Neat bobbin storage using plastic binding combs

Neat bobbin storage is a blessing!!!!!! I have been struggling with how to keep my bobbins from all unwinding themselves and making a thread nest in the process.  This afternoon I decided to give a try to a process I read about a while back.  It uses pieces of plastic comb used in binding machines to bind documents.  I found a 1/4" - 3/8"  gold one in my stash and decided to give it a try!  I snipped the individual tabs off o the the main comb using regular scissors and then trimmed them to the width of my bobbins.  They are tight onto themselves so you have to spread them out and then place them over the thread end which has been neatly wound onto the bobbin.  Keeps the end hidden so it cannot snarl up and the tightness of the comb keeps it nicely bound to the thread on the bobbin regardless of how much thread there is on it.  The little gap allows you to see the colour of thread on the bobbin.  Works really well and I did not have anything to lose to use up this little gold binding comb.  I went searching on line for other options and there are several very inventive solutions others have come up with.   For example - clear plastic tubing from the hardware store cut to width and then split to keep the thread in place.  Great because you can easily see the thread colour.  There are some keeping the combs intact and using the whole thing as a bobbin storage unit.  That would be good too!!!  I have my other bobbins in my drawer and that will keep them neat.  Clear comb would be perfect!!!  I am happy to have my bobbins stored neatly on my thread holder.  I cut a longer length of metal bar which allows me to store more bobbins on my stand.  It is working for me for the moment!!!!!    Therese

 

Quilt with my little slow stitched tree squares

I finished this little quilt today.  It has over the last week been left in the sewing machine when I was drawn away by other tasks.  I quilted the top to the polyester batting following both sides of the brown strips and then quilted this layer to my backing following both sides of the beige strips.  I chose a blue polyester cotton fabric for my backing which was wide enough for me to do self binding with it.  The blue draws out the blue of the tree squares and really helps to balance the weight of the dark brown in the quilt top.  I like the offset squares which creates a bit of a stepped look and breaks up the solid colours some.  It measures 38" x 50.5" which is the largest quilt I have made so far.  Went well and I am looking forward to getting one of my other tops started over the holidays.  Maybe the house one being as all the slow stitching is finished on that one.  I still don't have a plan but I will work up something that works.    Therese

 

Christmas card featuring a cute card front with snowmen, a snbwflake border embellished with clear rhinestones

 I made this card for my grandson for Christmas.  I love those cute snowmen with their birds and bird houses.  I trimmed the card front, added a snowflake border on the right hand side and then embossed three lines.  I embellished the snowflakes with clear rhinestones.  I adhered this layer onto a red card which I made to fit in a large red envelope from my stash.    Therese

Christmas card featuring a cute card front with gifts and bears, a plaid ribbon and silver paper

I made this card for my oldest grand daughter for Christmas.  I started iwth a large red envelope and created a red card to fit inside.  I reused this cute card front with bears and gifts.  I had to add a bit of length to the card so I trimmed it with deckle decorative scissors between the image and the greeting then layered it onto silver paper which worked really well with the stars on the gifts.  I added a red plaid ribbon in the gap and tied on a short length to simulate a bow.  I mounted my large element to my red card.  

Therese
 

Get well card featuring a watercoloured wild flower die cut, a decorative paper background, ribbon and a vellum greeting

One of my friends is having surgery so I made her this card to cheer her once she gets home.  I created a dark purple card to fit in a #6 envelope.  I trimmed a piece of coordinating background paper and added some organza ribbon to it then tied on a small piece to simulate a bow.  I adhered this large layer to the front of my card.  I found this wildflower die cut (TH _ SX) in my stash and watercoloured it to coordinate with my card. I tucked it under the ribbon and then slid the bow to its intersection with the main ribbon.  I trimmed my little laser printed vellum greeting on the right hand side, added a bit of glue on the back and slid it under the stem of the flower.  Worked out so well!!!  

Therese
 

Birthday card featuring a punched border, a die cut butterfly and a stamped greeting

 A birthday card for a young lady in my extended family whose birthday is very close to Christmas.  

