Painted Teddy Christmas Brooch with Flowersoft

Hi and thanks for popping in for a visit :-)

I LOVE Teddy Bears - I am an Arctophile (which means "lover of" or "collector of" Teddy Bears). I love Teddy Bear stamps, stuffed toys, pictures - anything with a cute teddy. I think if Beanie Kids Bears were around when I was a little girl, I would have wanted every single one they made. I also love to paint teddy bears which was my main reasons for starting Decorative (or Tole) Painting lessons some years ago now.

I recently painted this little Teddy Christmas Brooch and thought I would share it with you. It came as a little kit from Artsmart Craft Cottage - sadly they don't sell any wooden products for painting anymore - they only do stitcheries and quilts - but they do have lots of Stockists around the world so you never know, you might be able to pick one up somewhere.

The kit came as a wooden blank with the design for you to trace on plus the brooch pin for the back, but you supply the paints. It was painted with JoSonya Acrylic paints. After I painted it, I thought the little hat needed something "textured", so I reached for my white Flowersoft and glued it on, and I love how it turned out. Here is a little close-up pic of the hat:

Hope you like my little teddy! Finished length (from the top of the hat to the bottom of the stocking) is 10 cm or 4 inches.

Back in a few days with another one of those difficult masculine birthday cards!

Jocelyn

Recipe: Artsmart Craft Cottage "Christmas Teddy in Stocking" No. B02 (retired) by Libby Richardson, tracing paper, JoSonya Acrylic paints, paint brushes, Folk Art Matte Sealer (varnish), Flowersoft Polar White, Aleen's Tacky glue (for Flowersoft)

Miss Molly Bear Stitchery - Artsmart Craft Cottage

Hi and thanks for stopping by :-) This is another scheduled post whilst I can't access my computer for 2 weeks.

Today's post is another stitchery I made for my DD. One of my other loves is embroidery and decorative (tole or folkart) painting, and I love projects which incorporate both these crafts. I also LOVE the old-fashioned floral materials that you can get nowadays which I used on this stitchery.

This particular design is by Australian designer: Libby Richardson from Artsmart Craft Cottage and comes as a printed panel on calico, full instructions and you get that gorgeous ceramic handbag that the Molly is holding plus the pearls around Molly's neck, but you supply all the embroidery threads, paints, materials for the panels, and hanger. The bear was painted with acrylic paints and textile medium, then you simply embroider the bear using simple stitches like straight stitch and french knots - can you see the gold embroidery for ribbon on the hat? You can always click on the photo for a bigger LOOK! Lastly, I sewed on the panels and attached the wire hanger. The finished size is around 22 cm x 28 cm (which is 8" x 11").

I've made 3 of them so far and given 2 away as gifts and the 3rd is on my DD's bedroom wall.

Hope you like it :-) Thanks again for visiting! Back soon with another post!

Jocelyn

Recipe:

Artsmart Craft Cottage pre-printed stitchery design 'Miss Molly', JoSonya acrylic paints, paint brushes, JoSonya Textile medium, Anchor stranded cotton in various colours including gold, embroidery needles, materials scraps for panels, wire hanger

Rose Topiary Stitchery

Hi and thanks for visiting my little Blog :-)

I thought I would show you one of my Stitcheries that I finished a little while ago.  The stitchery combines my "other two loves" which are decorative painting and embroidery.  It comes as a kit designed by Libby Richardson from ArtSmart Craft Cottage (Australian company but there are stockists all over the world if you look at their website) and is called "Standard Rose Stitchery" - the design is printed on calico and you also receive the 3 ceramic rose buttons (for the topiary), but you supply the paints, stranded cotton embroidery threads, needles, hanger (I bought my hanger from EBay) and fabric and it comes with instructions on how to do the panels/borders. 

The images are painted with a mix of JoSonya acrylic paints and JoSonya Textile medium and is simple enough for a painter with limited experience to do, then you simply add the embroidery. The best thing about the embroidery is that it uses simple stitches like backstitch, french knots and lazy daisy so it is something you can do and watch TV at the same time and not mess it up!  I added a gold bee charm which didn't come with the kit - just needed a "little something" to finish it off.  I have no connection to ArtSmart Craft Cottage - but have been a regular customer over the years and did a fabulous workshop with Libby a long time ago at a Craft Show.

Hope you like it!  Don't forget you can click on the picture for a closer look.  See you again soon.....

Jocelyn

Stitchery Recipe:

Kit:  Standard Rose Stitchery by ArtSmart Craft Cottage

Your own supplies:  Anchor stranded cotton, embroidery needles, JoSonya Acrylic paints, JoSonya Textile medium, sewing thread, sewing machine, assorted co-ordinating material scraps, rotary cutter and cutting board (optional but it's easier than hand-cutting!), bee charm (optional), wire hanger