Friendly Foliage

This week I was playing around with the stamp set Friendly Foliage.  I made three cards, each one using the stamp in a different way.

On my first card, I just stamped the image onto a rectangle for the front of my card.  I added some small die cut flowers to give it some color.  This is a fancy fold card and on the inside, the saying moves as the card opens.  You can find the tutorial here from Connie Stewart.  

Making this card was a lot of fun and you won't regret watching her video on how to do it.  I used Everyday Happiness papers and love the subtle look to it.

When you open the card, the inside panel comes out from the hidden panel on the right side.  All of my stamping ladies, including me, loved it.

For the second card, I stamped the image and cut it out with the matching die cut.  I love how bright and cherry this card came out.  Sadly, I used up the last of this pretty paper from the Celebratory Sips designer papers. 

The third card uses the image, both stamped and cut out but I cut it out again with a second die cut, which removes the inner background pieces.  Pretty cool, huh?  

The pretty papers on this card are from Brushed with Beauty.  Which one do you like the best?

 

Woof Woof Meow Quilt with Pockets for the Kitties

Years ago I bought a panel of cats and dogs called Woof Woof Meow.  I got a jelly roll of the fabric and while I made the cat and her kittens, I never finished up the quilt.  Well, five years later, I finally finished up the Cat Quilt with Pockets.

The cats and dogs were fabric panels designed by Stacy Iest Hsu.  If you remember I made some of these little cuties a couple of years ago.  At that time I even made them a small quilt to wrap them in so that they would stay warm.

Now I've finished the kids quilt made from the jelly roll and added five pockets to the front of the quilt.  I designed the quilt and when I bought the fabrics I knew that I wanted to add some pockets for the kittens or puppies.  

Here is a pic of two of the kittens in their little pockets.  I thought it would be fun to crawl under a quilt and have your pets close by.  You could also use the pockets for other toys, too.

Here is the quilt before I added on the pockets.  I made the pockets with a gather so that the pets would fit into them.  I have to say, I'm so glad that it's done.  I put it in my granddaughter's room in hopes that she will like it.  

What's to come?  There are still more strips in the jelly roll that have blue fabric in them.  Maybe someday I will make a second quilt with some dogs to match.  You never know.

 

Sewing Carrots for Easter

I've got "lots" of old sweaters that I like to cut up and make crafts with.  They are sort of taking over a corner of my sewing room.  I was going through them the other day and spotted a pretty cashmere orange sweater and I decided to make some carrots with it.

Once I got started making carrots, I couldn't stop.  I used some beige and tan sweaters and then found some cute plaid fabric.  For the tops, I cut a 3" strip of felt and then snipped the leaves, being careful not to cut all the way to the edge.  

I rolled up the felt and sewed it into the gather space at the top of the carrot.  I think they came out cute.  

I make some cute tags to put on them and put them in a little basket.  Last night I was moving sweaters around and found two more orange sweaters.  I wish that I had time today to make more carrots!  Maybe this weekend.  

 

Cotton Washcloths

Back in the winter I felt like doing some crocheting.  I went to Hobby Lobby and picked up some pretty cotton yarn in some subtle colors.  I love their "I Can't Believe It's Cotton" yarn and decided to make some washcloths with it.  

They're easy to crochet and I can make them while watching tv in the evenings.  Each skein makes 3 cloths and here is what I made!  They measure about 8 inches and here they are folded up and put into baskets.  

My sister makes soaps and has a little shop in CA and I sent them to her for the store.  I hope they are big sellers for her.  

Now what?  I am off to make more of these for myself and to put in my little dining room shop.  :)

 

Pop-Up Petals

When I first saw the PopUp Petals online, I knew that I would like to try it out.  It comes with cute flower images and 2 pop-up cut outs.  This card uses Basic Beige cardstock and a paper from Country Woods.  I stamped the image, cut it out and mounted it to a piece of designer paper cut out with Branching Out dies.  

The cards are pretty but the surprise is when you open them up.  I stamped a couple of flowers behind the flower box so that I looks like more flowers are in the box.  I got the idea from Diana Gibbs.  So sweet!

I love the colors in this next card.  I don't usually use peach and blackberry together but the contrast is nice and the card is very bright and happy.  I used a piece of paper from Country Lace and added the pot and flowers.  The saying is on one of the Everyday Arches dies.

