Sympathy card featuring a colour printed decorative paper, ribbon and a layered butterfly and greeting

For this sympathy card I started with a light aqua card and added this colour printed decorative paper (digital image) to which I had added a gray ribbon with both ends adhered to the back with double sided tape.  I found the two butterflies in my stash and added blue foil to the silver one before adhering them together.  I mounted the butterfly to my card front using 3D foam tape.  Next, I tied a short piece of ribbon to the one I had on my card using a single knot to simulate a bow.  I used three punched oval shapes (SU) to create my greeting.  First, a small oval punched greeting, next a large oval punched from the same blue foil as the butterfly backed with a piece of cardstock to give it some structure and finally a large scalloped oval punchie cut from silver cardstock.  After adhering all of them to each other I added it to my card using 3D foam tape.   Really like this one!!!  Therese

Doily Challenge - a large birthday card featuring a vellum greeting, hand decorated paper and a layered background

My fifth card for the Doily Challenge!!  For this card I started with a large white envelope and created a white card to fit inside.  I cut a light aqua layer for my card which left a small border all the way around.  I created a border using blue, green and purple cardstock adding short snippets of the teal doily border to the left hand side to create a bit of a scalloped edge.  I used the off cut of hand decorated paper I used on my last card and trimmed a small strip off of the left hand side and punched the right hand side with an eyelet border punch.  I adhered the strip to the coloured cardstock accent and added the remainder equidistant away.  I tucked my greeting behind this layer and adhered it to my card front using double sided tape where it would be hidden by the focal element.  I adhered the large focal element to my card front.  I added three pink flower die cuts over the gap in the hand decorated paper and positioned two aqua paper sequins in between them.  To finish off my card I added clear rhinestones to the paper sequins.  I will likely add clear glitter to the center swirl of the flowers because I think they need just a "bit of something".  Very happy with how these cards worked out and it was fun to find ways to incorporate the teal doily into my cardmaking!!!     Therese

Christmas card with a snowflake brad, green tag and rhinestones

Here is another card I made with the donated supplies.  This card was already started but I did add a few elements to finish it.  The green tag was already attached to the card but the snowflake element was damaged so I removed it.  I was able to cover up the glue marks where the snowflake had been by adding this large bell sticker (it also needed double sided tape support) and then I added a red rub on greeting below the sticker.  That finished off the tag very nicely.  It seems somewhat a drift on the large area of striped decorative paper so I chose a strip of red paper and positioned it below the tag and that helped.  After gluing the strip in place I mounted the tag with assisted foam squares from the supplies. I added three little clear rhinestone on the right which is always appropriate for Christmas cards!!  Pretty happy with the way this one came out.  Therese

Another sympathy card featuring a 3D butterfly embellishment, decorative paper and a laser printed greeting

For this sympathy card, I started with an ivory card.  I added a dark green layer and then trimmed a piece of laser printed decorative paper to leave a border all the way around.  Next, I punched a 1 3/8" opening on the lower right hand side and adhered this layer to the front of my card over the green cardstock layer.  I sponged a bit of colour to the laser printed punched greeting before mounting it to my card using double sided tape on both ends and a small piece of 3D in the center which gives it a bit of dimension.  The butterfly was discovered in my stash and was the perfect colours for this card.  I did add a bit of clear glitter to the body so it would coordinate with the spots on the net wings.  A nice simple sketch which nicely features this beautiful paper and a butterfly.     Therese

September cardmaking - a layered square of decorative paper, some ribbon and a large greeting

For our last card I went with a fairly simple design.  I cut a 4" square of decorative paper, layered it on coordinating cardstock and then added a ribbon near the bottom before adhering to the front of a coordinating card.  The greeting is a laser printed digital image from Desert-Diva.  I used my distress tool on the edges, layered it onto coordinating cardstock and then mounted it on the lower portion of my card using 3D foam tape.  To finish off my card I tied a short end of ribbon to the one on the front of my card to simulate a bow.  Quick & easy  - this versatile sketch is suited to either orientation and can be made up for a variety of occasions by changing your paper and using a suitable greeting.  For my second card, I chose a landscape format and the greeting is from Melonheadz and I added a few words using a font. 
Fun to see the girls again!!  A new face as well!!

