Sunday, May 18, 2025

Birthday card with LOTS of candles made from rolled paper with gold flames


 I made this great card for my oldest grand daughter's birthday - 18 years old!!  I so remember their birth and so many memories as they grew up and it simply does not seem like that much time has passed!!!  
I rolled hand decorated papers onto a wooden skewer adding a little glue just inside the beginning edge so that they would not stick to the skewer but start adhering right away.  I just kept adding glue and rolling until I got to the end of the paper (3.5" or so tall and 3"-4"long).  I slipped them off the skewer and left them to dry and made 18 in all!!  I punched 18 flames (bird's wing - SU punch) and adhered thin strips of black paper to the backs to create wicks.  I created a large card and adhered the candles with double sided tape trimming them to angle at the top.  Once all the candles were in place I added the flame/wicks combos by inserting the wick into the angled opening at the top and adhering the flame with 3D foam tape.  I tore a strip of vellum, stamped the greeting and the birds, added paper piercing and then folded the end to the inside of the card securing with double sided tape.  I have been wanting to make these candles for a long time but I almost always mail my cards which makes it impractical. Fortunately, I was able to hand deliver this one at a family get together.   They are off to University in September!!!  Therese

Friday, May 16, 2025

All occasion card featuring a cute little snail over a fun strawberry background

What a fun little card this one is!!!  I started by creating a card to fit into a small envelope (6.5" x 3.5") onto which I mounted a piece of realistic strawberry paper.  I watercoloured the snail, paper pierced its edges and added a green layer before mounting it to my card using 3D foam tape.  I love how this one turned out!! 

Therese
 

Sunday, May 11, 2025

All occasion card featuring a hand decorated background and floral elements

I created this card for Mother's Day!!!  I created a pink card and added four strips of hand decorated paper for a background.  I dug through my stash of flowers and found the three smaller ones which are die cuts cut from decorated watercolour paper.  I added three little other flowers I found in the same stash to give them centers.  The leaves were cut from a green scrap.  The large flower was created using several layers - first a watercoloured die cut (TH), then a scrap of embossed vellum and a fussy cut flower (Jane's doodles) which I watercoloured to coordinate.  I adhered this large flower to my card using 3D foam tape.  

Therese
 

Saturday, May 10, 2025

All occasion card featuring a cute little daisy with little ribbon flags over a hand decorated background

Another Mother's Day card!!  I started with a terra cotta card trimmed to fit in a large envelope.  I added a hand decorated background and then added a strip of paste paper on the left hand side.  The little potted flower was watercoloured, paper pierced and then layered onto an embossed background to which I had added some ribbon flags.  A fun card for a special person!!

Therese
 

Friday, May 09, 2025

All occasion card featuring little squares of decorative paper, a doodled vine and a layered photo of a flower

Another card I created for Mother's Day!!  I started with a very light dusty pink card and added some little squares leftover from my last class.  I doodled a vine in between using a green gel pen adding leaves as I went.  I went back and added three little dots here and there to simulate flowers.  I added paper piercing to the 4" x 4" photo which was trimmed from a photo calendar I received from my sister, Sylvia, last year for Christmas.   I love her photos and they always make wonderful cards.  I cut a pink square of cardstock, punched the two corners and then added the photo into it.  Love those colours!!

Therese
 

Sewing - - Bag #2 - tote using scraps of corduroy and medium weight poly cotton

Bag #2
This is the second bag I have created for my grand daughter to decorate and sell to their friends once she heads to university this fall.  This activity should keep them in a bit of spending money while they are going to school.  

I started with scraps of brown corduroy and a few scraps of coordinating floral corduroy and some almond coloured poly cotton (pant legs).  I decided to make this one a bit smaller ( 18" x 33" - with 21" handles) and used a neutral poly cotton for the lining and the inside pocket.  I incorporated the shirt pocket into one of the sides as well.  I triple reinforced the handles within the 1/2" seam allowance at the top so they should be fine for anything but a bag full of text books!!  
I used the floral, the almond and a black poly cotton to create the "piano key" accent and added 
some of the leftovers to the handles as well.  I did have to stitch the main light panel (where the artwork would go) but it should be fine once it has been painted!!  
I added one strip of the floral fabric to the bottom of the shirt pocket and then another scraps of brown to make it the size I needed for this side of the bag.  I added a black/brown corduroy bottom.  

I created the lining from a neutal poly cotton and created a zippered pocket from the same.  I added a tab in brown to the edge of the pocket.  

