Large birthday card that features a butterfly die cut, ribbon and splashes of glitter

I am working on January birthdays and this one is for my youngest sister!! 
I started with peach envelope and created an off white card to fit in it.  I had a used card sitting on my desk that I was inspired to use.  I featured this large die cut opening of a butterfly.  The original card had a string of butterflies mounted in the opening which I removed and strung onto my patio screen and I have enjoyed it for several years there especially in the summer when the breeze was blowing.  I decided to trim one of the large butterflies from the string to use on this card.  I trimmed the panel to fit on my card, added a ribbon across the top and a little laser printed punchie greeting (SU) which I watercolour to coordinate.  I watercoloured the card front in blue to create a background for my butterfly and embossed with D'vine Swirl (CB) embossing folder.  Unfortunately, I was not paying enough attention and it also embossed the outside edge.  I did run a bone folder over the embossing in an effort to remove it.  It worked a bit but I liked this card enough to just forge ahead and make it happen.  I glued my large panel to my embellished card front.  I glued the string to the back and added 3D foam tape before positioning it in the opening over the embossed space.  Love it!!  I added dots of pink glitter glue to coordinate with the antennae and set it aside to dry. I am really pleased with how it turned out!!!!!!!!!  Therese

Anniversary card with a gift wrap background, seam binding and some punchie hearts

I am working on cards for my family's special occasions!!  An anniversary card for my sister!! 
I started with a large blue envelope and made a blue card to fit inside.  I layered on a piece of beautiful gift wrap that coordinated nicely.  Digging through my stash looking for a white heart shaped paper doily I found this wonderful embossed gift wrap and decided to use it instead.  I cut one panel from the piece which was saved off of a gift a while back and layered it with the same cardstock as the card.  I glued it on my card front using glue stick.  I added a length of coordinating vintage seam binding overlapping my little square and a bit offset.  I added two heart punchies (SU) from my stash in silver and one stamped one (SU) in a delicate dot pattern.  I mounted them over the square using 3D foam tape.  The greeting (Bird's Cards) was laser printed and them punched with the large oval punch (SU).  I sponged the edges to coordinate before mounting it below the square with 3D foam tape.  It still needed a bit of something to I tied a short length of seam binding to the one on the card using a single knot.  Nicely simulates a bow and was just what this card needed to finish it off!! It is off to my sister and her DH in today's mail!!!!!  Therese

Large Christmas cards that feature ornament gift wrap, luxurious ribbon and embossed angel images

This is my final set of cards featuring this wonderful ornament gift wrap in reds, kraft and gold!!  For these two I created red cards that fit in large red cards which I picked out of my stash and added the panels of trimmed gift wrap before proceeding.  I added a length of the luxurious gold ribbon to each of them and tucked the ends to the inside securing them with double sided tape.  The images were stamped and embossed a while back and I found them in my stash!!  I ripped their edges, applied a bit of gold pigment ink and then embossed them in gold.  I mounted them to my card fronts using 3D foam tape and overlapped them over the ribbon.   I think the images were stamped in red and gold pigment ink and embossed with clear embossing powder and I really love the textured look of these cards!!     I have sixteen Christmas cards made already this year!!!!!!!!  Therese

Large Christmas cards that feature fun ornament gift wrap, angel images and layered laser printed greetings

Another set of Christmas cards!!!!!!!!!!!!  What fun I have been having!! Stash busting at its best!!

I have chosen large red envelopes from my stash and created red cards that fit in them.  I trimmed the decorative paper from gift wrap that came wrapped around our gifts during this holiday season.  The non creased sections were trimmed out and used to make these backgrounds.    I love the kraft, reds and gold colour combination.  

For the card on the left, I used a stamped angel image (SU) from my stash.  I coloured it with shimmery watercolours in red, brown and gold.  I layered it with gold and red cardstock, mounted it to my embellished card front and added a layered oval greeting with 3D foam tape.  The greeting is laser printed and punched (SU) then layered onto a red scalloped oval punchie (SU).  