Therese

September cardmaking - decorative paper, three cardstock rectangles and a small layered greeting

I have wanted to make a card with this concept in quite a while and have just now been successful in getting a design that works.  I see so many cards on Splitcoast Stampers and they seem simple enough to be replicated but it is not as easy as it looked for me.
We started with a card front and adhered a piece of decorative paper to it leaving a small margin.  Next, we embossed three different coordinating rectangles with different embossing folders and arranged them in a pleasing manner on our decorative paper.  A coordinating floral element was then adhered in a visually suitable place in the arrangement.  The floral element was created using silk flowers, a sequin and a brad.  The little punched greeting was sponged, layered and then mounted where it was most suitable with 3D foam tape.  Another very versatile sketch which allows both orientations to be used.  I chose to make my second card in the landscape format.  This one has a small font greeting with a flagged end.    Therese

September cardmaking - a cathedral window fold, a watercoloured image and a tag greeting

I are back to my regular fall routine and that means cardmaking!!  We made cards with this interesting fold taken from the quilting world called Cathedral Window.  It is a circle in which a square is placed and the four sides are folded to the front which is reminiscent of stained glass windows.  We started with a card and adhered a  layer of decorative paper to it leaving a small margin all the way around.  We coloured our images and then placed the square in the center of the circle and scored all the way around to get the sides folded to the front neatly.  We used 3D foam tape to secure the flaps to the central image square for create our focal element.  For this card the circle is 4.25" and the square is 2 7/8".  This element was secured to the front of our cards and we moved on to creating our tag greetings.  The tag consists of a rectangle of cardstock with the two right hand corners rounded.  A complimentary round punchie was placed in the space and punched with a 1/8" hole and the ribbon inserted from the front and both ends were secured to the right with double sided tape before trimming the ends.  The greeting was sponged a bit on the edges and adhered in place before this large greeting was secured to our card front.  My second card features a Melonheadz image and I put the greeting on a little differently.   There are so many possibilities with this design!!   The girls were very creative with the placement for their elements so it is nice when the cards reflect the possibilities of the card sketch.     Therese

Three Christmas cards from donated supplies

A friend of mine donated a bag of cardmaking supplies gleaned from her sister's craft space a while back and I have sorted through it and made a few cards.  These three cards were already set with the adhesive mesh on them so I dug through the other supplies to see what I could add to make them whole.  For the first one I added a piece of ivory cardstock which I embossed with the Swiss Dot embossing folder.  I had a clear area across the bottom which worked perfectly for adding a red greeting rub on.  I tied a length of fiber just above it.  I added the Santa tag from a set of stickers which were in the supplies.  I added a strip of striped paper over part of the mesh and then three stickers over the other portion of the mesh.  Lastly, I added my focal element to the left hand side of the decorative paper to finish off my card.  The stickers required a bit of double sided tape to keep them in place.

For the second card, I added a strip of the same striped paper across the card and then mounted this decorative element with a star and greeting to which I had added two layered snowflakes with a brad.  I used foam squares which were in the supplies to mount this layer to the card front but they did require some assistance from double sided tape to be effective.

For my third card, I added the Santa sticker to a white rectangle of cardstock and used my tracing wheel to add texture to the outside edges in a curvy manner before adding it to the card front.  I adhered the trimmed greeting to a strip of white cardstock and mounted it below the Santa element and then added the holly sticker next to it.  These stickers also required assistance to be effective.  I did find appropriately size large envelopes in my stash for these cards.

 These next two cards were created with A2 white card fronts I found in the supplies.  I trimmed the red pieces from a half started Valentine's card I found in the supplies.  For the first card, I added a strip of striped decorative paper to the bottom edge of the red layer to cover up some writing and then added the frame overlapping it.  I mounted a double layered snowflake with a brad inside the frame and then added a dimensional greeting sticker below it on the right.  The epoxy sticker was starting to curl so I convinced it to remain flat with a couple of pieces of double sided tape.  There were physical holes in the sticker in which I mounted brads to finish off this layer.  To finish off the card I mounted the red layer to the white card.

