Holiday Gift Cards

A sample of the tags I made in vast quantities a few years ago.

Time for another batch this year.

The sewn red/white stripes were made like a quilt - sewn,then cut.

The stamped tag is easy & fast if you make them in quantities.

The green/brown upcycles a Starbucks cup insulator.

Snowman was from a $1 deck of tiny Christmas playing cards.

The wooden snowflakes you can buy on clearance every January.

Latest Leaf Cards

So here I am, 4 years later, still making leaves for cards. Of course, now I live in Tahoe instead of Houston and have a basement studio. Once my sewing machine was left alone with my paper supplies, I found that my cards were sneaking over to the machine in the middle of the night. Seriously...I sew the leaves on a mat and then glue the mat on the card. That way, no stitches show on the inside.

"Altered" Jacket (quilted)

I took a class at a Quilt Expo in Reno in 2006. We were instructed to bring a big sweatshirt and fabric in primary colors to match the silky cat-print fabric they would supply. You can see how well I follow instructions! (I used to drive my teachers crazy.) I took fabrics in my favorite autumn colors bought years ago for some now-forgotten project.

Once in the class, we were told to cut our fabric in six-inch strips. You can see how well I follow instructions.

click for large detail

Basic instructions: cut the (wash first) sweatshirt up side seam of body and sleeve so you can lay it out flat to work on it. Do not cut down front until end of project. Cut off cuffs & bottom band. Apply piece of fabric by zig-zagging around it very close to edge. Have next piece overlap and repeat until covered. Add ribbon-type embelishments over entire piece, with edges where they will be caught in seams or binding. Cut large piece for bottom of sleeve to make a small band and line half of sleeve. (check for length first) Sew side & sleeve seam. Cut down front and bind. turn down neck ribbing and stitch by hand to have a nice edge. Directions and samples for this type of project are all over web. Search "sweatshirt quilt jacket.

This project can be done on little money and you can use unlimited creativity. I love wearing my one-of-a-kind jacket. When I had this photograph taken on a recent cruise, the photographer (who gave permissionto publish this photo) suggested I take off the jacket for half of the shots. I told him it was "all about the jacket."

In 2007, this jacket one First Place at the Nevada State Fair in the Art Clothes division.

Sample Cards

My husband asked if I would still make all of these "leaf cards" if it was a different time of the year! I can see where it can be better if those close to you do not understand the depth of your obsessions.

This mania surfaced during the 2004 Winter Olympics -- I stamped out whole sheets of different shaped leaves, altering the stamps, the inks, the number of inks & combos, the type of paper. I'd sit in front of the athletes filling a basket with leaves as I cut them and they fell from the piece of paper. Then I figured out that if I embossed them down the center a basic 3-dimentional leaf shape emerged. Then I discovered that I could nip out a triangle along the vein lines to mimic natural damage and decay. Maybe only God could make a tree, but I could make a leaf.