Ever since this post I basically haven't stopped stitching cards. I have a stock pile for the next time a birthday, shower or wedding happens! I thought I would share with you one of my favourite patterns that I've come up with recently. Hope you like it!

The design is stitched on black cardstock to really make the colours pop. I also added a piece of white paper on the inside since writing on black paper is hard. It will also hide the back of the stitches.

If you're unsure about how to start stitching cards, click here to see full instructions that I outlined on a previous post. There are lots of photos to follow along with.

Wouldn't this make a great card for someone who just got engaged? Or maybe you want to tell someone you think they shine like a diamond.

Pair the card with a super-bright neon envelope and you have a really unique card. If you like this design, get the pattern and colour guide RIGHT HERE! Happy stitching!

Paper flowers are a fun little craft to decorate gifts, table tops, wedding favors, or make a whole bouquet. You can also string them up to make a garland.

There are tons of ways to make paper flowers, but this is my version. I used a slight variation of these on top of my wedding favors.

Supplies:

• tissue paper
• yellow or orange cardstock
• scissors
• tape
• pencil
  
  

1. Cut a strip of tisse paper about 9" x 26" and fold it in half lengthwise.

2. Draw a wavy line on the paper starting with big waves and gradually getting smaller and closer together.

3. Cut a small strip of cardstock about 2.5" x 0.5".

4. Make a series of small cuts into the paper that go almost to the bottom.

Fold the cardstock in half, then in half again and place it on the end of the tissue paper starting at the small waves. The small waves will be in the center of your flower.

Start scrunching the tisse paper around the cardstock stamen. Don't just roll it, scrunch. (That's the technical term.) It helps to have a kitty sit on one end, but it's not required.

Secure the paper with a bit of tape and trim off the excess on the end to make it look pretty.

Embroidery is one of the first crafts I learned. Like most girls, my mom taught me and her mom taught her.

I've always found it very relaxing and fun even though I've had to deal with my friends laughing about how I'm a 26 year old granny! I think part of the problem is that there are very few modern embroidery patterns. Sure, there are definitely a few designers that are leading the way, but I thought I would offer up my designs for you too.

I've got 3 more designs planned, all within the same color family, that I will offer up on my blog as I finish them. So download this and collect them all. I've designed them so they'll look great hanging together.

Included with the PDF pattern, you will find color suggestions. I used a split stitch with 3 strands of floss for the whole design and I'm planning on using the same stitch for the other designs. A straight stitch, back stitch or stem stich would also work well. My fabric is a fairly heavy heather grey cotton with a bit of stretch. So click here to download the free pattern. Hope you enjoy!

Well after pondering for a few weeks, I finally did it. I painted my couch legs! And boy, do I love how it turned out. Now this isn't just bright pink paint. It's straight up fluorescent and after the first coat I was a little worried that it would look like my couch was sitting on traffic cones. But, the legs are small and low to the ground so you just get a little color peeking out. Here's how I did it.

First, here's what my couch looked like before. It's a pretty typical big-box-store couch that we got on sale. I know about a million other people have the same one, which was exactly my motivation for this project. The couch is nice enough, but it was getting a little ratty looking (thanks kitties) and I was bored of it.

Screwing the feet off was pretty easy to do, just took a little muscle. Then I very carefully pried the felt pads off the bottom with a razor blade. I couldn't get all the glue off, but it doesn't really matter because I just stuck new ones on after I was done painting.

Next, I gave the feet a good sanding to remove the shiny finish.

I propped the feet up on pieces of a paper towel roll I cut up and got to work.

The paint I was used was Valspar interior/exterior fluorescent pink spray paint. From what I've been told, you don't want to go cheap with your spray paint. The nozzle will clog and you'll need more coats to cover what you're painting.

The last time I used spray paint was when I was a teenager. No, not what you're thinking! I helped my then-boyfriend/now-husband spray paint the dashboard of his car a glossy red. It actually looked pretty great, but we did it (for some reason) on a really windy day and ended up getting red paint everywhere. On the seats, the windshield, the doors, so it kind of lost it's effect. Anyways, aim for thin even coats. If your paint drips a little, just let it dry for about an hour, lightly sand the drip down and give it another coat.

Let the paint fully cure outside for at least 48 hours and you're done. Despite my worries, it was a very easy project. Regrets? I should have primed the feet. Since the wood was dark it took about 6 coats of paint to fully cover them. Could have cut that down to 2 or 3 had I primed.

Look at Barney posing there, what a cutie!