Looking Towards Spring

I wasn't sure if I would be posting again before Purim so I didn't have another Purim inspired project planned. However I have been working on a new flag for my garden. Since snow is still on the ground and the garden is still asleep I'll have to wait to hang this in the garden.

I made the flag from outdoor canvas left over from making last year's flag. The Hebrew prayer stencil was designed by Jessica Sporn and can be purchased at http://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/stencils-s/1846.htm   For those of you who can't read Hebrew (Don't feel bad, I'm not even at the Dick and Jane level yet) this is the priestly blessings from Numbers 6: 24-26
               May YHVH bless you and keep you
               May YHVH cause His face to shine upon you
               and be gracious to you
               May YHVH lift up His face towards you and give you peace.
This stencil was rather expensive compared to all the other stencils in my collection but it was perfect for my project. I also plan to use it on other creations. If anyone wants to purchase one but it may be too expensive for you (it costs almost as much for shipping as the purchase price) consider sharing the cost with another crafter.
To fill out more of the space on the flag I added the same Menorah stencil I used on my candle jar snuggy in a past post. That stencil can be found at http://www.craftcuts.com/menorah-stencil.html
I'm not affiliated in any way with these sources but I just wanted to share them with you.
The flower vine stencil was one purchased at a local craft store.

I can't leave the glitter alone and I embellished the candle flames with glitter glue. Time with tell if the glitter will survive the summer weather.

Now I really can't wait for spring so I can hang my flag out where it will greet my visitors.
              

Veggie Garden Flags

At the request of a sister in Yeshua I've come up with vegetable garden markers. The construction is the same as a past post in which I shared a garden flag that I made with you. These are just a smaller version of the same.

These are made of outdoor canvas from the fabric store. I cut each flag 3 inches x 5 1/2 inches using a rotary cutter and straightedge for nice straight edges. I then folded over approximately 3/4 inch for a rod pocket and sewed the edge on my sewing machine. These are so small that they could be sewn quickly by hand.

Next I sought out the Hebrew word for each vegetable in my Webster's New World Hebrew Dictionary. While one Hebrew word is many words in English many times, I think I am safe looking up the Hebrew word for my vegetables in this case. I penciled in the word for each and a simple outline for each vegetable .
We aren't entering an art competition here so relax and just sketch out the picture of your chosen veggie. Only you and the veggie will be concerned whether you are an artist or not. And the veggie won't tattle on you if you aren't!
 Finally I painted them with acrylic craft paint. (Please excuse the quality of my photos. Our wifi router is toast and we are waiting for delivery of our new one. Meanwhile I'm posting on my huband's PC instead of my laptop were my Photoshop program is and I can't crop my photos as I wish.)

Galvanized wire 14 inches long was cut and bent appropriately for each flag.

I finished planting this year's vegetable garden this morning so I have many more of these little markers to make.

And just a note to my readers: I've made a habit of posting on Tuesdays and Thursdays but, because I will be tending the veggie garden and canning much of it's produce the next three months, I will be only posting on Thursdays for sure and hit and miss on Tuesdays.

Hebrew Crafting In The Garden

Hi everyone! With the start of spring weather in my area it's time to get outside and take Hebrew crafting to the garden. I not only do all kinds of crafting I am also enjoy making art. In looking in one of my sketchbooks I found the perfect sketch to use on a garden flag. My scanner is down so I won't be able to show you the original sketch.

I made the flag out of outdoor canvas that I purchased from the fabric store. I then cut it to size to fit a garden flag holder that I purchased from the craft store adding enough to my measurement for a simple hem and a rod pocket. Make sure you have enough of a rod pocket to go over that flag holder. This fabric won't fray so you only have to fold it once for each the hem and the rod pocket. I used a heavier needle on my sewing machine for this along with s good strong thread. Note: For non-sewers I have in the past suggested that you use a heat set bonding tape but that WON'T WORK on this project. If you try to iron this fabric it will pucker. So I recommend that you use a glue that is NOT water soluble to cement your rod pocket and hem. Creating the hem adds a little weight to the bottom so your flag will hang better.

After you have constructed your flag it's time to decide on a design. If you aren't an artist  I suggest looking at children's coloring books. They can be a great resource for designs. Or better yet, use a drawing that your child has made for inspiration. After tracing your design on tracing paper you can transfer your design onto the front of your flag either by using graphite transfer paper or simply by turning your tracing on the backside and going over the outline with a soft pencil. Turn your paper over and lay it on top of your flag. Tape it down and proceed to trace over your lines with an empty ballpoint pen or a stylist. Before removing your tracing paper check to see if the lines have transferred to the canvas. Adjust and retrace if needed.

Now onto the painting where the fun really comes in. I used acrylic craft paint to fill in my design, even mixing some of my colors to get just what I wanted. This fabric is rather stiff and doesn't need any preparation to paint on. Adding Scripture made my flag complete.

I'm thinking of starting a Flickr group in the future when I get enough response and followers. Then my readers can share the projects they have made from ideas they find on this blog.

Premier Post

Welcome to my first post. Grab a cup of coffee and sit down and explore the site. I will be posting twice a week, hopefully Mondays and Thursdays, and bringing you ideas to incorporate into your own crafting.

I will be showing you some of the things that I've made to spur your imagination and adding links if they pertain to that project.

The above picture is of a mug rug that I created with patchwork and a bit of embroidery. I'm on a  mission to create and incorporate items that display our faith in our home and to encourage others to do the same.

Future items that I'm planning to share are bookbinding, wall hangings, quilted items, garden crafts, art applications and on and on. Also I will be setting up a Flickr group in the future so readers of this blog can share their ideas and creations.

I've collected links to many other websites over the past few years and have posted them on this blog.  I will continue to add more links as I find them.

Feel free to Pin any of the pictures on this site to Pinterest but be sure to post the link to this site when you pin.