Thinking of you featuring a silver embossed flower and greeting with butterfly sticker and some ribbon

My friend has surgery last week and she is home recovering!!  I wanted her to know I am thinking of her as she heals her body and gets back up to speed with her regular life.  I stamped the little flower image and embossed it with silver embossing powder.  I added the little butterfly sticker and the little dots too! I watercoloured the flowers to coordinate.  I trimmed the white, flagged the end and added a piece of orange ribbon to the top.  I mounted this layer to an orange piece and trimmed it to even around the white one.  I cut an orange card to fit in an envelope from my stash and then added the paste paper background that coordinated perfectly with the butterfly.  Love it when it works out so well!!  To finish off I tied a little bit of orange thread to my ribbon to echo the colour of the flowers.  It is off in tomorrow's mail!!

Therese

 

Birthday card featuring a watercoloured laser printed digital landscrap, a paper collage background and a little font greeting

For this birthday card I created a green card to fit inside a large envelope from my stash.  I created another scrap paper collage background with blue paper scraps to create my water and sky.  I added a bit of water colour to my sky to soften the floral pattern.  I added a strip of green to lower the horizon line of my focal element - a canoe on a lake (CLKER).  The image is a digital one which I laser printed and trimmed to size.  I stamped some trees after placing a paper mask to protect the water and canoe area.  Next, I  watercoloured the image, layered it with a black cardstock rectangle and mounted it to my card using 3D foam tape. I flagged and layered my little font greeting and then mounted it to my card front using 3D foam tape on one end and double sided on the other.  

Therese

Birthday card featuring letter scrapbook paper, ribbon and a greeting with a paper button

My youngest granddaugther is so looking forward to school so I added bold letters to her birthday card!!  I decided to try the slimline card style using a #8 envelope which are common and available locally.  I created a yellow card to fit inside.  The scrapbook paper was a strip of letters so I cut it in two and stacked them.  I added a yellow ribbon over where they join and secured the ends to the back before adding it to my yellow card front.  I found a coordinating greeting in my stash, sponged its edges and added a little brown paper button (CB die cut) with gold string tied to it.  I mounted the greeting over the ribbon and then tied a short piece of ribbon to the one on the card to simulate a bow.  

Slow Stitching - my next project

Here are the pieces to my next slow stitching project.  We are expecting another grandchild and this slow stitching project will be creating a little panel that will be part of the baby quilt I am making for its arrival.  The little oval shapes were hand cut around plastic templates - one a little larger than the other. I will reveal what they are once I get started!!  It is a busy time with harvesting of my garden so it may take a day or two to get started!!

Therese
 

Slow Stitching - completed house panel

 This is the completed house panel.  I am still deciding if I would like to add trees, shrubs or flowers before I call it done.  So it will sit for a bit until I decide.  In the meantime, I have another slow stitching panel that I will be starting on soon!!  More details coming!

Therese

Sewing projects - a cute pencil case and another small quilt

I have a little girl with a birthday coming up so I made her a pencil case with glittery butterfly fabric!  I combined it with black fabric and added a black zipper on the front.  It is the first time that I successfully added tabs on the end of my zipper which makes a neater finish.  I added some new pencils and some funky pencil crayons that have multi coloured leads!  She is going to school this year and taking the bus with her siblings.  She has been waiting a long time for this year!!  

I finished another small quilt top which I worked on more than a month ago.  I added a polyester blanket for batting and a dark green polyester cotton backer which I also used to create the binding.  I like using this technique because it is fool proof!!  I managed my corners better this time around as well so I am improving!!  It measures 35" x 46".  It will be headed to the Linus Project when they are accepting quilts again.  

Therese

Slow Stitching - last buildings on my house panel

This is the last structure on my house panel.  I chose two different blocks of fabric and stitched them up to look like apartment buildings.  It worked very well that they had squares on them.  I have three roofs which indicates that there is a building hiding behind the two that you can see in the fore ground.  All the roofs were done with running stitch each with a bit of a different pattern and texture.  I added Xs in the outer edges of the red building, outlined the windows in navy and then added french knots in between the windows as ornamentation on the building.  I stitched the door as a double door and later went in and added white stitching to some of the vertical and horizontal lines of the building.  I added a little peak in the roof line with white thread and added a little french knot in navy to repeat the ornamentation I had added to the building.  

For the brown building I stitched all the way around then added the little triangles just below the roof line in beige.  I added the four pane windows in navy along with the french knots as ornamentation also in navy.  The door's perimeter was stitched in navy and I used off white thread to add the line in the center to make it a double door.  I also added off white thread to several of the vertical and horizontal lines in the building to add texture and properly secure the pieces to the background.  

A totally fun project and it is good to have a large panel to build a quilt around.   Love how the background looks so much like clouds in the sky.  

