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.

Back on the Horse

Well, you've probably assumed I've fallen off the face of the planet or something, eh?  Rightly so - I realised last weekend just before going on holiday for the Easter break that I'd forgotten to post my WIP Wednesday - or anything else, for that matter.

Enjoying some tall, dark and handsome...

So where did I go, you ask?  Why, Ireland!  Dublin mostly but I also did a day trip up to Belfast; a great holiday and very relaxing.  Among the highlights included:

• official certification for whiskey tasting at the Jameson distillery (yum!)
• a pint of Guinness atop the Gravity Bar
• a private canal boat tour along the Liffey
• Irish music/dancing dinner & show
• Irish fairies and folklore dinner & storytelling
• touring the Titanic museum

Okay, I won't bore you with further holiday gushing (that's for subjecting to Facebook friends - mwhahahahaa!).

Now since having set up my adorable little sewing corner, I've been totally infatuated with getting back in touch with sewing and quilting - which is good and no complaints there.  However, it has meant that I've not done any scrapbooking or papercrafting for a whole two months!  Can you believe it?

Two months!

To say that I'm a wee bit behind in card-making is something of an understatement.  (I'm never behind in scrapbooking; I refuse to look at it that way.  Or you could argue that I'm always behind in scrapbooking and that's okay with me.)  So since I need to wait until the shops are open to buy more Aurifil thread to continue sewing, I decided today would be a card-making catch-up day.  I made a list and realised I have at least six cards that need making - mostly birthdays (some now much belated - eek!), some thank yous and a wedding (!) card.

Thank You (So So Much)

First off the press was this thank you card for my friend who came around while I was on holiday to take care of Oskar for me (even though she's allergic to cats - now that's a true friend!).  I'm still crushing on using Pebbles' From Me to You for card-making; it's just so versatile and has beautiful colours.  I paired it with some Dear Lizzy anchor paper and layered up different elements until it felt balanced.  I really liked the little pops of yellow that worked their way in, too.

Celebrate No. 4

Next I worked on a belated birthday card for a friend's daughter who turned 4 end of March (yes, I know, don't judge me).  I decided to go with super girlie and thus the copious amounts of pink, the Dear Lizzy horses paper, the puffy hearts and silver glitter, etc.  Incidentally, I liked how this card still conveys the 'happy birthday' idea without using that exact phrase.  I even finally boxed up the card and gift and packaged them all up for posting tomorrow - go me!

Thank You

And finally for today, a super quick and dirty thank you card made with some free gifts from Papercraft Inspirations - the card base was pre-printed and came with these pretty coloured and 3D acetate butterfly embellishments.  A quick stamped sentiment and some rhinestones finishes it off.  This is going to the gal who runs the Stash Busters challenges over on 2Peas, along with a ziplock bag of goodies for all her hard work, time and money she spends on making the challenges and providing prizes and postage costs, etc.  Another item I've been meaning to post for ages and that will finally be going out tomorrow - whew!

Just Saying...Thanks

Hello and TGIF!  Not only is it Friday, but in my world, it's sports break!  Here in Sweden, sports break is our version of spring break, except everyone travels to go downhill skiing.  Except me.  I hole myself up in my flat and try to recuperate from having traveled over the Christmas break.  It's a truly wonderful time of the year.  :P

I've been slowly flexing my crafting muscles again after the winter holidays break and I've made up a few much-needed thank you cards.  Let's take a look, shall we?

First of all, I'd like to say that I'm totally and utterly smitten with Pebbles' From Me to You collection.  If you're a card-maker, this collection is absolutely a must-have!  I've found that I keep turning to it time and time again and it's wonderful for all sorts of cards from birthdays to thank-yous.

I drew a fair bit of colour inspiration from the February 2Peas mood board; specifically the pink and chalkboard elements, plus a bit of freehand doodling.

This first card is for a colleague from work whom is also my wonderful yoga instructor who will soon be moving to Switzerland.  I wanted to make sure she got a card before she left.

 Thanks Card

Despite having photographed it in natural daylight, the colour is a touch off and the chalkboard looks more brown than black but I can assure you it is very black in real life.  This was in fact the design that kept me up most of a night.  Everything is layered with some messy black thread on the bottom to give some added interested, texture and fill some of the white space.  The black enamel dots really helped make everything pop and the doodled line around the edge grounds the design.

I also needed a second thank you card for a friend who helped cat-sit Oskar during the bathroom renovation from Hell and over the winter holidays while I was away.  Rather than re-invent the wheel, I took the same design as above and made a second card.

Just a Note to Say...Thanks Card

Again, all layered with the chalkboard banner and a chipboard tag and some floral stickers.  I also added a chipboard bouquet and some embroidery floss for the fibre element.  Another doodled edge to ground the image.  On the inside of the card I've added a little glassine bag, in which I'll add a personal note and an extra surprise.

I've linked up available supplies for both cards to my 2Peas account - just click through the links below the pictures if you're interested in seeing what I used and the manufacturers.

Quick Cards - Tatty Teddy

I've been in between inspiration the last few days but I have a friend coming over for a crop tomorrow so I'm working on getting myself back into a scrapping mood by working on some quick cards today.

Thank You Teddy & Happy Birthday Teddy

I decided to use up a few more of the Tatty Teddy chipboards I received as a free gift from an issue of Papercraft Inspirations and to make them go more quickly, I simply scraplifted my previous design concept and made a few tweaks here and there for each card.  I also used up scraps from my scrap basket and two 6x6 papers someone sent me in a swap a few years ago so it feels good to clear out some of that paper.

Now, look carefully at the bottom right corner of the birthday card - see that typed 'Happy Birthday' sentiment?  I did that on my "new" (new-to-me) typewriter, an old Olivetti!

Isn't she gorgeous?!  I'm still working out the model number in the hopes that it will help with purchasing the right replacement ribbon - if you happen to recognise it or have a good website to help with this, I'm all ears!  I'm estimating it to be from the 1960s, based on some preliminary photo comparisons I've done so far.

It's in very good condition - only one key that doesn't work (where the number 1 would be) but I'm not fussed over that and can substitute an 'l' for a 1 if needed.  Types in both black and red.  Case was included.  It took three weeks to finally pick it up from the previous owners but I'm so looking forward to using it for some journaling here and there on my future projects.

Do you have an old typewriter that you use for your papercrafting?  I'd love to hear how you use yours, if you do.  I'm going to test out typing on vellum and then directly onto photos (that doesn't bother me).  I'm also planning on buying some clear washi tape to type onto for journaling.