For the other card I trimmed and added a layer of decorative paper to the red layer which nicely covered the damaged areas on the card.  I found the background layer for my focal element in the supplies which I trimmed to size.  I added a trimmed tag to which I had added a brad and a red rub on greeting.  I added a few lengths of ribbon from my stash to this layer before adhering it to the front of my card using foam squares that needed assistance. I found them both envelopes in my envelope stash.

These were the easiest supplies to make up into cards.  The other pieces I have added to my pizza box of Christmas card making supplies and they will likely be used in good time as I work towards my goal of having all my Christmas cards made for the beginning of December.  I am way behind but still hope to have them all ready in time.           Therese

A sympathy card featuring a stamped image, decorative paper and a punchie greeting

I had a request for sympathy cards so I made a few.  Here is my first one.  I started with gray cardstock and found this image in my stash which worked well.  I found this swirly paper in my decorative paper which also worked well so I got started.  I cut an opening with my Nestibilities in the decorative paper to accommodate the image.  Wanting the light to be the focus I watercoloured only the light rays that would be emitted by the light house and added a bit of clear glitter to the windows. I adhered the image to a black layer and cut the bottom of that piece using a wavy cutter.  Next, I punched an opening with the Modern Label punch (SU) below and to the right of the other opening.  I added a black ribbon from top to bottom where it intersected both openings and adhered the ends to the back of the decorative layer before gluing the paper to the front of my card.  I mounted the image and the laser printed greeting into the appropriate openings using 3D foam tape.   I like the soft look of this card.  Therese

Doily Challenge - a large birthday card featuring hand decorated paper, vellum greeting and some paper sequins

This is the fourth card I created for my Doily Challenge.  I started with a large white envelope and created a white card to fit inside.  I trimmed a piece of light aqua cardstock to fit on my card with a very tiny margins all the way around. I found a piece of hand decorated glossy paper which was created with a wrinkled wax paper resist and watercolour.  The colours worked well with the dark teal doily.  I trimmed a piece off and used a scalloped border punch on the right hand side after trimming it to size to fit on my aqua layer.  I used a vellum greeting which I printed when I was creating my last card.  After positioning it on my card I created a green strip to hide the double sided tape I used to adhere my vellum greeting.  I added four aqua flower paper sequins to the strip, trimmed four little flowers from my doily and adhered them to the paper sequins.  To finish off my card, I added clear rhinestones to my paper sequin flowers which  was perfect!!  I love the look of the hand decorated paper with the vellum and the paper sequins!!     Therese

Birthday card featuring a layered floral focal element, decorative paper background and an embossed greeting

My youngest granddaughter has a birthday coming up and I made this card for her.  It has a fun and funky flower element which can be removed to put it in her room or in a window. 
I started with a large envelope and created a blue card to fit inside.  I trimmed a piece of decorative paper which has some glitter on it somewhat smaller than my card and cut it into four pieces.  I used a corner punch to trim two corners on each rectangle and then glued them in place with even margins on my card front.  I created the flower using a variety of flowers I found in my flower stash - a large die cut, an orange post it note flower, a coral die cut and a layered center created from a scalloped circle, a circle punchie of decorative paper, a 5 petal flower punchie, a sequin and a brad to hold them all together.  I punched a small hole on the top and strung a white cord through to create a hanger.  I positioned the flower on my card so the center was in the middle of the card and brought the hanger to the inside of the card and secured it with tape.  I put a tiny piece of double sided tape below the flower just to keep it in place until it is removed.  I trimmed a glittery embossed greeting, sponged the edges in pink and glued it to the front of my card using double sided tape.  It will be a fun card for her and she will be so happy to have something she can keep for herself to decorate her room!!     Therese

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Doily Challenge - a large birthday card featuring a teal doily, a vellum greeting and rhinestones

