How to make a Traditional Sampler Quilt ....

So... do you fancy making one of these?

Michaela, (my Sis) is teaching a quilting course aimed at complete beginners who would like to learn traditional patchwork and quilting. The course will run over ten months, at each session she will teach a new techique and we (yep... I've signed up too) will make a variety of blocks to put into the final quilt. Techniques will include English Paper Piecing, Applique, Strip Piecing, Hawaiian Applique, Block Piecing among others.

Michaela is a qualified teacher and also holds a C&G in Patchwork and Quilting.

The course will be held at Parbold Village Hall, just 5 minutes from Jnt 27 M6. The first session is on Saturday 3rd September. There is a £30 deposit (to secure the hall bookings) and each session is £13 thereafter.

You will need a sewing maching that does straight stitching (nothing fancy needed), neutral cotton thread such as Guttermann's Sew-All and four fat quarters of co-ordinating fabric - make sure it is 100% cotton if buying beforehand. There will be the opportunity to buy fabric on the day or if you want to include vintage materials, please bring them along and Michaela will advise on their suitability. You don't need to bring any other special equipment to the first session as mats, cutters and rulers will be available; there will also be an opportunity to order these as a starter pack which will arrive ready for session 2.

If you would like to sign up (there are only 2 places left) call Michaela on 07510 299126 or drop me an email at julie.a.smith@talk21.com and I will pass it on.

Look forward to seeing you there ...

Thanks for stopping by ....

Christmas Swaps....

This is a schduled post as today I'm meeting up with crafting friends I already know and making new friends who I sort of know through their blogs.

We were given a Christmas theme for the swaps. I only have limited SU Christmas stamps, namely Dasher and Tree Trimmings. As I used Dasher on the majority of last year's cards, I wanted to do something different.

I recently got the ornment punch, so decided to do a 3D decoration. There is a similar version in the IB&C, but when we used to make Christmas ornaments at primary school, it was always using 6 pieces.... and we had to use geometry and measuring to cut our pieces, no luxury of punches! I wonder if we still have the star dodecahedron lurking in the attic?

Here's what I made...

I added some non SU from my stash to make the tassel, cream ebroidery silk and pearl beads to give it that extra touch.

I thought there should be some stamping there too, so added the tiny tag with merry.

I made them in several different colours from the Soft Subltes DSP, who says Christmas has to be red and green?

All ready to go!

I can't wait to see what everyone else has made!

SU materials used
Stamps: Tiny Tags
Punches: Ornament, Jewelry Tag
Cardstock: Soft Subtles DSP, Very Vanilla,
Inks: Soft Subtles Markers
Ribbon: Very Vanilla narrow grosgrain

Thanks for stopping by....

Less is More ....

Reading that the recipe challenge over at Less is More was ribbon or button (or plurals of), gave me a giddy turn. Ribbon is my fav with buttons coming in a close second as top embellies.

I had been playing with the Vintage Vogue set making 3D flowers, so decided to use this set... well it was still on my desk! Here's my card...

The flower was inked using the rock and roll technique.

The flower centre is a recycled satin button with the shank removed. I've found that an old pair of nail clippers is the best tool to remove these.... it will blunt a new pair!

The ribbon was loosely knotted at intervals to give it some dimension without having any cut ends shown on the front of the card. I kind of like the way it makes it like a tube.

And the 3D flowers? They turned out OK but definately more than less, so they didn't make it onto the challenge card. So I threw the LiM idea out for this card....

The flower was made from 3 of the large flowers.

The ribbon knot was a late addition.... I must have had some ink on my fingers and a tiny speck transferred to the card. The ribbon covers this .... but if you ask me I'll say it was meant to be there all along!

SU materials used:

Stamps: Vintage Vogue

Inks: Rose Red, Basic Gray, Crumb Cake,

Cardstock: Rose Red, Whisper White

Ribbon: Basic Gray Taffeta (retired)

Other: Basic Pearls

Thanks for stopping by.... 

Another Queen for a Day

A take on a previous make. The recipient loves pink and bling, so this one was blinged to the max. Stampin Up's rhinestones are the sparkliest ever.

Check out those sparkles! The row is part of a rhinestone strip.

And just a little inside decoration.

SU Materials used
Stamps: Artistic Etchings
Inks: Rose Red
Cardstock: Early Expresso, Rose Red DSP
Other: Basic Rhinestones

Thanks for stopping by....

5 months 3 days to go....

Now we're in the second half the year I can mention Christmas, right? I love decorating the house, it's definately one of my favourite parts of Christmas. At the weekend, I made my Christmas themed swaps for the meet up at Linda's at the end of the month. Of course, I can't show these ones yet.... but.... feeling all Christmassy, I made these too.

The rheindeer was cut on the Big Shot using a Sizzix medium die and is cut in greyboard, then inked using Tim Holtz distress inks. The antlers and hooves were heat embossed using TH Distress powder to give them a rough texture so they stand out against the rheindeer. The nose was built up using about seven layers of clear embossing powder. They were finished with a sprig of holy and a gingham bow and hanger.

So Christmassed up, I made 5 of these which will go on a garland in my kitchen... pretty much every room gets a Christmas look.

Thanks for stopping by....

Something Borrowed...

Nope, not getting married!

I am trying to experiment with new sets as I build my collection of Stampin Up samples; I don't have the For Everything set (yet!) so borrowed Cal's at her last crop. The crop is a great way to try out the products.... which I usually end up ordering!

I've only recently started using more Rich Razzleberry, I don't know why I used to overlook it so much!

Stampin Up materials used

Stamps: For Everything
Inks: Rich Razzleberry, Rose Red, Daffodil Delight,
Cardstock: Certainly Celery smooth, Certainly Celery DSP, Whisper White
Punch: Scallop Trim Border

Birdcage Decoration

I cut the birdcage using the Tim Holtz Bigz die from greyboard to give the hanging more stability and strength, sandwiching the bird between two cages so it doesn't matter if it spins around. They were coloured using Airondack daubers, Metallic Silver and Pearl White. The bird then had Heirloom Gold Perfect Pearls sprinkled on to it when the paint was still wet.

I kept the beads at the bottom neutral as I didn't have a spot in mind to hang the birdcage when finished.

There was no way I could thread the ribbon through the the big crystal bead (big bead, small hole) by sight and it was way too thick to use a needle, so to get the ribbon to go through it, I made a loop with wire, threaded both ends through the bead then put the ribbon in the wire loop and pulled it through - a little like one of those little tools for threading needles.

Thanks for stopping by....