Aimee Ray's Blog, page 6

Harvest fox thread painting

I just listed a new embroidery sampler at little dear!I really love this design, it is lots of fun to stitch and has all kinds of great texture. (If you follow or support me on Patreon, you might remember this as our Stitch-a-Long sampler from November! If you'd love to get an all new sampler in the mail each month, come visit me at patreon.com/littledear)I'm going to give you some step by step details on how I stitched the cat (fox? either one. :) Here are the colors I used for this sampler:DMC 834 yellow, 831 gold, 830 dark gold, ecru, 927 aqua, 822 pale grey, 3023 light grey, 3022 grey, 645 dark greyI've used back stitch, lazy daisy, satin stitch and French knots on the foliage, and Long and Short stitch on the catfox, I worked with 2 of the 6 threads of floss for most stitches except the satin stitching, using 3 threads, and also on the wheat I used all 6.If you're new to embroidery or need a little brush up on stitches, visit little-dear.com where you'll find lots of embroidery stitch descriptions and diagrams!"Thread painting" with long and short stitch can seem daunting, but it really isn't difficult with a few tips and techniques in mind! I know you can do it too.
First, with grey 3022, start filling in the mid color sections of the catfox. Here is a diagram of the long and short stitch.  Start the first row by making a stitch from A to B. Next, make another stitch right next to the first one from C to D, only half as long. Make another long stitch, then a short one, and continue alternating between the two stitches to form the first row.Only the first row has both Long and Short Stitches; the rest of the stitches will all be roughly the same length. For the second row, make stitches just below the first row of stitches, filling in any spaces. Unless you’re stitching a perfect square of Long and Short Stitches, they probably won’t all be perfectly uniform, and that is just fine. Add a stitch here and there to fill in any gaps as you go along. Just keep all your stitches going in the same direction, and you’ll have an evenly filled area when you’re finished.You can see in the photo how I have curved and angled my stitches to follow the shapes in the body and tail. This will keep your texture looking more natural, like real fur grows.

Now I've gone in with dark grey 645 and filled in the darker areas in the same way. 

And here is light grey 3023 filling in the lightest grey areas. At the right edge of the tail, I did an angled stem stitch to make the fur look a little shaggy.

Now I have filled in the lightest areas with ecru, and then added a little bit of shadow at the bottom of the tail and under the chin with pale grey 822. 

And lastly, I used one thread of dark grey to outline and define the back, hip and head lines, and also filled in the eyes and nose.All done! I love "painting" with thread, there is so much you can do with blended colors and texture. I hope you'll play around with this technique and maybe invent some of your own! You can pick up this sampler (and lots more designs as well) at littledear.etsy.comLet me know below if you have any questions or comments and have fun!xo Aimee

learn hand embroidery

It's so easy to learn hand embroidery, and even easier with these unique and colorful stitch samplers from little dear! These are some of my favorite designs to stitch. They are a fun way to learn or practice stitches, and they make a great reference guide when you're done!

My original sampler is great for beginners, it will teach you 14 basic embroidery stitches which you can use for all kinds of patterns and projects. 

It is designed to stitch with any rainbow of floss colors you might have, but here are some color palette suggestions if you need a place to start:On the left is a more muted palette (and the one I used) DMC 3726, 3727, 794, 3813, 470, 3348, 834, 977, 352. The brighter palette on the right is DMC 327, 209, 340, 598, 907, 3819, 744, 741, 961.
If you've never embroidered before, I suggest starting here! You'll love working through the labeled stitches and then using your favorites to complete the flowers in the center.

My new Bouquet Sampler is a little more advanced, including a few stitches from the original sampler used in new ways, plus a bunch of fancy, super pretty and perhaps just a little bit trickier stitches to learn when you're ready to move ahead!
You can also use any colors you like for this one, match the printed colors or make up your own. I've used DMC 501, 503, 504, 352, 351, 316, 3727, 3855, 3825
If you need a little extra guidance, I've got lots of embroidery stitch tutorials at my website: little-dear.com
You can find both stitch samplers (and lots more patterns, samplers and kits) at my etsy shop: littledear.etsy.com

Winter Holiday Projects

Happy December! Have you done any holiday crafting yet? 
If you're looking for some  inspiration, why not try out one of the many 
FREE fun projects waiting here for you from little dear!
Pick out a fave, download the files and enjoy. 



