More Flight and Airy Birds

After making three cards using the Flight and Airy designer papers from Sale-a-Bration, I decided that I just needed to make some cards using the cut out birds!  Originally I had wanted to use Everyday Details Dies for the first few cards that I had made, but somehow I misplaced that new die set.

Here is a card made using the rectangular cut out from that die set.  This card has such a bright spring look to it.  I think it can be used for pretty much anything.  The Hello stamp is from the Garden Meadow set.  This card is loosely based on a sample card from Jolanda Johnstone.  

My final card (at least for today) is made using a portion of one of the designer papers.  To highlight the saying, I made a small banner in Boho Blue and added the saying and a couple of the small flowers from Just My Type.  There is also little doily behind the saying cut out from Fresh fresia cardstock.  I finished it off with a double bow made with two different twines.  

Definitely spring looking, I love these two cards.  :)

 

Loving the Birds!

This week I had a chance to use some of the Sale-a-Bration papers called Flight and Airy.  I cut out several of the water colored birds and then had fun putting them onto cards.  

Misty Moonlight is the background cardstock.  From there I added some soft gray designer paper from the Winter Meadow papers.  I then found a piece of old hydrangea paper with some blue and purples on it that matched the colors in the bird perfectly.  :)

I added some Fresh Fresia sprigs and a focal circle.  The saying is from a new online set called Garden Meadow.  

For my next watercolor bird card, I copied the idea of the birds sitting on a wire from Julie Gilson.  I loved choosing which birds would look suitable on each card.  I just love the simplicity and whimsical look of this card.  :)

Here is the same basic card only with some Calypso Coral matting and birds that have a bit of coral color in them.  The flower is from Just My Type stamp set.  

I ended up making a lot of these little birdie cards using different colors.  Once I made the first, I just couldn't stop.  

For my third card, I used the Pecan Pie colored paper that comes in the Flight and Airy designer series pack.  It brings a different look from the first two cards, more of a soft, subtle look.  

I fussy cut the bird from the papers and added him to a smaller circle focal point.  I like the sayings that are in the Notes of Nature stamp set.  

I got the idea for this card from Donna Ross.  

The ladies all loved making these bird cards.  And so did I.  

 

Table Runner Made with Strips

After I put the Christmas decorations away, I thought that the house looked so bare.  The tables needed a new look so I took out some strips and whipped up this runner!  

For this runner, I started with the background and batting, both cut to the length and width that I wanted.  Then I added two strips in the center and sewed them to the batting and background fabric. 

So this table runner is made with a quilt-as-you-go method.  After you add the first few strips, you can then add fabric strips to both sides which takes less time to complete the project.

I decided that I wanted to make it look more like patchwork than just adding strips, so I sewed some of the strips together and strategically placed them the way I wanted them to look.

I've made this quilt-as-you-go method before, and the last time I sewed additional quilting lines on the finished piece, but this time didn't.  If you turn the runner over, you will see the quilting lines on the back, so there's no need to quilt it more unless that is the look that you're going for.

The idea came from Sharon Holland and if you want to read her blog and see the colorful runner that she made, just click here.  I used 2" strips for my runner but you could also use a jelly roll with 2 1/2" strips.  It took a couple of hours to make.  

I'm happy with how it turned out.  The table in the dining room now looks "dressed" properly.  :)

There's a pile of 2" strips left over from this runner, and now I'm thinking that I might make something else out of them.   After all, they're all cut and ready to go :)

 

Making Journals

For the new year, I decided to put together some Journal kits and have the ladies in my Bible study over to make them.  They can be used to write down prayers, Bible verses, thankful times, etc.  Here is one that I made as a sample to show the ladies what to do.  I love how it turned out and will keep this one for myself!

I created a variety of kids and I included the cut papers, some stamped items, a Bible verse and some embellishments for them to assemble their journals.  It took several days to make all of the kits.  I put all of the pieces together in a plastic bag so that they wouldn't get lost or mixed up.  

Here is a pic showing the different journal kits that the ladies could choose from.  I made a total of 20 of them!  I used a lot of retired Stampin Up designer papers and some various die cuts.  I got the composition notebooks at Walmart. 

Then I invited the ladies over to my house for a Tea Party get-together night and we made our journals after the food portion of the evening.  

Because not all of the ladies could come on the same night, I offered two different dates for them.  Here are some of the ladies enjoying dessert.  (I forgot to take a photo of them with their journals.)  

We had a lot of fun eating, chatting and working on our journals.  The ladies were excited to make the craft and were surprised at how easy it was to put them together.  

I supplied glue sticks and glue dots along with some scissors to cut out the stamped images.  There was so much creativity going on!  :)

What a fun night that we had!  Now what can I plan for our next ladies' get-together?  

