Friday, November 15, 2019
Slow Stitching - first yellow square
Here is my first square in my Slow Stitching project!! I started with stitching down the strip on the left. I did running stitch in the center to keep in place and added blanket stitch on one side and cross stitches on the other. Next I added the blue square using small stitches all the way around and longer stitches to create a flower in the center. I added the green triangle and did running stitch in both directions on it. The little portion of a pansy on the upper right was stitched down with running and seed stitches. It has been positioned away from the edge to allow a quarter seam allowance when it is incorporated into a project. The other scrap was stitched down with running stitch and finally I created the heart shaped element. I started by drawing a shape using a pencil because I noticed that I am not easily able to make straight lines with my stitching and I did want my heart to look like a heart once I was done. I started by stitching the end of my little fabric strip to my fabric in the dip of my heart. I used green floss to couch my strip onto the line that I had draw which worked quite well. To finish it off I cut my strip and stitched down the end over the end where I started. I think it will be sturdy enough to stay in place. I made a real effort to not pull my stitches too tightly in order to not shrink my fabric square. Once it was ironed it still measured 4" square!!! I have backed this square with some white fabric because the yellow was so thin I was not sure it would be able to carry the weight of the stitching. I am learning as I go!! So far so good!!! Therese
Labels:
fabric,
hand stitching,
project,
scraps,
slow stitching,
thread
Slow stitching - a new project!!
I have decided to start a new hand stitching project and will be modeling it after "slow stitching" which Liz Kettle promotes as stitch meditations. After some health issues she wanted to find a meditation practice she would do every day and developed this process for herself. I have tweaked the process in that I have decided to start with 4" squares in rainbow colours which I hope will yield squares which I can later use in sewing projects. I have cut 5 sets of six squares (yellow, orange, red, purple, blue and green) to begin with using up scraps and finding the colours I needed in my stash. I have decided to use a sort of collage technique on my first set using small scraps to execute a heart theme. I dug through and sorted my small scraps drawer into colours so I could easily pick pieces to coordinate with my coloured squares. I have collected a few scraps for each square and for hand cut hearts. I will be creating hearts by couching a strip of fabric for the others. I have decided to forgo any embellishments in case the squares end up in quilts where they will be handled and washed regularly. If they end up in other sorts of project I will consider adding embellishments once they are part of a project.
I have collected my stitching supplies in a box lid - thread, needles, pins, scissors and my small book of embroidery stitches. My little book will be a good reference as I am not familiar with many stitches. I will be putting my scraps down with raw edges and would like to use wide stitches to properly secure the raw edges as I am stitching them into place.
I started on Tuesday morning with the yellow square and I will be sharing it in my next post!!
I do enjoy hand stitching and it is very peaceful to do a bit of stitching first thing in the morning!! Therese
Here is my first set of squares ready to go!
I started on Tuesday morning with the yellow square and I will be sharing it in my next post!!
I do enjoy hand stitching and it is very peaceful to do a bit of stitching first thing in the morning!! Therese
Labels:
fabric,
hand stitching,
project,
slow stitching,
thread
A birthday card that features fold over rectangles to create an opening filled with a little flower
This card kit was featured at my Special Card Class in May It features double sided cardstock with the back design being revealed when the middle section corners are folded up. I cut four rectangles and scored the corner and then mounted them to a green card front. It middle element was created by layering an embossed flower shape over a 1.75" circle punchie and finishing it off with a 1/2" circle in the center of the flower. I adhered it in the center. I added the stamped greeting below with 3D foam tape.
Therese
Therese
Labels:
A2,
birthday,
cards,
decorative paper,
die cuts,
embossing folder,
punchies,
stamping
Thursday, November 14, 2019
A little birdie card with a Tim Holtz bird and bird cage with a little tag
These little birdie cards are always handy in that they can cover so many occasions!! I have made these quite a few times using this sketch. Made up these card kits for my May Cardmaking Class. The birdcage and bird & wing (TH) were die cut in different colours. I added a tiny black brad to the bird for his eye and add the beak detail with a marker before watercolouring in some detail. I mounted the bird behind the bird cage and added the embossed wing on the outside. I added the top thread before mounting it to the background paper. I added the little tag to the thread and then glued the thread to the back using double sided tape. I then mounted this large element to a dark brown card front. I added rhinestones into the holes at the bottom which was backed with double sided tape when I adhered the bird cage to the decorative paper. I mounted the tag with 3D foam tape to finish off this card. Another one for the stash!! Therese
Labels:
A2,
birdie,
cards,
decorative paper,
diecuts,
embossing folder,
rhinestones,
stamping,
SX - sizzix,
thread,
Tim Holtz (TH),
watercolour
Wednesday, November 13, 2019
Cards featuring decorative paper, three embossed layers and a floral embellishment
A few more cards for my stash. I made these up from card kits which were also featured in my September cardmaking class. The large decorative papers were glued to the coordinating card fronts and the three pieces of cardstock were embossed with three different embossing folders. I corner rounded some of the corners to provide a little variety in the look of the layers. They were arranged on the card fronts to make a pleasing arrangement and then glued in place. The 3D embellishments were created by layering silk flowers adding punchies/sequins and then held together with a coordinating brad. These were applied to the cards using 3D foam tape. To finish off my cards I added the greetings. Card kits are so quick and easy!! Therese
Tuesday, November 12, 2019
Birthday cards featuring a large layered background with a digital greeting and a bit of embellisment
Needing some cards for my stash I decided to mine the collection of card kits on my desk. These kits were featured in my September cardmaking class. They feature a square of decorative paper layered with coordinating cardstock to which a coordinating ribbon was added before adhering it to the front of a coordinating card. Three of the greetings are from Desert Diva, the third is created with a font. The last two have images from Cre8tive Hands which I watercoloured and added glitter with a gel pen. They were sized, laser printed on white cardstock and trimmed out to a square. They were distressed on all sides and layered onto a square that was die cut from the layer applied behind the decorative paper which is efficient and also guarantees that they will coordinate perfectly. The greetings were applied to the front of the cards using 3D foam tape. I added balloons to the first card to make it more appropriate for a child's birthday. I added sequins and rhinestones to the second on along with some clear glitter using a gel pen to the greeting and to add some faux stitching to the top portion of the card front. For the third card, I used a landscape orientation, added some clear glitter to the greeting and a glittery purple butterfly also with 3D foam tape. I tied a short length of the same ribbon to the piece on the decorative layer to simulate a bow on all of them. A very versatile sketch and making cards up from kits goes very quickly and you can customize them as you wish.
Therese

