A card with a wizard, ciphered message and some blingy stars

I have made this card for one of my grandsons.  I created a cipher for him with the key so he can decipher the message I put on his card.  I also made an extra copy so he will be able to share with a friend and they can pass secret messages between themselves.  I started with a large envelope and made a brown card to fit inside.  I created the ciper first and then decided on using a wizard as the main element.  I found one online at PNGPLAY that fit the bill perfectly!!  I added a scroll behind him and to which I added the coded message.  I colour printed it and then fussy cut it.  I trimmed a lettered background onto my card and then added the wizard and message.  It needed a bit of bling so I found some clear plastic star die cuts in my stash which I coated with glitter glue which was not as blingy as I needed so I added some green and blue glitter.  That was much better.  They were shedding quite a bit so I sprayed them with a clear finish before mounting them to my background with silver brads.  I then mounted this large element to my card front.  Therese
 

Fall birthday cards featuring bare trees, sponging, plaid ribbon and stamped collage backgrounds

I am working on my family cards for November.  We are having such beautiful fall weather I am still in fall mode.  I started with two large orange cards which fit in large envelopes from my stash.  I created two collage/serendipity backgrounds for them and embossed them with copper leaves after they were dry.  I have finally been able to create a sponged focal element I am happy with.  I copper embossed the "Lovely as a Tree" (SU) onto ivory cardstock and then used some of my torn paper masks to create a sponged area over them with Ochre permanent ink.  I have seen some much brighter ones but this will do for my first good result.  I added the little birthday greeting (SU) in brown, punched slots in each end and added a piece of orange plaid ribbon which I embellished with yellow ink to help it coordinate better with my elements.  I added four rows of paper piercing to each edge using my pattern tracing wheel.  I used double sided tape to secure my ends to the back of my backgrond and 3D foam tape to secure my focal element in place.  I added punched leaf borders to the bottom. The dark brown offsets the background quite nicely.  I adhered my large backgrounds to my orange cards to finish off my cards.    Therese
 

A set of cards for a gift featuring photos with punched borders over decorative paper

 A set of cards for a friend!!  These feature photos from one of my sister's photo calendars.  She is a photographer and makes several different photo calendars every year.  They make the best focal elements for cards!!  I made all these cards using the same sketch - cardstock base, decorative paper, punched borders in a coordinating colour adhered to the photo.  They make great little notecards for sending an unlifting message to a friend, for sending messages of thanks or even for a birthday!!  

Therese

Sympathy card featuring a photo of a majestic tree, ribbon and decorative paper

 I started with a large envelope and made a dark green card to fit inside.  I added the decorative paper and added the two green embossed strips to cover the place where they joined.  I added a length of ivory gros grain ribbon with a flagged end using double sided tape and trimmed to the edge of the card.  The photo is one from a photo calendar made by my sister, Sylvia.  She is a photographer and makes several different photo calendars every year which highlight her best photos of the year.  I trimmed the photo from the calendar page and adhered it a piece of kraft cardstock leaving a bit of room on the right hand side where I added a row of paper piercing using my pattern tracing wheel.  I mounted this focal element to my card front with 3D foam tape and then added the greeting overlapping it a bit.  

An uncle passed away this week and this will be going to his family.  

Therese

Happy Halloween!!

 Have carved my two little pie pumpkins into Jack O Lanterns and we will set up the chute later today which will deliver our hot chocolate packages to kids when they show up.  The weather is good and we expect to get a 5C high today with the sun shining so it will be a good time for Trick or Treating!! 