 

Painted Lavender Cards

This week I was playing around with the Painted Lavender Bundle of products in the Stampin Up mini catalog.  I'm not really much of a "purple" girl, but I love lavender and the soft papers that come with this set.  

For my first card, I cut out an arch using the dies from the Garden Meadow suite.  I love how it almost looks like you're peeking into a garden.  I used Lost Lagoon cardstock, added a piece of the designer papers and put the arch on my card using dimensionals to give it a lift.

I stamped some butterflies and cut out some springs using the Painted Lavender dies.  Then I added a saying and a piece of the linen thread to complete my card.  

It has a soft flowery look to it and that's just what I was going for.  :)

For my next card, I used the negative space that the arch die cuts for the front of my card.  I put a piece of the desinger paper behind it and added the arch portion to the card with dimensionals.  Before I added it to the card, I ran it through the Cut & Emboss machine using an embossing folder to make it resemble a stone wall.

There are sprigs and butterflies on this card, too.  The saying is from Notes of Nature stamp set.  I saw this idea on Pinterest from Robin Daus.

My third card has some of the lavender images stamped and cut out on it.  I used the Scallop Contour rectangle die to add the flowers onto.  I stamped the green leaf stamp on the scalloped white piece before I added some sprigs and flowers.

This is pretty much the same card, only I used a different piece of the designer papers for the front of the card.  Instead of 3 stamped lavender flowers, I only put one on it.  What a beautiful set this is.  I would love to make some more things with it.  

 

Doggie Apron

For Christmas this year my sister said that she wanted handmade doggie items (actually she said bracelets, but we'll get to that later).  While I was over a Joann's, I spotted this cute Christmas fabric with dogs on it.

Here is a close-up of the sweet little dogs on the fabric.  I knew that I needed to make her something with it.  So when I got home, I stitched up this reversible apron for her to wear while making the Christmas cooking and baking dishes.

While looking around my craft room for some more "dog fabric," I spotted these little pups.  They are leftover pieces from a doggie quilt that I made her a few years ago.  I quilted them into a couple of microwave fabric bowls for her kitchen.  

I had to make them patchwork because I only had small pieces of fabric left over.  But I think they came out cute.  What do you think - do you like the patchwork look?

 

Sewing Machine Collage

This past January I went on my annual sewing retreat in Greenwich, NY with some ladies from my quilt guild.  I brought one of my Laura Heine collage patterns with me to finish up.  It's been sitting half done in my sewing room for a year.

For this type of collage, you iron Steam-a-Steam to the back of your fabrics and then cut out the pieces and adhere them to a special layer of interfacing.  It's hard to tell by from the photo, but just about every flower and embellishment on my quilt has been cut our of another fabric and ironed onto my wall hanging.

After I ironed down all of the pieces, I quilted it in straight lines about half of an inch apart to finish it.  I put on the border and hand-sewed it down all at the retreat so that it would be completed before I got home.

I've admired this pattern for a long time and finally got to finish one of Laura Heine's patterns.  

I hung it up in my dining/crafting room for all of my crafting friends to see.  I'm so glad to get it finished.  :)

At my 4-day retreat I got a chance to work on a lot of unfinished projects (we call them UFO's).  The setting there is so amazing.  The retreat is located near the Vermont border, east of where I live.  Even in the winter it is still beautiful.

Walking along this road reminds me a bit of entering Narnia, don't you think?  

 

Fabric Baskets

When I am out at quilt shops I like to buy the mini charm square packs of 2 1/2" pieces.  They are from a specific fabric line so you know that they all coordinate together.  When I get home I sew together the blocks and set them aside for a future project.

Then when it's time to make something, they're all ready to go!  For this project I made my patchwork squares in to a fabric basket.  I used pretty fabrics from my Corey Yoder collection to finish the basket.  I usually put felt on the inside of the front layers and interfacing on the lining pieces.  This helps the basket to stand on its own but doesn't make it too stiff.

Here is another one that I put together.  I added the rose fabric and gray for the lining.  I'm not sure what fabric line it is made from, but I like the look of it.  For this basket, I quilted the top layers with a free motion stitch.  

I like it better than the first one that I made because the quilting gives it a more homemade look.  

Which one is your favorite?

 

Christmas Quilt Gift

Somehow during the holidays I got caught up in the Christmas busyness and I'm behind on my blog posts.  Over the holidays my friend Carol brought over a newly-made Christmas quilt that she gave to me as a gift!  

It's so beautiful!  I love the star pattern and the pretty holiday fabrics that she used.  It's the first quilt that anyone has ever given to me.  What a precious gift from a precious friend.  :)

I've been wrapped up in it watching Hallmark movies to break it in.  Thank you so much, friend.  :) 

 

Winter Meadow Cards

For my first stamping class this year, I wanted to make some wintery-looking cards.  I chose the collection of products, Winter Meadow.  I used Smokey Slate gray for the cardstock and added some shimmery papers from the Snowflake Magic specialty papers.  They have such a beautiful shine to them.

