Olga's Tart ~ A Finish!

I'm back! So this week I had two fun FFOs! This one is the second one..Olga's Tart by Plum Street Sampler!! I've had Olga finished for years and she has been hanging out in my box of finishes.  I think the main reason why it took me so long was because I wasn't sure how to finish her completely.  I stitched Olga on a piece of 28 count linen (I think) that I picked up from my local Michael's. I had only ever stitched on Aida, so stitching or buying linen for that matter was a brand new to me.  And to top it all off, I was also only just returning to the world of cross stitch after a 16 year absence.  So there was so much to learn!

I remember stitching Olga with the recommended DMC and a few weeks back I gave her a dip in some tea/coffee to age it up a bit. I finally decided to FFO her on a pedestal I picked up somewhere along the way! 

I cut out a piece of mat board and glued two layers of batting onto it, then I laced Olga into place...

Once she was finished...I mounted her onto the pedestal that I'd painted/antiqued earlier in the day...I attached some black mini pom poms around Olga and attached her to the top of the pedestal.  It's hard to get a perfect picture of the whole finish.  I love how she turned out and I'm excited to have her ready for my Halloween decor this year!

 Before I go..I thought I'd show you my beautiful Black Eye Susan bush that is growing in the front flower bed.  This is the second year for it and man is it gorgeous!  I just love it.