As you know, there were so many awesome entries in our contest, and as a thank you to everyone who entered, over the next 3 days I will randomly swap each one in and out. This is a good reason to click on over if you're viewing this in a reader - keep checking back throughout the day as I show them all to you, and hopefully you'll be able to see your own!
We still have a winner and finalists who'll be receiving their prizes, but I was wondering what you thought of rotating the banners on a weekly or monthly basis? We could leave the banner contest open-ended, so anyone can stitch a banner for us at any time, and we can swap the nice ones in and out... Hmmm.. this might call for another vote... just an idea - let me know what you all think!
In the meantime, enjoy the guest banners and beginning August 1 you'll see the winning banner stitched by PlanetCoco in all its glory here!
Showing posts with label banner contest. Show all posts
Showing posts with label banner contest. Show all posts
July 29, 2008
3 Day Banner Celebration
Hi, I'm floresita, editor of Feeling Stitchy. I'm an avid stitcher, knitter, and crafter. You can see more of my stitching on Instagram and my blog. My vintage transfer collection is on Vintage Transfer Finds.
Feel free to email me with any ideas for the blog!
July 28, 2008
We have a winner!
Congratulations to PlanetCoco (Kirsty) for winning our first-ever banner contest!
Thank you to all of our finalists, they were all so talented it was so hard to pick just one. And thank you to everyone who entered - I was blown away by how imaginative, fun, talented and silly you all can be! :) I can't say thank you enough to everyone who made this contest possible, including: Jenny Hart, all the Feeling Stitchy bloggers new and old: Jessie, Jackie, Eydie, Sally, Carina, Pam, and Amy.
But most of all, thanks to all of you! It's you who keep us going and keep the crafting community generous, fun, and filled with new ideas. That's what the embroidery group is about and what Feeling Stitchy is about - sharing what you've made and inspiring each other to do more... thanks! :)
Hi, I'm floresita, editor of Feeling Stitchy. I'm an avid stitcher, knitter, and crafter. You can see more of my stitching on Instagram and my blog. My vintage transfer collection is on Vintage Transfer Finds.
Feel free to email me with any ideas for the blog!
July 20, 2008
Cast Your Vote!
Last week you saw all of the finalists banners in action and learned about each of them (thank you Jessie, for interviewing everyone!) Now it's time to cast your vote in our sidebar - you have one week to vote! The winner and finalists will receive some wonderful prizes.
Thank you to everyone who contributed designs to our competition, and even if your design was not chosen - please leave it in the pool! I have a surprise related to that which I'll reveal soon... :)
Here's one last look at the 5 finalists chosen by Jenny Hart (and their interviews):
Flossbox - Emily (interview)
PlanetCoco - Kirsty (interview)
Shebrews - Eydie (interview)
Maraland - Mara (interview)
Early Bird Special - Amy (interview)
Good luck to all of our finalists!
Hi, I'm floresita, editor of Feeling Stitchy. I'm an avid stitcher, knitter, and crafter. You can see more of my stitching on Instagram and my blog. My vintage transfer collection is on Vintage Transfer Finds.
Feel free to email me with any ideas for the blog!
July 14, 2008
Finalist #2: Kirsty Neale
... a mini interview with Kirsty Neale, aka PlanetCoco
Kirsty, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I live in London with my boyfriend and work full-time as a freelance writer and designer. It can be tough (skin-tight deadlines, eighteen-hour days), but I wouldn’t change what I do for anything. I mostly write children’s books (fiction and non-fiction) and I design all sorts of creative projects for magazines.
Have you always been crafty?
Yes. I remember learning to sew when I was five. The first thing I made was a simple orange A-line dress for my Sindy doll (sort of a British version of Barbie). It had a very unsophisticated neck-hole cut at the top and the stitches were bigger than her head, but it was all my own work and design!
I also loved drawing, and at around the same age, I had a picture featured on a children’s TV show called Take Hart. It was of a snail, and was made from plasticine and lentils. I won a book, and I haven’t really stopped making stuff since.
Do you do other crafty things as well?
I love working with fabric – embroidery and appliqué especially – and have recently been enjoying drawing and creating little pieces of mixed-media art. I spent a big chunk of last year making cards, scrapbook pages and mini-books for a papercraft project and I contributed to a couple of books which were based on eco-crafts and recycling. I also do quite a bit of crafting for children, which is great fun. My partner often comes home to find the weirdest things drying around the house, from disembodied fake limbs to a dead rat made out of old socks (yes, really!).
