Aimee Ray's Blog, page 15

July 24, 2017

DMC wrist cuffs! (and a Giveaway!)


I’m so excited to be part of this Blog Hop and share this project (and awesome giveaway) with you! At the bottom of this post you'll find our Blog Hop schedule and giveaway details.

DMC has introduced these new stitchable faux leather wrist cuffs and they are so much fun to work with. They come in four colors and are punched with holes and ready to stitch up with the design included, or one of your own! Although the dot grid is designed for Straight or Cross stitches, you can easily use some of your favorite hand embroidery stitches as well. I’ve used French Knots and Lazy Daisies in addition to Straight stitches for this design and I love how it turned out.

For this project I chose the navy blue cuff and a few of my favorite colors of DMC floss,
 501, 503, 3813 and 3072.

You can stitch up this design by counting the holes and following the Flowers and Feathers pattern below. The 360 pre-made holes on the cuff are are arranged in a 36 x 10 dot rectangle. To begin, count over 18 holes from the left and 5 holes down. This is where you’ll make your first stitch.(Note that since there are an even number of holes, there is no true center point. Parts of the design will be a little offset but it won’t be noticeable.) 
I embroidered this cuff exactly how I would embroider on fabric and had no problems at all. Use all 6 threads of floss and tie a knot in the end, then pull it through at the correct hole and begin stitching diagonal Straight stitches to form the center of the flower shape. Switch colors and add the lines at the four corners.

For Lazy Daisies, make a loop across two holes. At the third hole, make a tiny stitch to secure the loop in place. This stitch will come up from and go back down into the same hole. Pull it just tightly enough to keep it in place, but not so hard that it pulls the end of the loop through the hole.

For French Knots, begin by wrapping the floss around the needle as shown. Reinsert the needle into the same hole, pulling the floss taut as you push the needle back through. 

Count holes out from these center stitches to continue the design with Straight stitches.
For the top feather shapes, turn the cuff vertically. Count three holes up (towards the center) and one hole over for each diagonal stitch, then begin the next stitch in the center of the previous one.

Finish up the pattern with French Knots and Straight stitches at the top corners.

All done! Stitching these cuffs is easy and fun, and you can complete one in an hour or two. Check out this video for more cute wrist cuff ideas.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this tutorial and that you’ll give these cuffs a try. 
***Here’s a bonus: for a chance to win a DMC prize package including their new stitchable mesh, cork, cuffs and floss, leave a comment below and tell me about your latest embroidery project! I love to hear what other people are working on. :) I’ll choose a random winner on August 4.***
I hope you’ll enjoy following along on this blog hop, be sure to check out the other awesome designers in our series to see more unique projects using DMC’s new stitchable mesh, cork and wrist cuffs! (and you can enter their giveaways as well! ;)   
 Monday July 24:                 Beverly McCullough - Flamingo Toes - project plus intro to blog hop                Tuesday July 25:                 Amy Bell - Positively Splendid - Cork Project                Kari Sweeten - U Create - Mesh Project                Aimee Ray - Little Dear Tracks - Cuff Project                Wednesday July 26:                Michele McDonald - The Scrap Shoppe - Cork Project                Jessica Anderson - Cutesy Crafts - Mesh Project                Amy Byrne - Random Acts of Amy - Cuff Project                Thursday July 27:                Jodie Rackley - Lova Revolution - Cork Project                Liz Welker - The Pretty Life Girls - Mesh Project                Mollie Johanson - Wild Olive - Cuff Project                Friday July 28:                Recap of blog hop with links and photos - Flamingo Toes

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Published on July 24, 2017 17:38

DMC wrist cuffs!


I’m so excited to be part of this Blog Hop and share this project (and awesome giveaway) with you! At the bottom of this post you'll find our Blog Hop schedule and giveaway details.

DMC has introduced these new stitchable faux leather wrist cuffs and they are so much fun to work with. They come in four colors and are punched with holes and ready to stitch up with the design included, or one of your own! Although the dot grid is designed for Straight or Cross stitches, you can easily use some of your favorite hand embroidery stitches as well. I’ve used French Knots and Lazy Daisies in addition to Straight stitches for this design and I love how it turned out.

For this project I chose the navy blue cuff and a few of my favorite colors of DMC floss,
 501, 503, 3813 and 3072.

You can stitch up this design by counting the holes and following the Flowers and Feathers pattern below. The 360 pre-made holes on the cuff are are arranged in a 36 x 10 dot rectangle. To begin, count over 18 holes from the left and 5 holes down. This is where you’ll make your first stitch.(Note that since there are an even number of holes, there is no true center point. Parts of the design will be a little offset but it won’t be noticeable.) 
I embroidered this cuff exactly how I would embroider on fabric and had no problems at all. Use all 6 threads of floss and tie a knot in the end, then pull it through at the correct hole and begin stitching diagonal Straight stitches to form the center of the flower shape. Switch colors and add the lines at the four corners.

For Lazy Daisies, make a loop across two holes. At the third hole, make a tiny stitch to secure the loop in place. This stitch will come up from and go back down into the same hole. Pull it just tightly enough to keep it in place, but not so hard that it pulls the end of the loop through the hole.

For French Knots, begin by wrapping the floss around the needle as shown. Reinsert the needle into the same hole, pulling the floss taut as you push the needle back through. 

