Slow Stitching - embellished leaves for an art quilt cooperative project

I belong to a Grandmothers to Grandmothers  group who is participating in the construction of an art quilt to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Stephen Lewis Foundation.  I have volunteered to make some leaves for the quilt.  It will depict a women in a tree that represents grandmothers who have provided strength, nurturing and shelter for those in their communities.  

I have cut five leaves from felted wool which my daughter felted a while back and donated to me for projects.  It provided the heft of fabric which I needed to support the embellishing I wanted to add with embroidery thread and beads.   I really like the mottled look of the wool which resembles leaves and I have added beads by incorporating them into the blanket stitch I added all the way around.  I used chain stitch, stab stitch and back stitch to add details inside the leaves along with a few sequins.  A couple days of slow stitching and I love how they all worked out!!!  Therese

All Occasion Card featuring watercoloured trees on handmade paper, eyelets and cording

Another simply elegant all occasion card!!  I watercoloured the trees (Magenta).  This element was created by placing a piece of stamped white tissue paper over the wet pulp and then couching as usual!!  The texture is really nice!! I added the two half circles to the back of my image, added eyelets and then strung silver cord through them.  I adhered the main image to my pale blue background paper and then secured the ends to the back of my background.  After pressing, I can see the ends from the front which is unfortunate.   I could have been more strategic had I been aware of this consequence but it is what it is!!  Beautiful none the less!!  Therese
 

All Occasion Card featuring embossed & watercoloured butterfly, ribbon and a hand decorated background

A more monochromatic look for this all occasion card!!  The dragonfly (Magenta) was silver embossed on white tissue paper and embossed into the handmade paper during the couching process.  I love the texture!!  I watercoloured the dragonfly to coordinate with my hand decorated background (sanding and wax resist).   I found these two pieces in my stash - they must have been part of a circle at one time - and punched them with the slot punch (SU) and then adhered them to the back of my dragonfly.  I added two pieces of lilac organza ribbon into the slots and then glued this large element to my background.  I tucked the ends of the ribbons to the back and secured them with double sided tape.  I then adhered this large element to my gray card!!  Subtle and elegant!! Therese
 

All Occasion Card featuring hand decorated background, embossed circles and ribbon and watercoloured trees

This all occasion card has a dark green card with a hand decorated paper background (sanding and wax resist)  I watercoloured the trees (Magenta) using glitter on the snowflakes in the sky and shimmery watercolour on the snow at the bottom.  I added three pewter eyelets and inserted three little pieces of ribbon in green, yellow and red.  I just added glue to the back of the ribbon and glued it to the handmade paper on the front and the back.  I embossed the half circles with Swiss Dots and then adhered them to the back of the trees element.  I mounted the focal element with 3D foam tape.  The trees image was embedded into the handmade paper in the couching process.  Really textured look!! Therese
 

All Occasion Card featuring a watercoloured light house, ribbon and circles on a hand decorated background

For this all occasion card I started with a navy blue card and added a hand decorated background (watercolour and plastic wrap).  I watercoloured the light house, added a pewter eyelet and then threaded a navy ribbon in and out and tied with with a double knot.  I did add some paper piercing with my pattern tracing wheel before adding the ribbon.    I added some circle punchies in red (embossed - Dvine Swirl - CB) and navy (pierced) at the top and bottom.    Therese
 

All Occasion Card featuring handmade paper floral image, ribbon and decorative background

Another card for my stash!!  This one started with peach card to which I added a colour printed decorative paper (SU).  I watercoloured the flowers (Magenta) to coordinate and added several ribbon flags on the right hand side before adding it to my card front using 3D foam tape.  I did do some paper piercing on all four sides with my pattern tracing wheel before adding the flags.  This focal element was created during the papermaking process by laying a stamped piece of white tissue paper onto the wet pulp on the screen and couching as usual.  I really love the effect!!  Therese

 

Thank you card with a little leaf on handmade paper, hand written greeting and a gold tie

This card also reused a card front - one of mine from years ago that I gave away and came back with a wonderful message inside.  It is going out again!!!

It features a little square of handmade paper, a little pressed leaf and a little gold thread tie.  The greeting below was done by hand with a gold gel pen and traced on a light table using a printed font.  Have not done that in quite a while though I really do like the look of it.  

Therese
 

All Occasion Card featuring an embossed leaf, layered circles, ribbon and hand decorated background

I am making up some cards for my stash to be used as needed so they will all be without greetings.  

This one started with a dark green card and I chose a hand decorated background (sanding and wax resist) from my stash.  I found the leaf in my stash as well (Magenta) and watercoloured it to coordinate.  I ran my pattern tracing wheel on all four sides to add some texture.  I wanted to add a bit of something else so I had my little container of circle die cut/punchies and thought I would see if I could make some of them work.  I layered two halfs for the top and bottom and added a pewter eyelet.  I glued them to the back of my leaf and then attached this large element to my card front using 3D foam tape.  I then threaded green ribbon through the eyelets and glued the ends to the back of my decorative paper.  I glued this larger element to my card front.  The silver embossing is subtle but quite effective when you move the card a bit.  

