A Brand New Blog Feature - Poshta Presents!

Hello Friends! We are so excited to share some fun news! Starting today, and Thursdays going forward, you can expect a new feature here on the blog!  The weekly feature which we are calling "Poshta Presents" will feature talented stitchers who will be revisiting some previously released Poshta products and sharing new and inspiring projects with you!

For the month of January, the Basic Heart and several of the Basic Heart Additions dies will be featured and the very talented Kelly Raines will be joining us as our January guest!

Let's get started! I'm going to turn it over to Kelly and she will share with you how she created her beautiful banner!

Hello everyone, Kelly here! I thought I’d share a little bit about myself.  I have been a crafter for as long as I can remember and like many crafters, I have tried so many things.  I was an avid scrapbooker which led me to other paper crafts and cardmaking.  Several years ago I discovered the wonderful world of felt stitching and while I still do other crafts, most of my time is spent working on felt projects .  I especially enjoy creating home decor pieces like the Love Grows Here banner.  For me, creating these banners is like designing the front of a card but instead of cardstock and rubber stamps, it’s felt and stitching. 

When I create a banner, I start by cutting out all the felt pieces so I can get an idea on placement and see how much room I have for text.  For this project, I am using the Holly Hill Color Story. I cut the large Basic Heart in Cardinal felt and the two small basic hearts in Rouge.  I used the coordinating add on Embroidered Heart Vine Details die to cut the decorative stitching design and to cut the five smaller hearts.  To create the flower stems I used the Sweet Treats: Popsicle dies and cut what is intended to be the decorative stripes of the popsicle in Arugula felt.  I used the Floral Heart Details dies to cut the leaves in Arugula and the flower on the large heart using Rouge, Arugula, and Sprout felt for the center. Just as if I were creating an ornament, I cut a front and back layer of felt for all of the decorative elements except for the flower and the five small hearts.  I like the dimension added by using the two layers of felt plus the stability.   

Now it’s time to assemble the banner!  I used my Silhouette Cameo 4 to cut the text, Love Grows Here, in a red foil heat transfer vinyl and my mini hand held heat press to adhere it.  I also used my Cameo to cut the permanent white vinyl scallop border I added to the frame, which I purchased online. For the base of the banner, I used a felt sheet, which Poshta offers in several of their beautiful colors.   Next, I did all the decorative vine stitching on the hearts using 6 strands of DMC floss 3865, which coordinates with Tundra felt, and embellished them with beads and sequins from the Holly Hill Color Story. I stitched the flower onto the large heart and the small hearts on the Rouge hearts and added a little shine to them as well.  I used DMC 3345, the match to Arugula felt for the floral stems and leaves, DMC 349 for the large Cardinal heart, and DMC 3832 for the Rouge hearts. I used 3 strands of floss and the running stitch.  I stitched the flower stems together first.  And then stitched the hearts together, placing the top of the flower stem between the two felt layers at the base of the heart and stitching it closed.  Lastly, I added the decorative stitching to the three remaining small hearts and added the sequin and bead details. I used Beacon Fabri-Tac Felt Glue to adhere all of the felt elements onto the base of the banner.  This is a nice, thick, strong glue that does not seep through the felt. I used hot glue to attach the bow to the stem of the large heart. I love using magnetic poster frames to display my felt projects.  They are a nice finishing touch and allow for an easy way to swap out your projects for the seasons. 

Thank you so much Kelly for sharing your talent with us this week! We hope you will join us again next Thursday, right here on the blog, for more of Kelly's beautiful projects featuring the Basic Hearts and the Additions dies!