Look at what I made this morning1

A friend opens her house almost every Monday morning for anyone that wants to come to make cards. We each bring our own supplies, and coffee and tea are provided. We always have a wonderful time - we see what everyone else is making, and we get inspiration from other cards, magazines and the other ladies that are there. Sometimes, I don't get any of my scheduled projects done, but that's fine, because I've usually picked up a new card idea, or I've spent the morning looking through my friend's magazine collection (and believe it or not, sometimes I get quilt-y inspirations from card-making magazines!)
This morning was no exception....
On Sat. night I randomly pulled a stamp set off my bookshelf, and challenged myself to make a card with that set - and if I couldn't find any inspiration, the set had to be donated to charity or sold, so that's what inspired this card. I chose the two blues for the left-side panel, and then used the coordinating inks, plus the dark brown that I used for the key, and randomly inked up my "Linen" background stamp; I also used the same 3 inks to stamp the different elements for the top panel on the left. A quick punch created a slot for the top panel to slide into, and a brad holds it in place. A bit of ribbon in the same brown finishes the details on the card - hopefully it's "manly" enough for cousin John's birthday!

This quilt is finally finished!

I heard of a local group that was in need of some quilts, so I started madly pulling fabrics from my bins. At that point, I didn't really have a plan, just wanted to see what inspiration struck. I had lots of fun fabrics, but it wasn't until I started checking out quick-quilt options that I decided to do the tried-and-true Split Rail Fence.
I thought of making it "on point" (the blocks are set on the diagonal), but I didn't have a lot of fabric left over when I finished cutting the blocks, so I very carefully cut my precious bit of leftover navy fabric - and then realized that I had cut most of the fabric the wrong size, and now didn't have enough to set the blocks on point. So, back to doing just a straight layout. I sewed several strips, and then when I started laying out the strips, I realized that if I turned every other strip "upside down", I'd get an interesting secondary pattern - navy or green pinwheels.
I also no longer had fabric to use for borders or matching binding, so I used some leftover backing fabric, but, as the saying goes, "Finished is better than perfect!" and that's what it is!

From a card-making evening....

Sorry it's been so long - between a need-to-do list that seems a mile long, and being down with bronchitis for almost a week - well, you get the picture!
Anyway, I was at a friend's house a few weeks ago for a card-making party, and we did this fun card. It looks really complicated, but it's made from 1 piece of cardstock, and with a bit of attention to what folds where, some fun papers and a bit of stamping, we end up with this! The first pic is the card closed, and in the 2nd it's open.

It's not a card or quilt!

I went to a Christmas card-making workshop last weekend, and one of my favourite projects from that day is this:
It's a pillar candle, to which we added the rose swirls, using tissue paper, and then very carefully "warmed" the candle so that the paper bonded to the candle. The candle sits on a small glass candle dish, and then on a base, which we also made that day - it's a large can of beans, covered with a section of crimped cardstock, and a strip of designer paper and a ribbon and Voila! - a beautiful gift!
I have a few more projects from that day to share, but I'll have to leave them for another day.....

new swap blocks

I was going to say that I couldn't believe that it had been almost a month since I last posted anything, but then again, I do seem to recall that October was extemely busy, so.....
Thankfully, I finally was able to do two of my favourite things lately - shop for fabric, and create with fabric. I belong to a quilting group on the web, and we currently have two different swaps going. One is a straight-up swap with a partner (you consult with your partner to find out the size she wants, and any theme or colour preferences) and the other is a block lotto - one person chooses a particular pattern, decides on the colour scheme, and then, at the end of the month, she draws the name of one of the block-makers, and that person receives all of the blocks that were made that month.
The blocks here are my block for the lotto, which was a Christmas Star block, and the second one is for my partner, who is making a Christmas quilt, and wanted a Christmas-sy block. I don't have any block designing software, so I go to a site that offers over 1,000 block ideas! I chose one that wasn't specifically a Christmas block, but done up in red, white and green makes it look like Christmas.

World Card-making Day!

I know it was on Saturday, but I figured everyone else would be posting their pics then, and no one would remember my absolutely beautiful cards! (hahaha) I actually did make this card on Sat. but it was almost midnight, and I didn't think anyone would be looking for it then. Besides, I wanted to post the pic of my table-runner before that, so now that you've all seen it, I can finally post my card....
I needed a few birthday cards, and I love this layout, so I made about 4 of them in 10 minutes. I just got some new DP and the new In Colour cardstock from Stampin' Up, so I put them together and voila!

My table runner

I've been wanting a table runner for a while now. I have an oak dining-room table, but it needs to be refinished, so it's generally covered up. I have a Dutch woolen tablecloth, but sometimes I just want something a little less "heavy" on the table. I've made a few runners, but they always were for someone else. I finally sat down last week, found a pattern that I liked, and made this one! It was designed to have "points" at both ends, but I ran out of one of the fabrics I needed, and I decided that square ends would be just fine. I love the saying "Better done than perfect" - it's one I can live with!