The stamp set Magical Meadow is the focal point to the card. I stamped the berry image a few times in Pacific Point and then cut them out and added them to the branch image.  The cut outs for this set are amazing, definitely a staple in paper crafting.  I cut them out of shiny silver paper and the whole card has a snowy, glittery winter look to it, just what I was hoping for.   

The idea for this card is from Sharon Hensen.  

Card #2 has Misty Moonlight for the base.  I mounted a piece of the designer papers to a white cardstock for the front of the card.  The circle is white heat embossed and I added some white and silver sprigs.  

In this photo you can see that it is somewhat of a fancy fold.  I got the idea for the fold from Susie Wood.

My third card is made from thick white cardstock and has a couple of layers added to it using dimensionals to give it a lift.  I scribbled onto the white cardstock for the background using Stamping blends markers and then added the sprigs.  Before I put on the saying, I made a loose bow from silver twine and adhered that on the card with a couple of glue dots.  

The saying, Winter Wishes, goes along well with the theme.

Do they give off a wintery feel?  I could make them all snowy day long.  :)

 

Six Trees This Year?

For my Christmas decorating this year, I saw a photo on Pinterest with a conglomeration of trees, sort of like a Forest of Trees.  

So that's what I decided to do!  I gathered up all of my Christmas trees (sadly, I have gotten rid of quite a few) and put four of them all together in the family room.

I chose a gold and soft-color theme for the decor and decorated my trees accordingly.  I love the look of the Christmas tree forest.  :)

I had to look around for some wrapping paper that wasn't red or green and found some soft colors of teal and pink in Marshalls, my favorite place to shop for decor items.  

I put strands of gold beads on the 2 smaller trees and love how they all turned out.  

Here's a cute pic of me while I was decorating my trees.  They looked very pretty all lit up at night.  I used a lacy tablecloth for a tree skirt and liked the look of that along side some muted skirts.

When I am sitting in my comfy chair, I can see the forest in the painting through the decorated trees, too.  I loved the look of it all.  

Here's a closer image of what it looks like.  There's lots of gold bulbs on the trees to make them look cohesive.

One morning While I was having my cup of tea, I slid a table in front of the trees and took this pic.  I love the muted look of the tree lights in the background.  The mouse is from Marshalls and the wooden tree sculpture is from Hobby Lobby.  

I found the deer mugs at Marshalls, also and think they fit in well with the "forest" theme.

What do you think?  

In my dining/crafting room, I put up a tree decorated with reds and greens and featuring nutcrackers.  I had made the table runner a few years back and that matched so well.

The table is set with nutcracker napkins to go along with the theme.  This is where I had a couple of gatherings with my family and friends.

My little nutcracker soldier took his stand outside on the front porch to guard the entryway.  I found him on clearance at Michaels for $7.  His crown had fallen off of his head so I glued it back on when I got home.  

Lastly, I put up a small Christmas tree in my granddaughter's room for her to decorate.  She's 2 1/2 years old and is amazed at the wonder of all things Christmas. I got her some cute little girly ornaments at Target and she had fun putting them on her tree.  

I had so much fun decorating for the holidays this year.  Who knows what next year will bring.

 

Night Divine Cards

 

For one of my Christmas card classes, we used the stamp set, Night Divine and it's coordinating cut outs and designer papers, O Holy Night.  For this card, I used a strip of the designer papers and added a focal point circle cut from the papers framed with a gold scalloped edge. 

I die cut the nativity images in white and gold embossed the saying (from an older set).  I added a gold star and some of the pretty blue ribbon that came in the suite.  The card idea is from Mary Brautigam.

Here is what the inside of the card looks like.  

For my next card, I used completely different colors.  Copper Clay is the background and I added some  designer paper and some gold and copper embellishments.  The card opens at the top and the saying is embossed with copper powders right onto the paper.  The star cut-outs are from Night of Bethlehem cut outs.  Lastly I added a piece of burlap ribbon to look like the camel is standing on the dessert sand.

I like the look of this card.  I found the idea for it from Julie Golding Page on Pinterest.

I like to put a strip of designer paper along the edge of the inside of the card.  It helps the inside to coordinate with the front of the card and gives the card a cohesive look.

For my final card using this stamp set, I made a side fold card with just the saying on the front.  I used gold embossing powder to make it stand out.

The surprise comes when you open up the card - the nativity scene is on the inside of this card!  I cut out the stable using some wood-grain papers and used a scene from the O Holy Night designer papers for the background.  Great idea, right?  I got the idea for putting the scene on the inside from Karen Titus.  

I'm so glad that I got this set with the cut outs.  It makes nice religious Christmas cards and projects.  I'll definitely be using it again in the future.  :)