For the card on the right, I also used an angel image from my stash.  This one had been stamped and gold embossed which really worked with this paper.  I coloured it with shimmery watercolours in red, gold and brown.  I layered the image in a coordinating dark red cardstock and glued it to my embellished card front.  I mounted a laser printed oval punchie greeting (SU) over a scalloped oval punchie in red and mounted it overlapping my image using 3D foam tape.  It has to be a record to have this many Christmas card made so early in the new year!!    I will try to keep it up so I can have my cards made well in time for Christmas this year!!        Therese

Another couple large Christmas cards that feature stamped & embossed images, gift wrap and textured elements

For the next set of large Christmas cards that feature this wonderful kraft ornament paper I made cards from red cardstock to fit the envelopes and adhered the trimmed decorative paper to them.  For the one on the left, I chose a gold embossed image of three trees (Magenta) from my stash that coordinated with the paper, coloured them with gold shimmery watercolour and distressed the edges all the way around.  I found the stamped greeting in my stash as well.  I trimmed it to size and flagged the right hand side before mounting it to my card front.  I decided to echo the ornament theme by adding a small ornament die cut (SX) which I embellished with a circle punchie which I embossed using an ornament embossing folder. Worked perfectly!!  I added a length of gold embroidery thread to hang it.  I adhered it over the greeting using 3D foam tape and glued the ends of the thread to the inside of the card using double sided tape.  I mounted the image with 3D foam tape to intersect with the thread and the greeting by putting it at a bit of an angle.  

For the one on the right, I used a poinsettia image combined with a tiny greeting (SU) which was gold embossed from my stash.  I used shimmery watercolours to paint the image.  Love the effect!!  I layered it onto coordinating cardstock and mounted it with 3D foam tape over a piece of luxurious gold ribbon which I mounted to the front of my card adhering the ends to the inside using double sided tape.  It has been much fun to create these large cards and using up some of my large envelope stash.   Therese

Large Christmas cards that feature beautiful gift wrap, luxurious ribbon and a layered ornament

I am working on another batch of large Christmas cards using gift wrap that arrived wrapped around our gift this season.  I love this one with its kraft background and the red and gold ornaments.  For these two cards started with the red envelopes and created red cards to fit.  I trimmed the "good" part of the gift wrap and and then cut panels that would fit on my card fronts with a bit of a border all the way around.  I trimmed and mounted lengths of this beautiful gold ribbon which was wrapped around a gift a few years ago and tucked the ends to the inside of the card and secured them with double sided tape.  I found the two ornament die cuts (SX) in my stash along with the Santa die cuts which were leftover from a previous project had been trimmed from used Christmas cards.  I embossed the ornaments with the Swiss Dot embossing folder (CB), gold embossed the top section using gold embossing powder and mounted the Santa images centered on the round part.  I used coordinating crochet thread to create a hanger and secured the ends inside the card using another piece of double sided tape and used 3D foam tape to secure the ornaments to my card front.   The layered greetings were created using items from my stash - stamped Noel (Quietfire Designs) oval punchies which I layered onto red scalloped oval punchies (SU).  I mounted these just to the right of the focal elements and overlapping the ribbon using 3D foam tape.  Really happy with the way these turned out!!!

Therese

Large Christmas cards that feature fun Santas, ribbon and a custom punched greeting

A few more Christmas cards from my pile of leftover Christmas gift wrap.  I was very careful when I unwrapped the gift from my son because I just loved these cute Santas on the silver background.  I managed to get four panels that were not wrinkled so I worked with those.  I chose large envelopes and made white cards to fit.  I cut red cardstock panels for the fronts and then trimmed my panels to fit with a small margin on each side.  I found the greetings in my stash (Desert Diva) so I trimmed them to size and then used the scraps from the red layers to layer them.  I cut the red layer a bit long and trimmed the one end with my Decorative Label punch (SU) by inserting it from the back so I could cut only one edge.  I love the lovely finish it gives to my greetings.  I punched a hole and inserted some black ribbon and adhered the greeting to the front of my card with 3D foam tape featuring one Santa nicely.  Next, I adhered the ends to the back of the panel before gluing this large element to the front of my white card.  Love these cards!!!!!!!!  Therese