Card #3 in my Doily Challenge!!  For this one I trimmed some of the center portions of the doily and featured them prominently.  I started with a large white envelope and created a light aqua card to fit inside.   After trimming the two large pieces of doily from the whole I laid them on my card front overlapping the middle flower.  I estimated the size of vellum greeting I would need and printed it on vellum.  I tore the bottom edge of the greeting and trimmed the sides to come just inside of the edge of the doily pieces.  I adhered the top edges of the doily pieces to my card with double sided tape and then tucked the vellum below them adhering it to my card front where the doily would hide the double sided tape.  Next, I added small pieces of double sided tape below the flowers in the edge of the doily pieces to secure those pieces.  I added rhinestones to the centers of all the flowers.  Liked that!!  I trimmed a flower out of the scraps of the doily and added two little hand cut leaves and mounted it just above my laser printed greeting.  Added a rhinestone to that one too!!  Love the simplicity of this one.  Elegant with a monochromatic colour scheme.    Therese

Birthday card featuring a stamped background, handcoloured silk leaves and a layered greeting

 For this birthday card,  I used a stamped background which I created a while back when stamping leaves on a this card.  I started with a large envelope and created a ivory card to fit inside.  I trimmed a piece of navy cardstock to fit on it with a small margin all the way around and then embossed the right hand side with leaves.  I trimmed the piece of stamped paper (Kaleidacolour - Creole Spice) to length and glued it to the left leaving the embossed area showing.  I trimmed a laser printed greeting and tied on a short piece of kraft fiber, sponged its edges with a bit of green ink and then layered it onto yellow/orange cardstock.  I distressed the edges and then layered it onto a navy layer.  I watercoloured the silk leaves to coordinate with the ones on the stamped background.  I positioned them onto the front of my card and added my layered greeting over it using 3D foam tape to accommodate the stem.  After adjusting the leaves I added a small piece of double sided tape below the middle leaf to keep the spray in place.  Love these colours together!!         Therese

Doily Challenge - a large birthday card featuring a floral digital stamp (my art), a doily and some fiber

I created this card as part of my Doily Challenge.  You can check out my previous card here. I started with a large white envelope and created a black card to fit inside.  I used a "rubber finger tip" - a stationary tool - to stamp a texture on the right hand side of my card using silver ink.  It turned out quite good  -  similar to stippling!!  I started with some teal fiber and created a layer featuring the colours in it - dark pink, purple and a light teal blue.  I embossed the background with a script embossing folder, tore the bottom edge and layered it with silver paper (gift wrap).  I found this laser printed floral image (one of my own doodles) in my stash which worked well with the dimensions of my background  so I watercoloured it to coordinate.  I added a layer of white to extend the bottom and then tore it to echo the bottom of the layer.  I wrapped the fiber on the bottom of the floral image covering the joint with fiber.  I found a coordinating greeting in my stash so I tore both the top and bottom of it, sponged it a bit with aqua ink mounted it over the fiber using 3D foam tape. I mounted this large focal element to my background.   I trimmed a piece off of my teal doily to layer under my main focal element and then adhered this large element to my card front using double sided tape.   The dark card reduces the contrast of the dark doily which helps highlight my flower image.    Therese

Doily Challenge - a large birthday card featuring a teal doily, a stamped greeting and some paper sequins with bling

A friend gave me a package of teal doilies when I attended her garage sale earlier this year and I thought I would challenge myself to use them in cards.
I started with this card which used just less than half of one of the doilies.  I started with a large aqua envelope and I created a white card to fit inside.  Next, I cut a light aqua layer for the front just slightly smaller and used the piece of doily as a stencil sponging on aqua ink on the right hand side.  I really liked how that looked.  I started layering pieces on the left hand side to create layers on my card.  I ended up with a piece of plastic trimmed from a commercial card that has a white doily pattern, my piece of teal doily, some blue foil and then a piece of silver foil.  After auditioning all the pieces I glued them to my layer one at a time and added the final white doily piece using two silver brads which I applied through all the layers.  I glued this large layer to my white card front and then worked on some embellishments.  I found a stamped and embossed greeting in my stash which coordinated nicely, added a navy blue layer, tuck it under the white doily layer and adhered it to my card front.  I found these light aqua floral paper sequins in my stash, sponged their edges with the same ink I used to stencil and then adhered them to my card front nicely arranged near the greeting.  To finish off, I added clear rhinestones to the centers of the flowers.  It was a challenge to use this colour in that it was quite dark.  I am happy with how this one turned out.        Therese