I am really loving the fun of making fabric with scraps and mixing and matching pieces to make the whole assemblage work.  

Totally fun!!!  

Therese





 

Thursday, May 08, 2025

All occasion card featuring a hand decorated background, an embossed &layered rectangle and two embossed fussy cut hearts

Our oldest daughter and her DH are celebrating their anniversary soon and I made this card for them!  I started with a navy card, added a hand decorated background, a layered embossed rectangle under which I added four little strips of silver metallic cardstock.  After all these pieces were in place I added two fussy cut embossed hearts which we stamped on a piece of decorative paper.  Therese
 

Tuesday, May 06, 2025

Card featuring birthday cake, layered stripes and a hand decorated background

A card for my second oldest grand daughter featuring some hand decorated paper I made a while back!!  I love the colours and the letters in this paper!!  I trimmed a large pink card, added paper piercing to the background before adhering it to the card.  I layered some embossed pink strips to the green ones and then added those to the card.  I watercoloured the birthday cake (Melonheadz) to coordinate with the background, added some paper piercing with my pattern tracing wheel and then layered it with pink then a distressed green rectangle.  I mounted the focal element to the card front using 3D foam tape.   It is on its way!!
Therese
 

Monday, May 05, 2025

Card kits - Mother's day card kits featuring a flower created with hearts and a hug inside

I made a large set of these for my sister.  She owns a daycare and was looking for card kits for one of her classrooms.  I started with a bright card - yellow in this case.  Added three hearts laid out to make a flower - they will be free to do as they wish.  I used two scalloped circles over each other for the flower center.  I included a scrap of green for the stem and two little scraps for the leaves which they can trim themselves.  All of this gets glued to the blue background and then to the card front which ensures that nothing is sticking too far out to fit in the envelope.  

For the inside I sent along instructions for using the child's hand to create a heart and hug for Mom!!  Found the idea on line somewhere!!  You start with a folded 8.5" x 5.5" of white bond paper.  Fold in half the short way.  Place the hand with the thumb and forefinger touching the fold and trac the hand.  Once it is cut out it creates this fun heart graphic!!  

I hope they love the cards! Therese


 

Sewing - Bag #1 - denim jeans and decorative denim accents with a floral green and yellow lining








I have decided to make up some tote bags for my oldest grand daughter to take to university in the fall.  They have been decorating denim with acrylic paint for several years now - Jean jackets, etc. for the kids at school and several of their friends with a variety of designs custom to the person who wants the work done.  The art is something they really enjoy doing and is very good at so I figure it will be a win/win situation to have a bit of extra money coming and keeping art in their life.  
This is the first bag I made.  It is large (37" x 21" with a 40" handle) and will certainly accommodate almost anything that a student might need to carry - would even do as an overnight or weekend bag.  
I created a white front panel where the artwork would go and then framed it with a strip of decorative denim and other denim from a pair of jeans.  I added some of the jean patches to create some interest!! The other side has the jean pocket and a "piano key" accent created using scraps of different denim scraps I had on hand. I added another belt loop and the Levi's tag on this side.  The lining is this fun grey, yellow and green cotton to which I added a zippered pocket and another tab.  Always good to have a secure place for keys and your wallet and phone.  It was really fun to make and because of the denim has some heft to it!!!  It is a good start to the project and I hope it will be successful this year and providing a bit of money towards what they need over the school year.    Therese



 


Saturday, May 03, 2025

An all occasion card featuring a little bird in a nest, blingy mesh, star brad and green ribbon


 This card is off to my daughter for her birthday!!!  I started with a little bird (spring has sprung here) in a nest and after watercolouring it I added paper piercing with my pattern tracing wheel.  I trimmed a large green card, collaged a blue background and embellished with a bit of background stamping in blue as well.  I added a layer of blingy mesh using double sided tape.  I added a star brad to the image and tied on a length of green ribbon before adhering this large focal element to my card front.  Therese

Friday, May 02, 2025

Fabric Sale was a success!!!!!!!