Birthday card with an inked background, ribbon and a stamped focal element

I made this card for my sister in law whose birthday has crept up on me so I am sending it off tomorrow with a little prayer that it will arrive in time!!!!! 
I started with a large white envelope and made a white card to fit.  I found an inky background I created a while back using glossy photo paper and found some coordinating cardstock which I trimmed to have even borders on my white card.  The inky background was not going to be tall enough so I just trimmed it a piece off which will allow me to add something in the space.   I die cut an opening in the top portion, stamped a silhouette branch and birds image (SU) in blue ink on white and mounted it behind.  I added a bit of texture with a little squiggly stamp using light gray ink and then mounted my background to the blue layer.   I added a piece of silver satin ribbon in the space I created by cutting off a piece.  I could have trimmed the bottom section a bit wider but I think this works.  I added a punchie (SU) greeting which I had laser printed (Desert Diva) and to balance the words I sponged the bottom edge.  I masked it off with another punchie and applied blue ink until it was fairly dark.  Bonus - it makes the greeting dimensional as well.  I mounted it over the ribbon using 3D foam tape.  Feeling like it still needed a bit of something I added three little clear rhinestones on the ribbon and that worked really well.  Finished!!  In the mail tomorrow!!!            Therese

A large thank you card that features a delicate die cut, ribbon and a beautiful greeting

This card is for a special person who has been integral in getting a project I have been a part of off the ground by donating his precious time. 
I started with a large envelope and cut an ivory card to fit inside.  I found some scraps of this beautiful colour printed decorative paper (Morgue File) which I cut up and mounted to a layer of brown cardstock just a little smaller than my card front.  I die cut this embossed border (Spellbinders) and threaded through a coordinating green ribbon and adhered the ends to the back using double sided tape.  I added clear rhinestones to the top of each embossed section.  The greeting is one I created with the NOEL font and laser printed.  I trimmed it to size and then watercoloured the letters in green.  I mounted the greeting to a piece of the same brown cardstock I used for the background and mounted it using 3D foam tape.  I adhered this large layer to my ivory card front.  Very pleased with how this worked out!!  Most appreciate it when others offer their help with time and resources!!!  Therese

Subtle neutral background embellished with gold embossed mesh and a twine nest

 Have been working with a few others on a project for a while and we are now almost finished.  I have made this card for one of the people who have donated time and materials to help us get this project off the ground. 
I started with a large envelope and cut an ivory card to fit inside.  I mounted two scraps of this beautiful gray and pale yellow decorative paper (SU) on the front.  I trimmed a scrap of brown cardstock to size, distressed the top and bottom and then added a piece of gold embossed mesh to it using four square brads in gold.  I mounted this element over where the two pieces joined on the front.  The laser printed greeting punchie (Bird's Cards) I found in my stash and sponged the edge with a bit of brown ink and then mounted it to a kraft scalloped circle punchie (Nestibilities).  I added double sided tape to the back and then wound some kraft cording and gold embroidery thread all around it anchoring them when I could to the back of the greeting.  I added two strips of 3D foam tape to the back and mounted it over the accent strip leaving the "nest" of fiber to find its best place.  Feeling that the edges needed a bit more definition I used a gold gel pen and added faux stitching all around the edges.  That was better!!!   Nothing can really replace a handmade card when you are expressing your appreciation for what others have done for you!!!!!   Therese

Christmas cards that feature gift wrap from this season along with some small greetings

 Having decided that I will be using my supply of non A2 cards for my personal cards this year I have started on the pile of beautiful gift wrap which came with our gifts this year.   I love the fun vintage vehicle one which was floating around at our Christmas gathering this year.  It was very cool!!  I made two cards with that one.  Just added a coordinating layer, gray ribbon and a small layered greeting.  The other two were created from a lovely barn board paper using small gift

 tag elements which came on some of the gifts.  For the top one I die cut the greeting, layered it onto a label and used the front of the tag with the little toque as the main focal element.  Added a bit of stamping and some faux stitching to them before mounting them over the gray ribbon.  For the lower one, I used some coordinating twine I found in my stash and made a bit of nest gluing the ends in the middle and positioned the little greeting over it using 3D foam tape. 

