band sampler | Mr X Stitch

Hello, Hello, Hello again all my spectacular cross stitchers! We are continuing on this month with the discussion on the versatile, beautiful, contemporary band sampler. So what is your style? Whatever it is you can make a sampler to fit it! How great is that?! Last month I started on the "Spring Sampler" using seed beads and i-Zink Diamond Paint by Aladine. I wanted to show you how to add different elements to a sampler to jazz it up and how easy it was to do it. Go to this link to view the May article Now I will tell you I was going to stop after I added the flower beads to the green stitched band but that's not how I roll, so I added a bit more to it which took additional time and I am so glad I did. That's the real beauty of the sampler, one thing inspires another and it usually ends up not quite the same as it was supposed to in the beginning. It demands that you play and have fun with it and experiment to your heart's content. It doesn't have to be a certain size or contain certain components. I measured absolutely nothing, and I mean nothing, on mine and it turned out okay. As a matter of fact, I learned a lot from this one and got lot's of great ideas for another project! Let's take a peek shall we? The completed Contemporary Spring Band Sampler. It was hard to stop adding to it! LOL! What I added was the green flower row near the top, the butterfly section at the top, the row of pink Swarovski crystals and the final row of blue with the backstitched vertical lines. Let's start at the top of the band sampler and work our way down. The butterfly is a metal stamping that started life as an antique brass color. I used two colors of Prima Inka Gold blended together; rubbed it on by hand; buffed it with a paper towel after it dried for sheen and to remove any excess paint. I wanted the top pink band to have a shabby chic color so I used 2 strands of pink DMC 225 and blended it with one strand of DMC Ecru. The lovely pink glass flower beads are fastened on with a Delica bead each. I use Czech glass flower beads because they are a great quality bead, come in a huge amount of colors and sizes and can be found at lots of bead sellers on Etsy. The Swarovski crystals I had on hand and I think they are a 3mm (the package wasn't marked, ugh). They are a rose color with an AB finish that really adds a lot of flash to the design. I stitched them on the diagonal. I figured out the spacing by trial and error and is easy to customize to the look you want to get. The bottom blue row of the band sampler features backstitched vertical lines with a bead on the end and was kind of an afterthought that couldn't have worked out better if I planned it that way. To make it easier, I backstitched with one strand of floss so I could go down a stitch at a time, fasten the bead with a backstitch, and then backstitch the same way going back up the same line. The applications for this design is a nice variety. It would make a gorgeous pillow, lovely set in a picture frame, a journal cover, an album cover, scrapbook cover, stand-up form, or framed and hung on the wall. You could even incorporate them into quilts! How's that for versatility! Stitching On the Glass Flower Beads Whether you are using a glass seed bead, a crystal bead, or a pearl bead, any bead you use can fasten a flower bead or a sequin. All you have to remember is to bring your needle and floss up through the bottom of your flower bead or sequin and go through the center of your attaching bead. When you come back down, go only through the flower bead or sequin, then just fasten on the back in whatever way you normally do. Next: The Dark Side To show you more of what you can do with a contemporary band sampler, I am working on one that uses significantly different elements than this one AND we are going to use vertical bands in it too! Here are some of the elements I will be using for it. These are a few of the elements I will be using in the Contemporary Grunge Sampler I will reveal next month, so stay tuned! The Take Away So here is the take away I hope you discovered. First, if you can cross stitch you can make a contemporary band sampler. Second, you can truly make this your own by using your favorite color fibers, your beads, your embellishments, and your paints. Last but not least, there are as many different ways to use these as there are stitchers doing them. Don't be afraid to use them in any number of ways that feeds your creative soul. Make them big, make them small or in between, but just make them! LOL! That will wrap things up here for June. If you celebrate Father's Day this month, I hope you have a lovely one. If you don't, I hope you still have a lovely day and rest of the month. Please remember to always, Keep Creating! Confessions of a Cross Stitcher is brought to you in association with Cherry Parker Cross Stitch Designs! Sign up to Cherry's newsletter to get free designs from New Zealand!