All occasion cards featuring fabric and hand stitching of cute little floral elements

I have finally managed to get a few cards finished using the little fabric floral elements I got from my Mom.  They were on a strip of fabric and I expect were on the edge of a panel of some kind.  They are very nice and I have layered and hand stitched them with coordinating floss on coordinating fabrics and then used double sided tape to secure them to a coordinating card front.  I have a few more to finish and have chosen and cut the fabric pieces for all of them and once they are stitched I will add them to card fronts.  I will be bringing these for Chili for a Cause tomorrow.  
 

Therese

Chili for a Cause - Fundraising for SLF - African Grandmothers

 Gramma Link Africa - Red Deer is having a chili fundraiser tomorrow at Gaetz United.  

Join us in helping empower women in Africa!!

Therese

Quilting - QAYG quilt using my Mom's squares and fabric

I finally finished the quilt (58" x 36") I started a while back using the squares Mom had sewn.  I used a Quilt As  You Go method which I modified to strengthen the quilt over all.  I cut blue squares which I stitched to Mom squares using a diagonal line following the row of dark squares with a layer of cotton flannel for batting in between.  I stitched the squares into rows and then added little strips of blue fabric to finish off the rows.  Then I stitched the rows to each other and added longer strips to finish off those seams.  I used strips of the same fabric to create my binding which only shows on the back.  I found the piecing together of the quilt a bit boring as I was always looking at the blue backing.  I much preferred the stitching together of the scrappy quilt which used the same QAYG method.  I will be using more interesting fabric for my backings when I use this method.  Much less of a problem in the traditional method of assembling a quilt.  You can see that I found a little cut in one of the squares on my final pressing!  I had not noticed it before!!  It needed to be repaired so I chose to cut a small square of dark blue which I fused over the cut.  I then stitched all the way around with dark blue thread and then used white thread to simulate the white stitched seam which ran right through the cut.  It barely shows which is what I was wanting when I made the repair.  Makes it unique and interesting. 

Therese

 

All occasion cards featuring reverse printed photos on transparencies, decorative paper and brads

I had printed several sheets of images when I created the third card for my September Card Club.   I made them all up to add to my stash!!  These are all fun images that were downloaded from Pixabay.  I used different coloured brads but other than that they are cardstock with coordinating decorative paper and a reverse printed transparency which leaves the front glossy and protects the image in between the layers.  I have used this technique with my own images in the pass and hope to again.  Therese

 

All occasion cards made up using small handmade paper sheets, embossed vellum and die cut embellishements

I had a few of these card kits leftover from my second card at my September Card Club.  I dug out a few more sheets of handmade paper and made up a few more kits before getting them all made up.  You can see again that I changed things up a bit as I got going.  

For this first one I embellished the die cut with gold foil on the back, a star brad which I coloured to coordinate with Sharpie and then added dots of red glitter glue.  I embossed the handmade paper with a snowflake embossing folder (CB), the vellum with a different one and then layered them wrapping the vellum behind both of them before I added them to my card.  I added the tree with 3Dfoam tape. 

The teal one has a serendipity heart die cut layered with silver cardstock which is scalloped and paper pierced. 

I added paper piercing to the handmade paper sheet before layering it and then added the embossed vellum and tree.

I tore two strips of vellum for the butterfly one and arranged them in a cross and layered them on the paper pierced handmade paper before layering them over the decorative paper and card front. 

The brown one has dark gold vellum wrapped on the onion skin handmade paper sheet to which I added two dark brown leaf die cuts (TH) and a little fussy cut button which I tied on with cording.  This large layer was added to the decorative paper on the card front. 

I embossed the green handmade paper sheet, added to the green paste paper then the strip of vellum wrapped around all the layers.  I added the hearts and then three iridescent sequins with small white brads before adding this larger layer to my pink card front. 

For the last brown one I tore a very slim vellum and added to the onion skin handmade paper.  I added a wider strip to the decorative paper.  I layered them and then added the brown leather leaf with cording and a brown brad through all the layers before mounting to my card front.   