Sunday, November 10, 2019
Christmas card featuring an origami wreath, stamped background and greeting
This card features an origami wreath which I created years ago when my sister first started making cards. She had taken a class and I was keen to try all the techniques she had learned. This wreath was on a used card. I removed the wreath and replaced the plastic bow with a fabric ribbon one. Found this background in my stash and sponged it with ink until I was happy with it. I sponged the greeting as well and then simply layered the wreath and greeting onto the background and then added this large element to the front of a red card. The wreath was created using gift wrap and I do not recall the technique but I expect I still have the instructions somewhere. This is really a blast from the past!!
Therese
Therese
Labels:
A2,
cards,
Christmas,
handmade,
laser printing,
origami,
ribbon,
sponging,
stamped background
Saturday, November 09, 2019
Christmas cards featuring reused panels with ribbon and greetings

A few more cards for my stash of Christmas cards!!
This first one features a small card front which was square so once trimmed was just the perfect size to layer onto my green card front. I added a black layer to which I adhered the Santa image and the layered laser printed greeting. The second card features an image trimmed from the center of a large card. I fussy cut the two corners with an exacto knife so I could slide on my stamped greeting. I added a little holly brad on the right before gluing this large element to the front of a red card.
My third card features art from a friend of mine years ago. I simply trimmed the card front, added a red ribbon gluing the ends to the back and added a little laser printed font greeting which I had trimmed with scallop decorative scissors and used a push pin to paper pierce the scallops. I simply tied a short end of ribbon to the front using a single knot to simulate a bow. Therese
Baby quilt with some slow stitch quilting
I started this quilt earlier this year and have finally finished it (35" x 44"). I did slow stitching using coordinating crochet thread and running stitch to tie the layers together. It was a very pleasant afternoon of hand stitching!! I trimmed the backing even leaving a border to use to bind the quilt. After folding and ironing it into place I used my sewing machine to stitch it. Very happy to have finished it and am looking forward to finishing the other two I created at the same time. Therese
Friday, November 08, 2019
Christmas card featuring used card panels with a bit of texture


