Sewing - a new little pincushion for my sewing machine

I have made myself a new little pincushion and attached it to my sewing machine!! This is the best thing!!  I never have a place to put pins when I am removing them from the project I am sewing. I have used a free standing pin cushion which eventually falls on the floor which makes it inconvenient.  On one of my recent forays on the internet I found this idea  - a pincushion for your sewing machine - what a brilliant solution.  There are all kinds of inspiration once you start looking.  I decided to make one that fit around the main body of my sewing machine. It allows me access to all of the buttons and knobs and is still very much right where I need it to be.  The fabric I used is from one of my favorite shirts which I wore until the collar became ragged.   I cut off the front button hole band and then created a little pincushion from the bottom portion of the front from which I cut off the band.  I stitched the two sides together and then turned it inside out and folded over a quarter inch on one end, inserted one of the band and stitched them together.  Next, I cut a piece of cereal cardboard for the backer of my pincushion so I don't scratch my machine when I am inserting pins and inserted it into the other end of my pincushion. Next, I stuff it full of polyester batting then folded in another quarter inch on the open end, inserted the other end of the band (I tested it first to ensure the length was correct) into the the opening and stitched it in place.  I passed the band under the needle and then easily maneuvered the pincushion band over the rest of my machine and settled it nicely round the main section.  It fits perfectly and will certainly come in handy on my next project.  I really love that fabric too!! 

As I was cleaning up I remembered I once had a pair of scissors attached to my desk so I would always have a pair when I was cutting threads while I was sewing so I dug into my bin for ties/shoelaces and found this nice cord which I hitched to my scissors and then to the pincushion band which will keep them nice and close when I am sewing.  They will not be falling on the floor anymore!!!  I just remembered that my daughter gave me a really nice pair of scissors which I have stored away because I was not wanting them falling on the floor so I think I will be digging those out and putting them on the end of my cord!!!  Very happy with my new pincushion!!! 

Slow Stitching - snippet roll is finished

I finished my snippet roll yesterday!!!!!!!!  It has taken a while and I have found the process a bit restricting in that I had to undo if I failed to follow the stitching pattern as I would not end up where I needed to begin the next square and I wanted the back to look as good as the front so I did some undoing several times!!  It is about 130 inches long so will certain serve as a wonderful ribbon for securing a creative gift somewhere along the way.   I had hoped to make one more of these but because of the need to keep to the pattern I did not find this process as fulfilling as I had hoped so I will be moving onto a different process for my next slow stitching project.  I have been working on another idea for a bit now and did a prototype this past week and it will also not be a good slow stitching project for me it requires too much precision to get a good result so that has been put on the back burner for now.  

Therese

Valentine's card from a card kit featuring a serendipity heart, embossed background and layer with texture from a tracing wheel

Valentine's has come up so quickly!!  I was so happy to find a card kit from last month's Make and Take that I could use for DH card. 
I embossed my background using a heart embossing folder and adhered it to a black card.  I used the pattern tracing wheel on both long edges of the strip of embossed ivory cardstock before adhering it to my card over my background.  I added the serendipity heart die cut using 3D foam tape.  I dug through my little stash of greetings and found the XOXOX which I thought would work perfectly!!!!!  I flagged the end, sponged it a bit and then tucked in just under the end of the heart and I was good to go!!!!!!  Love having card kits on hand for last minute cards!!  Therese

Cards as a gift featuring Tim Holtz wildflower diecuts, embossed and sanded white core backgrounds and some lace & fiber

Another set of card which I made as a gift to support a friend who had been generous with cardmaking supplies for me.  These fit in smaller envelopes and feature embossed backgrounds made from white core aqua cardstock which I sanded to reveal the core colour.  I love the velvety feel of these backgrounds as well.  I added lace/organza ribbon across these background before mounting them to the white cards.  Some are tied with coordinating floss.  I die cut white flowers using the Tim Holtz wildflower dies.  I like the subtle contrast of the white flowers on the sanded backgrounds.  I got a chance to use a variety of embossing folders in order to make all the card a little different.  

