Monogram Notecards #4

This is what I made from the back panel of the notecards I featured last Thursday.



Supplies: stamps (alphabet by K & Co; free rose digital image by Bird's Cards); ink (Versamark with iridescent embossing powder; SU! Pink Passion); paper (Dollar Tree notecard; The Paper Company); Nestabilities Scallop Circle Large; circle punch; ribbon (Michaels $1 section); MS PATP Iron Gate Fence border punch; paper doily.

This digital rose stamp is one of my all-time favorites! I tried to show the sparkle on the rose. I actually printed the rose onto pink cardstock and then added iridescent embossing powder to the entire rose. I love that effect!

I Challenge You Wednesday: Use Scripture

The challenge today was to use Scripture on a project. Actually, I think it was worded a "card," but I'm sure a box is okay, too. :)

I used one of the paper mache boxes I got from that yard sale a few weeks back, as well as an illustration from a book that was cut apart. The box is slightly larger than 4x4". Here's an all-around view of it:



And here's just the top ...



It was a perfect fit for the top of the box! It had a cute frame around it, so I simply cut that off and used it on the lip of the box. You can see that a little better in this next picture, which is mainly the sides of the box ...



See that cute print on the lip of the box? It was a perfect fit, and nothing went to waste! I used my Sizzix picket fence die to make two fence pieces for each side, creating a sort of gateway between them. Then I cut thin strips of green cardstock with my Provo Craft grass scissors and mounted those at the bottom of the box.

really like this little box and the daily reminder to "rejoice"!

If you remember, I made another box last week as a sneak peek to the challenge. You'll want to check out what my friend made for this challenge, too!

Flowerpot Easel Gift Cards

Our church gave out gift cards to Wal-Mart for Mother's Day this year. I couldn't just let them hand out those boring wraps you can get at Wal-Mart, so I offered to make a pot of flowers to go with them. :)

I got this idea from last weeks' Daring Cardmakers Challenge. Scroll down to the card by "Kathy", and you'll see her flowerpot easel card. What a great idea!

But I needed my cards to do triple-duty, too, so I simply used my new slot punch to make the inside (underneath the flowers) into a gift card holder (scroll down for photos).



I made several like this one ...



And a lot like this one.



And here's a picture of the inside taken out, so you can see how they hold the gift cards. Pretty cool, huh?

I wanted to make them easel cards so they would stand up nicely while they were on display at church (before they were handed out).

In case you've never done a flowerpot card before, here is an excellent tutorial.

Fixing my sewing machine

Remember that I posted about that sewing machine my husband picked up at the flea market for $15? Well, I decided to get some sewing projects tackled on Saturday.

I plugged in the "new" machine, popped in the bobbin (this is front-loading instead of the top-loading like my "old" machine), and ... nothing.

Apparently I had never worked with a sewing machine with a front-loading bobbin before because I had to search online to find out what I was doing wrong. I was loading it wrong, but I discovered quite by accident that I also wasn't pushing it in far enough, until it clicked into place.

So, with that problem out of the way, I threaded the machine, pulled up the bobbin thread, and got ready to tackle the first skirt that needed mended.

You know where this is going, don't you?

The machine would run, but it wouldn't sew any stitches. About this time, I was certain the lady knew something was wrong with it when she sold it to us. I had no manual, so I was at a standstill. At this point, I was terribly frustrated, so I took a break.

After awhile, I got the idea to google the problem. Actually, I googled "DIY sewing machine repair". If you own a sewing machine, you really need to do that search sometime. It was quite enlightening.

I stumbled upon an article written by a sewing machine repairman, and he outlined the easiest and most common problems he finds when people bring their sewing machines to be repaired. I was excited when he described the exact problem I was having -- and said to check if the needle had been inserted backwards.

Sure enough, I went to the machine, pulled out the needle ... and found out it had been in backwards all along! If the lady knew something was wrong with the machine when she sold it, the joke is on her. If not, I still don't feel bad because it was a super-easy fix. It works perfectly now.

And since it was such a super-easy fix, I decided to read on and see if anyone was describing the problem I was having with my "old" sewing machine. You see, the top of the stitching would look great. But if you flipped it over, you would see this terrible mess of thread (on the far left):



And if you've ever seen that mess of thread on your sewing, you know that the stitches pull right out.

Well, after reading a few articles, I found the one I was looking for. I suspected that the problem was with the tension, but I had tried adjusting the tension before, and it did nothing to fix it. But did you know that a sewing machine also has bobbin tension? I've been sewing for 15+ years and I had never heard of bobbin tension before. It makes sense, but no one ever told me about it and there are no obvious knobs to control it, so I had no idea.

I had nothing to lose, so I pulled out the bobbin casing (where the bobbin tension screw is located), and adjusted the tiny screw. Immediately, I saw a difference. It wasn't perfect, but it looked a little less messy on the back. I was on to something!

After about an hour of fiddling with both tension knobs, I finally got it to sew correctly. Yeah!!!

