Did you know that you can stitch on ...........screen wire??

 It's true!

Throughout the years, the screen doors need to be changed and I always love the rust look of an old screen...........and I have always thought that they had the perfect cross stitch grid to them.

I carefully cut a piece of and old rusted screen, and picked a cross stitch design to fit it.

To keep the rust on the screen and from tainting your floss and hands...........

spray a clear sealer onto the screen and let it dry for 30 minutes. 

Trim away ......as much as you can of the wire strands that are sticking out and do be careful because the edges are still prickly and can poke you! Work your cross stitch design, being careful not to carry over a thread because the screen shows through unlike fabric.  

I also stitched my initials at the bottom.........

I wanted a primitive look to my wire, so I attached mesquite tree limbs to the top and bottom with light jewelry wire. No matter how much I tried to wrap the wire on the side edges, the screen still had places where it poked my fingers.

I cut strips of matching paper and glued them onto the sides.

Now it is a pretty stitched piece to hang either in the window......

or on a porch.  

What do you think?

What is an unusual thing you have stitched or painted on??

I would love to hear.

I have been thinking up ways to use the small leftover scraps of fabric

that I have left over after working on a project.

They are just too pretty to throw away.......

I wanted to make something unique, but also "usable".

I decided to make pincushions...........working with my hand embroidery and beads.......

and placing a vintage button in the center.............

and also giving each one a distinct name. 

I designed this one from the joy I feel as I walk along my gardens 

gazing at the flowers that grow there as well as the butterflies and bees that dart in and out.

I placed one of my favorite antique buttons in the middle. 

This one I designed by piecing together many of the spring fabric scraps and then embellishing it with flower beads, pearls and a vintage button.

I designed this with  darker nostalgic scraps and embellished it with flower beads, pearls, tiny glass beads and a vintage button.

I designed this with a mix of floral and homespun fabric scraps.  I incorporated vine and leaf embroidery with beads and a vintage button.

I wanted to capture a cold crisp morning with different hues of embroidery, tiny glass sparkling beads and clear beads along with a rhinestone button.

I think it would be wonderful for a seamstress to have her own personal pincushion , so I designed this one with a letter, tiny glass beads, pearls, flower beads and a rhinestone button in the middle.

They are all so pretty and unique..........

eye candy with a useful purpose.

So tell me, 

what do you do with all of those little scraps that you have left over?

I would love to hear!