Sunday, November 10, 2013

Patchwork Christmas

I have been itching to start making Christmas cards (I salute those of you who are well along this path - but this is early for me!) Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge this week is patchwork which was the perfect inspiration for me.



I absolutely love the Graphic 45 Christmas papers so I knewI would start there.  They remind me of home spun fabric. The first thing I did was cut up A LOT of paper into 1" squares.


When I started I was going to use 1/2' squares.  Three hours into the project I was awfully glad I chose the one inch size! I started playing with designs and finally decided to use a simple pattern of squares on edge. In fact it's simple I can't find the name for it! Once I had them all cut up they reminded be of the beautiful quilts of Marsha McCloskey called Blended Quilts. I've made a couple of them and throughly enjoyed auditioning all the fabrics. However, they take a LONG time to complete. Hence why I'm drawn to paper - you can actually complete things.


Once I started laying them out I had some floral designs which helped me decide on the type of embellishment I wanted to use - flowers.I had these beautiful small prima roses and I paired one with some Ideology leaves I had melted embossing powder on (thank-you for another great way to use the products you already own Tammy Tutterow).  


I also used some alcohol ink on a metal tag, and a Tim Holtz Rub-on. To Becmake sure the squares lined up nicely I cut 1" strips of red paper and glued all the squares onto the strip. It also helped add more depth to the card. Because I wanted it to look like patch work, I used a micron pen to make some dashes between the squares and then around the entire design. 


As I was making the card, I had one of my sisters in mind. She once spent 12 hours making a beautiful birthday card for a member of the family....so happy this didn't approach that time schedule. 


Hope there is magic in your life!

In addition to SSS, I'm also entering this in the Try It On Tuesday color explosion - seasonal!

16 comments:

  1. Beautiful work, Sara! This holiday patchwork is gorgeous. I LOVE the micron "stitches"! Thank you for sharing your project with us for the Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge. ~Michelle

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  2. I simply adore this, Sara! It is such a beautifully done card with that traditional homespun feeling of Christmas! I so love everything about this card...the choice of papers, the design, the sweet little rose and leaves and the altered metal tag. Just gorgeous! Thanks for sharing your card with us at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge. <3 Candy

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  3. Fantastic patchwork, its a wonderful card, thank you for sharing it with us at TioT's this time.
    Yvonne

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  4. Great technique and beautiful creation. Thanks for playing with us at TIOT.
    Hugz, Z

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  5. Hi there. Just popping my head round the door to say hi.
    Thanks for the peek into your creative world today. Beautiful card. Love the patchwork.
    Hope you have a good week too.
    Neil#39

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  6. Wow! This is such a brilliant, stunning patchwork card! What a fabulous way to use designer papers! I love it and the gorgeous Christmas rose on it too - so warm and vivid! Thanks for the visit and have a great week! Julie Ann xx

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  7. The card is stunning, love everything about it. Hugs. Pam#32

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  8. That is gorgeous quilting there and what a wonderful idea
    Bridget #6

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  9. love the quilting.
    The Craft Donkey
    #91
    http://craftdonkey.blogspot.com/2013/11/whats-on-my-workspace-hmmm.html

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  10. What a lovely card - well done. 1 down....only a few more to go??
    Have a great week.
    Margaret #42

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  11. Early for me is, getting my Christmas cards sent out by the 10th of Dec. I love the patchwork card. #13

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  12. This is lovely ! I am a lapsed quilter too - love it when I have the time but just got overwhelmed with projects that took me months (well one took me 5 years !!) to finish & ran out of beds to put them on ! So I too turned to paper projects & love this now too ! Super card ! Thanks for stopping by - if you fancy swapping an ATC as a fellow late convert just let me know & we can swap snail mail addresses ? Take care Ali x #36

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  13. Happy WOYWW. What a fantastic card. I have an Anna Griffin paper weaving kit, which at least means all the strips are cut for me! Ali x #73

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  14. This is gorgeous Sara and as a quilter I can really relate to this. Beautiful and a great way to use snippets!
    Hettie 53

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  15. This is just stunning and what a great way to use your little bits :) happy WOYWW hugs Nikki 23

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  16. HI Sara, this is a gorgeous card, love the papers you've used for the patchwork, and the addition of the faux stitching looks cool.
    Thanks for sharing with us at TioT
    Avril x

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