We have worked hard to get all the fabric ready for the sale and the notions and yarn too!  It was down to the wire but we got it done!!  It was a beautiful day and the line up at 9am was all the way up the street!!  Our shoppers were all in and stuck around for a bit more time as I am sure they have felt the need for more shopping now that there is no large fabric store though we do have several new quilting stores  (Blackfalds and Bentley)!!! The rush that usually lasts an hour went on for 2.5hours and created a bit of a long line up but no one complained and we were soon getting ready for the end of the sale and the stowing of the leftovers to be picked up by our friend, Jen!!!  We had such a good team and in the end it was our highest fabric sale ever!!  Our volunteers also got to check out and buy which helped the numbers as well.  Therese


 

Card featuring a background of squares, glitter pen embellishment and a framed flower photo with a little bow

I created this card for my sister for her recent birthday!!!  It was fun to create this background with little squares leftover from my last class.  I added a squiggly row of clear glitter using my Sakura gel pen.  I framed the 4"x 4" photo (from the calendar by sister Sylvia gave me for Christmas of her own photography) with yellow, added some paper piercing using my pattern tracing wheel and added it to my card using 3D foam tape.  I tied two short pieces of yellow ribbon to each other and added it to the corner of the photo to finish off my card!!!  

I hope her birthday went well.  I have been working 2 days a week for the fabric sale and it is challenging to stay ahead of the to do list.  

Therese

 

Birthday card featuring collaged background, hand cut handles with "bird wing" flames, greeting

DH is having a significant birthday and so I made him a special card!!  I made a collage background with some of his favorite things and adhered it to a large card base.  I added hand trimmed candle with "bird wing" flames from golden yellow decorative paper.  I added the greeting which was stamped and embellished with paper piercing.   

It was his first party and he really enjoyed the family time!!

Therese

 

Sunday, April 13, 2025

Sewing - a tote created with blend fabric with a quilted star and a front three pocket panel

I have created this tote bag to highlight the flexibility of the cotton/blend fabric donation that we received for our Fabric Sale which is happening in a couple of weeks.  This fabric was used to make scrubs for health care professionals and is of very good quality though it is all solid colours.  I used white, red and navy for this bag and lined it with a cotton fabric featuring scenes from London.  This is my first star block made with half square triangles and solid squares (2").  I added two pieces of navy to each side to make it the width I wanted and then added a piece at the top to make a nice finished edge for my pockets.  I added a piece at the bottom as well to make it proportional to the bag but on hindsight I should maybe have increased the size of the top section to center the quilt block.  I cut a large layer of red  (16" by 32" or so) and stitched the bottom edge of the pocket panel in place after folding the edge under.  Then I stitched on each side of the quilt square which created three pockets.  I created two handles (1.75" by about 18"long) using red on one side and navy on the other.  Next, I created my lining using the London fabric.  I had to cut two pieces so I could get the graphics to be in the upright direction.  I added some navy and red strips to make an accent on this piece as well and stitched the bottom and two sides leaving an opening on the one side so I could turn it inside out.  I put the outside into the turned in side out lining and inserted my handles in between the two and then stitched the top edge all the way around - triple stitching at the handles.  I turned it inside out and pushed the lining into the bag and stitched a couple more times all the way around the top.  I turned it back to inside out and stitched box corners (2") on both the bag and the lining.  Turned it back to right sides out and tucked in the lining and stitched the box corners together with a few little lines of stitching which makes it reversible!!!  I hand stitched the opening on the lining closed and pressed it well.  I am happy with how it turned out.  My quilt square could have been more accurate but for my first one it was good to go.  It will be featured at the Fabric Sale next to the quilt I made with the same fabric to help people envision what can be created with these fabrics.  We will be selling these scraps for $2 for a 2lb bag.  Therese



 

Wednesday, March 26, 2025

Cardmaking - butterflies and flowers with thinking of you greetings on coordinating tags with a crystal brad


 I made up these cards from a set of tags I had tried out as a card for my March Card Club.  In the end the combination of the four layers of cardstock and the embellishments ended up making the card not suitable for mailing to I abandoned the idea.  So to use the elements I had assembled I cut the tags apart, replaced the fiber with a crystal brad and then mounted them to coordinating card fronts.  I printed some "Thinking of you" greetings, punched them with the large oval punch (SU) and then layered them onto scallop ovals.  I had already added butterflies and flowers to the decorative paper layer so they will go into the IWIN card stash for the fall!!  I am glad I was able to work the tags into cards!!!  Therese

March Card Club - Card #3 - quick and easy with embossing and ribbon


 For our last card we made this quick and easy card!!  We embossed a layer of white, ivory or metallic and added ribbon before layering onto a coloured card front.  The one on the left was not as effect as  I expected it would be - very reflective and therefore very bright.  I added four lines of paper piercing after embossing with the little floral stems (Quick Kutz).  I used double sided tape on the back to secure the ribbon ends and then tied the remainder to the front using a single knot to simulate a bow!!!  It was then mounted to a navy card.  For the other card I used the Manhattan Flower (SU) embossing folder and then trimmed the right hand edge following the edge of the embossed flower.  Added the ribbon in the same manner and the other one and mounted the layer to a black card front.  I provided a few different colours  of ribbon/seam binding in case the girls wanted a non monochromatic look for their cards!!  It was a great way to finish up our evening and so good to see all of them again!!  Therese 