Really enjoyed adding different elements and using the ones I had in a different way!!

Therese

 

All occasion cards featuring embossed handmade paper, paper piercing and ribbon

 I had quite a few more sheets of embossed handmade paper than I prepped for my first card at my September Card Club so I decided to make them up.  I will be needing more cards for our Chili for a Cause (GA) event in October so it made sense to make them up now.   

They were pretty much the same sketch - card front, decorative paper, embossed paper and ribbon flags attached with staples.  I am always changing things up so you can see that one has a brad and another has a little ribbon bow!!!  These are all handmade embossed paper sheets which were made up from moulds I created using hot glue on Jcloth scraps.  Therese

All occasion card featuring a hand stitched fabric patch, handmade paper and a little bow

My oldest granddaughter went on a trip this summer and brought me back a wonderful tea towel and so I made her this fun card.  She is really into creating and art - little crocheted stuffies and patches at the moment - so I made her a little fabric patch!!  Two layers of fabric with flannel in between.  I did blanket stitch in red all around the edge and then added stitching in red and black to keep the little pieces of fabric secure.  I added a little bow to created a focal point!! I stitched it to the handmade paper and then secured the handmade paper to the card front using little staples.  She will be able to remove the patch and add it to her collection!!  

Therese

 

September Card Club - cards featuring photos printed on transparency and mounted to our card over decorative paper

 For our last card I like to make it quick and easy!!  I printed a variety of photo images which I found on Pixabay onto the back of transparencies in reverse so they would show right side to the front.  I have used this technique before but it had been a while.  The last time I used photos I had taken but this time I decided for best use of my time I would pick a few from the site.  I was looking for photos with really good contrast so the backgrounds would have quite a few places to show through especially in the white or highlighted parts.  I was able to find quite a few that worked well.  I printed a few more than I printed for the class so I will have a few spare to add to my stash once I get them made up.  

For card one I layered the swan transparency over a very shimmering blue hand decorated paper which I made a while back - just leftover paint from a project painted onto scrap paper.  It beautiful the way the shimmer comes through the transparency!!  

For my second card, I layered this vintage car over a light blue decorative paper which gave the sky a bit of colour and texture.  

I applied a small piece of double sided tape to the back of the image in a place where it is quite dark.  I adhered this to my background paper.  I placed another small piece of double sided tape to the back of the decorative paper and applied it to my card front.  I pierced a hole in each corner with a push pin and then added a small brad in each one.  This secures all the layers very nicely and leaves the front neat.  I added a full insert in these cards to hide the tangs of the brads which show on the inside of the card.  

Great all occasion cards!!!  Therese

September Card Club - handmade paper sheet embellished with embossed vellum and unique 3D elements

 For our second card I chose to use some of the small handmade paper sheets we had made at our paper making session.  For my first card, I started with a teal card and added a coordinating decorative paper.  I wrapped a strip of embossed vellum around my teal sheet of handmade paper and glued the ends to the back.  I assembled three embossed flowers to which I added a little while eyelet to keep them all in place.  Love this little floral embellishment!! I added it to the front of my card using 3D foam tape.  

For my second card I started with a deep plum card and added a piece of hand decorated paper which coordinated nicely.  I wrapped a strip of embossed silver vellum around my sheet and then glued it to my card front.  I layered an "Always" tag to a coordinating tag and added a ribbon with a tiny white brad to create my focal element.  I added to my card using 3D foam tape.  The "always" message can be used for a variety of occasion - always there for you, always my best friend, etc!!!  It was fun to use our handmade paper in our cards.  Therese

September Card Club - all occasion cards featuring embossed handmade paper sheets, ribbon and decorative paper

 It was so good to be back to cardmaking with my friends!!!  So good to see them all!!  Some of us had made handmade paper together at the end of August so I was inspired to create with the sheets we had made.  Our first card was created using white embossed handmade paper sheets.  There was a wide variety of images which helped to expand the occasions they could be used for.  I started my first card with a sheet that featured a rose.  I added some paper piercing with my pattern tracing wheel on all four edges and then adhered it to my pink decorative paper.  I folded three little lengths of ribbon in half and stapled them over the edges of my handmade paper sheet.  I added a small staple to the lower left hand side as well.  I glued this large element to a light green card!!  My favorite colour combo and a card perfect for a friend's birthday or the arrival of a little girl!!  

