Doily Challenge - a large birthday card featuring a floral digital stamp (my art), a doily and some fiber

I created this card as part of my Doily Challenge.  You can check out my previous card here. I started with a large white envelope and created a black card to fit inside.  I used a "rubber finger tip" - a stationary tool - to stamp a texture on the right hand side of my card using silver ink.  It turned out quite good  -  similar to stippling!!  I started with some teal fiber and created a layer featuring the colours in it - dark pink, purple and a light teal blue.  I embossed the background with a script embossing folder, tore the bottom edge and layered it with silver paper (gift wrap).  I found this laser printed floral image (one of my own doodles) in my stash which worked well with the dimensions of my background  so I watercoloured it to coordinate.  I added a layer of white to extend the bottom and then tore it to echo the bottom of the layer.  I wrapped the fiber on the bottom of the floral image covering the joint with fiber.  I found a coordinating greeting in my stash so I tore both the top and bottom of it, sponged it a bit with aqua ink mounted it over the fiber using 3D foam tape. I mounted this large focal element to my background.   I trimmed a piece off of my teal doily to layer under my main focal element and then adhered this large element to my card front using double sided tape.   The dark card reduces the contrast of the dark doily which helps highlight my flower image.    Therese

Doily Challenge - a large birthday card featuring a teal doily, a stamped greeting and some paper sequins with bling

A friend gave me a package of teal doilies when I attended her garage sale earlier this year and I thought I would challenge myself to use them in cards.
I started with this card which used just less than half of one of the doilies.  I started with a large aqua envelope and I created a white card to fit inside.  Next, I cut a light aqua layer for the front just slightly smaller and used the piece of doily as a stencil sponging on aqua ink on the right hand side.  I really liked how that looked.  I started layering pieces on the left hand side to create layers on my card.  I ended up with a piece of plastic trimmed from a commercial card that has a white doily pattern, my piece of teal doily, some blue foil and then a piece of silver foil.  After auditioning all the pieces I glued them to my layer one at a time and added the final white doily piece using two silver brads which I applied through all the layers.  I glued this large layer to my white card front and then worked on some embellishments.  I found a stamped and embossed greeting in my stash which coordinated nicely, added a navy blue layer, tuck it under the white doily layer and adhered it to my card front.  I found these light aqua floral paper sequins in my stash, sponged their edges with the same ink I used to stencil and then adhered them to my card front nicely arranged near the greeting.  To finish off, I added clear rhinestones to the centers of the flowers.  It was a challenge to use this colour in that it was quite dark.  I am happy with how this one turned out.        Therese

Another quilt top - red and blues

I made up this quilt top a while back using precut rectangles which I purchased at a garage sale. They are all flannel and the lines are a bit wonky because they were not all cut to exactly the same size which I only discovered after I started sewing them together.  I have trimmed the side to be even.
I have washed all three quilt tops - pink and blue green and they have all shrunk by 2"to 3"so I am very happy to have done that before I started making quilts from them.  I will see about getting to the process this fall and hope to have them all finished soon. 

Therese

Fabric bags - resuable and washable

 I have upcycled a fabric curtain (100% polyester) into eight fabric bags which can be used for library books, class supplies, craft projects, groceries on the way home, snack run, garage sales, mall shopping, thrift stores, farmer's market, etc.   I unraveled all the hemming except the top one and then trimmed the piece which was almost square into eight pieces.  They were long narrow rectangles that measured approximately 17.75" x 35.5".  I cut handles (3" by 18" or so) from navy (100% polyester) stash fabric. I folded them in a half inch on each side and them folded them in half and stitched up both sided using white thread to coordinate with the bag fabric. To make the bags I folded the rectangle short ends to each other at the top (right sides together) and stitched up the two sides and then zigzagged the edge of the seam allowance to finish it off nicely.  I folded and pressed the top hem where needed and added the handles 5" from each side and then stitched the top hem triple stitching where the handles were.  I added another line of stitching about 1/8" from the top edge again triple stitching the handles.  I went back and added triple stitching in between them just on the handles.  They are very secure. 