Winter Penguins

Piles of Presents

Santa and Elves

Gingerbread Cookies

   
Woodland Christmas Tree and Merry and Bright   
 Fabric Gift Bags

 
 Happy Holidays and Have fun!!xo aimee





 

December Patreon Preview

I’m so excited about the exclusive Felt Friends pattern and Stitch-a-Long embroidery sampler that will be going out to my Patreon subscribers in December!! You still have time to get one (or both) of these extra special designs, come and subscribe at Patreon.com/littledear There’s a little dear monthly craft club that’s perfect for you! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving friends! I'm so thankful to have you around. If you find a few stitching minutes today between the feast and football, try making this cute felt pumpkin pie I designed! You can get the PDF pattern FREE right here.Enjoy.xo aimee

cut and sew dolly friends

Two new cut and sew fabric doll panels have arrived at little dear!Meet Merwing and Blue Eyed Jack, they are ready for adventure.  
These dolls are so much fun to tattoo with embroidery and sew into a sweet new friend. Fabric panels are printed with all sewing pieces and instructions. Also included is a special web link with lots of extra tips and accessory patterns. Such a fun project! Check out the whole gang of cut and sew dolls at little dear.

Autumn Leaves paper crafting

Happy Fall! I love decorating for Autumn and I've been having lots of fun with the Autumn Leaves printable paper craft! There are so many fun things you can make with it. When you subscribe to my newsletter, you can download the PDF version FREE from the Free Downloads Vault through November! Or you can purchase the full version at little dear prints, which includes PNG files and SVG files for cricut and silhouette machines.The PDF includes leaves in three different sizes, so you can create all sorts of fun fall crafts.

 I LOVE making mandalas out of leaves and other nature treasures. Creating one with these paper leaves is just as fun and relaxing! After cutting, I folded the leaves in half a bit so they'd be a little more three dimensional, then arranged them in a pretty, repeating design. You can use poster tack to make one on the wall, or glue them onto a board or canvas.You can see the huge mandala I made with real leaves last year, right here.

Wreaths are perfect decor for any season. To make this one, cut a circle from stiff paper, with another circle out of the center. I'm using 2 printouts of the smallest leaf size (the first page) and an 8 inch circle with a 4 inch hole. (I used embroidery hoops to trace the circles, because I kind of have a lot of those around. ;)Start with the largest leaves, spacing and gluing them evenly around the circle. Angle and point them all in the same direction. Fill in the spaces with smaller ones until you've covered the white circle. 

You can also string leaves onto yarn or embroidery floss for a fun garland. Have I mentioned lately how much I love garlands of all kinds? They're one of my favorite things to decorate with.

Or make Leaf Fairies! My son and I have invented stories about the Leaf Fairies, who change the leaf colors in the fall, hibernate all winter, then make new leaves and flowers to grow again in the Spring, with their factories inside of trees! We often pick up pretty leaves and flowers outside, make little bouquets, and leave them in trees for the Leaf Fairies to find. :) I went to his class fall party last week and we made Leaf Fairies (and animals and monsters) from real leaves with his class. It was lots of fun! You can use this PDF to create your own Leaf creatures, and they'll last all year (unlike real leaves. :)
I hope you enjoy this Autumn Leaves printable and you Autumn season as well!xo aimee

Crafties

I'm so honored to announce that I've been nominated for a Crafties Blogger award for 2019!! My little dear blog has been nominated in the Stylish Stitching category and I would LOVE it if you took a super quick minute to vote for me! 
Thanks guys!! You are the best.
xo aimee

All New at little dear

So many fun, new projects have arrived at little dear shops!! I'm so excited to share them with you.

 I've just finished a Woodland Numbers art print to coordinate with my Woodland ABC print that's been one of my best sellers. Don't they make a perfect pair? It's the perfect artwork for your forest themed kid's room or nursery. Sweet details are calming to look at and will foster a love of nature in you and your little ones. Plus they're educational as well! Choose mailed art prints, or DIY printable files from littledearprintshop.etsy.com 

Autumn is my favorite time of year and it's inspired so many of my designs, including this leaf mandala embroidery sampler! This one is unique because there are two different options for stitching it in the instructions: linework or solid shape versions. (or combine the two like I did!)Printed fabric samplers are waiting for you to stitch at littledear.etsy.com

Dinos are here!! I've had so many requests for a felt dinosaur pattern and it's now available at littledear.etsy.comThese little guys are so much fun to make, who wouldn't love a tiny dino tree ornament this year?

Have fun!xo Aimee

November Patreon Preview!

Look what's coming to my awesome Patreon subscribers in November!! I'm so excited to share these.Cute felt Australian animals and an all new Harvest embroidery sampler are exclusive to craft club members at Patreon.com/littledear. Come join us! Everyone needs a new cozy project to stitch this chilly fall season.

Do you know who this guy is? Look up Bilby if you're not familiar with this super cute Aussie critter, you'll fall in love with them.I hope you'll come join me at Patreon.com/littledear, there's a little dear craft club that's perfect for you!
xo aimee