Another quilt top - red and blues

I made up this quilt top a while back using precut rectangles which I purchased at a garage sale. They are all flannel and the lines are a bit wonky because they were not all cut to exactly the same size which I only discovered after I started sewing them together.  I have trimmed the side to be even.
I have washed all three quilt tops - pink and blue green and they have all shrunk by 2"to 3"so I am very happy to have done that before I started making quilts from them.  I will see about getting to the process this fall and hope to have them all finished soon. 

Therese

Fabric bags - resuable and washable

 I have upcycled a fabric curtain (100% polyester) into eight fabric bags which can be used for library books, class supplies, craft projects, groceries on the way home, snack run, garage sales, mall shopping, thrift stores, farmer's market, etc.   I unraveled all the hemming except the top one and then trimmed the piece which was almost square into eight pieces.  They were long narrow rectangles that measured approximately 17.75" x 35.5".  I cut handles (3" by 18" or so) from navy (100% polyester) stash fabric. I folded them in a half inch on each side and them folded them in half and stitched up both sided using white thread to coordinate with the bag fabric. To make the bags I folded the rectangle short ends to each other at the top (right sides together) and stitched up the two sides and then zigzagged the edge of the seam allowance to finish it off nicely.  I folded and pressed the top hem where needed and added the handles 5" from each side and then stitched the top hem triple stitching where the handles were.  I added another line of stitching about 1/8" from the top edge again triple stitching the handles.  I went back and added triple stitching in between them just on the handles.  They are very secure. 

Next I boxed the two bottom corners to create a bottom on my bag - I stitched about 3.5" from the corner to create a 7" bottom.  I stitched the triangle I folded in to the bottom of my bag to secure it and reinforce the bottom.  I stitched a 12" piece of cording with a knot at each end about 3" down from the top of the bag on one of the side seams so the bag could be folded and tied up.  To tie up you simply lay the bag down handles at the top and fold the bottom so it is facing up as in the photo above.  Next, fold down the handles and fold up the bottom and start rolling the bag from the side opposite the tie.  Once rolled all the way to the other side you simply tie the cording around the bag to keep it neat.  It was a fun project. 

Felted wool dryer balls - Part 2

Well, needless to say that the dryer balls did not felt as I expected.  I expect that I may have wound the wool sweater bands too tightly in a ball and there was not enough give to have them felt properly.  I wished I had sorted that out before I made so many.  So in order to save these and make them usable I have given them all sock covers which will keep them all intact even if they are not felted and they will work just as effectively in the dryer.  It is unfortunate that they did come out beautiful but sometimes that it the way it goes.  Therese

Exchange card - one of my digital images, embossing and ribbon

I created this card as one of my exchange cards for this month.  I started with a large envelope and created a large turquoise card to fit inside.  I adhered this wonderful polka dot background paper (gift wrap) and then added another strip of the same cardstock embossed with dots to which I had added a bright green ribbon.  Next, I diecut a large label (TH) from pink cardstock and embossed it with a smaller polka dot design and added a thin purple ribbon to the bottom section and tied on another small length with a single knot to simulate a bow.  I trimmed this flower image  - one of my own laser printed digital stamps - and used a corner rounder on the corners.  I watercoloured the image to coordinate and mounted it to the label over the ribbon using 3D foam tape.  Therese

Birthday card featuring hand coloured silk leaves, dimensional sticker letters and stamped decorative paper