Where do you find inspiration?
This is such an obvious answer, but really – everywhere. Books of all kinds, films, going to the theatre, walking in the park (I live opposite a beautiful Victorian park which has a maze, sphinxes and giant vintage dinosaurs) and, of course, the internet – Etsy, Flickr and more blogs than I probably have time for.
Please tell us about your banner design submission...
I love how clean and uncluttered the Feeling Stitchy blog looks, and the variety of different types of embroidery it features, so that was really my starting point. I wanted to do something quite contemporary and a bit different, but very stitchy (obviously) in fresh, clean colours.
I started off with the words, and didn’t actually get much further than that! I love typography and really enjoy playing with letter styles and fonts in paper and paint projects, but had never tried doing the same with fabric. I doodled the words onto plain paper, then realised that if I used different types of stitches and techniques to apply them, the stitchiness and detail would be built right into the title.
To put it all together, I traced the blocked letters on to Bondaweb, ironed to fabric scraps, then cut them out with embroidery scissors. I used white linen for the backing fabric, and traced the whole design through before stitching. The border gives it a more ‘finished’ look, and the buttons were added for a little bit of extra dimension.
Kirsty, thanks so much for sharing a bit about yourself with us. Good luck with the banner contest!
Kirsty, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I live in London with my boyfriend and work full-time as a freelance writer and designer. It can be tough (skin-tight deadlines, eighteen-hour days), but I wouldn’t change what I do for anything. I mostly write children’s books (fiction and non-fiction) and I design all sorts of creative projects for magazines.
Have you always been crafty?
Yes. I remember learning to sew when I was five. The first thing I made was a simple orange A-line dress for my Sindy doll (sort of a British version of Barbie). It had a very unsophisticated neck-hole cut at the top and the stitches were bigger than her head, but it was all my own work and design!
I also loved drawing, and at around the same age, I had a picture featured on a children’s TV show called Take Hart. It was of a snail, and was made from plasticine and lentils. I won a book, and I haven’t really stopped making stuff since.
Do you do other crafty things as well?
I love working with fabric – embroidery and appliqué especially – and have recently been enjoying drawing and creating little pieces of mixed-media art. I spent a big chunk of last year making cards, scrapbook pages and mini-books for a papercraft project and I contributed to a couple of books which were based on eco-crafts and recycling. I also do quite a bit of crafting for children, which is great fun. My partner often comes home to find the weirdest things drying around the house, from disembodied fake limbs to a dead rat made out of old socks (yes, really!).
Where do you find inspiration?
This is such an obvious answer, but really – everywhere. Books of all kinds, films, going to the theatre, walking in the park (I live opposite a beautiful Victorian park which has a maze, sphinxes and giant vintage dinosaurs) and, of course, the internet – Etsy, Flickr and more blogs than I probably have time for.
Please tell us about your banner design submission...
I love how clean and uncluttered the Feeling Stitchy blog looks, and the variety of different types of embroidery it features, so that was really my starting point. I wanted to do something quite contemporary and a bit different, but very stitchy (obviously) in fresh, clean colours.
I started off with the words, and didn’t actually get much further than that! I love typography and really enjoy playing with letter styles and fonts in paper and paint projects, but had never tried doing the same with fabric. I doodled the words onto plain paper, then realised that if I used different types of stitches and techniques to apply them, the stitchiness and detail would be built right into the title.
To put it all together, I traced the blocked letters on to Bondaweb, ironed to fabric scraps, then cut them out with embroidery scissors. I used white linen for the backing fabric, and traced the whole design through before stitching. The border gives it a more ‘finished’ look, and the buttons were added for a little bit of extra dimension.
Kirsty, thanks so much for sharing a bit about yourself with us. Good luck with the banner contest!
Finalist #1: Flossbox - Outer Space banner
... a mini interview with Emily, aka "Flossbox"
Emily, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I’ve lived in Sweden going on 8 years. In my former life, I was an organic chemist and lived in Boston, DC, Chicago, and Orlando, but I am still just a Midwestern girl at heart! I also have a degree in clinical lab science. Despite all the lab training, I decided to move towards web programming and database design with a side business of making patterns.
You blog under the name "flossbox" - could you tell us how you came up with that name?
