Quilted Triangles Thank You Card Set

Whew!  I survived the crazy week leading up to Thanksgiving, then managed to throw (if I do say so myself) a fantastic Thanksgiving dinner with my closest friends, followed by another - although slightly less crazy - work week.  So, I think that calls for a much-needed blog update.

So with my guild's 10-year anniversary exhibition now over and done with, my friend Ingrid and I decided that the amazing ladies who organised the exhibition should receive some sort of recognition and thank you, if only just from us.  We decided to get them some miniature orchids and that I would make some thank you cards, so that's what we did.

As you can see, I decided to have some fun making little patchwork-like backgrounds from my scrap papers.  I used my still-new Fiskars hexagon punch to create many (many, many) hexagons, which I then cut down into triangles.  They were a lot smaller triangles than I had originally intended but by this point I was committed and honestly, there was something strangely therapeutic about sticking down tiny triangles onto cardstock.  Must just be me.  Yup.

Once glued, I then machine stitched the triangles down.  Then I layered up a small doily and die-cut circle onto each background and used either red/orange or green Thickers to spell out 'tack' (Swedish for 'thank you') as my sentiment.  Finally, a small sprinkling of gold sequins in a visual triangle to finish off the toppers.

Each card in the set is a little different, as I changed up the background base paper and card base colours and all of the die-cut circles were different.  And on the inside of each card I stamped 'thank you, thank you, thank you' in a vertical column.  Needless to say, they went over very well with the recipients.

I've been wanting to do this sort of 'Paige Evans'-style punched shape backgrounds for ages but I don't have a very large selection of punches to use so this was the perfect opportunity.  And while it was a bit fiddly cutting down all of the hexagons into triangles, it didn't actually take very long in the grand scheme of things and wasn't very onerous at all.  I think it all comes down to your own personal level of acceptance on fiddly tasks.

The triangle shapes could also work well for birthday-themed cards, as they give a bunting banner sort of effect.  You could also try this technique with a monochrome colour palette or an ombre effect would also be cool.  You could even add more stitching for a different effect and more texture, too.

Last one!  Cheers, everyone.

Guild Show & Tell - August

Last week was our first guild meeting since the summer holidays and I thought it would be fun to start sharing some of the photos of projects brought along for Show & Tell.

First up, this lovely scrappy strips quilt top was sewn by my close friend, Ingrid, using a treadle sewing machine while on holiday with friends in Kansas.  How productive was she, sewing while on holiday overseas?!

This delicate hexie quilt is hand quilted; so pretty.

I also really loved this fun fox faces quilt.

Another great stash-buster project:

To see all of the Show & Tell projects and/or more information (in Swedish) from our meeting, you can check out the original ÖQ-Augusti Möte.

Pinspiration Sunday

I know, Pinspiration Sunday has been MIA for several weeks now.  Sorry about that.  No real good excuse, just life happening and my attempting to recover from it whenever possible (in good ways, nothing tragic).  Anyway, we're back today so go grab your hot beverage of choice and let's do this!

Currently:

* listening - radio, Mix Top 20
* reading - The Last Letter from Your Lover by Jojo Moyes
* making - HST Sampler Quilt-Along
* eating - nothing yet but hungry for brunch
* drinking - water
* wearing - PJs
* weather - clear but cold, 10C
* feeling - hungry
* wanting - warm weather to return
* needing - to go grocery shopping
* planning - quilting bucket list
* thinking - new list of cards to make this month
* loving - snuggle time with Oskar
* enjoying - crafty goodness

And now on to the pins...

Take Flight

So beautiful and whimsical.  Sadly, this is just a Flickr photo and there is no linked pattern but if you really wanted to do it, you could probably contact the owner and inquire directly.

Scrappy Quilt Blocks

These little blocks made from fabric scraps are so cheery, they're sure to make a fabulous quilt when all put together.

Stitched Owls

Utterly adorable little stitched owls.  These would be cute as pin cushions (if you can bare stabbing them with pins, that is), children's toys or just cute decorations.

Owl Bookmarks

I also really loved these little bookmarks.  They're made from fabric covered buttons and a bit of elastic and embellishments.  Very cute and clever.

Paper Straw Embellishments

Paper straws have become another trending embellishment but I know many people are stumped with how to use them so here's another idea for working them into your scrapbooking LOs.

Circular Design

Big and bold, this circular design is very eye-catching.  I also really liked how an enlarged photo and the journaling were used inside the circle element instead of just patterned paper.

Heart of Butterflies Card

So simple and elegant, I just love this card.  Beautiful sentiment, too.  This one speaks for itself.

Tardis Card

And for all of you Dr. Who geeks out there, how about a cool 3D Tardis card?

Watercolour Triangles

And here's a little crafty DIY you could do for your home decor or work into a scrapbooking LO or use as inspiration for sewing and quilting (or whatever hobby you do).

Pinspiration Sunday

Sunday evening again already so I guess it's time for a little Pinspiration.  Go grab your hot beverage of choice and we'll dive in while supper warms up.

