Heritage Photo - Familjen

Hello, hello!

Welcome back to the final installment of my friend's heritage photo project series.  If you've missed the first two layouts in the series, you can find them here and here.  Today we're checking out the last layout, which features a fabulous photo of Bertil with a handmade toy bow and arrow, a portrait of him and the family together.  I have to say, I absolutely adore that bow and arrow photo!

Background is again from Webster's Pages.  This teal woodgrain paper has long been a favourite of mine so it's pretty special that I'm giving the last I have of it away but it was just too perfect with these photos to not use.  This LO also used up the last of that cute ruler washi tape but I managed to eek it out across the bottom.

That little gap in the title between the l and j was the perfect opportunity to add a little embellishment.  I unfortunately hadn't brought my heart punch with me and after many failed attempts at drawing a symmetrical heart the right size with which I was happy, I decided to go for a funkier heart style instead.

Embellishment cluster above that awesome bow and arrow photo - just look at the expression on that adorable face!  The cork star on the right had been an embossing attempt that I wasn't thrilled with on another project but I liked the look of for this one - you have to love when that happens.

And a bit of embellishment at the bottom of the photo to tie it all together.

And that's it!  My friend will be giving these to her brother as a belated birthday gift and I'm eager to hear what his reaction to them is.  Birgitta is thrilled with them at any rate.  Next year we'll work on the lock of hair and photos for her sister.

Heritage Photo - Syskon

Hi again!

Today I'm sharing the second layout in my friend's heritage photo project.  If you missed the first LO, you can see it here.

This second LO features photos of the three siblings together.  The original photo of Bertil holding their baby sister was very small, dark and a bit damaged but the photo development company did a lovely job at scanning, enlarging and reprinting it and in such a way that the lighting now helps to draw your eye into the two children.

The background papers are from Webster's Pages by Adrienne Looman.  The embellishment clusters feature arrows and hearts and I purposely put down the washi tape so that it counted up to three to reflect the number of siblings.  I also used some stamping on this LO, even though it's in English it fitted the theme well.  Birgitta may go back and write on the journaling card so I've left it open for her, should she decide to do so.

Pink chevron arrow is from Crate Paper; which I chose because of the aged look and the weathered cello tape accents.

The stamping for the arrows was done on a branding strip, which was the perfect size.  Hearts and rhinestones with gold lame spatters are layered up on the embellishment clusters.

The bottom embellishment cluster features three arrows, again symbolising the three siblings, and a little stamping with a roller stamp that fitted well with the photo of brother and baby sister together.

Thanks for stopping by; be sure to come back for the final LO installment.

Heritage Photos - Bertil

Welcome back!

Earlier this year a friend asked me if I could help her with a special heritage project for her brother and sister.  Having saved for decades some childhood locks of hair from her siblings, my friend Birgitta wanted to preserve them with some photos into a special scrapbooked layout as gifts, but not being a scrapbooker herself, she enlisted my help.

We got the original photos (some of which were a bit damaged) professionally re-printed and the company did a fantastic job resorting them.  Then, not really knowing what supplies I should bring with me, I packed up a hodge podge collection of papers and embellishments and spent a day at hers busily playing with paper.

Luckily, the remaining collection of Webster's Pages papers by Allison Looman I'd brought with me were a perfect choice for the project and breathed new life into the beautiful black and white photography.  They also matched well with one of the papers Birgitta already had and which I decided upon for the background of the first layout.

This first LO features Bertil, aged 1, along with the lock of his hair and a handwritten note from their mother.  All three LOs feature elements of the same papers and gold lame mist spatters for a sense of cohesion, along with brown accents and lettering, twine, wood veneer or cork embellishments for that masculine feel and a narrow ruler washi tape for that hint of vintage.  I had hoped to also use some old fashioned black or cream photo corners but sadly, couldn't find any so opted for a very narrow mounting on dark black/brown patterned paper instead.  It was decided that the embellishing could be a bit more simplistic, as this would likely appeal more to Bertil.

 

Handwritten note from their mother.  Yes, it is the original.  It was a bit nerve-wrecking adding adhesive to such a precious piece of memorabilia but it was important to Birgitta that we use the original and we did take copies.

Small letter stickers for the years, by Glitz Designs.  The twirly twine is always a bit tricky to get right and glue down well but looks fab once it's done and it helps to reinforce the curliness of that lock of hair...

The original tie around the lock of hair wasn't very attractive or sturdy so I wrapped twine over top to help secure the hair further.  I also didn't want to risk applying adhesive to the hair directly so the wrapped twine gave me a good place to attach the lock without damaging the hair itself.

For the frame, we bought open-fronted art canvas frames that are 12" square and they work perfectly for scrapbooking layouts and the black wood make the B&W photograph pop nicely.

Stay tuned for the next two LOs in the series shortly (LO #2 - Syskon).

TpT Advent Sale!

Dear fellow teaching colleagues, it's sale time!

My TpT store is participating in the site-wide Cyber Smile sale from November 30-December 2, 2015 where you can save up to 28% on all those teaching goodies you've been wish-listing.

If you're also an IB teacher, check out these useful resources designed specifically for use in IB schools and with the Essential Elements:

Even if you don't use the IB curriculum, there are plenty of other useful resources for all classes, such as word wall vocabulary cards, Oxford Reading Tree worksheets and maths worksheets:

Or perhaps you're looking for a little something to spice up those boring class meetings with parents?

Head on over to the shop and grab some new resources!

Jingle by Kate Spain

Hello, hello!

