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Sunday, June 5, 2011

Jingle Belles Rock #23 - Let It Sew

This week's challenge over at Jingle Belles Rock is "sewing". In their own words: "incorporating sewing into our holiday cards; whether that be in the form of hand-stitching, via sewing machine, or even by using a pen, a stamp, or some rub-ons to add some faux stitching. anything goes!" I really like that "anything goes" part. :)

You see, I am not a stranger to sewing. As a child I sewed all my own clothes. I DID! In Home Ec (we still had Home Ec and Shop back then) we had to make a jumper, and my best friend and I both got plaid fabrics. Yes, we did, and we knew what we were doing!!! I got a sewing machine as a gift one year after college, and I still have it, though I mostly use it for collecting dust.

So imagine my delight when this challenge came around! I immediately went into creative avoidance mode, and tried to think of how I could make a card to satisfy the challenge and not actually have to sew. Yes, I'm strange.

I thought back to one of the early PTI sets I bought that includes a bunch of quilt pattern squares. The great thing about the set is the squares not only fit perfectly in a 3/4" punch, but they each contain a faux stitched border. All you need to do is punch out the stamped images then put them together and you have a stitched quilt! Easy peasy.

Unless you are me, which I am. I opted for Christmas colors, stamped a bunch of quilt squares, colored them and this is what came out:

Yes, it's crooked. I was going to draw lines, but I thought they might not erase completely, though now that I look at the card, that might have been the lesser of the two evils.

ANYway, you might be asking yourself how this is a Christmas card. Well, technically it's a Christmas THANK YOU card, for when your friends or family or spoose's boss have you over for dinner or a party or whatever, you can thank them.

Being me, I stamped more squares than I needed, so I made a second card in non-traditional colors:



Now this one could be used for any event, not just Christmas. But I think you should send something non-traditional around the holidays, just to break up all that red and green, ya know? :)

These cards would also qualify for the SOS "Oldies but Goodies" challenge, since they use an almost-forgotten stamp set I own. I love a double-duty card.

Thanks for stopping by!

6 comments:

  1. Fun!! Love the look of quilted squares. Awesome coloring and a great idea for a "Thank You" instead of a more traditional Christmas sentiment.

    Only one question: What's a spoose? :D

    Great card as always!

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  2. Both cards are great, L. I hope you will dust off your sewing machine. My grandma gave me hers a couple of months ago. This is only the second time I've used mine, but I should use it more often to save money. I am an over-gluer, and thread is less expensive than adhesive refills!

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  3. oh HOORAY you have read my mind, missus, with regard to the "anything goes" b/c i reallllly wanted to convey that non-sew-ers (or in your case sewing NON-enthusiasts, since clearly unlike some... [ME!] ...you have actually used your machine on FABRIC!!!) could incorporate a stamp or image that had stitching ON IT ALREADY, and that's what you've DONE only it's waaaaaaaay more cool than i would have imagined!

    i *LOVE* both cards, i totally "get" the christmassyness (& practicality!) of the sentiment, and i would NOT call this crooked, i'd call it "charmingly homespun"!!!!!!!!!!! oh and also ♥FABULOUS♥!!! :)

    ps: and my spoose agrees with this assessment! :) :) :)

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  4. Both cards are Awesome! I always tell everyone that I did it crooked so you would KNOW it's homemade!!!
    Even Amish women on purpose make a mistake on their quilts because only GOD is perfect!
    So this could be your amish card...
    IMHO....

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  5. Those thank you cards are equally important to have on hand around the holidays ... and who wouldn't love this fabulous "stitched" paper quilt ... so glad you joined our jingle belles fun.

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  6. I love the quilt look. It reminds me of quilts that an aunt used to hang on her wall during the holidays, it always brightened up the room. And I agree with a previous poster, thank you cards for the Christmas season are a must, so your cards are perfect!

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I'd love to hear what you really think! :-)

PS: I've had to disable Anonymous comments, because the spammers were killing me. If you are unable to comment, please email me your comment and I'll get it posted for you. Sorry. (stoopid spammers)