Cardmaking - a dryer sheet flower with a brad and sequin over an arty background

A card for someone special on one of their special days!!!  I made a dryer sheet flower and painted it blue and yellow.  I embossed a strip of vellum which I embossed with a plaid embossing folder.  I mounted the flower with the gold brad and then found some green yarn to make the stem and leaves.  I pierced the vellum with a needled about every half inch along a very lightly drawn  pencil line on the back and then used a piece of green embroidery thread to couch the yarn to the vellum.  I used the remainder of the yarn to make a leave on each side and a bit of greenery on the bottom also stitched in place.  I like it!!!  I found a green and blue decorative paper which I cut and then tore in two pieces.  I adhered them to my yellow card after adding paper piercing all the way around the outside edges of the two pieces.  I used double sided tape to secure the vellum to the front of my card which is discreetly hidden by the flower and leaves.    Therese

 

Sewing - a set of three little chicken pin cushions

 I worked on these little chicken pincushions this week.  I found some quilt squares which I have acquired over time and chose several to make these cute little chicken pin cushions.  They are constructed from two squares of fabric with some flannel (batting) which I stitched to them following the stitching lines on the squares.  I did peruse several places on line to find instructions and settled for ones with beaks, tails and combs.  The bottom is stitched with an opening for stuffing later, the front is where the beak goes (prairie point), the comb goes on the top and the tail (larger prairie point) in inserted in the back.  You stitch starting with the bottom, then the front and the top.  Then you line up the side seams, insert the tail and stitch this last side. It creates a very cute little triangle shape.  I stuffed them with my "stuffing" and it worked really well.  I did add about an 1/8th of a cup of rice at the bottom before hand stitching the opening closed which gives them a bit of weight.  They sit very nicely - about 3" tall!!!  I stitched on two black beads for the eyes which worked perfectly!!!   A fun experiment which I will likely try again with squares of my own creation next time!!  Therese

Stuffing created using lofty fabrics which I trimmed out for cardholders

 I acquired several pieces of fabric while checking out our Trash to Treasure event.  Items you no longer want but are still useable are set out near your front walk with FREE sign and people can come around and see if there is anything there they want to take home.  We put out a variety of items and all were rehomed.  We had put out 3 toilets but because they are ceramic which if broken would present a danger to workers were not allowed to be picked up by the city after the event so those were brought to the landfill the following week.  I used two little pieces of fabric I picked up and washed to make batting for my card holders!!  I cut up the scraps into bits to use as stuffing!!   No waste!!  Therese

Quilting - four blocks for a memorial quilt for my Mom

I made these quilt blocks a while back and had set them aside so I could hand stitch the little yellow hearts to the houses.  I finally got to that task today!!  It was suggested at a get together last year at my sister's house that we should make a memorial quilt in memory of our Mom.  There were several suggestions and ideas were presented by several of us (I am one of six girls) and it was finally left with these parameters - blue, yellow and white and any quilt block would be fine and that anyone who wanted to do hand stitching could.  It was revived by one of my other sisters recently as we are having a family reunion in July this summer and we have invited everyone who wants to make a square to contribute to the quilt.  Several of my sisters are experienced quilters and several of us seriously dabble and quite often are less than traditional with our approach.  In the extended family the same situation exists - some more serious than the others.  So we are hoping that many will take on the task of remembering our Mom in the making of a quilt square.  These are the four that I made.  My flying geese instructions make four flying geese at a time so I made four of them.   They become the blue sky and white roofs of my houses.  I added yellow and blue strips in a log cabin (generally - but not precisely) manner around the houses until they were 11" square.  Our Mom was the heart of our home and the most important square in the log cabin block is the central block - the heart and hearth!!!!  The blue swirl fabric came from one of my Mom's blouses which I acquired when she passed away.  I am so looking forward to seeing what my family members will be making for squares for this quilt.  One of my sisters provided the quilt block information to be passed on to all of the family through email.  She will be collecting the blocks at our reunion in July and then putting them together into a quilt top and then finishing it.  It will be returned to our next reunion as a silent auction prize.  

Therese

 

Art Date - Dying fabric with paint with my sister

 My sister, Sylvia, was here for a few days and we played with dying fabrics with paint.  We tried a variety of different mediums and techniques which all worked out well.  We washed our fabrics and found that several did lose colour while others did not at all.  It seems more connected to the fabric we used rather than the paints.  We used a variety of white cotton fabrics.  It was a very fun experience and Sylvia is looking forward to using some of these for hand stitching for handmade cards and as background for artwork for shows.  Therese

Cardmaking - embossed pearl backgrounds with butterflies and greeting for IWIN

 I have incorporated some of the pearly backgrounds I made last week into cards for IWIN.  I got the butterfly diecuts at a garage sale a while back thought they would complement each other well.  I dusted the pearl background with a bit of powder to ensure they would release well from the embossing folders and then added fiber or cardstock strips then adhered them to coordinating card fronts.  I then added the butterflies with 3D foam tape and the layered "Thinking of you" greetings with double sided tape.  They turned out really beautiful and I know they will bless those who receive them.  IWIN  rescues persons from human trafficking and gives them a chance to start a new life.  Therese

Cardmaking - pearl acrylic paint backgrounds on white cardstock

 I worked on backgrounds last week in an effort to sort through some of my paint stash.  I used up some pearl acrylic paint housed in fine tip bottles meant for a variety of techniques.  I found more than a half dozen which had solidified beyond use and several that still had viable paint so I tore apart some cardstock postcards that I had in my stash and used those as substrate for these fun backgrounds.  Generally, several colours of coordinating colours of paint dug out of the bottles and smeared with my fingers into some painterly backgrounds.  I spritz water on those who were too thick to spread well and then mixed in other colours which made some very cool backgrounds.  So in the end, several bottles were put in the trash and the others returned to their bins with more room.  I will be making more of these as time goes on!!  They are very pearly!!!  Therese

Cardmaking - a rainy scene with a man with an umbrella

A fun card featuring a man with an umbrella in the rain!!!  I am sure everyone is wishing for rain and this person loves to garden so I am sure they are wishing for some!!  The background is from Morgue File and has been sitting in my stash for a while!!  It thought it was perfect to simulate a storm.  I added rain with a clear glitter pen!!! I added "Joie!!" in glitter as well on the orange strip as that is how it feels when you get want you want!!!  

Therese