Look what came home with me from quilt guild:

This was the first time I've seen any quilt shops here in Sweden selling Moda scrap bags and how excited was I to find this one bag with fabric scraps from Kate Spain's gorgeous Jingle collection?  Squee!

Honestly, I couldn't wait to get home to break into these beautiful fabrics and start some Christmas sewing.  Hello, Pinterest - find me some inspiration!  And then I found this and completely fell in love:

Snow Kissed Star Pattern

If you're interested, this pattern is featured in the November/December 2011 issue of McCall's Quilting magazine and I was able to purchase a digital copy of the publication online.  Christmas sewing is officially underway!

That Cat! Wallhanging

Hello and welcome back!

Today I'm thrilled to share with you my most recently finished project - my That Cat wallhanging (pattern featured in McCall's Quick Quilts).

This project went together so quickly and easily, even despite the half inch wide black grid requiring precis piecing.  It's very striking (please ignore the hideous wallpaper from the previous owners) and I love the rich oranges - it makes me happy every time I look at it.

I put my own little twist on the project with the cat's collar.  In the original project, it's an orange fabric strip but I decided I wanted something a bit more witch-y so I used a metallic silver ribbon and then sewed on a silver and rhinestone star-shaped pendant for a little sparkle and bling.

I shared this project recently at my guild's show and tell and it was very popular and well received.  I've sent a photo off to McCall's Quick Quilts and fingers crossed it might be featured in a future magazine - we'll see.

WIP Wednesday

Hello, hello!

Whew!  What a busy few weeks.  I meant to share my latest updates on my That Cat wallhanging last week but it was simply not meant to be.  However, despite the busy work and life events, I have been managing to fit in a sewing day most Sundays, which has been blissful to resetting that work/life balance.

Nearing the end now, I finally have all of the quilting done.  I straight stitch quilted around each of the orange boxes and around the cat.  I also straight stitch quilted in the borders with a 1/4 inch spacing, like in the original featured in the magazine.

Please excuse the cat hair (ironic, right?)

On to the binding - my favourite part!  So looking forward to seeing this project done!

Linking up to Freshly Pieced:

WIP Wednesday

Welcome back!

I've been making progress on my That Cat wallhanging this week.  The applique is on and has been stitched down and it's been sandwiched and basted, ready for quilting.

I decided to swap out the fabric fused collar for a silver metallic ribbon (which is showing up a weird blue in the photo) and once finished, I'm going to sew on a little Hallowe'en-themed silver charm.

Linking up to Freshly Pieced:

Roskilde Quilt Exhibition Part II

Hello, hello!

Last week I shared with you some photos from a recent quilt exhibition I attended in Roskilde, Denmark.  If you missed those photos, be sure to follow the link and check them out, they were really lovely.

In addition to the traditional patchwork quilts and art quilts on display, there was also a themed challenge exhibition in which quilt guilds from all over Europe participated.  This year's challenge theme was music and the entries spanned every imaginable possibility.  Here is a selection of my favourites:

"Square Dance"

After enjoying the exhibition displays, it's on to the shopping!  Probably the most popular items this year were a series of Christmas fabrics in black with metallic bronze, silver or gold - the bronze was super popular and also came in a white and bronze variation.

I, however, fell in love with a very different Christmas fabric and I couldn't resist this cute little candy pack of Valentine's prints, either.  I also picked up a new thimble to try out.  I have a pretty strong dislike of thimbles.  I prefer to stitch without them and simply build up a callous but sometimes necessity dictates the need but I've yet to find a thimble I like.  Could this be the one?  I'll keep you posted on what I think.

Great day out and already looking forward to next year's exhibition.

WIP Wednesday

Hello, hello!

Whew!  School is back in full swing (and I have an awesome class this year, might I add) but I've been finding a bit of time here and there to squeak in a little sewing.

I started my Hallowe'en-themed That Cat wallhanging from McCall's Quick Quilts and the background is now finished.

It's ready to have the cat applique added and after that, it should go quite quickly to finish up.  I love the oranges - my favourite colour - and can't wait to see it on the wall!  I'll keep you posted on the progress.

Linking up to Freshly Pieced:

Roskilde Quilt Exhibition

Welcome back!

This weekend was the annual Danish quilt guilds' exhibition in Roskilde, Denmark.  I've been really looking forward to going - having a sewing machine that can actually finish projects now really motivates a person when it comes to projects.

The exhibition featured a lot of art quilts but some traditional quilts and some with modern palettes.  I snapped a variety of photos to share.

My favourites of the day include 'Fireworks' (the yellow, pink, orange, red & striped quilt) and the spectrum star above.

Check out Part II for some photos from the music challenge exhibition and the shopping goodies.

Kiva - August 2015

Hello again!  I'm excited to share that this month's Kiva loan has been 100% funded by returned investments - yeah!

Parveen (Pakistan)

A loan of $200 helps Parveen increase her tailoring business.

Parveen is 46 years old woman, she lives in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, with her 4 children. Her husband has been working in the public sector organization for many years. Parveen is also providing sewing services and earn the income to contribute with her husband to manage the household.

She is needs different kinds of goods e.g needles, threads, pieces of cloth, machine oil etc for her business purpose, but due to insufficient financial means she is unable to purchase these accessories. Therefore she has applied for Kiva loan from its field partner BRAC Pakistan. This loan will enable her to purchase these above accessories and also helpful for her to increase monthly sales and profit by providing better sewing services.

At the time of this post, Parveen's loan is 37% funded.  Kiva is also currently giving out free trials to new Kiva members, which means you get a free $25 USD sum to donate as you see fit if you join now.