I needed a name for my blog when I moved over to my own domain, and “The Floss Box” sounded good. I use it for all my user names now on crafty sites.
Have you always been crafty?
Yep. My mom did a lot of different things with us, mostly using textiles. I got my first cross-stitch sampler at age 9, a project abandoned by my sister. My mom attempted to teach me to sew, but I resisted till I was in college when I got my own machine and took off making clothes and stuffed bunnies. Stitching-wise, I did counted cross stitch exclusively (for 10+ yrs) until last fall when I decided I needed to branch out a bit. I do a lot of surface embroidery, and I am madly trying to learn raised embroidery techniques, so I can make interesting figures.
Do you do other crafty things as well?
During my college and post-college years, I branched out into polymer clay, jewelry-making, acrylic painting on wood, quilting and some other things. However, there isn’t time or space to do all the things I’d like to do, so I decided to focus my energies on stitching, but I still love to mix in a bit of sewing and other things here and there.
Where do you find inspiration?
I read on someone’s blog (I don’t remember where ☹ ) recently that if something is a good memory, then stitch it! I thought that was great advice. I also look for things that have made a strong impression on me that might make an interesting project. I look for inspiration for ways to convey my ideas everywhere: blogs, Flickr albums dealing with all types of crafts and arts, books, magazines, people, nature, etc.
Please tell us about your banner design submission...
I wanted a design with the little thimble guy in it. I made over 5 versions before I found the right combo of motifs. One half is supposed to be day and the other night, and I wanted it to make you think the little guy just stitched it all. The bee and snail are padded a bit, although I think more thread ended up on the back of the fabric than the front! ;) I chose a more informal font for the letters and did those in whipped chain stitch so they are really defined. I was playing with the little green guy for some other designs, but I thought he might look cute in this design. Mostly I just wanted to make something bright and cheery.
I don't know, the actual piece looks a little softer and nicer in RL, but I have such a hard time getting nice pictures. They all turn out so dark, so they need to be lightened in photoshop which makes them brighter but not always nicer.
Emily, it's so nice to learn a little bit more about you. Thanks for the interview... and good luck with the banner contest!
Emily, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I’ve lived in Sweden going on 8 years. In my former life, I was an organic chemist and lived in Boston, DC, Chicago, and Orlando, but I am still just a Midwestern girl at heart! I also have a degree in clinical lab science. Despite all the lab training, I decided to move towards web programming and database design with a side business of making patterns.
You blog under the name "flossbox" - could you tell us how you came up with that name?
I needed a name for my blog when I moved over to my own domain, and “The Floss Box” sounded good. I use it for all my user names now on crafty sites.
Have you always been crafty?
Yep. My mom did a lot of different things with us, mostly using textiles. I got my first cross-stitch sampler at age 9, a project abandoned by my sister. My mom attempted to teach me to sew, but I resisted till I was in college when I got my own machine and took off making clothes and stuffed bunnies. Stitching-wise, I did counted cross stitch exclusively (for 10+ yrs) until last fall when I decided I needed to branch out a bit. I do a lot of surface embroidery, and I am madly trying to learn raised embroidery techniques, so I can make interesting figures.
Do you do other crafty things as well?
During my college and post-college years, I branched out into polymer clay, jewelry-making, acrylic painting on wood, quilting and some other things. However, there isn’t time or space to do all the things I’d like to do, so I decided to focus my energies on stitching, but I still love to mix in a bit of sewing and other things here and there.
Where do you find inspiration?
I read on someone’s blog (I don’t remember where ☹ ) recently that if something is a good memory, then stitch it! I thought that was great advice. I also look for things that have made a strong impression on me that might make an interesting project. I look for inspiration for ways to convey my ideas everywhere: blogs, Flickr albums dealing with all types of crafts and arts, books, magazines, people, nature, etc.
Please tell us about your banner design submission...
I wanted a design with the little thimble guy in it. I made over 5 versions before I found the right combo of motifs. One half is supposed to be day and the other night, and I wanted it to make you think the little guy just stitched it all. The bee and snail are padded a bit, although I think more thread ended up on the back of the fabric than the front! ;) I chose a more informal font for the letters and did those in whipped chain stitch so they are really defined. I was playing with the little green guy for some other designs, but I thought he might look cute in this design. Mostly I just wanted to make something bright and cheery.