Therese

 

Christmas cards featuring embossed backgrounds, a decorative paper strip and watercoloured ornament with ribbon flags

Two more cards featuring embossed snowflake backgrounds!!  I mounted them to red card fronts and added the trimmed strips of decorative paper featuring little gifts I cut from the 12" x 12" sheets I have been using for the last while to make cards.  The ornament images are from Get Drawing.com.  I laser printed the digital images, trimmed them to size, watercoloured and embellished the ornaments with clear glitter, added faux stitching with a black permanent marker and ribbon flags before mounting them to my card fronts using 3D foam tape.  I have manged to get 15 cards made with those two sheets of decorative paper and  have only little tiny scraps left over!!  It has been fun making these cards!!  

Therese

Slow Stitching - fifth little house on my panel

 After a few more searches on line I decided to make a house with interesting perspective - you can see both the side and front of the house.  It was a bit tricky to get all the layers laying down properly so they all met up and did not create jogs in the wrong places. I tacked everything down with small pieces of fusible web once I was happy with how they all were placed.  It sure made it easier to do the stitching because everything stayed where it was positioned.  I ran stitching all the way around the roof and then did one row of running stitch on the inside perimeter.  For the front peak I started on the outside and kept going all the way around until I finished off in the middle.  For the front I added french knots on each polka dot in navy thread.  LOTS of texture there though it does now show very much.  I stitched the door in blue and added a handle and windows in yellow.  I stitched a diamond window above the door in navy and then framed it in yellow.  On the side of the house I added running stitches between all the dots so this piece has a lot of texture as well.  I gave the wide window three panels using brown thread and then added highlights in yellow. The chimney was done in rows of running stitch from the top to the bottom.  It was done first so I was able to add a couple rows below the roof line which will help keep everything secure.  

Therese

Christmas cards featuring decorative paper with stripes, watercoloured Santa image with ribbon flags and faux stitching

 A couple more cards that feature decorative paper from two 12" x 12" sheets I have used for making cards in the last little while.  The backgrounds were trimmed from the sheets and mounted to coordinating  red card fronts. These ones feature cute little Santas from Get Drawing.com.  I laser printed the digital images, watercoloured them, added faux stitching with a black permanent marker along with some ribbon flags and then mounted them my card fronts using 3D foam tape.    Therese

Slow Stitching - fourth little house on my panel

For my fourth house I ended up overlapping two plaid pieces to form the body of the house.  I tried a different roof line and like how that worked.  I ran three rows of running stitch around the perimeter of the roof and body of the house. I used black thread on the roof and red & yellow on the house.  I stitched the outer borders of the windows and then added mullions as well.  I stitched the door in red and added a black handle.  I added a few more rows of yellow on the rows of the plaid and a row of black just under the eaves.  I like how this one is situated into the landscape.  

Therese

 

Thank you card featuring a sanded collaged white core cardstock background, ribbon and a large layered font greeting

We spent almost a week camping up north with my sister and her husband.  They are long time campers and we are just newbies.  It was great to get a chance to visit around the camp fire after supper.  We all made our own food and ate together with social distancing.  I was there to pick blueberries so we spent two afternoons picking and I managed to get the two pails I needed for the winter.  I cleaned my berries and put them in the freezer in the trailer - so nice!!  I came home with a box of crabapples too!! It was our first time of camping together and I wanted her to know how great it was to be there with them.  I started with an envelope from my stash and made a green card to fit inside.  I created a pieced background from white core scraps which I embossed and sanded. Love how it turned out!!  I added a green ribbon across and tied on a little piece of pink gros grain.  I found the round greeting (1.75" punchie SU) and was lucky enough to find a scalloped circle (Nestibilities) in my stash that worked perfectly.  I used a push pin to pierce each scallop and sponged the greeting with green ink before layering them.  I mounted the greeting with 3D foam tape and added one little rhinestone to finish off my card.  

Therese

Christmas cards featuring embossed backgrounds, a decorative paper strip and a watercoloured bird image with ribbon flags

 A couple more cards featuring a strip of decorative paper I trimmed off the 12" x 12" sheets I have been using in the last while to make Christmas cards.  I embossed green cardstock for my backgrounds using a snowflake embossing folder and mounted them to red card fronts.  I added the trimmed strips of little trees and then mounted my images using 3D foam tape.  These cute birds are by MelJens Designs.  After watercolouring the laser printed images I ran my pattern tracing wheel around the edges and added some ribbon flags.  Therese

Thank you card featuring a polka dot background, a little bear (digital) and some bling

My grandchildren sent along some of their creations in a long envelope a few weeks ago. I was so pleased to receive their little gifts that I sent them a thank you card!!!  

I started with a #8 envelope and created a pink card to fit inside.  I pieced the red polka dot paper with a strip of coordinating pink floral to create my background.  I found the little bear (Crea8tive Hands - digital) in my image stash. I watercoloured it to coordinate with my background, distressed its edges and mounted it with 3D foam tape to the top portion of my card.  I found the greeting in my stash, trimmed it to size and then added two little rhinestone blings once it was adhered to my card.  

