Little Girl With Doll Purse Continued

I've been working on the beading on this project:



I'll be working on that lace applique next.

I was asked how I go about painting my lace. It's actually quite simple. I use Dyna-flow dye by Jacquard. I wet my lace, mix my colors (watering them down a bit) and then using a small paint brush, I pick up some color and dab the brush onto the lace allowing the wet lace to pull the color from the brush. I do this on some paper towels so they absorb the excess water.

Once I'm happy with how it looks, I dry my pieces in the microwave. Generally at 50% power for only 30 seconds at a time until it's dry.

Remember, that it will dry lighter than it appears when it's wet!

Hope this helps!

Little Girl With Doll Purse Continued....

I have the seams embroidered now and I've started on the beading:



I painted the lace and it looks like it blends in and gets a little lost. This issue will be resolved once I bead it. It's truly the beading that makes the stitching, lace and trim pop out!

I was asked what software I used to tint the photograph. I use Corel Photopaint 12. I made a custom brush with 97 % transparency. That adds color to the photo without covering the image with "paint".

Little Girl With Doll Purse

First, I sewed up my latest Button Block into a doorhanger pillow for my mom:



We took this over to mom's last night after dinner and mom loved it! I also took some cookies to my dad that I made during the day.

Once that project was completed, I started stitching on the Little Girl With The Doll purse:



Allie left a comment for me saying that she likes the lace as it is, white. But I really want to paint it. I'm going to do that now so stop by in another day or so to see how it looks.

Also, Part 3 of the Garden Fantasy Cross Stitch Mystery Stitch-Along will be released later this week. There's still time to join if anyone is interested. Click here for more information.

Little Girl With Doll Purse

First, I finally stitched up Button Block #35:



This one will be sewn into a little doorhanger pillow for my mom. I'll post a photo as soon as I get it sewn up.

My next project will be another purse:



I'd like to say a special "thank you" to Cheryl H. for sending me this lovely vintage photo of the little girl with the doll. It was a black/white photo and I tinted it myself with my graphic software.

I'll hand paint the lace pieces but I usually wait until I have some of the stitching done. That will give me a better feel for the right colors.

Poodle Purse Completed!

I got a bee in my bonnet yesterday afternoon and decided to sew up my poodle purse:



The trim on the bottom is a piece of a vintage dress that I bought at a flea market last Summer for $10.00. It was actually what inspired this purse. Be sure to click on the image to see the large version over at Flickr. That dress piece is silver lame with rhinestones and beads. It's quite heavy! The pearl beading on the very bottom was already there.

Most of the rhinestone buttons that I used are vintage as is the brooch on the top right-hand corner.

The seam treatments are my own technique. See my book for more details.