My oldest daughter's birthday is coming up and I made this card for her.
I started with a long thin envelope and created a dark brown card to fit inside leaving it a bit short so I could highlight the edge with the insert.  I punched the top edge with a scalloped border punch (SU).   I dug out two coordinating scraps from my decorative paper stash and used regular tape on the back to attach them together.  I trimmed the right side to fit on my card front.  Thinking that the edge of the piece on the left needed a bit of something I decided to stamp it with a solid leaf stamp using a multicolour stamp pad (Kaleidacolour - Creole Spice).  I simply inked my stamp and then stamped the edge using a piece of regular bond paper to mask off the music paper.  I stamped the stamp twice - once right next to the edge and another a little farther over which gives are a really nice layered effect.  I added the dimensional letter stickers to spell out my greeting over where the paper were joined.  I added the "HAPPY" stickers to kraft coloured half inch punchies before adding them to my card using double sided tape.  I used letter punchies which I watercoloured before adding clear dimensional dots to create "BIRTHDAY" and then glued those to my card using double sided tape as well.  I started from the bottom for "birthday" so I would have a space between the words.  I watercoloured a sprig of white silk leaves to coordinate with my stamped leaves and let them dry.  I pierced a hole between the words of my greeting and mounted my silk leaves using a square gold brad.  I love how this element adds so much interest and texture to my card!!  I mounted this large element to my card front.  To finish off my card I used a push pin to pierce each of the scallops on the edge of my card.  I cut an oversized insert and trimmed it to the same length as my card on the top and bottom an added a quarter inch on the right hand side to allow the scalloped border to really be showcased!!            Therese

Exchange card - stamped image on polished stone, scalloped diecut and tracing wheel texture

An exchange card for this month!  For this card I used a large envelope and created a white card to fit inside. I started with this circle with a stamped image from my stash.  It is a SU image stamped in blue on a circle die cut of polished stone background on glossy photo paper.  I created the background first - a brayered piece from my stash that coordinated well. I cut it in two and mounted a coordinating piece of  blue cardstock in between.  I added texture to the piece using my pattern tracing wheel - a line on each of the top and bottom pieces and a variety of all over lines in the blue section.  Next, I added a length of coral gros grain ribbon and then mounted the background to my card front. I found a green scalloped circle die cut in my stash with I watercoloured to coordinate with my card.  I mounted my circle focal element to the scalloped circle and added to my card using 3D foam tape.  I found this coordinating stamped greeting (SU) in my stash and flagged the end before mounting it to my card. Therese

Birthday card featuring a dimensional sticker, ribbon and decorative paper

Our god daughter's birthday is coming up soon and I made this card for her!!  I started with a large envelope and made a soft peach card to fit inside.  I added two strips of white embossed cardstock on the top and bottom.  For the middle section I trimmed a piece of laser printed decorative paper into three.  I added two strips of aqua to my card front and then glued the three pieces of decorative paper into place overlapping the aqua strips.  For my focal element I started with a small dimensional sticker.  I added layers - peach, embossed aqua - peach and then onto a larger brown rectangle gluing them together as I went. I used my distress tool on the edges of  the brown one and then added flagged ribbons to the backside of it on the top right and lower left.  As I was considering where to place my focal element I decided I needed a bit more texture so I ran my tracing wheel over the two aqua strips on my card and used a brown gel pen to add a line to my two white embossed strips.  That was better!!  I used 3D foam tape to add my focal element to my card.  Pretty happy with how it turned out!!          Therese

Felted wool dryer balls - part one

 I have been thinking about making dryer balls for a while using the scraps of wool I have stashed!! I found this tutorial on The Spruce which uses hot water in a pot on the stove instead of a hot water wash in my washing machine which seemed a better use of water.  So I got started and found some felted wool scraps for my center.

I wrapped some felted wool around it to start creating a ball and then wrapped a long scrap of felted wool around and it started looking more like a ball.  I dug through my unfelted wool stash and found this pale pink cashmere sweater which had already been cut up for another project and cut some half inch strips from two of the panels.  I started wrapping the unfelted wool strips around my ball and just kept adding strips until it was the size of a hard baseball.

 I decided to tie yarn around it to keep it all together until I could get a few more made.  I managed to make two more balls and they are ready for felting.  I will continue with the felting instructions when I get to them.  