Currently:

* watching - Manhunt
* reading - just finished Still Alice (very good - I recommend it)
* making - felted flower and baby quilt
* eating - pizza
* drinking - water
* wearing - jeans & a striped long-sleeve shirt
* weather - foggy and wet, 4C
* feeling - tired
* wanting - a second day to sleep in
* needing - to type up a long documentation
* planning - multi-tasking several sewing projects
* thinking - mulling over Still Alice
* loving - having used my sewing corner at last!
* enjoying - a day in bed with Oskar

And now on to the pins...

Victory Garden

When you have a surname like England, you tend to have a real soft-spot for Union Jacks and anything English.  I love the soft colours used in this version.

Leftovers Quilt

This is such a great idea - use up all of those leftover and tester blocks to make a big sampler-like quilt.  Such a fun idea!

How to Sew Zippers Tutorials

I always find zippers tricky, no matter how many times I put them in.  This site has several tutorials at all stages of the zipper-sewing process and for various needs.  A handy reference.

Sock Owls

Move over, sock monkeys - it's time for sock owls!  Super cute and easy to make; I could see these being really fun autumn or Hallowe'en decorations around the house.

Washi Tape Card

I really liked the colour palette of these different washi tapes in the background design and the little mix of embellishments is really cute, too.

Geometric Stamped Card

Here's fun geometric card that uses heat embossed stamping on a chalkboard background - really eye-catching and lovely.

Paper Flower Wreath

With spring feeling just around the corner, perhaps it's time to start decorating.  This could be a good project to use up those scraps.

Colour Palette

One of my favourite spring flowers is when the magnificent magnolia trees blossom.  I'm really digging these fresh, spring greens; that Pantone radiant orchid pink and the hints of grey blue and deep brown.

Okay, folks - it's a short week this time around; that's all for today!

I Have a Dream...

So yesterday I had a wonderful day spent scrapping, which means today I have a new LO to share with you.  You may remember that about two weeks ago I shared the following photo of supplies with you:

I was all set to start this LO when I suddenly discovered that I hadn't printed the photo like I thought I had so then I had to wait until my new photo order came in.  Anyway, those supplies turned into this:

I Have a Dream...

This beautiful photo realistic chalk pastel paper from Webster's Pages was actually available at the local Panduro Hobby here in Sweden shortly after New Year so I snatched up several sheets of what was available.  This is not my typical style of paper *at all* but I decided I wanted to challenge myself to use it so I've been saving one sheet of it - until now.  A LO about scrapbooking seemed to be the perfect choice for using this paper and I love the soft, pastel colours.

I knew I wanted to have some hidden journaling in the glassine bag and I used my vintage Olivetti to type 'Can you keep a secret?' on the top of the bag.  I actually had a brain wave for most of the journaling the night before in bed so I typed it up on my phone to use later.

For the rest of the LO, I decided to just use a lot of layering and dug into my scrap basket.  There's sort of a little bit of everything in there - corrugated cardstock, labels, patterned papers, a transparency, a banner, washi tape, stickers, etc.  I decided to add the frames while working on the fly and I quite like how they draw your attention into the photo.  Some dimensional embellishments with the cork arrows, the flair and enamel dots.  I also used a 2Peas star paper clip and oh my, such fun!  I can tell I'm going to become obsessed with those...

I also used some word, phrase and number stickers, sprinkled around the page.  I knew the moment I saw that MME phrase sticker, 'Reach, Imagine, Dream' that it was perfect for this LO.  I'm also really loving that Kensei Thickers font.

Just One Slab - Albertan Relief Quilts

Last night I was browsing through Quilter Blogs and stumbled across a great charity project:

Naptime Quilter Blog

Here's the run-down: As you may be aware, southern Alberta suffered a horrible flood recently and while the immediate danger is gone, many people are still suffering and in need.  Cheryl Arkison is organising quilt block donations - just the blocks - which will then be sandwiched and quilted by local quilters and donated to recovering southern Albertans.  Sounds absolutely awesome and brilliant!

I've long thought about making a scrappy quilt.  I'm one of those people that hates to throw away even small scraps, be it fabric or pretty paper, so the idea of using up those little bits really appeals to me.  However, the OCD part of me often struggles with the complete randomness and lack of cohesion scrappy quilts typically embody.  But the colourway slab idea that Cheryl is using is awesome - scrappy but organised enough to make me happy inside.  I also love that there's no pattern involved, no measuring - just sew randomly as you please; it's like a fun jigsaw puzzle figuring out how to put all those scraps together in the best possible way, such a fun challenge.

So first thing this morning I dug through all of my fabric and picked out scraps and pieces of fabric I knew I wasn't going to use or was happy to donate.  Here's my piles:

It doesn't look like much here but there's plenty even for 15.5" blocks!  Next I sorted everything into colourways and got started sewing.  Oskar made sure to lend a hand with the tedious job of pressing the fabric.  He's extremely helpful that way.

So far today I've sewn four blocks and I have plans to continue with more.  I'll take photos to share tomorrow when there's better daylight so stay tuned for more.  I've been enjoying sewing these blocks so much I'm even thinking of making one for myself after I've done a set for the charity; they're just so fun and easy to whip up and they look really striking - a modern twist on the scrappy.

If you're a fellow quilter, I encourage you to please visit Naptime Quilter and help Cheryl with this thoughtful project - a little goes a long way!