I started with a #6 envelope and created a card to fit inside from purple cardstock.  I found two pieces of decorative paper that coordinated - a colour printed background and a scrap of paste paper which I made a while back.  I punched the edge of the printed paper with a border punch (MS) and then glued it to my card front.  I added glue to the paste paper and slid it under the punched border.  There was not enough contrast to highlight the pattern so I trimmed a small strip of silver cardstock and slid it between the two pieces under the punched border and that was much better.  I trimmed a stamped greeting (individual font letters) and adhered it to my card front and then added a strip of black cardstock over it that was the same length as they decorative paper.  I found a silver butterfly die cut that coordinated with the little strip under the border and adhered it to my card front using 3D foam tape.  Very happy with that and it will soon be on its way to her.  Therese

Another little quilt

I worked on this quilt yesterday and managed to get it all done in a day!  I started with two pillow shams with beautifully embroidered accents.  Because they were wide enough to make a small blanket I just needed to find a way to put them together while adding some length.  I decided to put the patterns back to back and then added two strips of a small floral of quilting cotton and in between them another strip of the deep plum colour from the back of the shams.  It worked out really well!  I top stitched the seams on the plum before putting it together and stitched the floral fabric section once I had batting and a backer to create some quilting lines within the body of the quilt.  I added another line of quilting about six inches from each end as well.  I used a flannel sheet as batting and used a cool brown sheet for the backing.  I created 2.5" binding with the fabric from the back of the shams.  I finished the corners square.  It is the best I have done for keeping my layered together and getting my quilting done without too much bunching.  It is quilt light in weight but that works for the Linus Project because they have limited space in ambulances for carrying these.  It measures 34.5" x 46".  The embroidery is done is shimmery thread and looks beautiful!!  Happy with how it turned out!!!           Therese

 

Sympathy card featuring a brayered background, some embossing with the raised areas highlighted with pearl embossing powder

My uncle's mother passed away at 97 a few weeks ago and so I made this card for him and my aunt.  It is never easy to lose a loved one but when they have lived a full and active life it is easier to let them go.  We were able to watch the funeral online. There were only seven people who attended which allowed for a videographer to record the event for those who could not attend in person because of age and the restrictions in place.  It is always amazing to me what some people have done in there lives and I am sure they were simply following their hearts in their every day so we must do the same.  It is encouraging!!!  

For this card I used a brayered background created using a Kaleidacolour ink pad, embossed it with a swirly bird embossing folder (CB) and then touched the raised areas with an embossing ink pad and added a pearly embossing powder.  I did it twice as the coverage the first time was too translucent.  I added a coral organza ribbon and mounted this large element on a gray card.  I layered a little sympathy greeting onto a scalloped oval punchie in gray and added it to the front of my card using 3D foam tape.  Simple and elegant!!  Therese

 

Refurbished a Christmas wreath with new ornaments

I finally have refurbished this wreath with new ornaments.  We purchased it many years ago and over time the glass ornaments have aged and the paint on them has cracked.  I searched last year for ones to replace them and could not really find the right colours to coordinate with the ribbon.  This year I tried again and decided to see if I could paint them.  I was successful in finding paint for the burgundy ones and was able to take them all off the wreath, paint them and put them back on.   I was not so successful with the rose/gold ones as you can see below so I had to buy replacements.  They are not perfect (plastic) but they were the right rose/gold colour.  I have decided that it is a good enough solution considering what I have available and it will last another few years. 

It was fun to spray paint the balls.  I had to use GOOP to secure them to the hangers that were fully encased in the glue that the original creator used to secure the balls to the wreath.  Because the globs were so extensive there was a lot of surface on which to apply the glue which worked really well.  
So the wreath lives on for another year or decade and I am happy.  

 The spray paint was part of a art package I purchased earlier this year and the rose/gold were purchases at a $1 locally.  You can see that the rose/gold glass ornaments are in dire shape and I am contemplating turning them into "glass glitter" .  It would be very pretty!!!!!!  The one whole ornament which I sprayed with copper paint has no hanger so may end up in the "glass glitter" .    