I don't know, the actual piece looks a little softer and nicer in RL, but I have such a hard time getting nice pictures. They all turn out so dark, so they need to be lightened in photoshop which makes them brighter but not always nicer.
Emily, it's so nice to learn a little bit more about you. Thanks for the interview... and good luck with the banner contest!
July 3, 2008
You delivered! The Banner Contest officially rocks!
from PlanetCoco
Sound fun? Oh yeah! :) Here's some more amazing-ness from last-minute crafters:
from Amy
from flossbox
This is precisely why I craft and why Feeling Stitchy is such a blast to maintain. We ask for more entries, and you, being such wonderful, cool, last minute crafters, deliver! :) We now have so many amazing entries that narrowing them down to 5 finalists will be difficult... which is why the goddess of embroidery herself, Ms. Jenny Hart, is doing the narrowing down for us! (Thank you Jenny, again, it's an honor to have your help.)
Stay tuned while we find our 5 finalists and interview them. Here's what will happen very soon:
- We'll do a post a day to feature our talented finalists (thank you Jessie, for doing interviews!)
- Each day we'll swap out the Feeling Stitchy banner so you can see the finalists' work in action.
- When you've seen and learned about each finalist, we'll have a vote and YOU'LL DECIDE.
Sound fun? Oh yeah! :) Here's some more amazing-ness from last-minute crafters:
from Amy
from flossbox
Want to see all the entries? Here they are! Thank you, everyone, for making this contest so fun and such a success!
Hi, I'm floresita, editor of Feeling Stitchy. I'm an avid stitcher, knitter, and crafter. You can see more of my stitching on Instagram and my blog. My vintage transfer collection is on Vintage Transfer Finds.
Feel free to email me with any ideas for the blog!
July 1, 2008
You little elves are sneaky! (Banner Contest Update)
sewing pixies by pinky and boo
I hope you don't mind me taking the liberty of calling you "elves" but you certainly are crafty! :) Yesterday I was thinking of postponing the competition deadline because there were only 8 entries... all really, really good entries, but I had a feeling there would be a few more... maybe you were all busy with summer activities. Lo and behold, this morning I see 15!
2 Day Extension: for last-minute crafters!
Maybe some of you are last-minute crafters (like me)? People who stay up all night the night before a deadline, anxiously crafting away. People who stare at their half-finished masterpiece sadly, thinking, "if only I'd started this eight hours earlier..." Does anyone need an extension? If so, I am offering an extra 2 days to complete your masterpiece. Remember, you are welcome to enter more than once, and we welcome all skill levels! Can we get 20 entries in this contest in 2 more days? I think so. Remember the cool prizes? Come on, last-minute crafty peeps, and stitch our banner! :)
Here are some more fun and talented entries to inspire you:
from Claudia
from indelible88
from Carina
from lucky lisp
from Eydie
from Sally
from woundupladybug
from Suzy-Cat
from maraland
from flossbox
Hi, I'm floresita, editor of Feeling Stitchy. I'm an avid stitcher, knitter, and crafter. You can see more of my stitching on Instagram and my blog. My vintage transfer collection is on Vintage Transfer Finds.
Feel free to email me with any ideas for the blog!
June 22, 2008
Update on the Banner Contest: Prizes!
Hey all! Thanks for voting on the prizes you want to see for our Banner Contest - it looks like you'd like a little bit of everything.... so, we delivered! Thank you, to Sublime Stitching for donating a Craft Pad and other goodies as prizes and to our own Feeling Stitchy bloggers for donating floss, tea towels, and other goodies!
Feeling Stitchy Banner Contest Prizes
Winner's Prize (FS Reader's Pick):
SS Craft Pad and Doodle Stitching book
1 year Flickr Pro Account
2 tea towels
2 linen napkins
2 embroidery patterns: 1 vintage, 1 Sublime Stitching
a set of floss in the 5 favorite colors of our FS bloggers
Finalists' Prizes (there will be 4):
2 tea towels
a set of floss in the 5 favorite colors of our FS bloggers
a vintage embroidery pattern
So, are you excited yet? We are! Remember all the finalists will be interviewed and featured here on Feeling Stitchy, more details here. You have 1 week left (June 30) to stitch an entry and post it to the group, and please, folks, don't be shy! The prizes are here just to make it fun, but the point is not to win - it's to celebrate the creativity and uniqueness of each one of you. Enter as many times as you want, we want to see it all. And, if you don't have a Flickr account and/or are too shy to show off your entry to everyone, just email it to us at flickrem AT gmail DOT com.
