selina quilts: 2020

Wednesday, December 30, 2020

Resolutions 2021

Thanks go out to Carla for coming up with this ever so interesting Hop to wrap up 2020 and kick off 2021 in such a positive manner.

A couple of years ago I used my blog to post my New Years resolution. It was to use my embroidery machine each month of the year by including an embroidered item in each hop I participated in. It was successful. Being held accountable worked wonders for me.

When I first started my blog it was primarily for me to keep track of what it was I was crafting and why. From the beginning, what I made was wonderful quilting friends from around the world. I have spent most of my blogging time learning new skills and concepts from all of you generous people, truly a win win.

Resolution #1 is to go back to blogging on a more regular basis not just for hops. While I am posting what I have accomplished for the hops I am not keeping track of the other stuff I have accomplished or hope to accomplish. So I plan on having at least 1 non hop related post per month.

Resolution #2

Hopefully this group of 2020 UFO's will go away.

Resolution #2 should help with resolution #1. I want to finish at least one of the items I have sitting in the to be finished pile per month. Not limited to 1 per month but at least one per month. some are small and just need me to sit down and DO IT. The group above are the starts not finished from just this year. There are 14 projects lying there.

Next up are the pre 2020 UFO's that I still would like to see finished. The first picture below are the more recent UFO's. Maybe 2 years oldish. Placemats and mug rugs.

Next up are Santa and the snowmen, items that are 6 plus years old. They are half quilted. I have no idea why they are still hanging around. I take them out regularly and do nothing. This go round I have separated them into 3 separate baggies hopefully if I can get one of them done I'll feel better.

Oh and yes I do have other UFO's but they don't interest me anymore so adding them to these would, I think, cast a negative vibe. Also there may be a couple of more from this year that need finishing that are buried in the disaster that is my sewing space. Those will be added to the group as I find them.

(2 weeks after writing this paragraph and I have found 2 more)

Last but not least Resolution #3 is that I want to work on staying focused on a project without a deadline or it becoming another UFO. It amazes me how focused I can be if I have to be, as in a date for a blog hop post, otherwise I just bounce from idea to idea. This is the reason I have the need for resolutions #1 and #2.

So here they all are nicely collected in one place where I can just reach in and pull something out when I need something to do. At the moment there are 19 projects. I'm aiming for 12 completions but will be thrilled with at least 6. I'll keep you posted in upcoming blog posts 😉😉😉

I am looking forward to reading everyone's resolutions and being on the lookout for different perspectives on what each of us wants and or needs to get done going into the New Year.

Here is a complete list of all of us who are sharing our goals today. Go visit, leave a note and Last but definitely not least I am wishing all of you a Very Happy, Healthy and Safe New Year.

Wednesday, December 30th

Just Let Me Quilt
MooseStashQuilting
Words & Stitches
Sew Many Yarns
Websterquilt
Cocoa Quilts
QuiltFabrication
Stitchin At Home
Ms P Designs USA
Life in the Scrapatch
Kathy Kwilts and More
Karen's Korner
Quilt Schmilt
selina quilts
The Joyful Quilter
Becky’s adventures in quilting and travel
Karrin's Crazy World
Quilting and Learning: What a Combo
VroomansQuilts
Cynthia's Creating Ark
PamelaQuilts
Quilting Patchwork & Appliqué
Kathleen McMusing
Quilting Gail
Homespun Hannah's Blog
appliqueand...
Songbird Designs
Storied Quilts
Susie’s World

She's Stitchin Again
Creatin' in the Sticks

Wednesday, December 2, 2020

Virtual Cookie Exchange Blog Hop - plus a give away

Hello, hello, hello. Thanks so much for stopping by for a visit with me and all of the other hoppers who are exchanging virtual goodies this week. Many thanks also to Carol for again taking on the task of coordinating this special event.

I have mentioned before that I am not a baker. I have determined that the problem for me with baking is that it requires to much rule following and I don't like to follow rules ( that's why I'm a quilter ). I discussed this with my sister who does bake and we determined that our mother (another who didn't follow rules) didn't bake. We could only remember her making one type of cookie when we were growing up. All I could remember was that it had sweetened condensed milk in it.

Magic Cookie Bars by Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk

I googled cookies with sweetened condensed milk and there they were. Apparently it is an extremely popular cookie world wide. What I loved most about finding the recipe on google was that people responded to the recipe and wanted to know why it was put together in a different order than they were taught. It really did make me smile.

Well I choose to make them the way the questioners were making them. It felt more comfortable for some reason.

The recipe uses nuts in addition to the chocolate chips and coconut flakes and has suggestions for other items. My household splits on the use of nuts so I divided the pan into 3 sections. One end section I used nuts while the other end section I used craisins and the middle section got some kind of a mix of the two.

Since this is a Christmas hop I packaged an assortment of my cookies for 2 of my friends as early presents. I etched 2 small plates with Christmas trees and wrapped them up in cellophane. Then I added an etched ornament of the same but smaller tree.