March Card Club - Card #2 - colour blocking with strips of cardstock and fun images for every occasion


 As it happens these card kits were very much the same - envelope, white cardstock and a extra background layer!!  It was not planned that way but when I was making up my instructions I realized how similar they were!!  For this second card we glued strips of cardstock to a layer to create our background.  I had cut strips for my scraps so there was a variety of widths and well as colours!!  Again, they chose their images first so they could make coordinating backgrounds.  Once the strips were all glued to the substrate we simply trimmed to the edge to create our background.  We embossed the backgrounds and then applied Versamark ink to them to get some contrast without adding any colour.  We adhered our backgrounds to the white cards and then fussy cut our colour printed images.  Some of the images did not require any trimming so they were just added using 3D foam tape.  The little truck is from CLKER and the butterfly is from Pixabay.   These were all very unique and looked very interesting!!!  Therese

March Card Club - Card #1 - decorative paper squares and embossing for a background with a fussy cut focal element


 We had a wonderful time making cards again this month!!  The weather was nice enough for several of the girls to walk over!! Spring is on its way!!
For this first card we created a background using 1" squares of decorative paper in a variety of colours to coordinate with each person's chosen image.  We used a ruler/straight edge across the 4" x 5.25" scrap layer and used it to set our first line of squares overlapping the sides.  The next row was added by eye and then the third row as well.  Some of the girls had more rows and one even made her landscape so had longer rows.  No problem!!  Everything works!!   Once that was done we trimmed our squares to the edge of the layer and we were able to use some of them to fill in the little spots that were missing.  After that we embossed the area that was free of squares to add some texture.   We glued this background to our white card fronts and then fussy cut our images - some right to the edge and other leaving a white border which simulates a die cut image.  Then the images were coloured and mounted to our cards using 3D foam tape.  The cupcake and wreath are both from Melonheadz and laser printed.  This is a very versatile sketch and the squares really can be glued on in any way you wish!!  It is also a technique that uses up your scraps and provides a large variety of colours for very fun backgrounds.  I fussy cut the cupcake right to the edge and ran a black Sharpie along the edge to remove the white line created by the cardstock.  Makes it pop!!  I left a margin of white on the wreath because of its very wavy edge and it worked really well.   Therese

Cardmaking - cards from card kits from my January Card Club which feature used Canadian postage stamps

I have really enjoyed making up these cards!!  They are all different colours to coordinate with the postage stamps featured on them.  You can check out the details and the other cards I made here.  These will be going into my card stash for later.  Therese



 

Cardmaking - cards made up for January card kits - fun backgrounds with a bookmark on the front


 I have just got around to finishing up the card kits from my January Card Club session!!  These 
ones have bookmarks tucked under the strip on the front which is a gift in a card!!!  You can check out the details and the other ones here.   Therese

Cardmaking - cards from kits featuring a wobbly line of embellishments


 Just got to the kits left over from my January Card Club.  These ones feature a wobby set of embellishments which are mounted on a thread. Totally fun and it is not often you can get movement 
when you are creating handmade cards.  You can check out the details and the other cards here.  Therese

Friday, March 21, 2025

Sewing - reusable make up remover pads from a donation of new flannel


In the donation that we received the other day was a ziploc bag of small flannel scraps.  I decided that they would be perfect for making up make up remover pads.  I used two layers of flannel sewn with good sides out (3"square) and then pinked the edges to preven too much fraying.  I washed them after I made them and they get really all scrunched up so I have indicated that they should be washed by hand after use and laid flat to air dry.  I have packaged them in fours so buyers can pick the colours they like!!!  Therese

Monday, March 17, 2025

Slow Stitching - stars for another baby quilt


I have decided to make another baby quilt using the cotton scraps from Gramma Link Africa.  I traced this star from an image from the internet - I wanted the soft points and then I added the swirl to give it a bit of interest.  I have traced it with the yellow marker from the Crayola Ultra Clean Washable markers set and will stitch them up in yellow as well.  I will use the same stitch as I used on the hearts.  Therese

Sunday, March 16, 2025

Sewing - baby blanket in green, white and yellow with embroidered hearts


I have finished up the baby quilt using the embroidered heart & star squares I have embroidered.  I created the pattern for the heart and star, printed it the size I needed for the 6.5" square and then traced them with a gray marker - Crayola Ultra Clean Washable marker.  After they were all embroidered I cut the remaining squares from cotton scraps which were donated our our Gramma Link Africa group.  I stitched them all together and am really happy with how it turned out.  When I brought it to show the girls they agreed to add batting and a flannel backing.  In the process of getting it ready to go I decided that I needed an outer sashing so I cut and stitched up some yellow strips and added them to the outside.