Therese

New heart art for my window in support of the front line workers

The windows got cleaned this fall and my heart art for the front line workers were removed because the heat from the summer had melted the crayon and caused a few marks on the window panes.  I decided I needed a new technique for my new heart art that would alleviate the issue of marking up the window.  After an afternoon of checking out stained glass art on line I decided that I would glue heart shapes to a piece of white tissue paper.  As I was looking for the box of solid tissue paper I found a box of my own "art" on tissue paper, napkins, paper towels, dryer sheets, etc that would most certainly make wonderful hearts so that is where I stayed.  After ironing my papers I folded them several times and cut out half hearts by hand with scissors just eyeballing it.  This yielded hearts in a variety of shapes, colours and textures!!  I put a piece of plastic on the top of the freezer and collected my supplies - hearts, white glue, water, white tissue paper, a stir stick and a paint brush.  The little container had some watered down glue I used for this gift wrap collage project and it had some gold glitter in it so I went and found the gold glitter glue too.  I started applying glue to the top of the white sheet of tissue and placed hearts into it and then added more glue on top and then added more and continued the process until the sheet was completely covered with hearts.  I left it to dry overnight and it peeled off the plastic easily.  I wanted a sheet for each window so I made another one the next morning and by late afternoon I was able to peel it off the plastic as well.  

You can see both of my panels above and a close up of a red heart where you can see the gold glitter. 

Below you can see my two panels mounted to the windows out front using a bull clip and a suction cup hook for each one.    I am very happy with how they turned out.  When they are no longer needed on the window I will be able to use them as backgrounds for my cards!!  

Therese

A small pink blanket

I have been working on this little blanket for several weeks.  It took a bit of sorting out as I incorporated a prequilted piece in the middle which required that what I added was also quilted.  I quilted two pieces of coordinating fabric to batting which I added above and below the main section.  I used a three stitch zig zag decorative stitch to hold them to each other.  Next, I enjoyed the process of "quilt as you go" while I was  creating the sections for the sides and top and bottom.  I simply stitched strips of fabric to my batting, folded it over to get the right side up and stitched on another strip.  It went very well and I created a strip for each side.  Due to a measuring error I ended up with my sides pieces too wide so I trimmed each side piece and added them to the top and bottom which balanced the proportions of my quilt.  I stitched the side and top pieces to my main center piece with the same decorative stitch I used on the other pieces.  I then cut strips from this same fabric to make the strips I used to cover the joints between my pieces.  Before stitching them into place I decided to add my backing so that the stitching from adding the strips would provided inner quilting for the quilt.  The strips were cut 2" and both edges were folded to the back to meet in the middle giving me a 1" strip to sew on.  I pinned them into place and stitched on one side and then the other.  The outer ones covered the ends of the inner ones which worked very nicely.  I created a binding from one of the pink fabrics I used in the quilt that featured little kittens.  I added the binding to the top and then the bottom and then to both sides.  I find this binding method easier though the corners are a little less elegant.  This blanket is joining the last one and will be delivered to my sister for donating to the Linus Project.  Therese
 

Sympathy card featuring a carved wood background, organza ribbon and a bird punchie

I created this card for the husband of a friend who passed away in November.  

I started with a carved wood background which I made a while back.  I added a length of ivory organza ribbon and tied a short length to it to simulate a bow.  I punched the bird (SU) from brown cardstock.  I added watercolour pencil to the branch and the bird and added water to soften the effect.  I added an eye and details to the beak using a black fine tipped marker and coloured the beak with a yellow gel pen. I embossed the wing with D'vine Swirl embossing folder and mounted it to my bird.  I adhered the branch to the background so it would overlap the ribbon a bit and then mounted the bird over it with double sided tape.  I then mounted it to a green layer which I had punched on the bottom with the scallop border punch (SU).  I added an embossed line with my score tool and used a push pin to pierce each scallop.  Next, I mounted this large element to a brown card which I created to fit in the large envelope from my stash.  I found a greeting in my stash which was just the right size so I mounted it below the ribbon on the left hand edge and I like the subtle look of it.    Therese

 

Birthday card featuring blingy candles, ribbon and decorative paper

 I made this card for my Dad who will be 91 in a few days!!!!!!!  He had a fall last week from which he is recovering.  Nothing broken though there were a few stitches.  