Therese

Cat quilt featuring some slow stitched squares and bright colours

I have finished my last quilt top!!  It took the better part of the day but I am very happy to have it finished.  This one has the five slow stitched cats framed in light blue at the top and some very bright rows of pieced fabrics interwoven with rows of solid blue fabric.  I used cotton flannel for the batting and navy blue polyester cotton on the back. The backing was just wide enough for the quilt so I had to find something else to bind it.  I decided on an orange poly/cotton.  I cut it to 3" wide, ironed it in half and then joined my six pieces.  I used the single fold method to attach the binding.  It guarantees that you will not miss the back because you sew it to the quilt top first and then do the top stitching to secure it in place.  Worked really well and I think this is the method my Mom uses on her quilts though I don't recall having done it myself recently.  I used a decorative stitch in orange on the top and blue in the bobbin when I did my top stitching.  It has a lot of contrast.  I should have used blue in the bobbin when I first added the binding to the quilt as it can show on the front depending on how closely you can add your top stitching.   I have been slow stitching for mending this week so not much progress on cats.  I am looking forward to starting a new project and am researching Quilt As You Go techniques to see if can find an easier way to quilt the main body of the quilts I am making.  

Therese

 

The House quilt is finished!!

 Over the weekend I managed to finish off my house quilt (41' x 64") which features a panel of houses which were slow stitched to a fabric collage of blue, green and brown.  I added a polyester batting (green blanket)  and a cotton backing in taupe.  I am really happy how well it went together.  I tried using the walking foot I inherited from my Mom but it kept undoing the screw on my needle so after breaking a needle I just gave it up and went back to just straight stitching.  I bound the edges with the backing and ran two rows of straight stitching all the way around.  I washed it again to ensure that all was good with the stitching.  I now only have one quilt top left to finish off before I can move on to a new project.  I do have quite a few possibilities so it will be fun to think about them for the next bit.  I am still slow stitching cats.  Therese

Slow Stitching - mending a coat lining

Yet more slow stitching that was really mending.  DH loves this winter coat and uses it all winter when he is working outside or in his workshop.  You can see from the photo below that the lining has worn through in several places and he wondered if there was anything that could be done to extend the life of his coat.  I decided to patch the areas that were affected with some slow stitching.  It would have been very impractical to do it any other way but relatively simple to add a patch and hand stitch it into place.  I used some brown polyester fabric and cut patches that would cover the affected areas then stitched them into place with orange polyester sewing thread (doubled).  This will definitely save this coat for a few more years.  

This is similar to the Japanese process called Boro Mending where Sashiko stitching is used to add patches to clothing.  The process of repeated mending takes on an artistic asthetic which can be very beautiful.    Therese

 

Slow Stitching - mending a sweater

I did some slow stitching this week to mend a sweater.  The patches on this sweater have raw edges and simple line of stitching to keep them in place.  With some wear and washing the raw edges are pulling away from the stitching so I used some dark mending wool to stitch two rows all the way around the edges of the patches in hopes that will keep them from raveling.  Slow stitching is relaxing regardles of the project.  Therese

 

Large leaf quilt - Slow stitching

I fnished another quilt (46" x 72")!!  It took the better part of a full day but it is done!!  Two more to go before I can move on to a new project.  I used a soft green for the backing as well as the binding for this one and added a flannel batting.  I did have to redo a few things along the way but eventually the binding went together very well and I am very pleased with how it worked out.  I used solid strips in between the pieces strips which worked really well when I was piecing the top.  Much less streching than if the strips are all pieced.  The large slow stitched leaves really stand out again the blue background.  I am really enjoying making quilts that incorporate my slow stitching.  It makes very unique quilts with a personal touch.  It was nice to have coordinating fabric scraps to put together for this top.  I have committed to finishing the quilt tops I have finished before starting a new project.  I am still slow stitching cat squares.  I have a LOT of them and I just recently trimmed black squares for all of them and stitched cats down which now leaves only the slow stitching to finish them.  I expect there will be a few quilts that will incorporate the cats in various manners.  Therese 

Exchange cards featuring stamped leaves with a watercolour wash and a leather leaf diecut

