Wednesday, December 21, 2022

Small all occasion cards for donation


 I found a set of small envelopes in my stash and decided to make some all occasion cards to donate to my church.  I trimmed cards to fit, search my paper scrap stash for backgrounds and then added focal elements such as butterfly punchies & die cuts, inchies, flower die cuts, leaf punchies, and postage stamps.  The embellishments were added to different layers including layered punchies and ribbon.  It was a fun day of creating with no limits or parameters so I could just go for it!!  I see that the leaf card has a hand decorated background which is stitched fabric paper!!  You can see more handmade backgrounds in my next blog post!!        Therese

Wednesday, December 14, 2022

QAYG - Potholder quilt in blues and browns

I started this quilt very early this year by cutting all the squares - decorative (12"), fabric batting (12") and the backing (15").  Each square has a front, batting and backer centered on each other in that order.  Once layered I pinned them all and put the stack aside.  I had managed to "quilt" three or four sometime in the spring and there is sat until this weekend when I took the stack and decided to get it going again.  I managed to add stitching to all the squares in a very all over fashion by going around the elements in a variety of way.  None are the same. The quilting secures all the layers to each other.  It went relatively quickly so I decided to see about stitching them together.  I laid them out in an arrangement I liked and sewed the top row together by putting the backers back to back and stitching along the edge of the front nice and close.  To bind these together you fold each backer twice over and stitch it to the front of its square.  Then you add another square and repeat the process.  In my case I only had three squares per row.  The benefit of this process is that you never have a large amount of fabric in the throat of your machine - only one square.  Once all the rows are done you sew them to each other using exactly the same process.  This finishes your quilt and all that is left is the binding.  Again, the binding of the outside edge is exactly the same process - fold over twice and stitch to the front.  Once you have gone all the way around you are done!!!!!!  This is a great method for doing squares as you go.  I used the same fabric for all the backers which frames the front squares quite nicely and gives a very even look to everything.  Making the squares in different patterns, with varied quilting and in different colours would make a very scrappy quilt.  I think I will try one in a rainbow of colours next time and see how that goes!!  Therese


Friday, December 09, 2022

A fabric wallet with place for coins, bills and cards!!!

One of my grandsons wanted a cyan wallet for Christmas!!  I knew right away that I had a piece of fabric that would be perfect.  It is a shimmery blue and sturdy!!!  I did some internet research.  I did not find one that suited my purposes completely so I just used them as inspiration and made this one.  I has a velcro close with a tab to make it easy to open.  There is room for bills in the little folders I made using a page protector.  
I added toppers so it would be easy to remember that the big bills are in this one and the smaller ones in the other.  They slide nicely into the back pocket.  There are two front pockets which hold cards. I cut one piece of fabric 4.25" wide and longer than I needed.   I hemmed the end and then started folding and sewing until I had all the pockets I needed. I tucked the other end all the way behind the pockets, trimmed and hemmed it.   I cut another piece of fabric which I doubled over as well to form the little pocket for change.  I used a decorative stitch on my sewing machine with coordinating thread and stitched up the edges to encompass the trimmed edges.  This piece comes all the way to the front to protect the front pockets and has velcro on the inside.  I stitched on a little pull under the velcro to help open up the flap.  I stitched it to the back of the first piece and added the velcro pieces.  I refolded all the pockets and then stitched up the sides of the wallet.  After checking to see how it worked I found that I should have stitched the bottom of the front flap where the velcro is to the front of the pocket for the bills because when you pulled on the flap to open it it pulled up the pocket.  No problem, I simply hand stitched those pieces to each other and now it works perfectly!!!   Therese

Wednesday, December 07, 2022

Fabric corner bookmark - simply stitched


 I made this bookmark for a special person this holiday and decided to simply stitched both trimmed edges instead of making one larger than the other and folding over stitching like the ones I made a while back.   I cut two squares of fabric 3" and 2.75" and folded them in half diagonally.  I placed one over the other and simply zigzaged the edges capturing the cut edge within the stitching.  I am quite happy with how it turned out and it was much quicker than the other ones I made.  A little less sophisticated but the recipient will be very happy with the fabric's theme which will be the most important thing!!!  Therese

Sunday, December 04, 2022

Christmas cards featuring reused card fronts


 I created these fun Christmas cards for some of my grandchidren!!!  They are fun and reuse cute Christmas card fronts from past years!!!  It is so nice to be able to reuse these images and give them another opportunity to bring blessings to special people.  I simply trimmed the card, added a layer in most cases and then mounted them to a larger card and then added an insert!!  Ticking things off the Christmas to do list!!  Therese