Therese

Anniversary card featuring a layered greeting, embossing and ribbon

 I am working on cards for my family whose special occasions are coming up soon!!
For this anniversary card I started with a large envelope and made a kraft coloured card for fit inside.  I added two panels of embossed white cardstock  (top and bottom) and then overlaid a piece of beautiful decorative paper over them.  I added a length of soft aqua ribbon gluing the ends to the inside of the card using double sided tape. I created a layered greeting using a small laser printed greeting which I punched with a small oval punch (SU).  I added it to a decorative paper oval punchie (SU) and then to a gold metallic scalloped oval (SU).  I used 3D foam tape to adhere my greeting to the front of my card over the ribbon.  To finish off my card, I added two little punched hearts below the paper on the right and three little clear rhinestones above the paper on the left of the ribbon.    Therese

Two small quilt tops

I picked up a few scraps a while back when my sister was lucky enough to come upon a lady down sizing her quilting stash.  I got a bag of scraps and a few boxes of larger pieces and some precut squares as well.  I ended up with a large bag of flannel scraps and pieces and have since picked up a few more precuts and small pieces on my most recent trips to second hand stores. After washing the ones I picked up I was sorting through what I had and started placing some of the squares in alignment to see if I had enough to make a small quilt.  They have been sitting for a few days and I went down there looking to access the felted wool which was at the back of the room and the choice was to pick up all the pieces and try to remember how they all went together or to switch gears and work on the quilt instead of the felted wool project.  Needless to say, that I got started on the quilt and very soon I had filled in all the spaces between the squares with strips and had added long strips in between to get the width I was looking for.  I was aiming for a kids quilt so anywhere near 35"-36" would work.  So I started sewing the pieces in each row together and finished sewing the rows to each other yesterday.  I am very happy with how it worked out as I really did not have any idea when I started what I was going to end up with.  It was fun to play with the pieces and move them around until I liked the way they went with the others.  I had to cut a few pieces for the in between strips so I used my rotary cutter and cutting mat.  Worked really well.  It was fun playing with fabric and actually making something that has a real purpose.  I trimmed the edges even today and measured it and it is 37.5" x 46.5" or so.  I will have to see about finding backing, binding and some sort of  fabric to sandwich in between.  I am looking to make a lightweight quilt so it maybe just a sheet.  We shall see.   Today, buoyed by yesterday's success I decided to see if there was enough fabric to make another top for a kids quilt.  

As you can see I did manage to make another quilt top but when I made the decision to not add any pink pieces to this one I had to get quite a bit more resourceful to make all the pieces fit.  I cut a few squares from some of the larger pieces I acquired recently to have enough for my design.  As you can see, I also had to add a piece to the green and blue ones but fortunately, I had small pieces that I had leftover when I was cutting the squares that were just the size I needed.  So there are 4 lager pieces that are pieced rectangles instead of square - one in each row of squares.  I started by creating the center strip with the only solid colour pieces I had - bright yellow ones.  I found some coordinating pieces of patterned fabric and used a small scrap of dark green which gave the strip a bit of definition.  I added long strips on each side of that one just adding two little pieces to each of them to make them long enough.  One is monkeys and the other is giraffes.  The four rows of squares were then filled with what I had left to make the little strips between the squares.  There was much moving of pieces and squares before I settled on this layout as I did not want the same fabric touching to too close to each other.  I spent the day sewing the pieces of each of the row to each other and then sewed all the rows together.  I trimmed the edges even and this one measures 35"  x 44" - a pretty good size.  I folded them up and pinned a paper with the measurements on it to the corner of each quilt top.  I picked up all the other pieces and put them all back into the bag along with the quilt tops and all the other flannel scraps I has sorted out.  

I am very happy with my days work!!!!!!  I like that they easily could be baby quilts and that I have one for a girl and a boy!! So for now they will be stored away until I can get to finding fabric to make a backing, binding and to add as a filler.  I am looking to make them light weight so they won't require much in the way of filling but for sure that will be a project for another day.  This week we are back to our regular meetings and commitments so there are a few full days ahead.  

Therese