Stitching on Card

 Stitching on card is one of my favourite techniques when it comes to making cards, and there are two websites where I get most of the patterns. They are Stitching Cards and Form a Lines . Both sites offer a range of patterns for (currently) £1.36, but they both have a smaller range of patterns that are free to use, and which I have permission to share in a 'class'. I did that recently, and we had some lovely results - using machine embroidery thread and 300gsm white card.

Beryl used a pattern intended as a bookmark, but made it beautifully with some extra white space.

Dominique made this lovely wreath and decorated it with beads and other embellishments.

Jyotsna stitched this lovely birthday card completed with a stamped sentiment and some sticky gems.

Nadi also chose to use the wreath pattern, but added some rather clever extra beads as well as sparkly additions.

Shilpa made this lovely birthday card and put her own spin on the stalks and leaves.

Tricia also used the wreath pattern (well, it is December) and finished with some glitter dots.

There are other ways to stitch on card, and some companies sell dies for the purpose. Spellbinders have done some good ones, although they do make non-standard sizes as almost everything they produce is aimed at US A2 sizing which is a pain. However, the dies can be used on a 6 by 6 cards with some additions. This was stitched on thinner card (to help with cutting) and with Perle Cotton as the holes are bigger. (Dies from other Marianne were also used, as well as sticky beads.)

It's also possible to use finer thread - and metallic thread works well as the larger holes are more forgiving than the ones you prick for yourself. Here, the bauble was stamped using a very old Chocolate Baroque stamp.

There should be more photos when all the cards are finished!

Playing with Clay

 At today's meeting, we all revisited our childhood and had a play with clay! Some used actual air-dry clay while others used the lightweight clay that's marketed for children (and is available at much higher prices for adults under the brand name Hearty.) Apart from shaping the clay, I think we all found just handling and kneading it quite therapeutic - a bit like having a stress ball!

It will take a while for all the projects to get finished - clay takes a while to dry and if it's going to be painted, you can't really do that while the clay is wet. But, here's a first sight of what we got up to. We used hand moulding, we used various things to cut (from biscuit cutters to container tops) and also used some sugarcraft cutter/moulds.

Barbara moulded this adorable dog (with bone!) from the lightweight clay.

Beryl made a range of biscuit-cut hanging decorations using 'normal' clay.

Dominique made some beautifully colourful creations using the lightweight clay.

Mary made some lovely hanging decorations with 'normal' clay.

Parvin made a lovely butterfly and smaller hanging decoration using the lightweight clay.

Shobha made some lovely creations using the lightweight clay.

Origami Shirts

 Nadi led this project - she's a fan of making cards for men using origami shirts and has made quite a few.

Beryl made a couple of shirts for use later:

Shobha mad this card in beautiful shades of green.

And Tricia decided to adapt the idea using Christmas origami paper to come up with a Christmas t-shirt:

Crochet

 The first three sessions this term have been all about crochet. We have a couple of very experienced crocheters in the group, one who's happy with granny squares but struggles otherwise and several who've never tried it before. We had a lot of fun trying things out, and I expect there'll be more in this post when the things that were started get finished.

Beryl is a keen knitter but hadn't tried crochet before. She made this lovely granny square!

Tricia has done a bit of crochet before, but prefers granny squares to other types of pattern. She made a granny square that grew and grew (and will become a cushion cover in due course)!

And Sue is an experienced crocheter who produced this work of art (although not at our meetings!)

Freestyle Card Making

 Our most recent meeting was the last of the summer term, so we had our usual planning session for next term, and then we delved in to leftover cardmaking bits to see what we could come up with!

Dominique used one of the leftover sheets from our Hunkydory 3D Decoupage selection

Parvin used a sheet of Papermania 3D decoupage

Shilpa used a variety of die cuts and a pyrimage sheet for a couple of cards

Tricia used a La Cie image from one of their mini-booklets

Recycle Challenge

 We had fun re-using some things that might otherwise have found their way into a bin!

Beryl

(Coffee Can with Stencilled Paper and Ribbon)

Mary

(Coffee Can with Stencilled Paper and Ribbon)

Nadi

(Glass Jar with Stencilled Paper)

Sue H

(Coffee Can with Paper Napkin)

Tricia

(Cotton Shopper decorated with fabric recycled face masks)

Felt Pouches

At our last meeting, we made and decorated some felt pouches. This is a project we did about four years ago, but we've had enough new members since then, that it seemed like a good one to repeat. The pouches were decorated with die cuts of leftover felt using some Sizzix Bigz dies.

Some members are still finishing their projects, so I'll add more photos when I get them.

Beryl

Mary

Shilpa

Sue H

Tricia

Fridge Magnets with Sticky Notes

 The project this time was fairly simple, making fridge magnets which hold a pad of sticky notes using lolly sticks.

Beryl

Dominique

Mary

Nadi

Parvin

Sue H

Tricia

Thread Catchers

 Sue H ran our most recent project - something completely different too! We made thread catchers. I know that anyone who has ever sat stitching or sewing knows how many thread ends and scraps you get as you work. The idea of the thread catcher is to store these until you can get rid of them. It's a clever idea. They twist up to keep the threads inside.

Adrienne

Barbara

Dominique

Nadi

Sue H

Tricia