Bella Stitchery

Ahhhhh, the good ol’ family photo. Priceless memories to frame and enjoy for generations. We conveniently forget about all the craziness that takes place behind the scenes in order to get that perfect group picture.
Here’s a little song I wrote, inspired by our last family photo shoot (sung to the 12 Days of Christmas):

On the 12th round of photos with my family and me –
*12 minutes late
*11 blurry pictures
*10 baby tears
*9 lost socks
*8 extra diapers
*7 timeouts given
*6 broken props
*5 outfit changes
*4 expired coupons
*3 cars to get there
*2 kids under two
and a perfect family photo for our wall.

We get to pick them up a week later, which is just about the right amount of time to recover from the afternoon’s adventure. 🙂

bella stitchery, gothic, halloween, owls

Spoooooktacular Cross-Stitch

October 26, 2014October 26, 2014 Genevieve Speegle

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore—
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door—
“‘Tis some visitor,” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door—
Only this and nothing more.”

–The Raven

Edgar Allan Poe

Fall is a great time of year to decorate, and Halloween is filled with lots of spooooky, creepy options. Some of my favorite cross-stitch patterns are of Halloween. It can be anything from gothic, Vintage and retro to modern and colorful.

The pattern above is my newest creation, lovingly called Halloween Library, and it can be downloaded here.

Here are some more of my favorite Halloween patterns, all of which can be found at my Bella Stitchery Design Etsy shop:

Cheshire Cat & Caterpillar Wonderland Pattern

Retro Vintage Halloween Witch on Broom Pattern

Jack Skellington Nightmare Before Christmas Pattern

Pin-Up Carving Halloween Pumpkin Pattern

diy, fall decor, wreaths

5 Must-Try DIY Autumn Wreaths

October 25, 2014October 26, 2014 Genevieve Speegle

Fall is the start of decorating season here at my house, and the warm colors of autumn make me feel all warm and cozy.

Nothing says cozy quite like a fabulous wreath on one’s front door. Also, is it just me, or have wreaths come a long way in the last few years? The amount of creative ideas are astounding! Here are five of my favorites.

This one is available from Old Time Pottery.

Love this floral wreath idea from Homedit.

Burlap wreath how-to from Craftaholics Anonymous.

The burlap craze continues over at Craftaholics Anonymous! I’ve seen these wire frames at Michael’s and have always wanted to try this technique. I think it would make a fun kid’s craft, too.

Wondering what to do with all the acorns and pine cones in your yard? Look no further! Check out this blog post to find step-by-step instructions.

More use with natural elements, as can be found at Finding Home’s blog. The rustic nature of this wreath is right up my alley!

Hope you’ve found some inspiration for your own front door this holiday season. Thanks for stopping by to visit!

xoxo

Genevieve

cross stitch patterns, downloads, freebie friday, roses

Friday Freebie – Peach and Pink Roses Cross Stitch Pattern

October 24, 2014October 24, 2014 Genevieve Speegle

TGIF!

Hope you enjoy this one-of-a-kind pattern. It is based on a photo of rich pink and peach roses. This tapestry would go beautifully in a country or shabby chic style home.

Peach and Pink Roses Pattern

Happy stitching, and have a lovely weekend!

xoxo

Genevieve

Uncategorized

Sneakin’ Up On It

October 24, 2014October 24, 2014 Genevieve Speegle

Just realized it’s been TWO YEARS since my last blog post. Geez. I guess that’s what happens when life gets in the way.

My youngest son turned one today, and I’m *hoping* that he will start sleeping through the night. Momma needs to get things done!

My new blogging goals include:

* daily posts

* updates on new listings

* giveaways and contests

Any other bloggers out there? What advice can you give me? I am making a new start and am feeling the late-night motivation (why does that always disappear the next morning?)

Thanks so much for all your feedback, and I look forward to chatting with you in the coming days!

amazon, authors, blog candy, books, buttons, collage, ephemera, freebies, giveaways, handmade, handmade cards, kitsch, mike speegle, stationery, typewriters, vintage art

Give It Away, Give It Away, Give It Away Now.

August 12, 2012October 24, 2014 Genevieve Speegle

Super Awesome Contest Thing

My hubby is having this amazing giveaway in August,

and I’m excited to share it with you as well!