A few more Christmas cards for my stash featuring some front panels from used cards that were donated to me.
The first one has reused the front of a card I designed years ago for a fundraiser and one was sent back to me. I simply trimmed the front panel and adhered it to an ivory card front. The second one was a small card almost perfectly sized for the front of an A2 card. I added some paper piercing using my tracing wheel to the edges before gluing the trimmed image to a red card. The third card was created with a panel trimmed from a large card which was nicely proportioned for an A2 card. I simply trimmed it out and glued it to a dark green card. Therese
Labels:
A2,
cards,
Christmas,
reuse greeting cards,
tracing wheel
Thursday, November 07, 2019
Christmas card featuring a textured tissue paper with a star cut out layered onto decorative paper and a layered greeting
I found this tissue/freezer paper star cut out in my stash of Christmas card making supplies. It was from a card I made a while back and worked perfectly with this colour printed background paper. I glued the decorative paper to a green card front and then gently glued the star tissue paper over it. I added a layered laser printed greeting created from a font greeting oval punchie (SU) over a gold scalloped oval punchie (SU) adhered with 3D foam tape. A fun blast from the past on this one!!
Therese
Therese
Wednesday, November 06, 2019
Christmas card featuring a used card front with some added texture from a tracing wheel
What a cool card front!! So much texture on this one with all the beads and rhinestones. There was one little area where the bling had fallen off so I added a bit of white glue and filled in with some green glass beads and a rhinestone coloured red with a Sharpie. I left it to dry overnight and then finished up the card. I simply added some lines of paper piercing using my pattern tracing wheel - along the four edges and three wavy ones below the greeting. Quick and easy!!! Therese
Labels:
A2,
beads,
cards,
Christmas,
paper piercing,
reuse greeting cards,
rhinestones,
tracing wheel
Tuesday, November 05, 2019
Christmas cards featuring used card fronts with embossing, faux stitching, brads and some texture

Another batch of cards featuring used card front from my stash of cards donated for cardmaking.
First card, a trimmed card front which I manually embossed with wood grain texture to frame the central wreath image. Used a corner round on the corners before mounting to a dark green card. Second card, a trimmed card front to which I added a star brad to the large star element, a ribbon with three small gold brads between the star and the greeting and some faux stitching around the edge using a gold gel pen.

