Crafting - a beautiful butterfly magnet made out of blue mussel shells from PEI

It is hard not to collect blue mussel shells when you see them on the beach in PEI!!  My sister and I collected more than we anticipated but when it came time to head home we culled the collection to enough to create a few butterflies and put the others back on the beach for someone else's collection!!  I made this butterfly magnet for my sister with four shells and a small piece of drift wood for its body.  I love how it turned out!!!  She is going to display it on the walls of her home where there is corner bead so they can go anywhere along the corners or where there is a screw (those are harder to find).  I used a wooden fork to make the substrate and hot glued the shells in place and then added a bit of glue in the center to glue the drift wood to.  I added two rare earth magnets to the back using hot glue as well.  Love how it turned out and makes a very unique souvenir of our trip!!  Therese
 

Chili for a Cause - Gramma Link Africa Fundraising Event - October 23, 2024

 

Cardmaking - watercoloured ornaments layered with metallic cardstock on coordinating cards

I made these Christmas cards to be included in a prize for a fundraising event in October.  I have been researching watercoloured Christmas cards and ornaments is a recurring theme.  There are a wide range of tutorials on how to make them and finish them off!!  Somewhere along the way I either read or deduced that I could use a glass to create a perfect circle for my ornament which would be easily be filled in with watercolour and a steady hand.  I cut my watercolour paper to 3.5" x 5" and then made all my ornaments.  I added some splatter to some of them in colour and also in gold and silver.  I need to practice because it is not really as good as my sister does on hers.  After they pressed for a day I trimmed the sheets to 3.5" x 4.75 inches so they would work centered on an A2 card.  I added a ribbon and an ornament cap at the top using a fine tip black Sharpie and then coloured the cap with silver or gold watercolour.  I added four lines of paper piercing using my pattern tracing wheel and mounted them to metallic cardstock and then onto coordinating card fronts.  Really happy with these!!!!!  I have blogged the process I used to make these ornaments here.  Therese

 

Sewing - fabric basket to hold cards for a fundraising event

I committed to making a prize for our October fundraising event.  It is a fabric basket which you can see below holds a variety of handmade cards.  I made up 10 watercoloured ornament Christmas cards and added 14 all occasion cards.  I packaged them same as I did last time - folded cellophane pockets kept together with a strip of lettered tape which looks like a book.  Works really well!!  They stand on their own and can be laid flat which allows visual access to all the cards without actually touching them.  Great for storing them until you need them as well.  

I cut the outer fabric and then the lining (11" x 8") and then cut out the corners (2.5").  I stitched the fronts to the linings and then added some polyester batting to the outer.  To stitch the basket together you place the two pieces over each other and stitch the ends and the sides.  You need to leave an opening on the lining end to be able to turn it inside out  I forgot so unstitched a bit of my seam.  I had never made boxed corners like this before.  Works well!!  Once turned inside out I added four rows of top stitching to firm up the top portion of the basket.  The batting was a little fluffy but for my first try I think it worked out well enough.  I perfectly holds the three packages of cards I put together.   I see that I have made an error in the number of cards - it is a total of 24 cards  - not 30!!  I will have to print another one with the right numbers and my prize will be ready to go!!!   Therese

Grandma to Grandma Campaign quilt at the library in Red Deer

The Grandma to Grandma groups across Canada cooperated last year to create an art quilt to celebrate the transformative support provided to our partners - Grandmothers in Africa.  It is titled The Sheltering Tree and visually represents the support of the grandmothers and the initiative they have taken to create a protected place for themselves and their grand children to grow and become their best selves.  The supplies were gathered from the groups including fabric and embellishments.  Our Gramma Link Africa group provided leaves for the tree.  It is very beautiful!!!  It is touring the country and being hosted by Grandma groups across the country.   These ladies did a splendid job of organizing our turn of hosting the quilt.  There was a reception on October 5th and it will be at the library until the end of the month when it will be sent along to the Canmore group.  Therese 

Cardmaking - how to make perfect watercoloured circle ornaments for Christmas cards

After cutting your watercolour paper to size you need to gather watercolour paints, a large round brush, wipeable surface and a glass that has a thin rim the size appropriate for the size of ornament you want to make.  I chose a glass that was 1 7/8" to be created on a piece of watercolour paper 3.5" x 5".  You need to wet the pan of watercolour you want to use a bit and let it sit a bit.  You want your watercolour to be a bit on the thick side.  If it is too runny it runs down the sides of the glass and messes the perfect circle you are trying to create when you turn it over!!  Add watercolour to the rim of the glass. 

Don't leave it too long or the watercolour will dry on the rim.  If so, no loss just reapply another layer of paint and then turn it over and place it on your watercolour paper leaving room at the top for the cap and ribbon or string.  Press a little and then lift up.  

It leaves a perfect circle of colour which will become the outside edge of your watercoloured ornament.  

Load your round brush with paint and slowly start drawing the brush's tip along the edge of the circle going slowly and smoothly.  Keep loading your brush and continue to add colour to the ornament until  you have been all the way around. Touch up any places where you have left a gap between your strokes and the circle.  That will leave your center clear.  Load a little bit of water to your brush and tap it around in a circle with the tip touching the ring of colour and the fat part of your brush on the white area.  This will give you a lighter area and create a bit of a highlight to give your ornament some dimension.  

There you are with a perfectly circular watercoloured ornament without a black outline!!!  

I added stippling by banging my brush onto my finger over the paper.  Splattering this way if very unpredictable and adds directional marks.  It also can make stipples in areas well outside of your piece of watercolour so I will have to do some research on how to best to that.  I did you an old toothbrush for the metallic splatter which worked better.  I would have preferred larger drops and less of them.  I will ask my sister.  She does a much better job at stippling!!!  You can check out the cards I made with these little works of art here!!  Therese
 

Slow Stitching - a few more squares for my pink and green quilt

 I am back to exercising in the house as the weather outside is cooler and is it darker in the morning!!

I have set aside some time each morning to work on my slow stitching project which is to create some embroidered appliques for a quilt I would like to make for my spare room bed.  I have the squares ready to go with the "flowers" stitched in place and I simply need to add embroidery as I see fit when I am working on these squares.  It is good to be back to this project!!  Therese

Sewing - potholders with different fabrics

The image above is of the backs of the potholders.  For this set I stitched and cut a similar set of half square triangles and sewed them back together.  I added a green strip, batting and a brown patterned backing.  I added little diagonal hangers and then stitched the backing to the front to finish off the potholders.  I added quilting lines in the dark triangles this time.  One more set ready for Christmas.  

Therese

Sewing - another set of potholders with points and borders

Another set of potholders for Christmas!!  I layered the two large half square triangles, pinned them, drew a line from corner to corner across the two colours, stitched a quarter inch from the line on both sides and then cut them apart on the line.  I stitched them to each other to create points.  I did the same for this set.   I added strips of red all the way around and then added batting.  I cut backers from some vintage cotton fabric which worked quite well colour wise.  I stitched two little hangers, stitched them to my top layer and then bound the potholders by folding the backing to the front and stitching it into place.  I added quilting lines in the light triangles.  The colours of the fronts are a little off - they are like the last set which I linked to.  Another set to add to the ones I will be bringing for our Christmas celebration this year.  Therese