Next I boxed the two bottom corners to create a bottom on my bag - I stitched about 3.5" from the corner to create a 7" bottom.  I stitched the triangle I folded in to the bottom of my bag to secure it and reinforce the bottom.  I stitched a 12" piece of cording with a knot at each end about 3" down from the top of the bag on one of the side seams so the bag could be folded and tied up.  To tie up you simply lay the bag down handles at the top and fold the bottom so it is facing up as in the photo above.  Next, fold down the handles and fold up the bottom and start rolling the bag from the side opposite the tie.  Once rolled all the way to the other side you simply tie the cording around the bag to keep it neat.  It was a fun project. 

Felted wool dryer balls - Part 2

Well, needless to say that the dryer balls did not felt as I expected.  I expect that I may have wound the wool sweater bands too tightly in a ball and there was not enough give to have them felt properly.  I wished I had sorted that out before I made so many.  So in order to save these and make them usable I have given them all sock covers which will keep them all intact even if they are not felted and they will work just as effectively in the dryer.  It is unfortunate that they did come out beautiful but sometimes that it the way it goes.  Therese

Exchange card - one of my digital images, embossing and ribbon

I created this card as one of my exchange cards for this month.  I started with a large envelope and created a large turquoise card to fit inside.  I adhered this wonderful polka dot background paper (gift wrap) and then added another strip of the same cardstock embossed with dots to which I had added a bright green ribbon.  Next, I diecut a large label (TH) from pink cardstock and embossed it with a smaller polka dot design and added a thin purple ribbon to the bottom section and tied on another small length with a single knot to simulate a bow.  I trimmed this flower image  - one of my own laser printed digital stamps - and used a corner rounder on the corners.  I watercoloured the image to coordinate and mounted it to the label over the ribbon using 3D foam tape.  Therese

Birthday card featuring hand coloured silk leaves, dimensional sticker letters and stamped decorative paper

My oldest daughter's birthday is coming up and I made this card for her.
I started with a long thin envelope and created a dark brown card to fit inside leaving it a bit short so I could highlight the edge with the insert.  I punched the top edge with a scalloped border punch (SU).   I dug out two coordinating scraps from my decorative paper stash and used regular tape on the back to attach them together.  I trimmed the right side to fit on my card front.  Thinking that the edge of the piece on the left needed a bit of something I decided to stamp it with a solid leaf stamp using a multicolour stamp pad (Kaleidacolour - Creole Spice).  I simply inked my stamp and then stamped the edge using a piece of regular bond paper to mask off the music paper.  I stamped the stamp twice - once right next to the edge and another a little farther over which gives are a really nice layered effect.  I added the dimensional letter stickers to spell out my greeting over where the paper were joined.  I added the "HAPPY" stickers to kraft coloured half inch punchies before adding them to my card using double sided tape.  I used letter punchies which I watercoloured before adding clear dimensional dots to create "BIRTHDAY" and then glued those to my card using double sided tape as well.  I started from the bottom for "birthday" so I would have a space between the words.  I watercoloured a sprig of white silk leaves to coordinate with my stamped leaves and let them dry.  I pierced a hole between the words of my greeting and mounted my silk leaves using a square gold brad.  I love how this element adds so much interest and texture to my card!!  I mounted this large element to my card front.  To finish off my card I used a push pin to pierce each of the scallops on the edge of my card.  I cut an oversized insert and trimmed it to the same length as my card on the top and bottom an added a quarter inch on the right hand side to allow the scalloped border to really be showcased!!            Therese

Exchange card - stamped image on polished stone, scalloped diecut and tracing wheel texture

An exchange card for this month!  For this card I used a large envelope and created a white card to fit inside. I started with this circle with a stamped image from my stash.  It is a SU image stamped in blue on a circle die cut of polished stone background on glossy photo paper.  I created the background first - a brayered piece from my stash that coordinated well. I cut it in two and mounted a coordinating piece of  blue cardstock in between.  I added texture to the piece using my pattern tracing wheel - a line on each of the top and bottom pieces and a variety of all over lines in the blue section.  Next, I added a length of coral gros grain ribbon and then mounted the background to my card front. I found a green scalloped circle die cut in my stash with I watercoloured to coordinate with my card.  I mounted my circle focal element to the scalloped circle and added to my card using 3D foam tape.  I found this coordinating stamped greeting (SU) in my stash and flagged the end before mounting it to my card. Therese