Third card, a trimmed card front to which I added a short length of embossed foil ribbon between the Christmas stocking and the greeting.
Fourth card, simply trimmed the card front and mounted it to a coordinating dark red card front.
Fifth card, a trimmed card front to which I added four wavy lines of paper piercing using my pattern tracing wheel. I then mounted this element to a red layer and added it to a green card front which I had embellished with a strip of navy cardstock. Therese
Labels:
A2,
brads,
cards,
Christmas,
corner rounder,
embossing folder,
gel pen,
reuse greeting cards,
ribbon,
tracing wheel
Monday, November 04, 2019
Birthday card featuring a fun little fish, a collaged and embossed background and a digital greeting
My grandson's birthday is coming up and I have made him a card!! I love this cute little fish (digital image from Blackbery Jelly) so I sized it large and printed it onto white cardstock. I trimmed it close, watercoloured it and layered it with blue and yellow cardstock. I created a background by gluing strips of torn cardstock to a substrate - mostly blues with one green one at the bottom. I passed it through a dotted embossing folder and then adhered it to a navy blue card front. I adhered the fish image to the background using 3D foam tape. I found this laser printed greeting (digital from Birdie Brown) in my stash, waterecoloured it and layered it onto yellow cardstock before mounting it to my card front using 3D foam tape. I added a bit of glitter to the candle and the bubbles using a clear glitter gel pen to add a bit of bling!!! Really happy with how it turned out!! Therese
Labels:
A2,
birthday,
cards,
digital images,
embossing folder,
gel pen,
glitter,
laser printing,
torn paper,
watercolour
Sunday, November 03, 2019
Christmas cards featuring used card fronts, font greetings and some ribbon and fiber
A few more cards!! Using up a stash of donated cards!!
First card, trimmed the card front, punched an opening on the top right hand corner, tied on a short length of white fiber before adhering it to the front of a pink card. I added a small font greeting into the opening which was punched with the Word Window punch.
Second card, I trimmed the card front and needed a bit more length so I added another piece of gold cardstock on the left hand side which I had trimmed off of a previous card. I added a piece of red satin ribbon over the joint and then mounted this to a coordinating green card. To finish off I added a layered font greeting on the lower left hand side using 3D foam tape. I sponged the oval greeting punchie in green and layered it onto a red scalloped oval punchie to create the greeting.
Therese
First card, trimmed the card front, punched an opening on the top right hand corner, tied on a short length of white fiber before adhering it to the front of a pink card. I added a small font greeting into the opening which was punched with the Word Window punch.
Second card, I trimmed the card front and needed a bit more length so I added another piece of gold cardstock on the left hand side which I had trimmed off of a previous card. I added a piece of red satin ribbon over the joint and then mounted this to a coordinating green card. To finish off I added a layered font greeting on the lower left hand side using 3D foam tape. I sponged the oval greeting punchie in green and layered it onto a red scalloped oval punchie to create the greeting.
Therese
Saturday, November 02, 2019
Birthday card featuring a cute little bird, a digital greeting and some decorative paper
Friday, November 01, 2019
Christmas cards featuring used card fronts layered with font greetings

Made a few more Christmas cards using my stash of donated used cards. These were relatively quick in that I simply trimmed them, added a layer if necessary and then a little font greeting.
First one, a simple trim of the card front which I adhered to a blue card and added a small greeting.
Second one, a trimmed card front with a small layered font greeting.

Third one, trimmed card front with a layered oval greeting created with oval punchies.
Fourth one, added a little border of green foil on the left hand side, a purple layer adhered to a light green card front. Added a small sponged font greeting embellished with some faux stitching using a gel pen.
Fifth card, trimmed the card front, added a red layer and then a small layered font greeting created using a Modern label punch and a Word Window punch. Therese
Thursday, October 31, 2019
Birthday card featuring colour printed leaves, a font greeting and some fiber and eyelets
Another card for upcoming family birthdays. I started with another large envelope and created a green card to fit inside. I digitally altered the leaf image (CLKER) by adjusting the colour to get the three colours - green, yellow and red. I sized and arranged them in Corel Draw, added a font greeting and printed it on white cardstock. I trimmed the image from the letter sized sheet and added some texture using my pattern tracing wheel. I love the look of it!! I cut a piece of brown cardstock and then tore it to create a gap and then added eyelets and red fiber to make an interesting design element. I glued this tied up layer to the front of my card and then mounted my large image over it. Have not used eyelets in years but really happy how this turned out. I am enjoying making large cards.
Therese
Therese
Wednesday, October 30, 2019
Christmas card featuring a reused card front, layering and a small layered greeting
Stash busting in support of stash building!! Creating Christmas cards with a stack of used cards that were donated to me!!
For this card I trimmed the central image to fit on the front of an A2 sized card and added two small strips of red on each side before adhering this large element to the front of a green card. I punched a Modern Label from a scrap of the same red and added a small font greeting punched with the Word Window punch (SU) over it and then mounted it to my card using 3D foam tape.
Therese
For this card I trimmed the central image to fit on the front of an A2 sized card and added two small strips of red on each side before adhering this large element to the front of a green card. I punched a Modern Label from a scrap of the same red and added a small font greeting punched with the Word Window punch (SU) over it and then mounted it to my card using 3D foam tape.
Therese
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
Christmas cards featuring used Christmas cards, some layering and small layered font greetings

More stash busting! for these three cards I trimmed the main images from the cards, added a layer on the only the first one and then added a coordinating layered greeting featuring Word Window punchie font greetings and coordinating Modern Label punchies added with 3D foam tape. Therese
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