 I made these two large cards for my Card Exchange partners for this month.  I started by making brown cards that fit in the large envelopes from my stash.  I took two pieces of white cardstock and stamped the leaves on in brown permanent ink which I then watercoloured with yellow and two different oranges.  Once they were dry, I cut the outside edges with my Deckle decorative scissors and added brown watercolour to the edge to give them a defined edge.  I added a little strip of gold embossed mesh and the leather leaf die cuts with double sided tape and then tied copper cording to the stems of the leaves.  I used my wood burning iron to add definition to them which works really well.  Next, I used my Crop a dile to add three copper eyelets to each one changing the orientation for the second one.  I found some orange decorative paper in my stash and cut out two backgrounds from one sheet of 12 x 12.  The colour was a bit cool so I simply watercoloured a very light yellow watercolour wash over them to help the coordinate with my focal element.  Once they were dry I added copper ribbon to each of the backgrounds before adhering them to my card fronts.  One is horizontal with a short fold over piece accented with a copper brad and the other is vertical on the left had side.  I added my large focal elements using 3D foam tape.  I would have preferred the leaves had a bit more definition - darker ink or embossing would have been more effective.  They are off to my partners next week!!  Therese

Care Bear quilt - Slow stitching

 

My latest quilt (42.5" x 60")!!  I pieced the front several times before I got a good balance between the pieces.  I added a cotton fabric for batting and used a blue fabric for the backing and binding.  It frames the quilt front quite nicely and coordinates quite well with the blue Care Bears.  I slow stitched two rows of pink hand cut hearts on this quilt using blanket stitch around the edges and added a little star with a yellow french knot in the middle.  I have three more quilts to get finished before I can move on to a new project.  I am still working on slow stitching cat squares and have worked up several butterflies which I will start as my next slow stitching project.  Therese

Large Christmas card with a fun wreath filled with a school bus ornament

 I started these cards by creating the wreaths.  They are a combination of two elements.  I had to created a white mask to cover the bells in the wreath ( Clipart Library) so I could add the school bus (Pixabay).  After combining the images I colour printed them on white cardstock and fussy cut them to create my focal elements.  They all have red cards layered with a variety of Christmas papers.  I embossed the whte paper with the dots to add some dimesion to the paper instead of adding a strip across.  I adhered the wreaths with 3D foam tape to finish off my cards.  Therese

Large Christmas cards with fun Christmas paper, an embossed panel and a fussy cut bus

 I started both of these cards with a red card.  I added the HO HO HO paper in pieces on the top and bottom.  I embossed the white panels with the QuicKutz Christmas greeting embossing folder and then layered it over the gap.  I did add a brad to them before adhering them into place.  The left hand one has an embossed and torn strip in a dark red cardstock tucked in behind the white panel.  The bus with the wreath on the front (ClipartMax) was colour printed and fussy cut.  I added the buses using 3D foam tape.  

Therese

Large Christmas card with an embossed greeting a red strip and a little green tree

 I started with a bright green card and added the red and green paper.  I embossed the red strip with a Christmas greeting embossing folder which has several different greetings on it.  I had a bus cut to put on this card but unfortunately I should have checked its size before I embosssed the strip because it covered part of the greeting. So I just changed it up and found this little tree in my stash.  I added glittery red paper behind the openings and yellow star brad to the top before adding to my card front.  Finished it up very nicely!!        Therese

Quilting pattern featuring houses with lights in the windows

 I found this quilting pattern at a thrift store recently and bought it for my daughter as she is always inspired by houses and buildings.  I really liked how they all worked together so nicely and it was good to have a colour reference too.  I expect I will replicate it in some way in my slow stitching.  It was created by Lorraine Stangness from Strathmore.    Therese

Large Christmas cards with an embossed snow bank, some iridescent ribbon and a bus with a wreath

For these four cards I started with white cards and added a piece of snowflake background paper in blue and purple.  I added the ribbon in a few different configurations and secured the ribbon with double sided tape.  Next, I added the white snowbanks - one is ripped, the other three are trimmed in a soft curve using scissors because the tearign was quite ragged.  I embossed the white snowbanks with a Christmas greeting embossing folder (QCuts) and then mounted them below the paper and ribbon.  The school bus (Clipart Max) was embellished with a wreath (Clipart Max) before printing on white cardstock.  They were fussy cut and mounted over the snow bank using 3D foam tape.  Love the bus!         Therese

 

All occasion cards featuring photos from calendars

These were my next three cards.  