For my second card I chose a sheet with a little bird on it.  I repeated the paper piercing and the ribbons. These were all in teals and blues.  Again, a card for any occasion you can start with " A little birdie told me. . . . ." or perfect for the arrival of a little boy!!!  

We had a wonderful time and everyone applied their creativity to their cards to make them truly their own!!!    Therese

Sewing - casserole carrier with one of Mom's quilted squares

I made up a square casserole carrier using a quilted square that was in her stash.  I had to add a border to make it 22" but I found a large piece that worked perfectly for the border on the front, the inside of the carrier and the handle.  These are my Mom's colours - just what she loved most.  I found some blue scraps to create the loops and got it done!!  I will offer it to my sister who shares the love of blues.  

Therese

 

Large all occasion card with a watercoloured lake scene over a stamped and pieced background

This lake scene is from Public Domain Vectors.   I laser printed it, trimmed it to size and then watercoloured it.  Fun to try something new - reflection of the sky on the water in yellow, oranges and reds.  I wanted a textured background for this beautiful scene so I found some gray paper and then stamped it in a light gray ink with this harlequin stamp (SU) but because this stamp is hard to clean I got a very grayed brown image.  It worked so I just kept going.  I stamped "worn" (SU) over the top in black and that was even better.  I collaged two strip of gray to a black one and embossed that with a diamond embossing folder.  Added three pewter eyelets and tied in a piece of black ribbon.  I adhered this background to a dark gray card and then mounted by lake scene over the strip using 3D foam tape.  Very happy with how this one worked out.  Theres
 

Quilting - QAYG modified with lots of poly cotton scraps from Mom

I have finished my QAYG experiment where I have stitched scraps of fabric on one side of my flannel batting and then did the same on the other side leaving an extra seam allowance on all sides.  I did the same colour on both sides of the squares so they could easily be laid out.  I stitched the rows first finishing the seams as I went.  To finish the seams I cut strips of fabric about 1.25" wide and then folded in both sides and ironed them down.  I used a cardstock strip 1" wide to make sure that my strip would over the seam allowances after I pressed them open.  

You can see where the green square is joined to the blue square on the left hand side of the photo. The seam has been pressed open and I have the piece that will cover it laying over the open seam.  There is already a blue one stitched in place on the right.  I simply pinned it in place and stitched both sides down through all the layers.  This method makes the quilting more integral and with the seams reinforced less likely to unravel if there is tugging and so on.  I added the same sort of strips over the seams which I used to stitch the rows together. 

Here is one side of the quilt.  Here you can see all the small strips I added to cover the seams between the squares and the rows. In this method of assembly the binding only shows on one side of the quilt as it is stitched to the outer seam allowances on each side and then folded over twice onto the quilt and stitched in place.  I did the top and bottom first and then each side with square corners.  I am really happy with how scrappy it looks!!!!!  Both sides!!!!  Therese

 

Slow Stitching - a cute little folk art bird

 I found this little bird online. It is offered by Chloe Redfern - Folk art Bird.  I sized it for my piece of fabric and traced it with a Crayola Ultra Clean gray marker.  Christi Johnson in her Mystical Stitches book indicated that she had good luck getting this ink to wash out after finishing her embroidery.  With school supplies on sale last month I picked up a set of 10 for about $4 which I thought was pretty good.  I have been working on it off and on and will be posting an update very soon!! 

Therese

Papermaking session

I have a few of my friends over to make paper a while back.  We started with white paper and made a few embossed sheets that are the perfect size for the front of an A2 sized card.  I have quite a few moulds I made using hot glue so I dug out a few and everyone could choose the ones they wanted.  