Count holes out from these center stitches to continue the design with Straight stitches.
For the top feather shapes, turn the cuff vertically. Count three holes up (towards the center) and one hole over for each diagonal stitch, then begin the next stitch in the center of the previous one.

Finish up the pattern with French Knots and Straight stitches at the top corners.

All done! Stitching these cuffs is easy and fun, and you can complete one in an hour or two. Check out this video for more cute wrist cuff ideas.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this tutorial and that you’ll give these cuffs a try. 
***Here’s a bonus: for a chance to win a DMC prize package including their new stitchable mesh, cork, cuffs and floss, leave a comment below and tell me about your latest embroidery project! I love to hear what other people are working on. :) I’ll choose a random winner on August 4.***
I hope you’ll enjoy following along on this blog hop, be sure to check out the other awesome designers in our series to see more unique projects using DMC’s new stitchable mesh, cork and wrist cuffs! (and you can enter their giveaways as well! ;)   
 Monday July 24:                 Beverly McCullough - Flamingo Toes - project plus intro to blog hop                Tuesday July 25:                 Amy Bell - Positively Splendid - Cork Project                Kari Sweeten - U Create - Mesh Project                Aimee Ray - Little Dear Tracks - Cuff Project                Wednesday July 26:                Michele McDonald - The Scrap Shoppe - Cork Project                Jessica Anderson - Cutesy Crafts - Mesh Project                Amy Byrne - Random Acts of Amy - Cuff Project                Thursday July 27:                Jodie Rackley - Lova Revolution - Cork Project                Liz Welker - The Pretty Life Girls - Mesh Project                Mollie Johanson - Wild Olive - Cuff Project                Friday July 28:                Recap of blog hop with links and photos - Flamingo Toes

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Published on July 24, 2017 17:38

July 10, 2017

new girls

piper and luna
new girls have arrived at little dear this evening! Sweet Piper, the animal lover carries a tiny bird's nest on her headband, and Lovely Luna floated in with the full moon.Adopt a one of a kind heirloom doll at www.littledear.etsy.com
xo aimee
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Published on July 10, 2017 17:56

July 4, 2017

mori love

woodland animals
New woodland dollies are available at little dear!
scarlette
Sweet Scarlette and her animal friends are waiting for new homes at www.littledear.etsy.comThey would love to find a place with you!
xo aimee
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Published on July 04, 2017 18:32

June 23, 2017

new dolls

river, terra and maple
new dolls River, a bohemian girl and Terra, a mori girl, and Maple the owl are new in the shop tonight!
www.littledear.etsy.com
xo aimee
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Published on June 23, 2017 17:54

June 11, 2017

dreamweavers

dreamweavers
New wall hangings have arrived at little dear! I've had this idea of somehow combining embroidery and weaving in my dreamcatchers floating around in my head for so long and I've finally had the chance to play around with it! I'm pretty happy with how these have turned out and I hope you like them too. 
dreamweavers
Like all of my dream catchers, these incorporate one of a kind embroidery designs, and also one of my other loves, weaving. Weaving and embroidery are two of the oldest known art forms so they seem to belong together. To two of these I have added twigs foraged from my own yard to add to the sweet woodland feel.
meadow fox weaving
I wanted to try and include an embroidered panel into a traditional woven wall hanging as well so this sweet fox piece was born! It is a little rough around the edges as I am still working out the technical details so it's available in my shop at a special price.
If one of these unique pieces catches your eye, look for them along with my other dream catchers at my shop!www.littledear.etsy.com
xo aimee
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Published on June 11, 2017 17:37

June 5, 2017

Meet Celia and Devon, the newest little dear girls. So sp...

devon and celia
Meet Celia and Devon, the newest little dear girls. So special and unique, maybe one of them belongs with you? Awaiting adoption at www.littledear.etsy.com
xo aimee
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Published on June 05, 2017 19:01

May 29, 2017

animal friends

animal friends
Three new animal friends are new at little dear! I love making these sweet pets and I hope you love them too. Adopt one today at www.littledear.etsy.com
xo aimee
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Published on May 29, 2017 19:11

May 25, 2017

cozy mushroom cottage

cozy mushroom cottage
My newest PDF sewing pattern has arrived at little dear!
Come visit Mr and Mrs Gnome's Cozy Mushroom Cottage. This pattern is a little smaller than my other quiet books at just 6x6 inches but it is still packed full of fun details!
cozy mushroom cottage cozy mushroom cottage
Mr and Mrs Gnome invite you into their cozy little home! Have a seat at the table and sample some delicious homemade pie that has just come from the oven. There are plenty of kitchen utensils so you can help cook up something special. They can be stored in the box that opens or hung under the shelf when not in use. Embroidered herbs hang from the ceiling above foraged from the garden behind the house. When the day is done, Mr and Mrs Gnome can climb the ladder to sleep under their cozy patchwork quilt.
You can get the instant download PDF pattern at my etsy shop: www.littledear.etsy.com and don't forget to look for my other quiet books, Squirrel's Happy Tree House and Little Milo's Dreamland as well!
Squirrel's Happy Tree Home Little Milo's Dreamland
Have fun stitching!xo aimee
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Published on May 25, 2017 08:48

May 16, 2017

new girls

primrose*frida*claudia
New girls are in the shop this evening!Also, if you're interested in working with me to design a custom doll all your own, send me a message! I'm now accepting custom doll orders.xo aimeewww.littledear.etsy.com
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Published on May 16, 2017 17:33

Aimee Ray's Blog

Aimee Ray
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