I have a few more pieces of great gift wrap just sitting there waiting to be made up into cards.  I love thse cards!!           Therese

Fun cards that feature an embossed grid filled with hearts and flowers

For my exchange cards this month I decided to work with elements in a grid.  For the card on the left I chose a large envelope and created a white card to fit inside.  I trimmed a pink layer and then used my scoring tool to create a grid of squares.  I picked a piece of scrapbook paper than coordinated and cut 24 little hearts from it using a die (CB).  I positioned the hearts as I cut them and then rearranged a few until I was happy with the layout before gluing them into position.  I found a small greeting in my stash and mounted it with 3D foam tape of the middle of one of the hearts.  Pink and green is one of my favorite colour combinations so I love this card.  For the card on the right, I created the grid right on the white card front which was a bit more challenging because of how large the cardstock was but with a bit of flipping and being careful not to go too far I managed to get the diamond grid made.  I chose these fun flower punchies from my stash and again laid them all out before I glued them into place.  I added iridescent glitter glue to their centers and left them to dry.  I layered this cute greeting (Desert Diva) onto green and then pink which works really well with the flowers.  Once the centers were dry I added a length of blue ribbon and added my greeting over it using 3D foam tape.  I tied a short piece to the left hand side with a single knot to simulate a bow.  These will be off to my partners this week.        Therese

Little cards that feature serendipity die cut labels, blue felt die cuts and silver embellishments

I have decided to use my supply of non A2 envelopes in the making of cards for my personal use this year.  I am using the cute little turquoise ones that were donated to me last year for these.  I made this set  before Christmas.  For these ones I embossed the front using all different embossing folders.  I did cut a piece of mat board to size in order emboss a framed rectangle.  Did not work as well as I would have liked but the edges are softer which works as well.  I used the remaining piece of turquoise serendipity paper I created for the last set and was able to cut all the labels (SX) I needed from it.  Next, I cut white ovals (Nestibilities) that fit perfectly on the labels.  I decorated each oval with some fun elements which I cut from blue felt scraps.  I die cut flowers (CB) from the felt and embellished them with some swirls and leaves (CB) which I cut from green cardstock.  I added silver sequins to the middle of the flowers using silver brads.  I tapped the first one with the hammer to make sure the tangs were well seated and I dimpled the dome.  Decided that I liked the look so did all the others the same.  For the heart ones, I die cut a smaller heart from foil cardstock and attached them together with small coloured staples.  I glued the flowers and hearts to the ovals and then adhered those elements to the labels before adhering these large elements to my embossed card fronts using 3D foam tape.  Pretty happy with how these worked out.  I will be using these for thanking those who blessed with gifts over the holiday season!!           Therese

First Birthday card of the new year

My brother's birthday is in early January and I should really learn to make his card in early December so it is ready to be mailed to arrive on time.  I am hoping it made it this year!!!  I used a piece of scrap paper which I created in an effort to not waste paint when I was working on other projects this past year.  I just haul out a piece of white paper and keep adding paint until I am happy with it.  Sometimes it takes several sessions to get it to be "right".  I cut the paper to size, layered onto orange and then onto a large white card.  I am hoping to make good use of my large envelopes this year in the creation of my family cards.  I added a sign post (TH) which I die cut from white core black card, embossed and then sanded a bit to age it.  It still needed a bit of something so I added some silver ink which did the trick.  I used kraft cording to tie the chalkboard greeting to the sign and then glued this large element to my card front.  I used 3D foam tape behind the greeting to give it a bit of dimension.  Love the colours of this one!!          Therese