I started with a #6 envelope and created a card to fit inside.  I have devised a way of getting two cards of this size from a letter sized sheet of cardstock.  I will include the details in an upcoming post.  I stamped the greeting and the candles (SU) in black on my decorative paper and then added a green ribbon in between securing the ends to the back using double sided tape.  I tied a short piece onto to it using one knot to simulate a bow.  I coloured the candles with gel pens and added clear glitter to the flames.  There will be no large celebration due to the restrictions but we will talk to him and let him know we are thinking of him on his special day.  

Therese

Sea glass wind chime for our friends

I have finally prepared this wind chime for our friends who live out east.  We visited their summer place a good many years ago and I collected this sea glass while we were there.  I promised to make them something with the pieces and though it is very late I am very happy with it.  It was my third attempt at securing the sea glass.  I had originally wire wrapped all of the pieces but the wire did not hold up (coloured aluminum) and so I had started over with different wire.  When I revisited that process I was less happy with how they were turning out so I searched online for ways if securing glass without wire.  I found several "new to me" ways and chose to use cording and glue for this project.  I added the marbles at the bottom for a bit of weight.  I found the wire wrapping for them on line - easier than it looks!!  I used a double length of this fish fly wrapping cord and tied double square knots at each stop.  I started at the bottom and tied a set double square knots to secure the marble, left a bit of cording and make another set of double square knots, added the sea glass and then tied another set of double square knots.  I did add ridges to the glass using a drill press and diamond bit so the cording 
 would sit more tightly around the glass.  I just kept tying knots and adding glass until I had created the first row.  I did the same for the next two rows.  I added a little dollop of GOOP at each juncture where the glass and knots met which secured the knots to each other and to the glass.  It is barely noticeable.  The video I watched used E6000 instead.  Once all three were ready I tied them to a little piece of drift wood.  I braided a hanger and added little dollops of GOOP to all those connections as well then trimmed the ends of my cording.  I did add a swivel joint on the hanger which should allow the chime to respond to the wind more easily.  I am happy with how it worked out!!  I will be packaging it and sending it off to them this week!!

Therese 

Christmas cards ready to be delivered

I have refurbished Christmas cards for a local charity.  I will drop them off this week.  There is likely to be a greater need this year with so many choosing to stay home.  I am happy to be able to use my talents and resources to prepare these and grateful for the donation of cards to refurbish.  

Therese
 

Denim coaster set #2

I managed to get another set of denim QAYG coasters made up in the last few days.  I really like how they look and that they are very sturdy with the three layers of denim in them.  The irregular colour of the frayed edges makes them interesting as well.  You can check out how I made them and the other set here.

Therese

 

A birthday card featuring Lego blocks in primary colours, some green mesh ribbon and a layered greeting

I made this card for a special boy having a birthday soon!!  He loves Lego! I created this background a while back and decided to use it for his card.  I watercoloured all the blocks in blue, red and yellow.  Once it was dry, I added a green mesh ribbon and mounted the while thing to a green card.  The greeting (Desert Diva) was laser printed, trimmed, colour washed and then I distressed the edges.  I mounted this element to a red rectangle and then to a bright yellow one echoing the colours of the blocks.  I mounted the layered greeting to the front of my card.  

Therese
 

Denim coasters for gifts

This past week I went looking for a few ideas of small gifts to make for the upcoming Christmas season.  I found several that I will pursue and this is the first one.  It is denim coasters created from denim scraps from worn out jeans.  I found this tutorial at Just Jude which was very helpful in getting the structure of the coasters made.  I really wanted square ones and found several on line with fringed edges so I decided to go in that direction.  I really like the mixture of the different "blue" denims and decided to add a touch of yellow for hope & joy considering that this upcoming season is not likely to be comparable to anything we have had in the past.  