I'd have to say the inside of this card is my favorite!  I cut two pop ups out and added a piece of paper to extend the pop up area.  I used papers from Celebratory Sips.  This card will have to go to someone very special because adding the pop up panel is like making two cards and then putting them together.  I just love how it turned out.

My third card in this series is a fancy fold and uses pretty floral papers.  

And the inside looks like this.  I added an extra panel in this card, too, to make the pop up look larger.  I loved making these three cards and I love the pop- up dies.  I do wish that they were a bit bigger - I found the pop ups to be somewhat small.  

I would definitely use them again.  Which card is your favorite?  

Nature Walk

For my card class this month, I chose to use Nature Walk, a new designer series paper pack.  It features the colors in nature and can be used for both masculine and feminine cards.

My first card uses Basic Beige for the background and Gathering Leaves embossing folder.  I cut out the focal point with the Arch Dies and added some light "grunge" to it.  I decided to use Very Vanilla cardstock instead of white, which I hardly ever do, but I like it in this card.

The strip along the bottom front is from Nature Walk and I cut out a leaf die from an older set called Artistic dies.  I love the woodsy nature look of this card.  

The next card uses a paper with a soft brown script on it which might be my favorite design in this paper pack.  I added a brown sprig cut out from the Gorgeously Made dies.  There's a little tan strip that's embossed to add embellishment and a circular saying to complete the card.  On this card, I used Very Vanilla for the saying.

This card uses Lost Lagoon as the card base and a sheet from the Nature Walk for the background.  I added a Peacock and a vellum rectangle for the focal points.  I cut the leaf and the sprig from Artistic dies.  I had some paper with copper accents in it so I used that for the sprig and then added a copper scalloped circle behind the saying to tie in the copper color.

I could make cards with Nature Walk all day, substituting different colors and cut outs.  

Stampin Up's paper supplies, dies and stamps just keep getting better and better.  The cards came out so beautiful.  I just love the creativity that Stampin Up gives to me.  

 

Loving the Lovely Arrangements

 For this week's card class, I took out the set Lovely Arrangements and the pretty papers that coordinate with it.  The papers have pre-printed sections with flowers that you can cut out or die cut for your card fronts.  I have to say, I just love making these cards and using the pretty papers.

Our first card is made using Everyday Arches to cut out the floral panel from the designer papers.  I added a fun circle die to the edge to accent the focal piece.  I embossed the white cardstock and added a saying from the stamp set along with some ribbon and bling.  That's pretty much it and look what a beautiful card it is!  I got the idea from Robin Daus.

The next card is made in pretty much the same way, only this time I used the Party dies banners for the focal point.  I added a circular saying mounted on a blue scalloped die.  I got the idea for this card from Tracy Bradley.

The third card is made using the stamps and dies and takes much longer than just using the papers.  I die cut the arch die and trimmed it at the bottom so it would fit on my card.  I stamped and added three flowers and some sprigs.  The top flower and the saying have dimensionals under them to give a little lift to the card.  I saw this idea from Heidi Collins.

Everyone enjoyed this class and the simplicity of the cards. The next day I made more cards.

Look how pretty this card is using the Crumb Cake and Olive Green colors.  It's made the same way as the first card, only using designer paper instead of the white embossed layer.

This one has a smaller printed image from the designer papers.  I ended with a total of 12 cards, but seriously, I could make them all day.  

Winter Sewing Retreat

In January I did go to my quilting retreat, but honestly I wasn't feeling that great and didn't get a lot done this year.   I got a virus in late December and it's left me with some vertigo that I am learning how to deal with.  So while I can do some things, I'm not quite up to my normal crafting self.

I am working on a jelly roll quilt using fabrics by Corey Yoder.  The pattern is in the book, On a Roll.  I saw it a few years back and have been wanting to make it.  It's a Moda All-Stars book with quilts made from different quilters.  

I finally managed to get the pieces from this Tilda quilt put together.  I'm going to put some borders on it to make it a bit bigger but I'm happy with how it looks.  

After looking at the photo, I noticed a couple of squares on the bottom row that need to be fixed.  Since my retreat I've fixed them and hope to finish up this quilt soon.

The fabrics are from a couple of charm square packs of older Tilda fabrics.  I know some of is from Plum Garden.  I still love that line of fabrics but I'm ready to finish and move on.