Saturday, December 03, 2022

Bookmark with slow stitched and painted butterflies and a card to mail it in

I stitched up this beautiful bookmark using a piece of slow stitching I did a while back that features little embroidered butterflies painted with Inktense paints which dry permanent.  I turned over the fabric about a quarter inch and then backed it with a black and floral fabric just a slight bit bigger so that it highlights the front.  I added a length of black ribbon while I was stitching the border.  I used a decorative stitch on my sewing machine and used a medium green thread - ivory was too light and black was too dark.  I am really happy with how it worked out but I might have made it just a bit shorter so it would be completely encompassed by most books!!!  I created a card which will accompany it to its recipient in time for Christmas.  The card reused a very elegant card front which I punched on the bottom edge and then embossed just above it.   Therese

Friday, December 02, 2022

All Occasion Card featuring flowers on handmade paper, vintage seam binding and decorative paper background


 My last card is also a landscape one using a floral image (Magenta). I watercoloured the flowers to coordinate with my background and the added paper piercing on all four sides.  I added a beige tab, added an eyelet and then inserted a piece of green vintage seam binding in it.  I used double sided tape between the ftont and back to secure the ends to each other.  I added faux stitching to the tab and around the perimeter of the background as well.  Just a little something!!  I have really enjoyed using these handmade paper elements and wil have to make more in the summer.   Therese

Thursday, December 01, 2022

All Occasion Card featuring decorative paper background, embossed leaf on handmade paper and ribbon


 I changed it up a bit and used a landscape format for this card.  I watercoloured the leaf, added some paper piercing and the glued on a green tab (SU).  I added a pewter eyelet to the tab and then inserted two lengths of ribbon - orange and navy!! I folded them to the right and then tied them in place using copper cording.  The tab needed a bit of something so I added some faux stitching.  The leaf was silver embossed on white tissue paper and then incorported into the handmade paper in the couching process.  
Therese

Wednesday, November 30, 2022

November Card Club - quick and easy cards with printed tags, torn backgrounds over coordinating cards


 These were the third cards for the evening.  They were quick and easy with only having to glue the two torn pieces of paper to the card front and then mounting the embellished tag over the gap using 3D foam tape.  I had started on these kits when I was prepping the card kits for my friend.  I had found so many cool printables for tags that I had printed off quite a few sheets.  In the end, I was able to give her a bit of variety and had the same in the kits I made for this class.  It was fun to fun coordinating papers and ribbons to go with the tags.  The tags were downloaded from Homemade Gifts made Easy.  They worked perfectly for these quick and easy cards.  It was a great creative evening with friends and a good start to Christmas!!!
Therese

November Card Club - woven paper trees with foil stars


 I created these woven paper trees last year and only made up two cards.  I found the little stash of them this year as I was going through my supplies looking for paper for my card kits.  I had set aside a few backgrounds with the trees and three different colour of stars - silver, gold and red.  I went looking for a few more backgrounds and eventually had what I needed to make kits with all the trees I had cut last year.  These two cards have embossed backgrounds using a snowy design (SU) which I embellished with a bit of white ink on the red one.  After mounting my backgrounds to my card fronts added  the little stems and then added the woven trees and finally added the foil stars using 3D foam tape.  I love the colours and the simplicity of the design!!!  Therese

November Card Club - Christmas cards featuring torn vellum, rick rack and a cute embossed ornament with bling


 Winter has really arrived and it made for smaller numbers at Card Club.  For our first card I prepped kits for this card.  The embossed ornaments (SX) were paired with coordinating cardstock squares. In some cases I punched the background for my greeting from the square to ensure that it was the same. I added torn vellum to my backgrounds and then added rick rack that coordinated using double sided tape to secure all the ends to the back.   I mounted these large elements to my cards and then added my ornaments using 3D foam tape.  The greetings were also layered and then added with 3D foam tape.  Depending on the paper it was possible to make the card kit into a landscape card.  I added three little rhinestones to my ornamenst and paper piercing to the scallops on my greetings.  Therese

All Occasion Card featuring a light house, decorative paper background and vintage seam binding

A very simple sketch for this all occasion card!!  I did not colour the light house but did add some paper piercing on all four sides.  I added some deep blue vintage seam binding to my decorative paper background and then adhered it to my light sand card front.  I added the light house uisng 3D foam tape and then tied on a short length of the seam binding below the image with a single knot to simulate a bow!!  Therese
 

Tuesday, November 29, 2022

Quick and easy - Fabric corner bookmarks


 I have fnished off the last of the book marks I prepared before our trip.  I have used my sewing machine to quilt the two layers and then stitched the together. Here is a link to the ones that I hand stitched. After a bit of a review of my prototype it would seem that they don't really require any extra quilting which makes them a very quick and easy project.  All this is required are two squares of fabric.  I used a 4" and 3" but they could be made a bit larger if you wish.  Simply iron the smaller one point to point and then iron the bottom point of the larger one to be the same size which will leave you with a margin your two sides.  Just turn that margin over twice, iron and stitch in place tucking in the ends where necessary.  I think these would be very special made up with fabrics that relate to the person you are giving them to.  These can easily be included in a card for any occasion as a little gift for no reason at all.   Therese


Christmas card with a double stamped vellum with a holly theme, coordinating background and fussy cut holly embellishment

I had made one Christmas card when I was playing with double stamped vellum and so decided to make one more so I can send them to my card exchange partners for our December exchange!!

