Contest Winner Announced & More Finishes

Good Morning!

I'm participating in my first craft fair in about 10 years so every available minute has been going to stitching, punching, sewing, crafting, painting.... :)

First things first:  the contest winner who guessed how many ornaments I made in 2014.  The answer was 41.  Since no one guessed that number, I enacted "The Price Is Right Rules" (closest without going over) and Linda's guess of 36 won it!  Linda, please email me so I can get your mailing info and send you out your prize. Congratulations and thanks to all who participated!

Here are some more of the finishes I've been busy working on:


This is a great Dimensions punch needle design that was so quick to make up...

One of my favorite LHN designs...

And here it is again using vintage 1950's silk ribbon rouching and some homemade rusty bells, then distressed the backing fabric to make it look vintage...

Another favorite LHN design...

... haha... look familiar?...

This LHN was the more involved finishing I've done in a while -- added the red floss and beads evenly spaced around the ornament and then attached the mistletoe embellishments...

I can't tell you how many of these I have stitched up over the past few years...

LOVE this LHN pattern...

 ... so much that I stitched it twice (and LOVE this Moda backing fabric)...

WHEW! Like I said, I've been busy!  Would love to hear what you all have been working on!  You can see more of my stitching finishes as well as other crafting items I'm working on at:  Handmade Heirlooms by Nicole Facebook Page

Talk soon and just keep stitching!  ~Nicole

So yesterday was a pretty good day...

Hi Everyone!

Yesterday I took a big leap on something I've tossed around for a while now.  I started my own Facebook page for my finishing and then released a couple of new punch needle patterns.  Knowing what I know as far as how huge of an issue copyright infringement is (that's a topic for another day and I can assure you I will talk about it), I'd been thinking it over for close to a year and a half.

Not sure why I chose yesterday to start this up; maybe because I've been getting the finishing juices flowing over the past two weeks (pics to come soon, I promise!) and just decided to set it up.

If you'd like to check out my page here is the link:

Handmade Heirlooms by Nicole

Also, don't forget that my EASY tutorial on punch needle is up on YouTube and you can find that here:

My Punch Needle Tutorial

I am taking orders on Ornament Finishing so feel free to drop me a message if you're interested in making that finished items pile a little smaller.

Don't forget my contest is still going (see previous post) and the winner will be announced on 11/1/14.

Just Keep Stitching ~Nicole

Punchneedle VIDEO Tutorial! :)

Hi Everyone!

Sorry that this was two days later than I'd intended... I had some techincal difficulties posting up the video but I think it's all set now.  I've had several people ask about punchneedle and I promised a tutorial so you asked for it! It's up on YouTube :

Please let me know if you have any other questions and I'm happy to answer them for you! Also, don't forget about my 3 Lizzie*Kate chart giveaway --- winner will be picked once I hit 100 followers and you can see a list of the complete "rules" under my first post for 2012!  :)

I want to get to stitching before it's time to call it a day so I'm going to sign off for now.  Have a great night and just keep stitching!  ~Nicole

Punchneedle Finish & New WIP

Hi Everyone!

I took two days off from work to get some things taken care of at the house and have had quite a bit of stitching time before the weekend where there will be MORE stitching time! :)  I got my punchneedle project done and started a new project:

"Winter" by L*K is d-o-n-e done.  For a change of pace punchneedle works up VERY quickly and has a great look.  I'm planning on turning this into a small wall hanging at some point closer to craft fair time.

Silks and fabric for my next WIP for my niece Lexi.  The fabric is 28 ct. Blue Dynasty Cashel Linen and is GORGEOUS!

Progress on "Mermaids" by Country Cottage Needleworks.  Stay tuned!

That's all for now as I want to get back to stitching for a while longer today.  Have a great weekend and I'll post again on Monday; don't forget about the contest still going on until I hit 100 followers.  Just keep stitching!  ~Nicole

Punchneedle WIP

Good Morning Everyone,

Well, despite my carpal tunnel I put in an additional 6 hours of punchneedle last night on the L*K design for a total of around 8... here's how it looks today:

Looking good, huh?  FYI that's TWO entire skeins of FMC 930 and I love how you can see the outline in the front of "Winter" for where DMC 712 will be filled in at some point.

I need to get going but wanted to check in quick and fill you in on the progress.  Have a great day and just keep stitching!  ~Nicole

New Floss Cabinet & Punchneedle Start

DH was looking for an idea of what to get me for Christmas and I suggested the DMC bamboo floss bobbin cabinet.  He seemed slightly relieved when I suggested it since that meant no return trip to the mall days before Christmas and I've wanted one for YEARS but my plastic cases served the same purpose so it was fine.  DMC was also running a sale (and seem to STILL be running it FYI if anyone's interested) so it was $100 off... isn't she pretty?  The girls helped me make sure I had every one in order and it really looks great.  Reminds me of a jewelry box but with jewels of an entirely different kind. :)

After that project was done I decided to mix it up a little and I started a L*K punchneedle piece.  Cross stitch is my first love but I really like doing punchneedle designs as well.  If you haven't tried it, give it a whirl! It's so easy and works up fast -- photos are front and back after only an hour.

It's just like a coloring book only with thread--can't be any easier.  No counting, etc. so it's great to change it up once in a while.  I have a few projects in mind for punchneedle in the future so stay tuned.

Don't forget my contest is still going on and as soon as I reach 100 followers I'll pick a winner.

Have a great Tuesday and remember to just keep stitching!  ~Nicole