Beary Cute Mug Rug...Winter Coffee Lovers Hop

It's DAY 3 of the Winter Coffee Lovers Blog Hop and I'm back with my third treat to share...This time, it's not a card.  It's a cute little Mug Rug created especially for...ME!  

Did you know I'm a bear collector?  On top of all the stamps, inks and other crafty things I *collect*, one of the most special collections I have is my collection of stuffed bears.  I love them!  The little bear in this photo is actually my Mom's childhood bear (and christening gown) and because I'm a teddy bear collector, she gave it to me.  It's one of my most treasured possessions.   

I decided to create a little Teddy Bear Mug Rug using an adorable Teddy Bear stamp called Beary Best.  It's such an adorable stamp and It worked well on my fabric design.  Oh, and those cookies, I made them today.  They're actually heading to my classroom for a fun Paint Your Own Cookie event this week.  They're pretty tasty!

So wanna know how I created this adorable quilted mug rug?  Well, first, I colored some cotton fabric (an old sheet) using some Sweet Berry Splash.  I have a collection of jars filled with water and Splashes in my fridge and they come in handy when I want to dye some fabric.  I heat set the color and then stamped the bear onto the fabric.  I heat set the bears too.

After that, I painted a light coating of reinker on the fabric.  In hindsight, I probably wouldn't do that again because the reinker bled a bit.  It was ok since the bear is a bit on the shabby side anyway.
See how the color bled a bit.  It's because of the oil in the reinker.  When I was light-handed on the ink it was ok, but when I added too much ink on my brush, it bled.

I do love how the Splash created a marbleized/tiedyed effect on the fabric!

After finishing my fabric design, it was time to sew it together. For the backing, I selected some fabric remnants that belonged to my grandma.  I also added some cotton batting and sewed it up on my sewing machine.  After it was sewn together, I used a meandering stitch all over the fabric to quilt the layers together.

After finishing the stitch work, I focused on a little girly pleated ruffle on one edge.  My needle broke right when I was done adding the pleats so I had to add a temporary pink bow to finish it off.  

I hope you enjoyed today's Winter Project.  It's such a fun little cookie/hot chocolate mat!  Tomorrow I'll be back to share the Beary Cute card and another tasty treat!  :)  Now back to hopping!