Birthday card featuring a dimensional sticker, ribbon and decorative paper

Our god daughter's birthday is coming up soon and I made this card for her!!  I started with a large envelope and made a soft peach card to fit inside.  I added two strips of white embossed cardstock on the top and bottom.  For the middle section I trimmed a piece of laser printed decorative paper into three.  I added two strips of aqua to my card front and then glued the three pieces of decorative paper into place overlapping the aqua strips.  For my focal element I started with a small dimensional sticker.  I added layers - peach, embossed aqua - peach and then onto a larger brown rectangle gluing them together as I went. I used my distress tool on the edges of  the brown one and then added flagged ribbons to the backside of it on the top right and lower left.  As I was considering where to place my focal element I decided I needed a bit more texture so I ran my tracing wheel over the two aqua strips on my card and used a brown gel pen to add a line to my two white embossed strips.  That was better!!  I used 3D foam tape to add my focal element to my card.  Pretty happy with how it turned out!!          Therese

Felted wool dryer balls - part one

 I have been thinking about making dryer balls for a while using the scraps of wool I have stashed!! I found this tutorial on The Spruce which uses hot water in a pot on the stove instead of a hot water wash in my washing machine which seemed a better use of water.  So I got started and found some felted wool scraps for my center.

I wrapped some felted wool around it to start creating a ball and then wrapped a long scrap of felted wool around and it started looking more like a ball.  I dug through my unfelted wool stash and found this pale pink cashmere sweater which had already been cut up for another project and cut some half inch strips from two of the panels.  I started wrapping the unfelted wool strips around my ball and just kept adding strips until it was the size of a hard baseball.

 I decided to tie yarn around it to keep it all together until I could get a few more made.  I managed to make two more balls and they are ready for felting.  I will continue with the felting instructions when I get to them.  

Therese

Anniversary card featuring a layered greeting, embossing and ribbon

 I am working on cards for my family whose special occasions are coming up soon!!
For this anniversary card I started with a large envelope and made a kraft coloured card for fit inside.  I added two panels of embossed white cardstock  (top and bottom) and then overlaid a piece of beautiful decorative paper over them.  I added a length of soft aqua ribbon gluing the ends to the inside of the card using double sided tape. I created a layered greeting using a small laser printed greeting which I punched with a small oval punch (SU).  I added it to a decorative paper oval punchie (SU) and then to a gold metallic scalloped oval (SU).  I used 3D foam tape to adhere my greeting to the front of my card over the ribbon.  To finish off my card, I added two little punched hearts below the paper on the right and three little clear rhinestones above the paper on the left of the ribbon.    Therese

Two small quilt tops

I picked up a few scraps a while back when my sister was lucky enough to come upon a lady down sizing her quilting stash.  I got a bag of scraps and a few boxes of larger pieces and some precut squares as well.  I ended up with a large bag of flannel scraps and pieces and have since picked up a few more precuts and small pieces on my most recent trips to second hand stores. After washing the ones I picked up I was sorting through what I had and started placing some of the squares in alignment to see if I had enough to make a small quilt.  They have been sitting for a few days and I went down there looking to access the felted wool which was at the back of the room and the choice was to pick up all the pieces and try to remember how they all went together or to switch gears and work on the quilt instead of the felted wool project.  Needless to say, that I got started on the quilt and very soon I had filled in all the spaces between the squares with strips and had added long strips in between to get the width I was looking for.  I was aiming for a kids quilt so anywhere near 35"-36" would work.  So I started sewing the pieces in each row together and finished sewing the rows to each other yesterday.  I am very happy with how it worked out as I really did not have any idea when I started what I was going to end up with.  It was fun to play with the pieces and move them around until I liked the way they went with the others.  I had to cut a few pieces for the in between strips so I used my rotary cutter and cutting mat.  Worked really well.  It was fun playing with fabric and actually making something that has a real purpose.  I trimmed the edges even today and measured it and it is 37.5" x 46.5" or so.  I will have to see about finding backing, binding and some sort of  fabric to sandwich in between.  I am looking to make a lightweight quilt so it maybe just a sheet.  We shall see.   Today, buoyed by yesterday's success I decided to see if there was enough fabric to make another top for a kids quilt.  