It usually snows here in upstate NY during January when we are on the retreat.  The retreat center is located in the country and the freshly fallen snow makes everything look so beautiful and peaceful.  

My friend Carol worked on a cute baby blanket with blues and a put a small bear in the corner.  She had it finished in just a couple of days.  Oh, and look - she has on the sweatshirt with the dresdan quilt block that I made for her!  She looks so cute.  :)

 

Making Valentine Cards

Last week my friend Carol came over and we made some Valentine cards for our grandchildren.  We had so much fun taking out older stamp sets and putting cards together.  While I only have one granddaughter, my friend has 12 cards to make!  

In this first card, I used Snailed It, a cute set with the little snail in it.  I love the mushroom and envelope cut outs; it really adds to the card.

The second card has a couple of heart die cuts from Meant to Be.  I embossed the white front with the Falling Petals embossing folder.  

For the next two cards I used the Meant to Be dies and cut out several different heart shapes.  The little envelope is from Snailed It stamp set.  Isn't it so cute?

For a boy card, I used Oh, Snap - a cute set that I hadn't used before.  I love the colors and everything about this card.  I love the wave stamp to give you the appearance that he is coming up from the water. 

Here is the card that I sent to my g-girl.  It's made using another set that I haven't used before called Little Ladybug.  I die cut the heart from Meant to Be dies and added a couple of very sweet ladybugs to complete the card.  And check out the saying, "You're as cute as a bug!"

Here's a pic of my friend after she completed her 12 Valentines!  It took us two days to make all of the cards.  I shared a couple of my cards with her so she could get all of her cards done faster.  

I hope all of our grands love their handmade cards filled with love from their Nana's.  :)

 

Tilda Zippered Bag and Scissors Holder

As a gift to one of my friends, I made this Zippered Bag and a little scissors holder.  I found the pattern for the scissors holder in an old McCalls pattern M6256.  I thought the holder would turn out a little larger than what it did, but it does hold a small of snips.

I made the bag using some Tilda fabrics.  I added in the teal and the orange plaid.  I like the look of how the colors all came together.  I embellished it with some Stampin Up buttons, a crocheted flower and a tea cup charm to finish the bag.

Then I made a little bird using Tilda fabrics to complete the gift set.  I wish I had time to make more and more of these.  :)

 

Spa Day Favor Using a Paper Bag

Here is a cute spa favor made from a paper bag.  I got the idea from Debra Harrison - she has a video on how to make it on her blog. Simply Sweet Ink Designs

I added papers from the new Hobby Haven designer papers that feature a spa day and added a tag using Everyday Arches and a saying from Love What You Do stamp set.  I used the Bough Punch to make some sprigs and attached it with a mini clip that I found at Target.  

I visited the Dollar Tree store to find some face masks and nail filers.  We made these in my Stamp Class.  All of the ladies loved them.

You could use other papers from the Hobby Haven package.  Put book paper on it and tuck some bookmarks in it.  Or put sewing paper on it and tuck in some buttons, a new pattern or a pretty new fabric.  How about some seed packs to go along with the plant papers?  

Check out her page and make a sweet favor for your friends.  

 

Fun Hobby Papers - Hobby Haven

This past week I held a stamp class using designer papers called Hobby Haven.  What a great package of papers!  Each page has images of different hobby items - spa day, sewing, crocheting, plants, cooking, books, etc.  The ladies and I had a great time fussy cutting images and using the punch outs to make some great cards.  :)

For most of the sayings, we used an older set called, Love What You Do.  I like the sweet, bold lettering of the sayings. 

The square focal stamp is from a new set called Joyful Squares.  I love the look that it gives to the cards.

My sister makes all natural soaps and other cosmetic products.  I think she will love the cards that I made for her.  I even snuck in a banner from the new Nature Walk designer papers.

Here is a similar card only it has a peach banner to brighten it up.

This card has some sweet looking plants on it.  

This is the first card that I made with the Hobby Haven papers.  I fussy cut out some books and even found a cup of tea and candles.

I made this card for one of my sewing friends.  I love how there's even a little pattern in the punch outs.

Don't you just love the mannequin?  So cute.  

I love the colors that coordinate with the papers - brown, tans, teals and peach.  

This one is cute, too, with the apron.  All week I just kept making more and more cards with these papers.  And I'm not done yet.  There are just so many possibilities.  :)

Which one do you like the best?