Therese

A set of coordinating cards for a gift featuring sanded white core backgrounds, wildflower die cuts and a bit of lace & thread

I made a set of card to give as a gift to a friend who has been supportive of my cardmaking with donations of envelopes!!  All of the backgrounds were embossed with different embossing folders but all embossed from the same aqua white core cardstock which I sanded to reveal the core.  I used embossed off cuts from the backgrounds to provide a horizontal element on some of the cards. I used organza ribbon, floss and white fiber to embellish some of the others.  All of them have wildflower die cuts in a dark aqua colour which makes them stand out nicely from the backgrounds.  I will not be adding any greetings so they can be used for any occasion.           Therese

Small red and blue baby quilt

I have finally managed to get a backing onto the small red and blue quilt top I made up last year.  It is unfortunate that when I washed it after it was sewn together that the red bled some into the white areas but it would have been worse had I washed the square before starting.  Because of shrinkage I had to trim off a significant portion of the right hand side set of squares but that it the way it goes when the fabric is not washed prior to cutting.  These were cut when I acquired them so I worked with what I had.  Still very happy to have managed to get it finished.  I used added a flannel sheet for batting and a polyester sheet for the backing. I cut it wide on each side and used it to created the binding as well.  I stitched the front to the batting on the seams and then handstitched two rows in between once I had the backing pinned in place.  I was able to better estimate my lines of hand stitching on this quilt because of the size of the pieces.  It is on its way to a good home next week!!           Therese

Exchange cards featuring resist backgrounds, die cut butterflies, wood grain tags and a bit of lace

I have had this paper in my background stash for quite a while and I believe it is gift wrap from a long ago special gift!!!  I have since cut it up into 4" x 5.25" pieces so I can have handy backgrounds for my cardmaking.  I discovered that the printing very nicely resists watercolour so I stamped on them and then added watercolour to give them a bit of interest.  Next I added a strip of handmade pattern paper washi tape and then adhered them to kraft cards. The wood grain tags were cut from the remnants of our Christmas crackers which our daughter included in our box of gifts.  I embossed them with a wood grain embossing folder and then sponged them with a bit of brown ink to highlight the texture.  I added a little bit of lace, a brown fabric tie at the top and then a butterfly die cut (TH-SX) which I embellished with clear glitter on the body and the wings.  I mounted the tags to my cards using 3D foam tape.  They are off to my Card Exchange partners in this week's mail!!

Therese

Sympathy card from a kit featuring a serendipity bird, an embossed strip and a bit of fiber

My last sympathy card for this coming week!  I used a card kit from my January class to make this card.  I mounted my scrapbook paper to a green card front and them flagged the end of my embossed strip.  I tied on my coordinating fiber to the top portion before adhering it to my card front.  I highlighted the beak with a marker, added an embossed wing and a tiny black brad to my bird die cut (TH) to get my serendipity die cut to look like a bird.  I used a bit of colour on the bottom to make the branch seem more like a tree.  I mounted it with 3D foam tape below the fiber and then I added the layered greeting below that.   Therese

Sympathy card from a kit - embossed resist background, embossed vellum, sequins with brads and a tiny greeting

Needing a couple more sympathy cards!  I made this one up from a card kit from my January class.  It features an embossed butterfly (SU) background which was created using very neutral and pale scrapbook paper, silver embossing powder and watercolour.  It was fun to play with resists again!!  I trimmed the background to fit on a green card and created the focal element by layering a turquoise oval (Nestibilities) with a little white butterfly punchie (SU), an embossed vellum oval which was cut just a bit smaller and green and turquoise sequins on the front and tiny silver brads to keep on the layers together.  I mounted this large element to my card front using 3D foam tape and then added a cute embellished colour printed greeting.  I used scalloped decorative scissors to cut the top edge, added paper piercing with a push pin and then added an embossed line using my score tool.  I used double sided tape on the left hand side which adhered to the oval and 3D foam tape to the right hand side which adhered to the card front.    Therese

Sympathy card from a card kit - TH wildflower die cuts from Hammered botanicals paper, a bit of lace and a layered greeting

We have a service to go to this week and I have prepared the sympathy cards I need from card kits from my last class. I used the Tim Holtz's wildflower dies to cut the flowers on this card from paper produced when I had a go at Hammered Botanicals.  Where the colour was not perfect I simply used watercolour to augment them until they all looked very much like wildflowers.  I added a length of lace to the diamond background paper adhering the ends to the back with double sided tape before adhering this large element to a green card front.  I tied white thread to the lace using a double knot to add some interest and texture.  I used a fine tipped applicator to apply white glue to the back side of the flowers, tucked them under the lace and held them in place for a bit.  I punched the laser printed little font greeting with the Word Window punch (SU) and then layered it onto a coordinating Modern Label punchie (SU) before mounting it to my card front just below the lace and to the right of the flower stems using 3D foam tape.   I love this colour combination and it makes a wonderful sympathy card.  Therese