As you can see I did manage to make another quilt top but when I made the decision to not add any pink pieces to this one I had to get quite a bit more resourceful to make all the pieces fit.  I cut a few squares from some of the larger pieces I acquired recently to have enough for my design.  As you can see, I also had to add a piece to the green and blue ones but fortunately, I had small pieces that I had leftover when I was cutting the squares that were just the size I needed.  So there are 4 lager pieces that are pieced rectangles instead of square - one in each row of squares.  I started by creating the center strip with the only solid colour pieces I had - bright yellow ones.  I found some coordinating pieces of patterned fabric and used a small scrap of dark green which gave the strip a bit of definition.  I added long strips on each side of that one just adding two little pieces to each of them to make them long enough.  One is monkeys and the other is giraffes.  The four rows of squares were then filled with what I had left to make the little strips between the squares.  There was much moving of pieces and squares before I settled on this layout as I did not want the same fabric touching to too close to each other.  I spent the day sewing the pieces of each of the row to each other and then sewed all the rows together.  I trimmed the edges even and this one measures 35"  x 44" - a pretty good size.  I folded them up and pinned a paper with the measurements on it to the corner of each quilt top.  I picked up all the other pieces and put them all back into the bag along with the quilt tops and all the other flannel scraps I has sorted out.  

I am very happy with my days work!!!!!!  I like that they easily could be baby quilts and that I have one for a girl and a boy!! So for now they will be stored away until I can get to finding fabric to make a backing, binding and to add as a filler.  I am looking to make them light weight so they won't require much in the way of filling but for sure that will be a project for another day.  This week we are back to our regular meetings and commitments so there are a few full days ahead.  

Therese 

Another anniversary card - ribbon, embossing and beautiful paper

Another card for a special couple who are celebrating their anniversary very soon!!
I started with a large pink envelope and made a green card to fit inside once I had chosen this beautiful paper!! I trimmed the decorative paper to leave a small margin all the way around and glued it to my card front. I added a coordinating blue ribbon and tied on a short length to simulate a bow.  I used a slot punch (SU) to cut a slim opening on the spine of my card in which to insert my ribbon - works so well.  I cut a rectangle of coordinating yellow cardstock, rounded the corners, embossed it and add my little laser printed greeting on the bottom section.  I die cut two gold scalloped hearts (SU) to back my two heart punchies (SU) and layered them to create my focal elements.  I added them to the embossed rectangle above the greeting.  To finish off my card I added three little blue heart punchies and them mounted this large element to my card front using 3D foam tape.          Therese

August exchange card featuring one of my digital stamps, an embossed background and ribbon

My other card for my August monthly card exchange.  I started with a large purple envelope from my stash and created a yellow card to fit inside.  I embossed a piece of decorative paper and then ripped it in two as it was not quite long enough for my card!!  I drew this little flower image while watching a doodling video on You Tube.  I scanned the pages, cut out individual images and cleaned up those that needed it and then laser printed them on white cardstock.  FUN!!!!!!!  I watercoloured my trimmed image and added a green cardstock background to it.  I distressed the edges and added a piece of ribbon on the bottom edge tying off a short end to it using a single knot to simulate a bow!! I mounted my image to my card front using 3D foam tape.
It has been fun creating cards with my own images!!  Will be doing that again for sure!! Therese

August Exchange card featuring my digital image, decorative paper and some bling

Having caught up on my July card exchange cards I thought it only made sense to keep going and get my August ones made as well. 
I started with a large blue envelope from my stash and created a card to fit inside.  I added some brocade decorative paper and because it was a bit shy in length I cut it into two pieces and added a strip of coordinating grey cardstock on between.  I created this fun image of a trio of flowers while watching a doodling video on YouTube.  I scanned my pages, cut out a few images which I cleaned up a bit digitally and then laser printed on white cardstock.  I watercoloured my image and layered it with yellow cardstock.  The piece was a bit long so I used an eyelet border punch on the bottom edge and them used my score tool to emboss a strip between it and my image.  I added my focal element to my card using 3D foam tape and finished it off with three little clear rhinestones on the right hand side.             Therese