 I had several batches ready to go so we made some sheets with blue paper that incorpated snippet of blue paper, white paper with geranium petals, teal paper (white coloured with paper napkin), purple with snippets, ivory with onion skins, green with snippets, warm green with naturals and snippets of paper and dark teal with snippets.  It was a very fun evening and everyone took home their stash of little sheets and laid them out so they could dry.  Mine took a little longer than I remembered - the better part of overnight and the next day.  

I used up the leftovers from the session making the larger sheets - 8.5" x 5.5".  Ivory and petals, pink and petals, more pink and tissue paper snippets, yellow with onion skins, several more batches of greens and browns with naturals as I combined previous batches with others to finish them off.  Finally, the greens and teals and the purples and I was done.  I have a stack of new papers which I hope to use in my cardmaking class at the end of the month. 

Therese

 

Large all occasion cards with fun backgrounds, ribbon & lace and cute gnome and cupcake images

My last two cards for family occasions!!  The top one started with a deep red card and then I used a hand decorated piece for the background.  I embellished it with embossing and then rubbed it with a red stamp pad.  Perfect!  I added an embellished ribbon and three little blue eyelets before adhering to my card.  The gnome is from  skogstokiga  (has bee removed).  I coloured it to coordinate, paper pierced all four sides and added it with 3D foam tape.  The next cards features a little cupcake by the same person.  I used an off white card, pink polka dot paper to which I added ribbon and lace before adding it to my card.  I watercoloured the cupcake, paper pierced all four sides and mounted it to a pink cardstock before adding it to my card with 3D foam tape. 

Therese

 

Large birthday card with a lovely girl with balloons over an embossed serendipity background

 An elegant card for a special person!!  The girl with the balloons is from Pixabay.   I colour printed it, trimmed it and then added paper piercing on all four sides before layering onto green cardstock.  I have had the pink and green serendipity in my stash for a while and it coordinated to nicely with the girl's dress.  I embossed it and added the border punched green layer and the pink ribbon before adhering to my pink card front.  I added the image using 3D foam tape.   Therese

Large all occasion cards featuring a cute little bear floating away with balloons

 I had two of these little bear images (wikiclipart) in my stash and decided to use them for this month's exchange cards.  I used a yellow card and green polka dot paper for the first one and deep purple and purple polka dot paper for the second one.  I watercoloured my bears to coordinate and the mounted them to yellow cardstock leaving extra on the side.  I trimmed with scallop decorative scissors, paper pierced the scallops with a push pin and then embossed a line with my score tool.  I added some white cording to the back before I mounted them to my cards using 3D foam tape.  Happy with them!!  Therese

Large cards with hearts

 I made up several of these cards to send for anniversaries in the next few weeks using the same basic layout.  

For the first card, I started with a green card, added two pieces of the fun pennant paper and then added a piece of white embossed with hearts.  I ran my paper tracing wheel on the top and the bottom edge before adhering it to my card between the two other pieces - overlapping just a little.  I found the two serendipity hearts in my stash and added them with double sided tape.  

For the second card I used a large red card, added two pieces of red patterned paper and added a paper punched layer of gold cardstock.  I scored two lines in the gold before adding two layered and embossed red hearts using 3D foam tape.  

For the third card I used turquoise gift wrap which I bought in London years ago, a white heart embossed layer with eyelet paper punched edges and two coordinating hand decorated and sparkly heart die cuts.  

Therese

Large all occasion card featuring a silhouette of flowers with a watercoloured background over a paper pieced background

Another image from my stash - Dover silhouette of wild flowers.  I watercoloured the background and the laser printing acts as a resist - works so well.  I added a strip of yellow with pewter eyelet and cut a slot on the edge of the Queen Anne's Lace so I could get the strip to the other side.  I punched a slot (SU) to get the strip back to the front.  Still thinking it needed a bit of something I added a faux stitching border and that was better!!  I paper pieced a background using scraps of paper in blues and then embossed it.  I adhered by background to my green card and then added my wildflowers using 3D foam tape to give it a bit of dimension.  

Therese