Thank you card for family in China featuring chinese greeting stamps, embossed greeting and a silk flower

I made this card for my son and his family who currently live in China (they are well).  I received five Chinese greeting rubber stamps as a gift and thought I would use them to make my thank you card to them.  I was fortunate to have my daughter in law provide the meanings for the little round greetings.  They are all wonderful such as long life, double happiness, etc.  I decided to stamp them all in a random fashion on red cardstock, embossed them in gold embossing powder and then I watercoloured it to give the panel more texture and depth.  Once it was dry I mounted it to a gold card.  I stamped the thank you greeting (SU) and gold embossed it.  Mounted it to a special red paper and added a deep yellow silk flower to the left hand side using a tiny gold brad with a sequin.  I added a short piece of gold ribbon to the left of my card front and mounted the layered greeting over it.  Very happy with it!!  Next time I use the little stamps with a round circle punch!!  Therese

Anniversary card featuring a serendipity heart, fiber and an embossed strip

I made this card up from a kit from my last cardmaking session. 
I adhered the background paper to the front of a coordinating card.  I embossed the strip, flagged the end and added some paper piercing with my tracing wheel.  I tied on a length of coordinating fiber and finished it with a double knot leaving the ends to just hang.  I added the serendipity heart to the strip using 3D foam tape.  I stamped the greeting (SU) in blue on white cardstock, trimmed it to size, flagged the end and sponged the edges before adding it to my card with double sided tape. 

Therese

Handmade card Make & Take for Valentine's Day!

This is my sample for the Valentine's card Make & Take at the Wadey Visitor Center this week which is sponsored by the Historical Society. 

I have prepped over a dozen kits and am looking forward to making cards with a new group of people. 

This card features wonderful stitched background paper which I mounted onto a black card.  I embossed and then trimmed to a flagged end a strip of ivory cardstock.  I adhered it to the card after tied on a piece of red fiber.  I layered the little laser printed oval greeting punchie (SU) onto a scalloped oval punchie in black (SU).  

Had a wonderful response to the Make & Take and all the kits were made into cards by 6 people - including one gentleman -  around the table!!  It was a great afternoon and as always they were so creative!!!  Several made more than one and the extra little greetings and accents I made up were put to good use to create a few birthday cards!! 

The Wadey Center is a wonderful little museum which was the original home of Terry's grandparents.  It was moved to the new location from up the street and renovated inside.  Very beautifully done - a wonderful space!!!   

Therese

January Cardmaking - an all occasion card featuring watercoloured wildflower die cuts, lace and thread on a neutral background

For this set of cards, I die cut all of the flowers from the Tim Holtz Wild Flower set from some of the Hammered Botanical prints I made a while back with my Big Shot.  Next, I embellished them with watercolour if they required a bit more colour in certain places like the flowers and ensured that the stems were green over all.  I sorted them into groups of three and found coordinating backgrounds for them.  I found that light neutral ones worked the best to highlight the beautiful die cuts.  I added a length of lace at the bottom of the background which was tied with a bit of white thread.  The ends of the lace were secured to the back using double sided tape.  I adhered the background to a coordinating card and mounted the flower die cuts to the front by applying a little white glue (using a fine tip applicator) to the back of them behind the larger areas and then tucking them behind the lace.  I have left this one without a greeting.

Therese

January Cardmaking - an all occasion card featuring a serendipity leaf mounted to an embossed strip tied with a little bit of fiber

For our second card for cardmaking this month I decided to feature some serendipity paper.  I make some when I have a bit of time so I wanted to feature a few of the new pieces.

I started by die cutting the focal elements from the serendipity paper and embellishing them a bit if they needed a bit of something.  For instance, I tied a kraft cord to the stem of my leaves (TH SX) on my cards.  I adhered my background to a coordinating card front before mounting my strip of embossed cardstock.  On the first, I flagged one end, on the second I flagged both ends.  I used my tracing wheel on all the edges on the first one and only the sides on my second one.  I tied a length of coordinating fiber to the top of the strip finishing it with a couple of knots.  I adhered my leaves over the strips using 3D foam tape.  My second on has a layered greeting and I left my first one without a greeting to increase its versatility.           Therese

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January cardmaking - a card with a embossed resist background, a layered oval focal element and a small font greeting

