Cowgirl Mermaids and Other Things

As the mayor of Sweetheartville and an avid decorator, I decided it was high time our little town had some sprucing up, and what better way than with a good ol' fashioned embroidered cowgirl mermaid. Actually, being the forward thinker that I am, I began this project before this silly little blog was even up and running, anticipating that I would very quickly become bored with block letters for a title, and need something with more flair. Well, my html skills live right next door to nothing, but I am crafty, so here is my solution. She has been finished for quite a while, but has been waiting for our recent purchase of a scanner to make her debut. I'm now second guessing my choice to scan it, since the stitches don't look as sharp and realistic as I would like, with all the resizing. Maybe a photo would be better, to catch some shadows? I am also limited by not owning Photoshop and being a complete idiot about computers in general. It was only thanks to the Sweetheartville Town Council (otherwise known as Mr. Sweetheart) that I got this thing up in the first place. I'm such a perfectionist, I'm sure I'll have to tweak this a lot more before I'm happy with how it looks. I'll leave you with a tip about something I do know a little about-- embroidery. Here is an easy way to transfer an image to fabric without the hassle of carbon paper or transfer pens. Use a light box and a sharp #2. Don't have a lightbox? Neither do I, Dollfaces, but I do have a window. Just tape the paper and fabric to the glass and commence to tracin'. Of course this only works with light colored fabric, but there ya go. If any of you dolls or guys have banner making tips for me, won't you please share them?