To get you in the stitching spirit, check out these awesome entries...
2 entries from artful.artsy.amy
from sewitsforyou
Hi, I'm floresita, editor of Feeling Stitchy. I'm an avid stitcher, knitter, and crafter. You can see more of my stitching on Instagram and my blog. My vintage transfer collection is on Vintage Transfer Finds.
Feel free to email me with any ideas for the blog!
June 7, 2008
Embroidered Banner Inspiration
The vote for our Banner Contest prizes is still going strong (be sure to cast your vote in the sidebar before the day is out!) In the meantime I thought I'd inspire you with a few examples of awesome, hand-embroidered blog banners:
from Claudia (Stitchado).jpg)
interview here
from Amy (Early Bird Special)
interview here
from Alli (One Pearl Button)
Inspired yet? Then get stitching! We'd love to see your header! :)
Hi, I'm floresita, editor of Feeling Stitchy. I'm an avid stitcher, knitter, and crafter. You can see more of my stitching on Instagram and my blog. My vintage transfer collection is on Vintage Transfer Finds.
Feel free to email me with any ideas for the blog!
June 1, 2008
Feeling Stitchy Banner Contest
It's time for a new blog header guys... and we want YOU to stitch it! Feeling Stitchy has grown so much in just a year's time, as has the Flickr Embroidery group. There are so many talented people in our group, working in so many different styles, and what better way to showcase your work and what you do, than to have YOU stitch our header!
The old banner is nothing fancy, I made it with clipart, and it's high time for a change:
We need a banner that reflects all the cool ideas, cuteness, cheekiness, and sauciness in this group, so... stitch our banner, guys! Here are the details:
- Be creative - use any colors or motifs that strike your fancy, it just needs to be embroidered and have the words "Feeling Stitchy."
- Banner size: Use the old FS header as a guide (but it doesn't have to be exact).
- Tag your banners with "FSBC" (Feeling Stitchy Banner Contest) and add them to the Flickr Embroidery pool by June 30.
- Top 5 finalists will be chosen by the goddess of embroidery, Jenny Hart of Sublime Stitching (who needs absolutely no introduction, but if you want to drool over her talented stitching, go here).
- Finalists will be featured on Feeling Stitchy (by the lovely Jessie and other FS bloggers) and you'll all get to vote for the winner!
- This contest is not about winning - it's about seeing and featuring what all of you do... so please don't be shy and enter, regardless of your skill level - we want to see everything!
Prizes: Help me out here. Obviously, the winner will be our featured banner on Feeling Stitchy, but, what else should we give the winner? I am a bit hard up for ideas so, I added a poll to the sidebar (choose as many items as you like) so YOU can decide. Update: thanks for your feedback, here are the prizes! :)
Feeling Stitchy Banner Contest Prizes
Winner's Prize (FS Reader's Pick):
SS Craft Pad and Doodle Stitching book
1 year Flickr Pro Account
2 tea towels
2 linen napkins
2 embroidery patterns: 1 vintage, 1 Sublime Stitching
a set of floss in the 5 favorite colors of our FS bloggers
Finalists' Prizes (there will be 4):
2 tea towels
a set of floss in the 5 favorite colors of our FS bloggers
a vintage embroidery pattern
But what about the thimble guy?
I am sad to say goodbye to thimble guy. We've had a close relationship and I must admit I've become attached to his smiling face. So, if you feel like I do, and want to include thimble guy in your banner, I whipped up a few very basic banner designs to celebrate his jaunty spirit. Feel free to use these as part of your design:
1
2
3
I think I've covered everything, but if you have a question, feel free to ask it in the comments here! Oh, and if you don't have a Flickr account and would still like to enter, just email your entries to flickrem AT gmail DOT com. I'll find a way to feature them in the group so everyone can see them, too! Thanks everybody, for making this such a great place to be online, and please, stitch our header! :)
Hi, I'm floresita, editor of Feeling Stitchy. I'm an avid stitcher, knitter, and crafter. You can see more of my stitching on Instagram and my blog. My vintage transfer collection is on Vintage Transfer Finds.
Feel free to email me with any ideas for the blog!