I am back to cardmaking with my friends and happy to be at it.  We had very cold temperatures in the last couple of weeks or so and it is nice to have more temperate weather this week.
For our first card, I made up some embossed resist backgrounds using a decorative paper with a very slight floral design in white on blue.  I stamped the designs on the paper using embossing ink and then embossed them with silver embossing powder.  Once they were cool, I watercoloured them to coordinate with a selection of ovals I had in my stash - blue, several purples, turquoise and pink which pretty much completely overwhelmed the pattern which was what I was hoping would happen.  Getting the colours right took a bit of time but I am happy with how they all turned out.  I cut vellum ovals just one size smaller (Nestibilities) and they were dry embossed with a variety of designs/embossing folders.  I added a white star punchie to the purple oval and a white maple leaf to the turquoise one, layered on the embossed vellum oval and secured them together using two silver brads each with a couple of coordinating sequins on them. I adhered my background to a coordinating card and then adhered the oval focal element to it.  I embellished my little greeting with a flagged end and some paper piercing before adhering it to the oval using double sided tape.  It was really fun to be making decorative paper again!!    Therese

Birthday card featuring my doodled art, handmade washi tape and a tiny greeting

Still working on family cards for January!! 
For this card I started with a small envelope (great thrift store find) and made a deep rose card to fit inside.  I embossed the right hand edge of the front with the Swiss Dot embossing folder.  I found a piece of navy in my stash and embossed it with the Paisley embossing folder and then trimmed it to fit on my card.  I rummaged through my stash of handmade washi tape and found this piece that coordinated perfectly!  I cut a length and added to the navy layer before adhering it to my card front.  I found the laser printed flower  image - my own digital art - which I watercoloured.  I added some watercolour on the edges as well and then ran my tracing wheel on each side in a wavy line.  I mounted two strips of tan cardstock to the back which coordinate with the washi tape before mounting it to my card front.  The little punchie greeting was sponged before being added using 3D foam tape on the left and double sided tape on the right.           Therese

Slow stitching - snippet roll with stitching

I have started stitching my snippet roll!! I will be using a variety of thread colours and you can see above the pattern my stitching makes on the back of the strip.  My stitching pattern is an enclosed Z.  I start at the tip (mid point) and stitch up the side and down the other of the square, then across and down the other side and up to the other side to the mid point which is where I need to be to start the next square.  Works very well!!  

This is my whole strip with my little squares all pinned into place.  With all the prep done I will simply be stitching until I get to the other end.  If this one will get any other stitching or embellishment will be determined if I am inspired in the process of stitching it. 

I expect I will make snippet rolls with the other cushion covers as well but anticipate I will invent a new process for them!! No ideas at the moment but I have some time while I am in the process of stitching this one!!       Therese

Anniversary card featuring a stamped heart focal element, a little punchie greeting and beautiful background paper

Working on family cards for January!!  For this anniversary card, I started with a light yellow card and a small envelope.  These envelopes were a great find at a thrift store last year!!
I found the background paper in my stash.  It was in two pieces so I taped them together on the back and trimmed them to the right size.  I added some blue mesh over the joint and then a length of yellow ribbon securing the ends on the back with double sided tape.  I adhered this large layer to the front of my card.  I punched the stamped heart (SU), watercoloured it and then layered it onto a yellow scalloped heart die cut (SU) to create my focal element.  I adhered it to my card front using 3D foam tape.  I found the greeting in my stash, sponged its edges in yellow and then layered it onto a blue oval which I trimmed with my scallop decorative scissors.  I used a push pin to pierce all the scallops to add more texture and interest.  I mounted the greeting below my heart using 3D foam tape.  Love that background paper!!  Therese

Slow stitching - new project - snippet roll with scraps

I have started by new slow stitching project - a snippet roll!!  I am using the cushion covers which I removed as a base for this project.  There were two that are falling apart so those have been relegated to the scrap pile but the other four are worn but usable so I did some research to see what I might use them for.  Because they are worn I do not want to put them into a quilt.  I decided on a snippet roll!!  There are a wide variety of them on line and I decided to make one that could be used as ribbon to wrap a gift.  I cut one of the cushion covers into 2" strips which works well because the quilted square are 4" finished.  I managed 8 sixteen inch strips and used my sewing machine to sew them end to end.   That gave me 132 inches!!  Overnight I decided to have finished edges so I used a bias tape maker for a two inch strip and ironed my strip to have the two edges meet in the middle as you can see above which is 1" wide.  Next, I cut over 250 little 3/4" squares in coordinating colours from my fabric scraps and separated them into darks, mediums, colours and lights.  I started from one end and pinned my squares to the back side (unfinished) of my strip going from dark to light and starting over again.  I will need to sort out how I am going to do my stitching!!        Therese