I had to experiment because there are no numbers on the bobbin tension. It's just a teeny, tiny screw that you adjust a little bit at a time (most articles suggested a quarter turn at a time). So I would adjust the bobbin tension, sew on a scrap piece of fabric, and then see what it looked like. Then I would adjust either the bobbin tension or the top tension knob and try it again.

It was a little hard on the patience, but to get a $300 sewing machine to sew correctly again, it was totally worth it! You can see the progress of my adjustments on the scrap fabric (far right is sewing correctly, everything else is "getting there"):



I can't tell you how happy I am to have my sewing machine back! I'll be saving that smaller one for my daughter to learn on. She already asked me on Saturday whose it was since I had both out at once. I told her it was mine, too, but I didn't mention the fact that I was going to save it for her. If I mentioned that, she'd want to have it on her desk in her room ... and that's not such a good idea at four years old. :)

P.S. I wouldn't recommend messing with the bobbin tension on your sewing machine unless it isn't sewing right at all -- like mine was. According to one article I read, it's not for amateurs or the faint of heart. Now, if you're stubborn like me, that might make up for the "amateur" part ... :)

Spring = Babies!

No, I'm not pregnant! :) But I thought I would share the newest arrivals of our "friends," the Canadian geese that hang out at our pond ...



These same geese have been coming to our pond for 3-4 years now, but they never had any babies. I think wild animals got to their nests in previous years. At any rate, we only saw the one goose this year, so we assumed his mate had died. Um, no ... she was across the road at a quieter spot sitting on the nest!

These six little goslings were pecking around in the grass by our pond last Wednesday for the first time. Aren't they adorable?



My kids were amazed that they knew how to swim already. :) And apparently my husband was pretty "taken" with them, too, because he took nearly 50 pictures of them to show me since I was picking up a few things at the store when they discovered them.

I love babies of all kinds. Well, except baby insects and spiders and bees ... you know, the creepy crawlies. Everything else is absolutely adorable in baby form, even if it's ugly as can be in adult form. :) These little goslings might be a bit of a pain in years to come (when they each bring back a mate and have six goslings apiece), but they bring a smile to each day right now as I see them waddling around, following their parents.

We can't help but wonder if the other two geese that hang around here are going to show up with some goslings soon, too! Yikes!

I love spring!

Monogram Notecards #3

Yes, I'm on a monogrammed notecard kick! :) I bought several packs of notecards because they were gorgeous, but they've just been sitting here in my craft room looking pretty. It's time they got used for their original purpose, so I'm "gussying them up" a little to give as gifts.

This is another Dollar Tree notecard that I think is absolutely gorgeous. I love roses. If you walked into my house, you'd notice that immediately. Almost every room in my house has roses in it somewhere.

Anyway, I was going for an elegant monogram, so this is what I came up with:



Supplies: stamp (Coffee House Alphabet by Inkadinkado); paper (Dollar Tree notecard, The Paper Company, Making Memories); ink (Versamark with gold embossing powder); Nestabilities Labels 8; MS Iron Gate Fence border punch; dimensionals.

This is pretty self-explanatory. The only thing that might not be obvious in the picture is the fact that I actually cut a strip off the decorative part of the notecard to reveal the dark burgundy paper underneath, rather than layering another strip of burgundy paper over the top of the decorative panel.

The monogram is actually popped up on dimensionals to add a little extra interest to the card.

You might have guessed that I cut this notecard in half, too. Tomorrow I'll show you what I made with the back panel.

Paper Mache Box #2

This is the second of the paper mache boxes I've altered, and it's also a sneak peek at next week's Wednesday challenge.

This turned out even nicer than I envisioned, and I'm thrilled with the results! This box is the next size down from the box I posted yesterday, but it's certainly not tiny.

I did this one in a musical theme. To be honest, I started out with a particular friend in mind. Her name is Joy and she is a fabulous musician. I just so happened to have picked up this canvasy "ribbon" that has "Joy" written all over it - literally. :) Since I had older sheet music that matched it, I decided to create a box for her. Now I like it so much I don't know if I want to give it away ...



I used the same piece of music for the whole box. It's something a musician might notice. ;) The music is titled "The Return of the Shepherd", and I chose to link that together with "Joy" via a Bible verse -- Psalm 40:3, "He hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise to our God." When we become a Christian ("the return of the Shepherd"), we receive "joy" in our hearts - and a "new song"!

I printed the Scripture verse onto vellum, cut it with my Nestabilities Labels 1, and matted it onto the black cardstock (also cut with my Nestabilities Labels 1).

I've had both roses on hand for several years. An elderly friend (who recently passed away) gave them to me. I added some silk leaves I had on hand from tearing apart thrift store silk roses (to use on cards). Of course, the little violin came from the same yard sale as the ribbon and box. I angled the large rose and violin toward each other slightly, which is why I added that smaller ribbon rose underneath the violin.

And here is a better view of the side of the box, where you can see the sponging I did with red ink around the edges. It was the perfect finishing touch!



As I said, I love this box sooo much! I think I'm going to have to hang on to it for a few months and enjoy it before I can let it go. :)