy way to turn blah to TADA!}.

In the coming days, I'll show you a few of the things I'm working on. See you tomorrow!

More Embroidered Book Covers

Yesterday, I had mentioned Penguin Threads where the books we've grown up with were infused with whimsy and youthfulness through their embroidered covers.

Here's another set, this time illustrated {first by drawing, then followed with hand stitching} by Rachell Sumpter.

via designworklife

via designworklife

via designworklife

Just look at all that detail, the use of color and the clues to what the book is about!  From concept to execution... a TADA! in my eyes.

Judge a Book by its Cover

Hello and Happy Monday! This week, let's venture into the land of embroidery. Maybe some of you have tried it? I learned it in school and that was the last time I remember completing a needlepoint project. Until this came along...

via Jillian Tamaki

I kept seeing these at the bookstore. They're the well-loved Penguin classics but their covers went from blah to TADA! They're a special edition called Penguin Threads launched in 2011. 

It's the brainchild of Penguin art director Paul Buckley where he commissioned artist Jillian Tamaki to design the cover. Miss Tamaki sketched out her vision and then embroidered it! By hand! With needle and thread! How awesome is that? Okay, so not every single book is embroidered, but the finish is "sculpt embossed" giving it a two-dimensional feel.

Miss Tamaki made these three covers for both the hardbound and paperback versions:

via Jillian Tamaki

via Jillian Tamaki

via Jillian Tamaki

via Jillian Tamaki

via Jillian Tamaki

via Jillian Tamaki

And look at the inside cover:

via Jillian Tamaki

It captures what you would see when you flip an embroidered fabric {stitches, knots and all}. The illustrator signed her work, too. In needle and thread, no less.

Found Advice

I read this piece when I was a teenager. I remember finding it to be incredibly powerful. I totally forgot about it until it found me again at a delightful cafe.

While I don't have a craft for you today, I hope this will make your outlook on life less blah and more TADA! Have a great weekend, everyone!

Beach Bounty

The weather was so gorgeous over the weekend, we went to the Jersey Shore on a whim. Here are a few photos that I hope you'll enjoy:

 

Apart from the usual beach action of sunbathing, volleyball and catching of waves, here's what caught my eye:

Young and not-so-young looking for buried treasure {I wonder if lady luck was on their side}.

Not wanting to be outdone, here is my humble haul. And like most of the things I find, I incorporate them into crafting.

Here's a tiny rock that works nicely as a canvas.  

I decided to draw something that reminded me of the beach. The details of a seahorse was quite daunting, making me settle for a starfish instead.

 I filled it in with several coats of paint.

 Then I turned it into a pendant by fusing a jump ring on its back with heavy duty glue.

I added some seashells and beads to keep it company. They all hang on an old necklace that was a souvenir from Thailand from years back.

While summer is slowly coming to an end, I'll have this beach-y necklace forever! Blah to TADA! indeed.

Sidewalk Treasure

This week's blog theme is "lost and found" which works for objects or relationships. It can be something you lost but found again, or serendipitously found by somebody else. 

Here's something I found last week on my way to the bus stop:

It's a goose feather. I went on hunter and gatherer mode and branded the feather "mine". I guess for anyone, this is just blah. With a little imagination, here's how it became TADA!

It was inspiration for a watercolor session where I busted out my newly purchased pearlescent paint.

I made a bouquet out of my woman-made feathers and goose feather, then used these as a gift topper.

Together with Washi tape, the feathers turn a blah brown paper package into... 

TADA!

The One That Got Away

Yesterday, I told you about this fascinating exhibit I went to to commemorate Grand Central Terminal's 100th birthday:

Artists interpreted the theme "On Time" in various media.

One of the works that I particularly loved was this illustration by Sophie Blackall. I've been a fan since I read her book, Missed Connections, a collection of illustrated love stories inspired by the "Missed Connections" section on Craigslist.

Her piece in the exhibit is another kind of "missed connection."

"Grand Central, You and Me" -- Friday evening I was racing through the Main Concourse and you were there standing still, staring up at the stars. You had a book in your hand. You were lovely. Time stood still for a second while I fell in love, then I had to catch my train. Then I thought of a Plan. So here's my ridiculously romantic plan: Meet me under the stars on Valentine's Day. 8 pm. Bring your book. 

I hope it was a happy ending!

Some of Miss Blackall's prints are also on sale at the New York Transit Museum Gallery Annex and Store inside Grand Central. Here's a cute one:

"Knitting Girl on 7 Train to Sunnyside" -- Not only did you introduce me to the wonderful world of knitting, I quickly found myself smitten with you after chatting for a few minutes despite you mentioning you had a boyfriend. I can only hope he is terminally ill so that I'll get a shot at knitting something for your one day.

Finding inspiration in random places {such as Craigslist} and illustrating "missed connections"... I think these are blah to TADA!