Exchange card featuring my digital rose image, some embossed borders and raffia & ribbon

I am tardy with my July card exchange cards so I managed to get them done this week!!!!  I started this card using a large pink envelope from my stash and I created a white card to fit inside.  I had chosen this little rose image which is my art!  I created several pages of doodles a while back while watching a doodling video on YouTube.  I scanned them, saved a few as individual elements and did some digital clean on those that needed it before printing them on white cardstock!  Pretty cool to be using my own images on my cards!!  I decided to use this beautiful scrapbook paper but it was a bit short so I created embossed borders for the top and bottom using pink cardstock that coordinated.  I punched the decorative paper with a scalloped border punch (SU) and pierced each scallop with a push pin.  I glued the pink borders to my card front and then added the pink raffia before I adhered my decorative paper over the borders centering it nicely.  I watercoloured my laser printed image and then added it to a cardstock background that was a combination of three different greens. Adds a bit of interest and uses up scraps from my stash.  I added a strip of double sided tape to one edge and placed six little pieces of flagged ribbon into it.  This helped add some texture to my card.  Very happy with how it turned out!!
Therese

Exchange card featuring my digital daisy image, a line of mosaic pieces and a bit of ribbon

I am late with my July card exchange cards and with a days break from summer activities I thought I would get some cardmaking done!!!  This card features a digital image of a daisy which I drew myself while I was doodling along with a doodling video on YouTube!!  I scanned the page of images I drew and isolated a few which I saved as individual images.  I did a bit of digital clean up on several of them and then laser printed them.  Pretty happy with how they worked out.  I will probably be doing that again so I can use some of my own images in my cardmaking!!  

I started with a large orange envelope from my stash and created a warm brown card to fit inside.  I layered it with this fun orange scrapbook paper.  It was not quite wide enough to for the card so I trimmed a piece from another scrap and because it was not quite long enough I used a pair of scissors and trimmed it into pieces and glued them into the gap between the other two pieces!!  I like the look of a sort of mosaic between the two.   I watercoloured my laser printed image which was trimmed from the large letter sized sheet I printed several on and then I layered it onto a green piece of coordinating cardstock.  I added a piece of double sided tape and placed six little pieces of ribbon into it to create a bit of texture on this card.  I really like how it turned out and will be using the concept of a line of mosaics on future cards!!      Therese

A thank you card featuring a reused layer, a punchie greeting and a bit of lace

For this card I reused this decorative layer featuring a multi layered floral focal element.  I added the little punchie greeting to the upper left and then added a green layer in behind my main decorative layer.  This layer had been trimmed a while back from a swap project.  I added a length of lace on the right hand side before gluing this large element to a coordinating pink card front.  This is a large card which was made to fit in a large green envelope from my stash.  I still felt like it needed a bit of something so I used my tracing wheel to add a row of pierced holes all the way around the green layer which finished it off nicely!!          Therese

Hand stitching in my trailer journal

 I have worked a little more on my Trailer journal while were camping with family a few weeks ago.  I added the words in the peach patch with back stitch in the car on the way up and also added some texture stitching to several of the small patches on the right the one rainy morning we had at the lake. 

 I am happy with the way things are going and I expect it will take a fairly long while to get it all done but there is not rush.  I have started journalling our camping trips and that was really the main reason I wanted to get it started so we could document where we had been and some of the details we want to remember about each outing.   Therese

Thank you card featuring a panel from a used greeting card and a large greeting

I started with a large envelope and made an off white card to fit inside.  I found this cute panel in my stash of cards which were donated to me for cardmaking that had a perfectly coordinated little bird on it.  I created an orange layer that coordinated that fit on my card and then trimmed my decorative panel into two pieces to ensure that it covered the orange layer which left a bit of a gap where the orange shows through.  I dug through my greetings stash and found this one which echoed the strong black line in the image which I simply adhered to my card front using double sided tape.  The greeting had been created a while back using a set of alphabet dies and white cardstock.  It had been then been backed with black cardstock. 

Therese