This leaf element was created in the process of making handmade paper by placing a piece of white tissue paper which has been stamped and embossed right onto the wet sheet of paper and then couching as usual.  The process embeds the tissue paper into the handmade paper.  Works really well!!  Therese
 

All Occasion Card Kits - a colourful background, an embossed strip and a blingy tea pot

The final set of card kits for my friend.  These ones again are variety in theme and colours. 

For this one I added a little blingy teapot sticker to a green die cut and layered it with a dark brown scalloped circle (Nestibilities).  I added a full size background of decorative paper and then added an embossed strip of coordinating cardstock.  

I am sure she will enjoy putting together her cards and will make them her own as she does!!

Therese
 

All Occasion Card Kits - background with a coordinating embellished photo

This is the sample for the second set of cards for my friend.  Quick and easy!!  I added a decorative paper background to my deep red card and then added my embellished photo of  pussy willows with 3D foam tape!!  The photo is from a photo calendar my sister, Sylvia, gave me for Christmas.  She does such wonderful photography and it is so easy to reuse them in my cards!!  I trimmed the photo to size, trimmed top and bottom with scallop decorative scissors and then used a push pin to pierce each scallop.  Ran my pattern tracing wheel on all four sides to add yet more texture.  Again, these are all the same sketch but a variety of images and colours.  

Therese

All Occasion Card Kits - a flag, embossed strip and a layered flower embellishment

I have been working on card kits for a friend who is an avid card maker!!!  

This set of eight has all sorts of embellishments and a variety of colours.  I made this one up for her so she would have a sample to go by though she is very creative and will no doubt do her own thing!!!

I started with a blue card and added a layer of decorative paper.  I cut the flag from a scrap of blue.  I created the floral embellishment using a variety of die cuts - some from my stash.  I layered them and then added a little star brad to the center to hold them together.  I auditioned both of these on my card front to make sure there was room for the flower and then glued them into place.  I used 3D foam tape on the flower.  I layered two pieces of  coordinating cardstock and embossed them before adding this element over the top of the flag.  There is still room to add a greeting and I have included a good variety which she can add as she wishes.   Therese
 

Thank you card featuring a beautiful pink flower and a few layers

This thank you card features a reused card front with a wonderful greeting and beautiful image.  I trimmed it to size and layered it with a rectangle of black cardstock and then added that to a pink card front!!!

I did run my pattern tracing wheel around the edges for a bit of texture before gluing it all together!!

Therese
 

Slow Stitching - Corner fabric bookmarks

We were away for a bit and just before I left I put together some fabric bookmarks to slow stitch along the way!! They

are made up of two squares of fabric - one 4" square and one 3" square.  I folded the 3" one in half diagonally and then folded the 4" one diagonally as well leaving a margin on two sides and a folded triangle just slightly larger than the three inch one which allows the front one to more easily catch the corner of a page.  I made a prototype before sourcing precut fabric squares from my stash.  I matched up colours and designs which worked well together.  I pressed them all and pinned together the partners to keep them organized.  I managed to get only about half of them stitched.  I used running stitch and embroidery floss to stabilize the triangles I had pressed.  

Once back home I sewed them together.  I pinned the smaller triangle to the larger one and then pressed the margins in half and the bottom corners in to facilitate sewing them together.  This allows, for the most part, to hide all the raw edges.  It took a bit to stitch the topmost of the bookmark with all the layers so I trimmed off a small triangle off the top to reduce the bulk of the seam.  I folded in one corner and started sewing there.  Halfway up the side, I took the time to fold and pin the top point which made

sewing that section much easier.  Once down the other side I again folded the other bottom corner in and sewed the last of the seam with some back stitching to finish it off.  

This is how it looks sewn and pressed.  Looks quite good on the corner of this piece of cardstock though I discovered that some of my stitches caught a bit on the corner when inserting the piece into the bookmark.  Not the best for a bookmark that will be used a lot.  So I decided to machine stitch a few and these were quite a bit easier to apply to the corner of a page.  I like that they are quite visible in a book but do not interfere in the management of it.  For example - works well for putting a book back on the shelf or packing it into a book bag.  

Here are all the ones I have managed to make up!!  I think I will be finishing off the remaining ones with the sewing machine as it gives a better finish and is so much more time efficient.  It was a fun experiment and it was a nice small project for taking with me on our trip.  It would be fun to personalize these by using aida and cross stitch on the front and themed fabric on the back.  They make a nice little gift for a reader!!! 

I am sharing this post on Kathy's Quilts - Slow Sunday Stitching!!

Take a break and check out the fun projects others have posted!!