I have put their art up in the kitchen/dining room so I will see it everyday!!

Therese

 

Slow Stitching - third little house on my panel

I have been slowly working on my Slow Stitching project featuring little houses.  I finished the second house in May and the project has been off and on for the last four months.  I have really enjoyed the process of getting the little houses done.  I stitched along the lines in the roof.  The stitches barely show but it worked well to securely attach it to the background.  I added stitching to the rest of the house using thread that coordinated with the colour of the part and in the end stitched the windows with orange thread which stands out a bit.  I really like how bright the windows and the door are.  It was fun to make a wonky door and add windows to it with thread.  

Therese
 

Christmas cards featuring a decorative paper with strips of images, a large greeting and some faux stitching

I made six cards using these large greetings from Mom Junction. I laser printed the greetings, trimmed them to size and then watercoloured them.  Once they were dry I added glitter using a clear glitter gel pen on several parts of the image and used a black permanent marker to add faux stitching to the edges.   The backgrounds were trimmed from one sheet of 12"x 12" which my sister donated to me during her downsizing.  I mounted the background to a coordinating card front and added the greetings using 3D foam tape to finish off my cards.  I added single panel inserts with appropriate greeting inside.

Therese

 

A birthday card featuring a paper collage background, sunflower embellishments, a digital greeting and a small butterfly

For this birthday card I created a brown card base to fit in one of the large envelopes from my stash.  I created a collage background using paper scraps and regular tape trimming it to fit on my card before adhering it in place.  I created five sunflower embellishments using two paper flowers in yellow and brown, large copper sequins and a gold brad in the center to hold all the elements together.  I added silk flower leaves to the back using double sided tape.  I used a corner rounder on my greeting (digital from Desert Diva), sponged it with green and brown ink and placed it on my card front.  I auditioned my embellishments until I was happy with them and then glued them down with 3D foam tape.  To finish off my card I added a little butterfly element to my greeting.  Perfect!!!!!!!

Therese

Christmas cards featuring decorative paper with stripes of images, a laser printed greeting and a little snowflake embellishment

I have made another batch of Christmas cards!!  I am on track for getting all my cards done in time to be sent in early December.  I started with two 12" x 12" pages of decorative paper which featured strips of Christmas images which my sister donated to me as she was downsizing her collection of decorative paper.  I worked out the most efficient way to cut the paper to have backgrounds with out having to cut into the strips.  These ones are pieced strips of decorative paper.  I covered over the second row from the top with one I cut off the top of the sheets which had words I did not want on my cards.  I added a strip of dark red with a border punched bottom edge (new to me MS punch) and assembled the pieces using regular tape on the back.  I found these greetings in my stash.  I trimmed them to size, sponges their edges with green ink and mounted them over the dark red strip.  I added little snowflake embellishments which I created using mini snowflake diecuts, sequins and tiny brads.  I added them to my card fronts using 3D foam tape.   It was good to be back in my craft room creating cards.  We are starting into the harvesting season so there are more demands on my time.  

Therese

Anniversary card featuring a lacy heart die cut, a paper collaged background, layered font greeting and some rhinestones

Have been having fun creating paper collage backgrounds with scraps! I simply adhere the scraps to each other using regular tape on the back and then trim to fit on my card.  For this card I started with a large envelope and created a large yellow card to fit inside.  I created a paper collage background and adhered it to my card front.  I die cut the lacy heart in brown, adhered it to a gold piece of cardstock and then fussy cut all the way around.  I adhered it to my card front and then added a little layered font greeting which I flagged at both ends and layered on orange.  To finish it off I added little brown rhinestones to each heart using white glue in a fine tip applicator then set it aside to dry before pressing.  

Therese

Anniversary card featuring a paper collage background, a lacy heart die cut, some embossing and a stamped greeting

For this card I started with a large envelope from my stash and made a brown card to fit inside.  I created a paper collage for my background using paper scraps and regular tape on the back to hold them together.  I trimmed the collage to fit on my card before adhering it in place.  I die cut a lacy heart using one of my new dies - works really well with a thin shim.  I used the next die - a stitched heart - to cut an opening in a piece of brown cardstock and then embossed it with a flourish embossing folder.  I used white glue in a fine tip applicator to adhere the lacy heart to frame the opening.  I layered this focal element over my background and adhered it in place with 3D foam tape.  I stamped the greeting on ivory cardstock, trimmed it to size, flagged the end, layered it onto red cardstock and then ran my tracing wheel over both long edges to add a bit more texture.  I used 3D foam tape to secure it to my card front.  To finish my card I added some red rhinestones to my heart using little dots of white glue.  Works so well to have the glue in a fine tip applicator.  I left it to dry completely before pressing my card.  

Therese