Friendzy Friday-- Fabric Blossoms

Fabric is making such a huge impact on scrapbooking right now with all the cool flowers and trim. I thought I would try to make my own fabric blossoms for this week's Friendzy Friday..

You'll need some thin cotton fabric, matching thread, sewing needle, and sharp scissors.

Cut fabric into a strip. Mine measured approx. 2.5 inches by 6 inches.

Fold strip in half lengthwise. Begin rolling your blossom from the narrow end. Be sure to hold the bottom tightly.

Twist and fold the layers as you roll up the fabric. Don't worry if the fabric begins to fray. I think that adds to the look of the blossom! You sort of need three hands for this, but do your best. You will be stitching your flower from the bottom so you can catch any stray folds then.

When you are finished rolling up all the fabric, fold over and tuck in some of the edges until you are happy with the shape of your blossom.



Keeping hold of the end firmly, stitch up the bottom of the blossom with the coordinating thread. You may also need to tack down any stray folds.

I then sewed the blossoms onto a small piece of stiff white cardstock to make it easier to adhere them to my card base. Some bling, ribbon, Bella sentiment stamp, and a heat embossed butterfly finished off my card.

Can't wait to see your blossom creations from fabric!

August DT Reveal

It's time for the DT reveal for August. I just loved working with the Sweet Summer Time line from Echo Park Papers. I also received some buttons and ribbon in the DT package. I decided to try some different flowers and embellishments made out of paper too.

Here's my cousin Jen and her little guy Luke. I added BG chipboard letters, trim, buttons, floss and Kaiser pearls. I stitched around the clouds too as I was inspired by Carolyn who did it with such effect with the July DT kit! I also thought these pinwheels would really rock this paper line.

My DH with Kovy and our niece Kylie. I addded a chipboard house and heart from Riff Raff, hemp and some trim.



My dad and uncle Wayne. I added BG chipboard letters, and the folded flowers I pieced following the Mar/April '10 issue of CK magazine.


My mom and my brother Bren's family. I added floss and a Riff Raff chipboard house.

I pieced this house using an old Sizzix die. I added a rub on sentiment from Pebbles and floss.

What a fabulous DT package! I just love the results. Thanks TSF !!

Detailed Hand Cutting

For this week's layout challenge over at TSF I challenged everyone to do some detailed hand cutting. I made this layout of my dear friend Lisa using pp from SEI and alpha stickers by Pink Paislee. From my stash I dug out trim, felt, tickets and green acrylic flowers. Looking forward to seeing what everyone comes up with.

Happy Birthday

Avril's card challenge this week over at TSF was to whip up a card in 15 minutes or less. I made this birthday card for our nephew's birthday on Sunday. I used BoBunny papers I had in my stash for quite some time and an embossing folder for the sentiment. I had time left so I cut out a few of the gears and popped them.

Happy 15th birthday Liam!

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

I just finished reading this wonderful book by Swedish novelist Stieg Larsson. I have loved Sweden since our honeymoon there 12 years ago and was familiar with the books and their comparison with Henning Mankell's Wallander series. The best part was that I was reading it during our recent trip to Sweden! What a surreal feeling to read about events happening down the street, in the towns we passed outside the train window or the regions we flew over. I have just started the second in the trilogy and can't wait to see what happens.

Here's a cool shot of one of the narrow streets in Stockholm's old town, Gamla Stan

And a lovely Swedish vista in Lapland.

A typical Swedish farmhouse north of Lulea, just 100 km from the arctic circle.

Just an amazing trip!

Card Sketch Challenge

For a recent card challenge at TSF, I posted this sketch from Mojo Mondays. I love their sketches.

Here is a thank you card I made using scraps from 3 Bugs in a Rug, Scenic Route and We R Memory Keepers.

Happy Anniversary!

It is my parents' anniversary later this month. I made this card for Bobbi's challenge over at Two Scrapbook Friend. She asked for embossing. I used three different Cuttlebug embossing folders. One on the background, one for the sentiment, and a third on the flowers. I also made the flower centres with seed beads and Glossy Accents.

Happy 42nd anniversary!