Fabric Flowers

I've talked about fabric flowers before...

When I went to see my upline at the quilting show last May...

When I returned from Leadership in January, where Jill had also had a demonstration for the demonstrators in attendance.

I guess I never blogged about it (some things HAVE to be just for us demos for a little while, you know! It's one of the perks!), but I kept thinking about it, and wanting to try it.

Oh, and Jill had given me one that I showed in my hair

















So, this week, I started playing around with fabric flowers on my own.

And here are some of the results!



This is my favorite so far. It's made with the large Flower Folds Big Shot die.

I ironed some batting between each of the fabric layers. When I went to the CHA show earlier this year, they had a "small" bag of this batting, so I picked it up.

It's got adhesive on both sides, and you just iron your fabrics to it before putting items thru Mr. Big as a unit. And it's enough batting to last me for a VERY long time! It looked as though it was large enough to do a baby quilt all in one piece.

I did have to re-iron after that process, though, so I decided I would hand stitch around the outsides of each of these flowers to keep everything looking neat and tidy.

If I'd ever dig my sewing machine out (and have some place to put it!), this would have taken 5 minutes instead of about an hour.

Here's a photo of the pieces, before I put everything together:

I'm always on the look out for anything with cherries on it, ever since I decided to paint my kitchen about 5 years ago and put a decorative border of stamped cherries along the top.

At that time, I had a DEVIL of a time finding anything with cherries on it. Apples? everywhere! Cherries? few and far between.

S0 when I went to that big fabric store I'm sure you're all aware of (wink, wink) to get quarter yards of fabrics to make my flowers, I was happy as (a cherry) pie to find the black gingham with cherries all over it.

I'm seriously thinking about going back and buying about 5 yards! Don't know what I'd do with it - maybe make curtains, but I love it! But then again, I'd have to dig that sewing machine out...

Did you notice the new moving icon along the top of my blog (left hand corner)? It's to remind all of you that Stampin' Up! is donating $2.00 for each I {Heart} Hearts set that is sold by February 28th. When can I order that set for YOU?

My thanks to Michele Laycock for supplying the necessary items (and making it free!) in order for me to have that icon. She's an invaluable source of aid in my maintaining this blog.

Next time I blog, I'll show you some flowers I made using other Big Shot dies. It didn't seem to matter which ones I chose (and I chose quite a few!), they all turned out very nicely.

Melie says "Thanks for stopping by"













And so do I!

For my last shares from Leadership (at least for now), I'm just going to post photos of cards that I though stood out from the rest.

They stand out for different reasons.

This one is just outstanding.

Very simple.

Very effective.

There isn't anything more to say about it.









I just love the color combination on this one!

Dusty Durango, Cameo Coral, and Certainly Celery.

I recently bought a decorating magazine and these colors were featured through out the magazine, so I guess that means they're THE colors for this spring.

And I would agree!


And finally, this one.

The designer used the Teaparty DSP (with all it's soft subtle colors), and then just layered and embellished with the colors from the DSP.

Barely Banana, Pretty in Pink, and Certainly Celery...

Did you notice the square scalloped layer? That was made using our Scallop Square Big Shot die - she cut it, then folded it over and behind the layer of Teapot DSP.

I have lots more swaps I can share, but think I'll save those for when I'm really stumped about what to post.

I've been playing with some new ideas, so, hopefully, I'll be posting those next.

In the meantime, I want to remind you about Stampin' Up! efforts to help with the Haiti earthquake efforts.

For every "I {Heart} Hearts" set sold between now and February 28th, Stampin' Up! will donate $2.00 to the American Red Cross to be used for the recovery projects.

So, if you've been thinking about buying that set, now's a great time! It's a WIN-WIN for everyone!

Thanks for stopping by!

So the sun's finally shining here in lovely SOCAL - it sounds as though things aren't as nice in other areas of our country, though. I'm sorry, guys - like I tell The Kidz, it's outta my control. All we can do is deal with it...

Speaking of deals, here's one for all of you...

Until the end of February, for every I {Heart} Hearts stamp set sold, Stampin' Up! will donate $2.00 to the Red Cross for relief in Haiti!