Here are the goodies being raffled:

A handmade canvas frame (courtesy of yours truly).

Here’s an example of what it will look like with a 5×7 photo.

I have also made five greeting cards.

Each of them highlight fun, typewriter-themed ephemera.

Why stop at paper?

Here is a one-of-a-kind embroidery piece that I made using various fabrics and buttons.

This hoop adorned the wall of my office before Mike saw it and asked me to donate it to his cause.

He is also giving away a copy of his short-story anthology, although you don’t have to wait for the contest to have a copy for yourself. You can check it out here, too.

Go visit Mike’s blog here to learn more and enter to win. Good luck, friends!!!

xoxo

Genevieve

1950's, altered art, barnes and noble, calendar, fashion, mixed media, october afternoon, retro office supplies, rub-ons, thrift shop

An Appointment With Crafting

May 15, 2012October 24, 2014 Genevieve Speegle

I needed a date book for work, and couldn’t find anything that really grabbed me.

So – I altered one!

I started with one I found at Barnes & Noble.

Then, I used these adorable Thrift Shop rub-ons from October Afternoon.

For this book, I started with the yellow doily rub-on and layered the ladies on top.

Easy as pie! Hope this inspires you to use those fun scrapbooking embellishments in new ways!!

xoxo

Genevieve

art, bella stitchery, craft ideas, embroidery, fabric piecing, fiber art, fusing, gift ideas, handmade, hotels, joann, lion, quilt guild, quilting, red lion, ricky tims, sales, white bluffs quilting museum

Sales Material

May 6, 2012October 24, 2014 Genevieve Speegle

One of my favorite things about being a sales manager at Red Lion is that I can stretch my creativity when it comes to client gifts.

I am in the process of signing a contract with a quilting convention and am giving them a site tour Monday morning.

Now, I don’t quilt myself, but I do love fabric! I decided to make this embroidery hoop fiber art for my client. I’m putting it in the room, along with cookies and a welcome card for check-in tomorrow.

I used some fun fabric that I found at JoAnn. I attached some Steam-A-Seam to the red fabric and then hand-cut the pattern from the Red Lion logo that I printed on to paper.

I taped the paper to the back of my red fabric, put it against the window and traced it with a black marker. Then, I cut it by hand.

After that, I ironed the pieces to the white fabric. The Steam-A-Seam bonded them together so I didn’t have to stitch it at all. Super easy!

I can’t WAIT to hear about how it goes over tomorrow – wish me luck!!

xoxo

Genevieve

Bella Stitchery

1950's, balloons, birthday cards, cocktails, collage, cosmo cricket, crocheted flowers, diy, ephemera, frames, glitz design, handmade cards, martinis, music notes, painting ideas, party, stamping ideas

A Birthday Cocktail For You!

April 21, 2012October 24, 2014 Genevieve Speegle

Happy hour cocktails for a happy birthday!

My work buddy loves the retro and Vintage style cards I make,

so I wanted to do something extra special for her this week.

I started with this fabulous balloon/music note sheet from Glitz Design

(I’ve been waiting to use it for over a year!)

I found some of these chipboard frames a little while back and painted this one a yellow gold to match the tones in this Vintage image. The frame was a perfect fit!

Clusters of embellishments really make a card (or layout) stand out.

Here I used several crocheted flowers, a fabric brad, hand-tied button and two pins.

Inside the card, I used a journal frame from Cosmo Cricket and stamped “Happy Birthday” on it, along with some flowers (there are tiny rhinestones in the center of each one, too).

Thanks for stopping in! Happy Crafting!

xoxo

Genevieve

1950's, buttons, can can dancing, chicago, circus, musicals, pin-up cards, pin-up girls, pin-ups, promotion, retro cards, sewing, top hats, vintage, vintage ads

Give ’em the Old Razzle-Dazzle

April 16, 2012October 24, 2014 Genevieve Speegle

Here is another pin-up card that I made for a friend’s promotion.

I’m going to drop it off, along with some flowers, for her first day on the job this afternoon.

I love the circus illustration and inside I’m going to write,

“Give ’em the old razzle-dazzle; razzle-dazzle ’em”

from the Chicago musical.

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you have a crafty week!

xoxo

Genevieve

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