The cookies are gone and they got rave reviews. One friend decided that they were a healthy snack because of the craisins 😋

This turned out to be a wonderful look back into my childhood so thanks Carol for a great time on so many levels.

So I'm having a give away of sorts. Of late I have had to admit to myself that I am drowning in scraps. Scraps of all sizes and shapes. None of them organized or pressed because that would be close to rule following.

I have at least 6 large laundry baskets and several drawers of them and I want to give most of them away. Huge variety of types colors and prints no rhyme no reason. I am willing to ship boxes, bags and envelopes of assorted scraps to some of you in the US (sorry but postage is limiting).

If you are interested in scraps leave a note in your comment and I'll be in touch. I'd love to know what you might do with them but that's not a necessity in getting some. Depending on the interest will determine how much I mail to how many. I won't start mailing until the new year and then depending on how many of you are interested, packages may take a bit to get shipped out but my goal is to get this project done by the end of February at the very latest.

So that's it from me in Sunny Florida ( don't cuss me out, today we are having a low of 34 ).

Please make sure you visit everyone one who is virtually sharing their cookies and other Christmas memories. Here is a list for your browsing convenience. Looking forward to hopping with you all again in 2021. Have a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year. Above all Stay Safe.

December 1

Creatin' in the Sticks

Doreen – Just Let Me Quilt Guest

Life in the Scrapatch

Ms P Designs USA

Just Sew Quilter

Cathie's Craftworks

Cynthia's Creating Ark

December 2

Pieceful Thoughts of My Quilting Life

December 3

For The Love Of Geese

December 4

Happy Cottage Quilter

Pumpkin Patch Patterns & Quilting

The Darling Dogwood

Kathleen McMusing

Scrapdash

Thank you for stopping by and I hope to see you soon!

Tuesday, November 10, 2020

Have You Tried Etching Glass Yet - No you don't need a cutting machine

Back in July I posted a piece of etched glass that I made for a Christmas gift.

For this piece I used my ScanNCut for the design. A couple of people reading the post and several people in my guild commented that etching looked like fun but they didn't have cutting machines.

This post is a tutorial based on how I etch without using a machine. It is picture heavy. I will be including a couple of links to youtube tutorials that cover both machine and non machine projects. The one using a machine is worth watching for the tips on the etching process.

For this post the items I will be using are:

Protection for your work surface (I use a puppy pad but several layers of newspaper will work just fine)

Disposable baking pan for rinsing off the etching cream (this can be used multiple times)

Armour Etching Cream which I got at JoAnns, $9.98 full price, but I used a coupon.(This has the potential to be a dangerous item. Please read the label before using. Keep our to the reach of children, it can burn your skin, you need to wear gloves and eye protection, remember this is glass etching cream so it will etch your prescription glasses ) While this won't etch plastic, it can etch some sinks which is why I use the disposable pan for the initial rinse) This little jar of cream goes on for a very long time because the cream gets put back in the bottle and reused.

It's a thick cream and I haven't had any issues with it.

An applicator ( I use a small paint brush, picked up a package the dollar store, I haven't tried a sponge brush)

So far I have primarily etched pieces of glass from The Dollar Store and a Christmas ornament that cost me 50 cents at Hobby Lobby on sale.

I have also successfully etched a Pyrex pie dish $6 and a couple of $4 glass mugs using a designs made using the scan n cut.

And last but definitely not least you need some form of shipping label. You need to be able to peel the label from the backing for the process. You can buy all sorts of sizes at Staples. I have also found that the Priority Mail labels I use for packages and got for free at the PO are great for the job.

The biggest problem I have had so far is taking pictures of the finished items Glass is a bear to photograph.

So let us begin. The first step is finding a simple design that you can get onto your label to cut out. I use my computer and clip art for ideas. I understand that a childs coloring book is also a good source.

If you are a cardmaker or scrapbooker you may have a great paper punch for a design.

Or you can go back to your crafting beginnings and fold a piece of paper in half and free hand a design. That's what I did for my Tree and Heart.

I will also be trying for the first time to use stickers doing a word on the sample mug its kind of a reverse process.

I will be using 3 sides of this Mason Jar type mug. This is a good starter shape because the sides are flat. Curves are a bear to get a good sharp edge where the cream cant leak under. I have successfully done curves but not on my first try. I'd suggest starting with flat surfaces for a start.

Before you start, wipe the glass with an alcohol wipe of some sort. You want to remove all finger oils.

To begin. Peal the backing off your design and place it on your glass. Rub down all of the designs edges. If there is the slightest gap or wrinkle the cream will creep under and etch a blotch at that point on your project.

Cover your design with etching cream, Make sure you cover the entire design including any little pointy areas. brush from the paper in so as not to lift any edges. You can look from the back and sometimes see tiny gaps you may have missed. Be careful to stay within the label. Cream coming into contact with any glass will cause it to be etched.

I let the cream sit on the glass for 5 to 10 minutes. I can't find the instructions but I think they suggest 3 minutes. At the end of the time carefully take the brush and capture as much of the cream as you can and put it back in the container to use again.