It looks more finished with the outer sashing so I am glad I took the time to make it.  It also gives the quilt a bit more width which might be more appropriate for anyone wanting to buy it at our next event.  


Fortunately, I also realized that they would not have the appropriate fabric to make a binding so I cut that also for the quilt.  I handed over the bundle and they will finish it up!!  They are a great group of sewing/quilters and always do a great job!!!  Therese

Friday, March 14, 2025

Slow Stitching - heart and star for a baby quilt


 I wanted to make up a baby quilt with some cotton fabric scraps donated to our Gramma Link Africa group and so I designed an heart and star pattern, printed it the right size for my 6.5" white squares and then traced them on with the gray marker from my Crayola Ultra Clean Washables marker set.  I stitched the heart in green to coordinate (3 strands) and the star in yellow to coordinate (2 strands).  The green is done up in a new stitch which I cannot recall what it was called.  You start with a small stitch, bring your thread up a stich length away and then pass your needle behind the stich and bring to the back where you came up and it resembles a chain stitch.  You continue with the same stitch pulling your thread behind the previous stitch.  I like that it is more defined than the chain stitch and with three thread made a very well defined line.  The yellow star I did in stem stitch and the star in single running stiches emanating from the center.  I made up 7 of  them - one for each row of the quilt.  It is a win win when you can stitch squares and then include them into a quilt.  Therese

Wednesday, March 12, 2025

Cardmaking - leaves featured over an embossed background highlighted with ink and accented with leather zigzag

A card for a family member with a birthday coming up soon!!  I started with a large brown card and added an embossed background which was highlighted with ink to bring out the details in the gears.  I adhered it to the card and added a zigzag die cut of leather.  The leaf (SU) was stamped several times, watercoloured and embellished with paper piercing thanks to my pattern tracing wheel.  I found some coordinating  scraps to make flagged accents for them and adhered them into place.  Therese
 

Friday, March 07, 2025

Cardmaking - outdoorsy paper with beavers, birds, and bear along with some leather leaves

I started with a large kraft card base, embellished it with some stamping (SU) to add a bit of texture.  I framed three pieces of  this fun paper which I found in my scraps that features birds, beavers and bears along with a few funky snails!!  I layered them with coordinating cardstock and adhered them with 3D foam tape.  I added three leather leaves in the space to emphasis nature.  
Therese
 

Tuesday, March 04, 2025

Health - Dr. K Boogie Woogie piano on YouTube


 A great channel for great boogie Woogie music which is excellent to exercise to!!!

Therese

Monday, March 03, 2025

Sewing - a repair on a denim bag


 

I did a repair on a denim bag that we received in our fabric donations a few weeks ago.  It was headed to the second hand store but I thought it was more likely to be offered for sale if it has not damaged.  
You can see that there was a tear on the top edge of the bag so I added a denim scrap and stitched it in place to repair the tear.  It did not look elegant so I found a tag in my stash that had woven edges and would fit to cover the repair.  I stitched it over the repair and now it looks much better.  Understandably it is not perfect but it does look neat.  On hindsight a little fabric collage would have been more designer!!  Next time!!  Therese

Tuesday, February 25, 2025

Gift in a gift - a cute package for a small gift

Here is a cute way to wrap a small gift and give a gift in a gift which easily transforms a potholder into a little container to package a small gift.  So fun!!!

You simply need a needle and thread!!!  Almost any thread will do though one with a little weight works best - crochet thread, embroidery thread, yarn, fine cording will all work perfectly.  Take a length between 7-12" and starting with one corner poke through the corner diagonally and continue to capture all four corners in the same way.  Pulling tight will bring the corners together at the top and you simply have to tie a bow to secure the package.  See photo below.  

Any small gift can be packaged this way though you might consider wrapping it in a small box or some tissue paper to prevent it from falling out of one the gaps on the sides.  No waste!!!  

Simply place your little gift inside with your tie loose and then tighten and tie off.  

Environmentally friendly can be very cute!!

Therese