 

I started by collecting a supply of denim pieces from my stash.  It was fun to remember where they all came from. I trimmed strips from my pieces.  After sewing a few I decided I liked to have my stitching lines across the grain so I will  keep that in mind when cutting my next strips.  I cut 4" squares from older denim which I used as a base for my QAYG stitching.  I started with a small piece in the middle and stitched it in place.  Next, I stitched a different strip to one side and folded it back and stitched it down.  I used the half width of my presser foot as a guide. On hindsight, I expect a quarter inch foot would have been better. 

I continued adding strips (some pieced) around all the edges until I had surpassed the edges of my base.  Next, I cut a 4.5" backing piece from newer denim (on lower right in above photo), placed it on the back of my QAYG piece and stitched it in place leaving a 1/4" margin all the way around.  I did go around several times to solidify the coaster and ensure it would be sturdy enough to be washed when necessary. Next, I trimmed the front even with my backing.  The next task is to ravel the edges with a seam ripper or an equivalent tool until the edges are fluffy.  It does take some time but not much attention.  Often threads need to be cut because the fabric was a bit off the grain but those simply need to be cut to the right length to blend into the edge.  I will be making a few more before moving on to the next project!!  Therese

NOEL

 We received this metal letters for Christmas from our daughter a while back and we decided to get them powder coated red for this Christmas season!!!!!!!!  They look fantastic!!  We have mounted them above the door on the back workshop.  They will be blessing us and everyone who travels the adjoining street the whole Christmas season!!  They are about 12" tall.  DH drilled holes for screws in them before we had them powder coated.  The stainless steel screws will live in the holes all year round so there will be no problem finding the screws when it is time to put them up again.  That will keep the water out of the siding during the summer.  I love how they turned out and the cost was very reasonable for powder coating!!    Therese

A birthday card featuring a cute digital greeting with a cupcake, an embossed strip and lots of little ribbon flags

 For this card I first chose the decorative paper and then found a coordinating green card to which I adhered it.  I watercoloured the little cupcake digital greeting (Melonheadz) and added clear glitter with a gel pen and the used a corner rounder on its edges.  I sponged its edges before I mounted it to a coordinating layer which had also been corner rounded.  Next, I embossed a pink strip and then flagged its end.  Then, I added a strip of double sided tape and adhered a whole lot of little ribbon flags to it.  Love little ribbon flags!!  I mounted the strip over my background and then mounted my focal element over the strip using 3D foam tape.            Therese

Cards going to a new home

I have prepared a bag of cards I have refurbished and made for donation that is ready to be dropped off!!  I love that these wonderful creations get at least one more chance at blessing others as they have me.   I always put inserts in my cards so that others can refurbish them and reuse them.  

Therese

Birthday card featuring a paper pieced background, a digital sailboat image, a small greeting and ribbon flags

Another family birthday card!!

This one started with a deep blue green card and I added a paper pieced background to loosely simulate a horizon line between sea and sky.  I watercoloured the laser printed image (digital from CLKER), mounted it to a yellow layer and added a little birthday greeting (stamped and trimmed) and three little ribbon flags - red, green and yellow.  I mounted this large focal element to my card using 3D foam tape.  I am really enjoying my paper piecing from the scraps of my crafting.  So much more interesting than one single colour!!

Therese

All Occasion cards for my exchange partners featuring collage paper backgrounds, punchies and stitching

I wanted to try something new when I was creating my Card Exchange cards so I decided to try a new way of making collage backgrounds - a hybrid between serendipity and the ones I have been making by adhering pieces together with tape on the back.  I started with a sheet of printed bond paper and started gluing paper scraps to it.  After filling the sheet I felt the collage needed more texture and interest so I glued on torn strips and pieces here and there at angles.  That was better!!  The cards I was using as inspiration had stitched punchies on them so that is what I added next.  I trimmed my backgrounds to fit on the ivory cards I cut to fit into my large envelopes.  