For the first one I trimmed this wonderful rose photo for a 4" x 6" calendar page.  I created a white card and added this beautiful pink background paper.  I die cut an ironwork border from some green shimmery cardstock and then trimmed it into two pieces.  I trimmed another strip, cut it into two as well  and added my ironwork pieces to each of them with regular tape on the back.  I mounted them on the top and bottom of my card.  I tore a piece of vellum to highlight the rose photo. added some paper piercing using my pattern tracing wheel, adhered them to each other and then to my card front.  Love it!!

For my second card, I trimmed out the Wilson Snipe photo for the calendar page and found some paper that really echoed the colours in the photo.  I trimmed out a background and then cut it in half and flipped over the top and used tape on the back to piece them back together.  I added a dark brown strip and added three brads at the top to echol colours from the photo.  I added two strips of coordinating blue cardstock to the back of the photo at the top and bottom.  I mounted the photo to my card using 3D foam tape. 

For my fourth card, I started with a photo of a red winged blackbird.  I created a black card and stamped and clear embossed feathers in the top right and lower left corners.  I found this paper in her stash that perfectly matched the red of its wind.  I stamped both pieces with the feather using scarlet ink - I really like the effect.  I mounted both pieces to opposing corners which allows the ones on the card to show.  I layered the photo with black cardstock and then mounted it over my background using 3D foam tape.   I added three little black circle punchies below the photo.  It has been fun making cards with these wonderful photos.  I have a few more picked out and may get a few more cards made by the end of the week.  Therese

 

Large Christmas cards with fun little buses

 I have made up a few more Christmas cards for my sister with school buses.  

The first one features a kraft coloured card and stitched background paper in red, green and yellow.  I found a greeting in my stash that worked well. I punched stars out of the top portion and then added them to several of the panels in the paper.  To add variety I punched a few smaller stars and added them to other panels.  I did punch a few more from a scrap of the same yellow cardstock as the greeting.  The little school bus (ClipartMax) was printed on white cardstock and fussy cut.  I adhered it to my card front using 3D foam tape in the largest panel along with a few small stars. 

For my second card, I trimmed this bright red and green paper and adhered it to a bright green card.  I embossed a red strip of cardstock and added the greeting with a green brad.  I mounted the strip to my card and then the little fussy cut bus over it using 3D foam tape.  

I will have to be sure to get these to her well before the start of the holiday season!!

Therese

All occasion cards with bird photos

I have made another little batch of cards for my sister with the stash she left here a few years ago.  I have used photos from calendars which another of my sisters, Sylvia, has given us for Christmas over the years.  She takes wonderful photos so it was easy to make cards with them.  

For the first card, I trimmed the photo from the 4" x 6" calendar page and then created a half sheet card from brown cardstock.  I used this orange paper with very subtle stripes for my background and added a wide brown fabric ribbon then mounted it to my card.  I layered the bird photo with a deep yellow layer.  To echo the green in the photo I trimmed a length of green fiber mesh and folded it in half and overlaid it onto the brown ribbon.  I held all of these in place with double sided tape.  I mounted the bird over the ribbon using 3D foam tape.  

For my second card, I started with a mallard duck image trimmed from a 4" x 6" calendar page and then created a dark green card.  I found a speckled paper which echoed the colours in several areas of the photo.  I layered a black strip of cardstock over a green one, added paper piercing with my pattern tracing wheel, adhered it to my background and added a large white brad to the left hand side.  I mounted this large element to my card.  I layered the photo with a piece of black handmade paper with a deckled edge on one side.  I mounted this element to my card using 3D foam tape.  

Very happy with how these turned out!!  Therese