Father's Day

Happy Father's Day this weekend to my Dad, my husband and my father-in-law.  This is my first Father's Day without my beloved Grandpa who died this summer at the age of 100.  While I miss him terribly I am also grateful for the countless wonderful memories.

Teacher gifts

As the end of school fast approaches I am making teacher gifts.  This year I decided to do some monogrammed cards in a pretty box. I wanted a nice package as well so I hand stitched a "V" on the top of the box in complimentary colours.  The monogrammed "V" cards are done in the 3 colours found in the design on the bottom of the box.  I embossed the white with a paisley pattern that is also found in the pattern of the box.  I hope the teachers will like their gifts.

"Cheers"

This week's design for Freshly Made Sketches was the perfect inspiration to make this hand stitched birthday card.

No message inside the card.

Freshly Made Sketches #88

Bookmark card

I am trying a new design - a bookmark card.  I have stitched the floral design and mounted it on the blue "Spring Iris" card stock.  It is hard to see in the image, but I have scored a vertical line beside the stitched design. After the note is read, the recipient can cut along the scored line and be left with a pretty hand sewn bookmark.  I can't wait to send it to someone and see how they like it!  I'm looking forward to making some more with different sentiments.

I have linked up with Close to My Heart's Heart 2 Heart Challenge that is looking for some sewing on this week's creations.  Seeing as all my cards are hand stitched, I thought it would be fun to submit my bookmark card in this week's challenge.

"Just sittin' here...thinking of you."

Happy 40th Birthday

A good friend of mine is celebrating her 40th Birthday today so I made this hand stitched card for her.  I love how the flower vines wrap around the numbers for a very delicate effect.  I hope she likes the card.

Message inside the card:

Happy Birthday

A Facebook Connection

I had such a wonderful surprise last week when I learned that the company called Days of Wonder, that produces the board game Ticket to Ride, found my blog and posted a picture of my Ticket to Ride card on their Facebook page.  Amazing what can happen from one tiny blog...

https://www.facebook.com/daysofwonder

Ticket to Ride Card

I was asked by my friend if I could design a Thank You card based on the very popular board game called "Ticket to Ride".  The only problem was I had not played the game before.  Fortunately the internet provides excellent images so I was able to browse several pictures of the game in progress and design my card accordingly.  I used beads to represent the train cars and I think they worked fairly well.  I sponged my map paper and tore the edges to have an "old" look.  I hope my friend is pleased.

This is a picture of an actual "Ticket to Ride" board game.

 

This is my interpretation of the board game into a Thank You card.

The inside of the card.

Happy Birthday

I really like this week's Freshly Made Sketches design.  In keeping with the birthday theme from the design team, I made this birthday card.  The stems of the flower are stitched and the flower is done in DMC floss and beads.

No message inside the card.

Freshly Made Sketches #83

Christening Card

A baby's Christening is such an important occasion so I always make sure I have a very special card to commemorate the day.

Love for a Mother

I always like to make a special card for Mother's Day.  I was inspired by this week's Freshly Made Sketches design. I really wanted to stitch this flower to go with the paper so I decided to turn the sketch to work with the shape of the flower.

Inside the card:

Freshly Made Sketches #81

Happy Easter

I know in my part of Canada we are on the verge of Spring and we are definitely ready for some sunshine and warmer weather!  We have a long weekend starting tomorrow and I wish everyone who celebrates Easter a very happy, family holiday.

100th Birthday

This week I needed to make a 100th Birthday card.  This week's Freshly Made Sketches card sketch provided the perfect inspiration.  Each square is stitched with a number inside the stitching.

Message inside the card:

Happy Birthday

http://freshlymadesketches.blogspot.ca

Looking back...

Sadly, I need a sympathy card for a dear friend who has lost her very special 8 year old nephew to ALD.  He was a very sweet and energetic boy who was the delight of his family.  I took inspiration from this week's MOJO Monday Sketch Challenge to create a special card for my friend.

I have included a close up of the flowers so you can see the stitching.

Message inside the card:

May looking back in memory help comfort you tomorrow.

http://mojomonday.blogspot.ca

Birthday Drummer

This week's theme for The Paper Players card challenge is anything to do with stitching.  Since almost all of the cards I make are hand stitched I was excited to enter a card into the challenge.  My husband played drums in a band as a teenager so I couldn't resist making this stitched card for him for his birthday.