I think that's awesome! You get the pleasure of some new Valentine's stamps, and Haiti receives more money for them to use to rebuild. It sounds like it's going to be a long haul for those folks. But the good news is that as of yesterday, they're still finding survivors! Unbelievable, but wonderful!

I have a clip of the stamp set, but haven't been able to figure out how to post it to my blog. So, you'll have to go to page 14 in the Occasions mini-catalog to see it. You can follow a link on the left sidebar of my blog.

The set costs $26.95 in wood mount, and $18.95 in clear mount.

Let me know when you're ready to order!

I'm continuing to make cards to send to my downline - last night I made this one.

I used a design sketch I found on Tammy Fite's blog, and created my own take on it.

Ran the So Saffron thru the Polka Dot embossing folder.

Used some of the paper from the Welcome Neighbor DSP Pad from the Sale-A-Bration catalog.

Then I stamped a tree from Trendy Trees on a scrap of Whisper White, (since those same trees are in the DSP) and backed it with Pumpkin Pie, as I did the DSP. Mounted it on some Old Olive.

I added a paper reinforcer made from Saffron to the Olive, just to give it a bit more color, then ran some Pumpkin grosgrain ribbon through it to turn it into a tag.

I haven't looked at design sketches in quite some time and decided I need to challenge myself more, just so I can step up my own cards.

Do you ever do that?

Challenge yourself to work beyond your comfort zone when playing with your stamps and papers?

Try it! You might surprise yourself!

It could turn out really great, or only so-so - but you'll never know til you try...
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The grass (well, OK, weeds) in my backyard is turning green and The Kidz and I were hanging out there tonight. I had a blast watching Melie playing in the flower bed. He loves to hide under the California poppies, hoping Smudge will wander by and he can attack.



Here he is, just sitting, looking so handsome!







Here he is, lurking - trying to be a flat cat, so Smudge (who isn't anywhere near him at this point!) can't see him...







And here he is, looking out at Smudge- contemplating attack.





A little later, the two of them went to their separate corners. Here's Melie











Here's Smudge - sitting on one of her favorite perches, right under "the Bird Tree"! She spends a lot of time in that area of the yard...












And Velvet just sits and watches the show every evening, from one of her many favorite viewing spots.









Thanks for dropping by!

Stampin' in the Rain, part 2

Ok, so what was I stampin' while it was raining?

Valentines - using our new stamp sets. I'm making cards to send to my downline, just in case they haven't gotten the sets and "bling".

This is the Artistic Trading Card (ATC) that I made for my stamp club members this month. As a part of their Goody Bag each month, I include an ATC, using a current set or technique.

For this one, I put Real Red CS through the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, then punched it out using the heart punch. I roller stamped the white background with the Romance wheel, using Pretty In Pink, then stamped the polka dot heart from the I {Heart} Hearts stamp set.

Speaking of that set, if you'd like to help with the Relief efforts in Haiti, Stampin' Up ! has announced below how we will help. If you're interested in purchasing this set, give me a call or an email!

"From now until February 28, 2010, $2 from every I {Heart} Hearts stamp set sold will be donated to the American Red Cross’ Haiti Relief and Development Fund. The Red Cross is already well-established in Haiti, and this money will be used to provide immediate relief and long-term support through supplies, technical assistance and other support to help those in need."


Here's another card I've made to send to my downline. For this card I brayered Bride DSP with Rich Razzleberry, and used the new scalloped edge punch.

I also made one of the ruffly flowers to put on it.

You can find the directions for making these here.



And, finally, for this card I used some of the Sending Love Specialty paper. LOVE that paper!

Used the Scallop Trim punch again, along with some of the new 5/8" satin ribbon. The heart was run thru the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder before I punched it out.

I keep seeing these little tags on things on Kimberly Van Diepen's blog, so I "borrowed" the idea and applied it here.




Remember about the Relief efforts for Haiti, and call or email to order the I {Heart} Hearts set from the Occasions mini-catalog. Item number for wood mount is 117010 ($26.95) and for the clear mount is 118571 ($18.95).

Let me know how I can help you!