Felted wool garland

I have been playing with felted wool this Christmas season in order to get a few gifts made.  I made these felted wool coasters last week.  I have been investigating what can be done with small scraps and found this idea on line - a garland made with felted wool circles!!  This was very fun to make though it did take a while to cut all the little circles using a die (SX) and my Big Shot.  I used 6 colours - light blue, green, yellow, dark blue, purple and red.  I cut about 60 ( 1" ) of each colour and then stitched them together in the same sequence using strong green thread in my sewing machine.  The actual sewing took much less time than the cutting but I am very happy with the way it turned out.  I did add a red ribbon tie on each end just to finish it off nicely.  It does allow it to be tied to the holder and will prevent tangling.  It is about 10 yards long so will certainly make a reasonable garland for a tree or a birthday party or any sort of celebration!!      Therese

Large cards for my sister using her stash!

 I will be seeing my sister this coming week at our family Christmas celebration so I took some time yesterday to make her a few cards.  She came over about three years ago and brought along a load of supplies for cardmaking.  We made a few but upon leaving she opted to leave the supplies and I promised to make her some card with the supplies.  I am not sure how many cards I have made for her but she seems OK with getting some every now and then and the supplies are out of her house.

 These were created using supplies on hand.  The top green and pick one was a commercial card which I had to cut apart on the bottom to make it have the right proportions so I added a ribbon and a layered decorative flower accent.  The green and orange on on the right was the perfect size so I simply glued the card front to a card and I was done!! 
The card with the flowers in the cup had to be cut apart because the greeting was too wide.  I trimmed the edged of the card using my scallop border punch, pierced each scallop and then glued them to a dark green card front.  I added a yellow ribbon and a little laser printed punchie greeting which I watercoloured to coordinate with the flowers.  The teal one with the feature was a bit short but I could not trim it so I added copper accents on the top and bottom and mounted the whole thing to a dark brown card front.  The current greeting is current but it is completely adhered using 3D foam tape of a very sturdy nature so I opted to leave it instead of ruining this beautiful card. 

 For the one on the left I used a piece of scrapbook paper that featured this cute little pig.  I cut it to fit on my red card and then wanting to add a greeting I found the one I had trimmed off the flower card!!  Perfect colour!!  So I created a dark green layer for it.  I trimmed both sides with my scallop scissor, pierced each scallop then embossed it.  I glued little coordinating ribbon ends to the back before adhering the strip to the top of my card.  I finished it off by gluing the greeting over the it using double sided tape.  Perfect!!
For the last two, I reused calendar pages!!  The floral one I trimmed to fit the width of the card and then added a strip of green embossed cardstock to the bottom.  I added a length of yellow ribbon gluing both ends to the back of the layer.  I glued this large element to a blue card front.  I watercoloured a little oval punchie greeting and then mounted it over the ribbon using 3D foam tape. 

For this last one, I trimmed the page to fit the width of the card in the same manner but instead of adding at just the bottom I trimmed two strips of brown card that would fill the gaps.  I embossed them using a tape measure embossing folder - the first time I have used it though it has been in my possession for a few years!!  I love the way they look!!  I adhered them to the top and bottom of my image and then glued this large element to my red card front.  I found this stamped greeting in my stash, sponged its edges just a bit with brown ink and them added the red cording before adhering it to my card front using 3D foam tape.  I used a hole punch to make a small hole on the spine of my card so I could string my cording all the way around the front and then tied it on the front to the right of my greeting. 

Really happy with how well these all turned out!!!  Only a few more sleeps before Christmas!!           Therese