No message inside the card.

http://thepaperplayers.blogspot.ca

I was so excited to learn that this card ended up being the winning card for this week's sketch!  Thank you to the design team for choosing my Birthday Drummer as the "Headliner".

Birthday Balloons

I needed to make a male birthday card so I used this week's Freshly Made Sketches challenge as inspiration.  I hope you enjoy this stitched card.

No message inside the card.

http://freshlymadesketches.blogspot.ca

Much Happiness

A sweet, simple stitched card for any occasion.

No message inside the card.

Live Fully

I really like this sentiment and it is good for any occasion.  I like how the stitched scene of the birds is underneath the veins of the fan to add to the illusion of a fan that folds.

No message inside the card.

Cornflower Birthday

I had a special birthday to celebrate last weekend so I made this stitched card for the occasion.  I took a close up of the flower so you could see the glass beads that I sewed on to the inner part of the flower.

Message inside the card:

Happy Birthday

Stitched Lines and Curves #6

Here is the last post on how straight stitches when overlapped can make curves.  I used a variegated thread for this stitching.

No message inside the card.

Stitched Lines and Curves #5

Here's another example of how straight lines can make curves when they are overlapped.  Enjoy!

No message inside the card.

Key to my Heart

With Valentine's around the corner I thought I would post this stitched card for the occasion.  The heart at the top of the key cried out for some stitching so I added it after I did the stamping.

Rose Celebration

My aunt asked me to help her with a special 90th birthday card for a woman in her sorority.   I drew inspiration from the rose symbal of the sorority and from this week's Freshly Made Sketches card challenge.  As I love to create hand stitched cards I thought it would be fun to try stitching this design. If you look closely, you will see the glass beads that I have sewn on to the embossed paper.  I hope you like it.

Message inside the card:

Happy Birthday

The rose symbal from the sorority.

Freshly Made Sketches #70 - A Sketch by Rita

Stitched Lines and Curves #4

Here is another post on the study of how straight stitches when overlapped can make curves.  If you haven't had a chance, check out my last post to see the steps I take to make a stitched design on paper.

No message inside the card.

How to stitch on paper - lines and curves #3

This post continues the study on how straight stitched lines when overlapped will form curves when no curves have actually been stitched.  This post also shows the progression of a stitched design.

This is the final product.

The first step in creating a stitched design is to poke the holes with an awl.  I place my pattern over top of the paper I want to stitch on - I use painters tape to secure the paper while I poke the holes.  Painters tape will not leave any marks when you carefully remove it from your paper.  If you are very careful when you poke the holes you can use the pattern again for another design.

Then I start stitching.  I typically use DMC floss and match the colour of thread to a paper colour. You need to use a very thin needle so as not to enlarge the holes when you stitch.

You can see the progression of stitches and and how they overlap. You simply continue overlapping the stitches and you will end up with a petal like you see in the first picture.

I hope you have enjoyed the steps I take to make a stitched design on paper.

Stitching Lines and Curves #2

This is the second design in the study of stitching on paper and how straight lines can make curves.  Depending on where you start and finish your stitch will dictate the design you are going to create.  If you look at the bottom point of every curve you can see that the straight stitch goes up and one hole over.  The next stitch will overlap that straight line to eventually form a curve and then in the end a flower.  In my next post I will show some photos of the stages of stitching straight lines into curved designs.

No message inside the card.

Stitching lines and curves #1

My next few posts will be a series of cards focusing on the art of stitching.  By following a pattern in a simple design of straight line stitches, curves can appear even though I haven't sewn a single curve.  The layering of each stitch creates the illusion of a curve.  I hope you enjoy this study of lines and curves.

No message inside the card.

A Canadian Moose

I have a friend who wanted a "Canadian" thank you card.  She travels around the world and wanted something special that had that "True North" feeling. I thought a moose and some red maple leaves would do the trick. Hope you enjoy my stitched moose card with a bit of Canadian humour inside.

Message inside the card:

eh!

Stork Delivery

My daughter's teacher just announced her pregnancy so I thought this would be a perfect hand stitched card for the occasion.  For design inspiration I looked to this week's Freshly Made Sketches card challenge.

No message inside the card.

Freshly Made Sketches #68