Rinse the remaining cream and label off and dry. You will have trouble seeing the design while the glass is wet and feel like your failed. You just need to be a little bit patient.

I got this far and came across a punch with a little star so after the fact I added it.

For this side of the mug I am using multiple paper punch designs

after the 5 minutes, start the wash off

just keep it wet and keep rubbing off the label.

This is my last example. I have the mug handle wedged in a folded towel to keep it steady while I do this new to me process. This is kind of a reverse process. One of the you tube videos I've seen showed how you could add words using stickers. The trick is to neatly stop the etching process.

Making a masking tape edge worked well for me. I did do it by eyeballing not measuring.

Again make sure all of the edges are as securely adhered to the glass as possible before covering in cream.

Now for the reveals of the day.

My collection of punched snowflakes

I find that my best pictures of the etched glass are taken on my lawn.

my hand cut tree with the punched star

my sticker snow

And last but not least my glass ornament with the cut out tree. I notice that I need to add the star to its top before gifting.

Here are the 2 links to youtube videos that I found very helpful on the use of the etching cream no matter that the first one is using a cut pattern in the demo.

etching on pyrex https://jennifermaker.com/etched-casserole-dish/

wine glass https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Si96k-qfR54

I hope that you found this post has aroused your curiosity enough to give etching a try. Other than the initial purchase of the etching cream it can be a source of some really reasonably priced and creative gift items from craft and dollar stores.

I'd love to hear how you made out and if there are any questions please let me know and I'll see if I can answer them.

I am self taught with the help of youtube videos. I have only been doing this since this summer. If I can do it, I'm pretty sure you can too. Have Fun.

Monday, October 26, 2020

From the Heart Hop

When Carol proposed this hop I joined immediately with a wonderful idea. The problem with that was it was a long time ago and many new ideas have popped in and out of my very antsy brain. Today's offerings have nothing to do with the ideas from then, I'll just save those up for another hop where they will be able to fit in with just a little tweeking.

So I'll begin with a very large THANK YOU to Carol for coming up with yet another great idea for a very creative hop.

A friend of mine recently asked if I could print out some note cards for her to send to her Honor Flight group. That reminded me of this hops theme of From The Heart on many levels. The patterns are from Kristi at ishouldbemoppingthefloor.com/ I print them on a regular basis for Operation Shoe Box to use with the packages they send to our troops.

Once I printed out a group of cards for her I realized I needed to put them into something for delivery. I knew just the thing I wanted to do but I had to find it. Back in Septermber of 2011, yes 2011 I did a post where I used a pattern I found at originateandrenovate for a fabric envelope.

This is a super simple bag to make. It calls for a button closure but I used velcro. I thought that this idea would make a great gift for someone who still "writes notes" from the heart.

If you're giving a gift where you wanted to meet a $ level, like when there is a gift swap, you could always add a gift card or

a book of stamps and a pen.

As all of you who visit here know, I can't make one of anything. Making a gift from the heart made me want to go a little bit beyond my beloved printer. Next up was the embroidery machine.

Same basic concept. Make cards to gift and put them in an envelope but this time I used a red work pattern that was on my machine from Kreative Kiwi I see that they are currently on sale. I think 9 designs for $1.

I embroidered the design onto cardstock and then mounted that onto a background and then a card. Keeping with the theme of this hop I will be giving away to one of you who leaves a comment the 4 cards and envelope in the photo above. I will pick a name on Halloween.

Once I was making cards I made 2 sets. One for the give away here and one as a gift for a friend.

For my friend I am including the etched glass ornament I made. ( the etching, not the glass ornament )

I find that etching is super simple but taking pictures of the etching is really hard to do. The ornament is about 2 1/2 inches across and only 3/4 of an inch deep.

Last time I posted about etching I had used my Scan N Cut and several of you liked the concept but didn't have a cutting machine. This ornament was done with a mailing label, pencil, scissors and etching cream. Hopefully sometime around the 10th of the November I will do a simple tutorial post on how to do the etching without a machine and will include links to a couple of video's that I found helpful.

EXTRA, EXTRA Read all about it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Up to this point in this post I was finished and set to publish on Saturday afternoon.

This morning my sister sent me a photo of her taking a walk with her grandson

I saw this photo and had to do something for this From the Heart post.

Have you all experienced, over the past couple of years, the urge to make a candy bag zip pouch.

Well for some reason I saw this photo and knew that my sister (the bag/pouch hoarder) would love something using this picture. So I treated it like a candy bag.

I printed it out on regular paper, adhered it to fabric with heat and bond and then covered it with iron on vinyl. It worked up to a an 11 x 13 zip bag.

I figured it would be a good place to stash her gazillion face masks so I included a subtle hint or two.

Thank you for your patience, I'm done now, until next time.

Please continue hopping with the rest of the most amazingly creative people I know. I am including a list of everyone participating for your convenience.

October 26

About Me