For my first card I chose 1 3/8" circles from my stash and arranged them on my background.  I played with all sorts and finally settled on red and white.  I embossed them with two different embossing folders, added a bit of glue in behind so they would stay in place and then used my sewing machine to  stitch across the lines.  That worked quite well.  I added a yellow handmade paper circle and a little green star to one of the circles to create a focal element.  Liked that!! 

For my second card, I trimmed my background to fit on my large ivory card.  I added green lace to the back of a green strip with torn edges and placed it across my background.  Next, I added three embossed heart punchies (SU) and stitched them in place with my sewing machine.  I die cut some smaller hearts from some green/gold paper and glued those in place over the larger hearts.  That was good!!

For my third card (below) I created my collaged background directly on my card front.  It is a little harder to get the pieces to be exactly the right size but in the end you only see the edges so whether they line up in the middle does not really matter.  I cut a piece of yellow cardstock just the right size to fit 12 1 3/8" circle punchies.  I chose white, red and warm red punchies and embossed them with three different embossing folders.  I used a bit of glue on the back to keep them in position and used my sewing machine to stitch them into place.  Liked that!  I adhered it to my card front over my background and decided to do something different to fill in the extra area on the right.  I punched little V's using my chevron punch (SU) from red cardstock and adhered them in place.  Liked that!!  I added an embossed 1.25" yellow circle punchie onto one of the red circles and added a tiny red star to the middle.  Really happy with this card too!!  The circles are very bold in solid colours.  My inspiration cards had been the opposite - decorative paper punchies on solid cardstock - and therefore more subtle.   Will try that next time!!  These are off in next week's mail!!

Therese

 

A birthday card featuring layers, a cute little digital greeting and beautiful fabric ribbon

For this birthday card I started with the pink card and then found the flourished decorative paper.  While digging in my stash for my last card I found this beautiful fabric ribbon which I auditioned in quite a few ways on this paper until I came upon this arrangement.  After trimming to both to size I adhered the ends to the decorative paper over the blue which just peeks out from the top and bottom.  Really like how that worked out.  I did a custom edging on the greeting using a Cuttlebug tag die.  I trimmed my greeting to the width of the tag and then I laid my cutting plate to just cut 1/8" on the left hand edge and then did the same on the right hand side to give me two slots and the nice rounded corners of the tag.  Fun!!  I watercoloured the butterfly kisses greeting (Melonheadz) and added clear glitter with a gel pen. I gave it an interesting background using a  pink decorative label punchie in pink and adding vellum half circles (1") to each end to create some contrast and texture.   I strung this embellished greeting on white ribbon and added that to the top fabric ribbon and then tied on a short piece using a single knot to simulate a bow.  After adjusting the greeting on the ribbon I secured it in place with two small pieces of 3D foam tape.  I really like how this one turned out!!!    Therese
 

All occasion cards featuring reused images from stationery

I found a set of older stationery in my stash that worked perfectly for creating slimline cards in #8 envelopes.  Love it when a plan comes together so well.  I cut my card fronts and then trimmed the images to suit the card.  Mostly, I had to just trim the images to fit the card and adhere it to the fronts. For the one that needed a bit more I used a border punch and some ribbon and on a few I used my score tool to add some embossed lines on the sides.  These are off  to a volunteer organization that supports the vulnerable. Therese 

All occasion cards featuring lemons, chickens, peppers and pumpkins layered with backgrounds and embossed strips

 

I found these images in my stash a while back and thought they would make nice cards.  I think they were originally place cards - there was a portion above the image that was die cut and folded to the back and the front features a large open space where a name could be added.  I trimmed off the back folding piece and then fussy cut off any portion of the black line that had not been cut off in the die cutting process.  I found some smaller envelopes in my stash which worked well for the layout I had in mind.  I cut the cards and backgrounds, added embossed strips that coordinated and then tied ribbon or fiber to them.  I assembled them one at a time after all the supplies were ready to go.  They are so cute!!

I will be donating them to a local group that support the vulnerable.  

Therese