When embroidery meets craft, the results can be Really Fun!
A recent quandary over time combined with a bit of selfishness almost made me turn away from an upcoming project. I often convince myself that “I don’t have time,” when, in fact, I usually just want to spend my time the way I want to spend my time! But it was a happy circumstance when I said yes, I would come up with some ideas for crafts that would be suitable for youth (not necessarily little children, but rather younger teens) that could be helpful with some fundraising endeavors.
Ok, ok. I got suckered into this! But sometimes, I’m glad I’m a sucker! It’s fun, and the projects that eventually will materialize are fun, too. And since the stars actually aligned correctly to enable me to do more than I intended and produce better results than I imagined, I ended up pretty happy with the initial test session.
But the lousy thing is this: I forgot to take photos of the initial prototype-making session. I did manage the photo above, which includes some of the fabric and paper we’ll be using.
This is the idea: using a combination of paper and fabric, we are making small gift boxes and bags that will be decorated with embroidery-on-paper techniques and applique (actually, reverse applique…) The projects don’t involve sewing at all – they are basically paper-punch embroidery, glue, fusible interfacing, and cutting and folding. Above are some of the fabric choices, with the coordinating card stock “lining” to the boxes and bags.
The first session was a lot of fun – and the next session will be a photo-taking one, so that I can develop some step-by-step instructions. That way, I don’t have to be involved in every step of the process while the kids work. The only drawback to the first session (which took most of Saturday and part of Sunday) is that I didn’t get a whole lot of stitching done last weekend.
Nevertheless, today is Wednesday, and for me, that means about two hours of quality time this afternoon with my needle and thread. Tomorrow, I’ll update you on the wool pomegranates, and on Friday, I’d like to talk a bit about “folk” embroidery, in anticipation of some new things that will be showing up on Needle ‘n Thread in March.
So just curious – do you often combine embroidery with other crafts and hobbies? Do you have other crafts and hobbies that you pursue, in addition to embroidery? Are you a multi-faceted “doer” of things??? Do share – I’d love to know what other crafts, hobbies, and artistic pursuits capture the creative attention of needleworkers!