Fabric packaging for a set of cards

I created a set of small cards for a gift and was wanting to wrap them nicely.  I have been doing this sort of folded packaging using squares of paper and it has not worked out quite as well as I would like so I got the idea from a posting on Crafsters to try fabric circles instead.  The posting was for snack packaging using waterproof fabric to wrap a sandwich.  It was nice and neat and just seemed so clever.  So I decided to give a go and see if it would work for packaging cards with a few modifications.  I did a little math and decided that a 13" circle should accommodate the little stack of cards I had

created so I went looking for a piece of fabric which I was willing to sacrifice in case it did not work out.  I used a sturdy 100% cotton fabric sample that I have had for quite a long time.  It perfectly accommodated a 13"circle!!  So I cut the circle and then stitched all the way around three times.  Once I tied off the threads and snipped them I ruffled the edge to loosen as many threads as I could.  I used my scissors to trim off the loose ones without cutting into my stitching.  I found a coordinating piece of 3/8" satin ribbon and cut a piece about 18" long and stitched it to the center back of the circle.  I placed the stack of cards in the center of the circle with the ribbon on the back, folded the right hand side over the cards and then the left hand side over it.  Next, the bottom up and then the top down over it.  I brought the two ribbon ends to the front and tied them into a bow.   A very nice package!!!  I expect these sort of packaging could be used for any small gift but it wrapped these little cards perfectly!!  This environmentally friendly packaging will hopefully be saved and reused many more times!!!  Due to its size it is also a stash buster!!!                Therese

Cards as a gift feature serendipity die cuts, stamped backgrounds and embossed focal areas on small cards

 I was gifted some beautiful turquoise envelopes and have been working on finding a way to make cards that fit in them that coordinated as well as worked with their smaller size.  Overnight, I decided that if I created a serendipity collage that coordinated I would be able to die cut my focal elements.  So I made up this serendipity collage background and let it dry.  

 Next, I needed to work out the size of the cards (3.5" x 4 7/8") which I cut from white cardstock.  Wanting to highlight the die cuts I decided to use my Nestibilities circle dies to emboss a circle frame on the front which I have not done in quite a while but I did find my embossing mat and made up well over a dozen little cards.  Once they were embossed I wanted to stamp an all over design to coordinate with the envelopes and the serendipity die cuts.  I chose the Worn (SU) stamp and it took a few goes to get the ink colour right but then it was fairly quick to get them all done.  So the next thing was to get some die cuts which would stand on their own without greetings.  After a perusal of my dies I came up with these - a daisy (SX red), a butterfly(SX black), TH bird (TH), flower with a stem (Sizzlets), butterfly (SU Embosslit), tipsy heart (SX red), layered flower (CB), heart (Sizzlet strip) and bird (paisley on Sizzlet strip). 

For several of them I used silver cardstock to coordinate.  For the butterflies I used silver cord to make their antenna and I added fun bling to the flower with a stem and the larger heart.  The paisley so easily makes a little bird by adding a tiny black brad, a black cardstock beak and some legs just drawn in with a black marker.  I added two little green branches (MS) to the layered flower.  
I am super happy with how they all turned out and I will be packaging these cute little cards up to pass back to the person who gifted me the envelopes.            Therese

Christmas gifts - bento bag tea cozy and potholders

I created this bento bag tea cozy for my son and his fiance for Christmas.  I usually give him Christmas food - baking, meat pie, etc but he will be overseas this year and bringing food with him was not practical.  I asked for a few suggestions and a tea cozy came up.  Having just made a bento bag to wrap my grandson's birthday gift I thought maybe I could add some quilting to the bottom of a bento bag so it could be used as a tea cozy.  I had to work out the details of exactly what size the inner piece of quilting should be by allowing for the seam allowances, etc.  The outside piece was cut 28" x 10" which allows 1/2" seam allowances on all four sides and leaves the dimensions of 27" x 9" in the center which satisfies the requirements  for a bento bag of three equal squares.

I cut another piece from the same fabric and trimmed two triangles - one from each end in opposite corners.  The remaining corners which create the ties will then be only one layer and make tying the tea cozy easier. I quilted the cotton batting to the inside layer in even lines and then hemmed the right and left sides where I cut out the triangles.  I marked the squares for the cozy on the under side of my rectangle so I could line up the layer which worked well.  I quilted the inner layer to the to the outside rectangle using several lines of stitching going in line with the diagonal edges and finished off with the two sides.  