I used a holly stamp which I white embossed on the front and stamped in green on the back.  I backed the vellum with a piece of white cardstock so it would be shown to best advantage.  I layered these two behind an embossed frame. I chose a coordinating Christmas background, tore in two and mounted the two pieces to a large green card.  I mounted my vellum element to my card using 3D foam tape and then added my two fussy cut holly leaves as my embellishment.  I stamped them in green on light green cardstock, fussy cut them and painted the berries with red nail polish.  Once they were dry I layered them and then mounted them to my card overlapping the frame.  These will be off to my partners in today's mail.    Therese
 

All Occasion Card featuring a lighthouse, embossed strip and decorative paper background

For this all occasion card I adhered my colour printed decorative paper (SU) to a coordinating card front.  I layered a small strip of gray cardstock over a wider orange one and embossed them (CB).  I added a single rectangle of coordinating blue to the back of the light house after adding some paper piercing.  It was enough!!  I did not colour the image as it worked quite well with the gray in the paper!!
Therese
 

Monday, November 28, 2022

Slow Stitching - embellished leaves for an art quilt cooperative project


I belong to a Grandmothers to Grandmothers  group who is participating in the construction of an art quilt to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Stephen Lewis Foundation.  I have volunteered to make some leaves for the quilt.  It will depict a women in a tree that represents grandmothers who have provided strength, nurturing and shelter for those in their communities.  
I have cut five leaves from felted wool which my daughter felted a while back and donated to me for projects.  It provided the heft of fabric which I needed to support the embellishing I wanted to add with embroidery thread and beads.   I really like the mottled look of the wool which resembles leaves and I have added beads by incorporating them into the blanket stitch I added all the way around.  I used chain stitch, stab stitch and back stitch to add details inside the leaves along with a few sequins.  A couple days of slow stitching and I love how they all worked out!!!  Therese



All Occasion Card featuring watercoloured trees on handmade paper, eyelets and cording

Another simply elegant all occasion card!!  I watercoloured the trees (Magenta).  This element was created by placing a piece of stamped white tissue paper over the wet pulp and then couching as usual!!  The texture is really nice!! I added the two half circles to the back of my image, added eyelets and then strung silver cord through them.  I adhered the main image to my pale blue background paper and then secured the ends to the back of my background.  After pressing, I can see the ends from the front which is unfortunate.   I could have been more strategic had I been aware of this consequence but it is what it is!!  Beautiful none the less!!  Therese
 

Sunday, November 27, 2022

All Occasion Card featuring embossed & watercoloured butterfly, ribbon and a hand decorated background

A more monochromatic look for this all occasion card!!  The dragonfly (Magenta) was silver embossed on white tissue paper and embossed into the handmade paper during the couching process.  I love the texture!!  I watercoloured the dragonfly to coordinate with my hand decorated background (sanding and wax resist).   I found these two pieces in my stash - they must have been part of a circle at one time - and punched them with the slot punch (SU) and then adhered them to the back of my dragonfly.  I added two pieces of lilac organza ribbon into the slots and then glued this large element to my background.  I tucked the ends of the ribbons to the back and secured them with double sided tape.  I then adhered this large element to my gray card!!  Subtle and elegant!! Therese
 

Saturday, November 26, 2022

All Occasion Card featuring hand decorated background, embossed circles and ribbon and watercoloured trees

This all occasion card has a dark green card with a hand decorated paper background (sanding and wax resist)  I watercoloured the trees (Magenta) using glitter on the snowflakes in the sky and shimmery watercolour on the snow at the bottom.  I added three pewter eyelets and inserted three little pieces of ribbon in green, yellow and red.  I just added glue to the back of the ribbon and glued it to the handmade paper on the front and the back.  I embossed the half circles with Swiss Dots and then adhered them to the back of the trees element.  I mounted the focal element with 3D foam tape.  The trees image was embedded into the handmade paper in the couching process.  Really textured look!! Therese
 

Friday, November 25, 2022

All Occasion Card featuring a watercoloured light house, ribbon and circles on a hand decorated background

For this all occasion card I started with a navy blue card and added a hand decorated background (watercolour and plastic wrap).  I watercoloured the light house, added a pewter eyelet and then threaded a navy ribbon in and out and tied with with a double knot.  I did add some paper piercing with my pattern tracing wheel before adding the ribbon.    I added some circle punchies in red (embossed - Dvine Swirl - CB) and navy (pierced) at the top and bottom.    Therese