Therese
 

Birthday card featuring washi tape for the candles and the background

Another family birthday card!!  I used washi tape for the background. Layered several different black and white washi tapes over a black and white text paper I had in my stash.  I tore the piece I created into three strips and then adhered them to the front of my large red card.  I used three different washi tapes to create the candles on my focal element.  I stamped the greeting first and then added six candles including wicks added with a fine tipe Sharpie marker. I added the red ribbon over the bottom ends and flames at the tops.  The flames were created using the wing of the bird punch from Stampin UP.  I distressed their edges and then watercoloured them to look more realistic.  I added a little gold charm to the ribbon to echo its gold edging.  Because it still needed a bit of something I added a dashed border around the edge of this large element.  That was enough!!!  Therese
 

Slow Stitching - a crocheted custom cover for a USB charging cord

I took on this slow stitching project for one of my grandson's birthday.  Needless to say that charging cords are always in demand with so many devices and with them all looking very much the same it is hard to tell if it is "your" cord or not and they disappear regularly from anywhere in the house to where they are most in need.  So for his birthday I crocheted a cover for a regular black charging cord using variegated thread which his Mom gave me a while back because it was too thick for her use.  It worked perfectly for this project.  I tied the cording to one end and then incorporated the end inside the single crochets as I began the cover in the cyan colour.  I progress through aquamarine, yellow and finished off with orange which I tied off and used a needle to thread the end into the stitching!! Everyone will know which cord is his!!!  

I am posting this project to Kathy's Quilts - Slow Sunday Stitching.  There is always so much eye candy there so take a break and check out the stitching projects!!           Therese

 

Birthday card featuring a tall birthday cake, ribbon and a fun tag

My second card for my card exchange partners!!  For this one, I used a couple of pieces of hand decorated paper (acrylic paint and glitter) which I taped together and then added fiber (dyed dryer sheet) with a glittery coordinating rickrack over it.  I watercoloured the cake and then added clear glitter gel pen to colour the icing.  I ran my pattern tracing wheel on all four sides.  I created a large coordinating tag using blue scraps and then punched a slot on both ends.  I mounted it to my card with 3D foam tape then ran green ribbon through the slots and tucked the ends to the back of the background and secured using double sided tape.  I add my cake to the tag using 3D foam tape as well.  Therese
 

Birthday card featuring a beautiful piece of cake, ribbon and an embossed serendipity background

One of the cards I made for this month's card exchange.  I started with the serendipity background in green and pinks - my favorite colour combo!! It is nice and subtle because I covered it over with white tissue paper as a final layer.  I embossed it with the birthday embossing folder (CB) and then highlighted the raised surfaces with light green ink.  I added two lengths of pink ribbon - organza overlaid with a satin across the background.  The piece of cake (Wiki Clipart) was laser printed and watercoloured.  I rounded the corners with a corner rounder and then created a tag in green which I embossed with script.  I added pink and ivory organza ribbon in the slot I punched (SU) then secured them with a pink staple.  I layered the cake over the tag using 3D foam tape and then adhered the tag to my card front using 3D foam tape as well. 

Therese

Birthday card featuring mushrooms, a fun greeting and a collage background

I made this card for one of my grandsons who loves his cat and likes words that sound a bit edgy - like shiitake!!  The mushroom & cat  (Kisspng/Cleanpng) were colour printed and trimmed out of the large sheet.  I ran my pattern tracing wheel on all four sides.  I layered it onto kraft cardstock which has border a punched border and an embossed line.  I used a medium brown for my card and created a collage background on it which I glued into place one piece at a time.  I chose a dark green strip, embellished it with pewter eyelets and the adhered it in place using double sided tape.  I used 3D foam tape to adhere my large focal element to my card front.  

Therese

 

All Occasion Card - double stamped vellum in a frame with a layered poinsettia embellishment

For my last card I went with a Christmas theme and used a poinsettia to stamp my vellum.  I used red on the back and embossed the frame with a poinsettia embossing folder (SU).  I added the white bond on the back to avoid seeing the gap in the background.  I created a large red card and then trimmed a coordinating background a little short so I could tear it in two which would leave a gap of red.  I mounted the framed vellum with 3D foam tape over the gap.  I was lucky enough to find these punchie/die cut elements in my little stash of flower shapes.  I cut apart the green one to create leaves and layered the two red ones and adhered them with three antique gold tiny brads.  Really happy how well it turned out.  Added it to my frame with 3D foam tape.  Therese
 

All occasion card featuring a watercolured fall cabin scene over a collage background

I am working on cards for special occasions for my family!!  This one started with a dark green card to which I glued elements to create a fun background with a variety of papers with different textures.  Really like how it turned out!!  I watercoloured my little landscape with a cabin (publicdomainvectors org) to reflect the fall season.  When it was dry, I added some paper piercing with my pattern tracing wheel and three eyelets and then tied coordinating fiber to them.  I mounted it to a coordinating layer, punched the bottom with my scallop border punch (SU) then punched each scallop with a small hole.  To finish it off I added an embossed line using my score tool.  I mounted my focal element to my card using 3D foam tape.    Therese