Next, I stitched the side seams that create the cozy.  I trimmed away the batting and the inside layer a bit from the seam allowance before finishing the 1/2" seams with decorative stitching.  The edges of the ties are simply turned over once and stitched with the decorative stitching.  This helps soften them and therefore makes tying them easier as well.  I had thought I might add fusible webbing in the seam allowance of the tie area to make that more secure as it will be a place of the most wear but I completely forgot once I was in that stage of production.  Maybe next time!!  

This is the finished bento tea cozy which because of how I made my seams is finished inside and out with no unfinished seams.

I did sew the bottom corners diagonally which  helps make the cozy stand up more easily and I was able to finish them off by sewing the little triangles to the sides.  I could also have stitched them to the bottom.  As you can see, the ties easily fold down to the outside which makes putting the tea pot into the cozy quite easy.  The spout and handle are easily accessible as well.  The teapot they have has a large handle which goes from front to back so the ties will simply tie underneath the handle.

I really like the look of this little tea cozy and it is versatile enough to be used with a variety of teapots.  The single knot on the top is easily undone which allows the pouring in of more water for a few more cups.  With this tea cozy the bottom as well as the sides are insulated which should keep the tea nice and hot!  I will get some feedback once it has been used a few times to see if there are any changes that need to be made to the design to make it more efficient or practical.  I did not get a chance to try it before it was on its way to its new home.  

Because of its bento bag design it could easily be used to keep buns warm or to transport a casserole  for a potluck event.  I appreciate the flexibility of this design and expect will be used often.  

I also made two trivet/hotpot mats that matched.  I filled them with five layers of old flannel sheet which should be enough to protect the table but also leaves them flexible enough to be used as potholders if you wish.  I put two 8" squares of 100% quilting cotton with their right sides together and then added the five layers of flannel over them and pinned everything in place.  I stitched around the edge leaving about a 3/8" - 1/2" seam allowance and leaving an opening of about 3" - 4" on one side.  I trimmed the corners diagonally and also the flannel in the seam allowance all the way around leaving about 1/4" before turning them inside out.  I poked the corners to make them nice and square and then pressed them well making sure that the seam allowance on the gaps was well pressed and flat.  I stitched all the way around about 1/16" - 1/8" from the edges which sealed the gap I used to turn them over and gave them a bit off stability.  I drew a swirly design on one side with a pencil and then stitched it to add a bit of texture and interest to the mats and effectively attach all the layers.   I am pretty happy with how they turned out!!!  I expect they will both appreciate the handmade gifts!!!

Therese

Christmas gifts - felted wool coasters

I usually send my friends little gifts in their Christmas cards and in the past I have sent handmade ornaments.  This year I made felted wool coasters.  My daughter has gifted me with bags full of wool - some felted, some not and a few weeks ago I started going through the bags to see if I could make use of any of it for gifts for this year.  I did a bit of internet research and found a few small projects that would be conducive to the supplies available and the time I had.  So with a few pieces of this duplex ivory/tan felted wool I decided to make some coasters.  I cut the felted wool into 4" x 4" squares using my rotary cutter, clear ruler and my cutting mat.  Makes the job pretty quick.

 I used wool fiber from kits which I have purchased here and there when I found them at thrift stores or yard sales.  I chose a simple floral design and embroidered it on my coasters.  I was careful not to go too deep into the wool so that the threads did not show on the back side.   I used the back stitch for the stems and then just running stitch for the branches.  The flowers are french knots.

I made five for this time around but have fabric for making more.  On the first four in used different greens for the stems and branches and used lavender, blue, pink and red for the flowers.  On the last one I used brown for the stem and branches and orange for the flowers.  I added decorative machine stitching to the edges though it is not necessary.  I used contrasting thread - darker on the front and lighter on the back.  I used a three stitch zigzag which worked out really well.  I was careful to line up the stitching when I connected back to where I started.  I tied off the ends and used a needle to hide them into the felted wool of the coaster.  I am super happy with how they turned out!!!!  Looking forward to inventing a few more flower patterns to go on the next batch.    Therese