Y’ALL!  This is my THREE HUNDREDTH POST!  Woot.

I’ve been remiss with my Iron Craft project for the past few months, but I want to get back to doing them.  This week’s challenge was to finish a UFO—that’s an “unfinished object,” for all you crafty Luddites out there.

I bought the materials for this keychain project idea I had about six months ago.  And I never started it, let alone finished it.  So it was the perfect project to tackle for this challenge.

I had the idea to use these little frames (1″ x 3″) and glass slides to make a cocktail keychain, and amongst all the ways I thought of producing said cocktail, stitching on paper seemed the coolest.  It turned out pretty well for a first go round.

Here’s what you’ll need to do this craft:

• Memory Frame from Ranger, 1″ x 3″ (top left)
• Memory Glass from Ranger in same size
• embroidery thread and cross stitch thread in chosen colors
• good quality paper in desired color, cut to 1″ x 3″, plus decorative paper for back in 1″ x 3″
• needles, preferable a thin one that will still fit the threads
• needle threader
• scissors
• image
• split key ring
• Optional: small letter stencils, white gel pen, self-stick laminate

What we do is overlay the image onto our paper and then punch tiny holes with a needle at even intervals.  These holes will be where we thread the needle through to sew the image.

The only fussy part of the poking holes is on the bowl of the glass.  For reasons you will see later, when you make holes for the top of the liquid in the glass, each one should line up with a hole below it on the side of the glass.  Like so:

Hopefully that’s clear.

Once you’ve got your pattern on the paper, you can start stitching.  To achieve the look I have, there are a few specifications.  I used silver embroidery thread—that is, Pearl Cotton in size 5— to sew the glass.  NOT 6 strand cross stitch thread.  And, I peeled apart the Pearl Cotton, which, in the silvery thread breaks into two distinct strands.  So I used one strand of the silver Pearl Cotton thread.

After I sewed the glass, I did the liquid inside it.  I chose a kind of yellowish orange, close to the color of an actual Sidecar, which is what I was trying to make.  Here, I used cross stitch floss, and I used two strands of the six.  Here’s where those lined up holes will come in handy; once you’ve stitched the top line horizontally, you’ll want to stitch from each top hole into a hole on the glass, to indicate that it’s full, like so:

Once you’ve got your drink in there, you can add the embellishment, which for me was the orange slice.  I used 2 strands of an orange cross stitch floss for the rind, and one strand for the sections.  To make the sections, you simply stitch from the rind holes all into one core center hole.

Then, you are done with the stitching portion.

An optional idea is to label your drink.  I used a small stencil and wrote out the letters in pencil, and then I went over them in white gel pen.

Once you are satisfied with your image, it’s time to stick it in the frame.  You’ll need one piece of glass, the frame, and some kind of backing paper.  I tried to use two pieces of glass, but it ended up being too thick to fit in the frame.  So I picked a cute piece of decorative paper and put some self-stick laminate on it to protect it.

Line up your pieces like this, from bottom to top: decorative paper, with the laminated side facing down; image, facing up, then glass.  Then, you stick it all in the frame (which opens up for you) and close it up.

And there you have it.  You’ll just need a keychain ring to attach it to your key ring.

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