Hi, There, Stampers!
I apologize for not being around much lately. I’m having some health issues and just haven’t had as much time to devote to my crafting as I usually have. Crossing fingers that this is something that is easily fixed and I can get on with life!
But I am still doing some crafting and wanted to share this special project with you.
Sending a Card With a Gift Quilt
Our daughter is a quilter and I love her sense of design. These are not your grandmother’s quilts, but they are beautiful and skillfully created. For a recent quilt, she asked if I had any ideas for making a card with a quilt design as she wanted to include it with the gift. She texted me a photo of the quilt for inspiration. While my quilt card has a design likely more like something your grandmother made, it still fit the bill.
Design Card Quilts Using Squares
The easiest way to design a quilt on a card is to use squares. You can cut the squares into diagonal halves or even diagonal quarters. But each section of the quilt will fit into a square. For this card, I used 3/4″ squares, with 30 full squares and 24 squares that I cut into diagonals. The pattern is something like a quilt I saw once upon a time that the quilter called, “Spool of Thread.” Hers was undoubtedly more delicate than mine, but, hey, mine is on paper!
Choosing Colors and Papers
The colors Carrie used were in a family of reds and pinks more towards the blue side of the color wheel. Even though she said any colors would be fine, I tried with the reds/pinks. I ended up with the dark squares being Cherry Cobbler and the lighter squares being Flirty Flamingo and Petal Pink. (All those colors will continue to be in Stampin’ Up!’s core colors as part of their 2023 Color Refresh.)
My original thought was that I’d use cardstock for the quilt and then emboss it with an embossing folder (which I did at the end with the Gingham Embossing Folder). But as I got into that I felt that it was too “clunky.” A technical term somewhere I’m sure. So off I went to find colors. I started with the current 6″ x 6″ color Designer Series Papers. Alas, I’d used most of my Petal Pink paper in other projects. But I found another pattern in the Country Gingham set of papers that’s in the 2023 January – April Mini Catalog. (Both of these paper sets are available until the end of April, by the way. They’ll retire May 1st.)
To try to keep it interesting, I made all of the full squares a plaid pattern and the diagonals a floral pattern. I didn’t like the way that the plaids looked when cut into diagonals.
I made the envelope out of paper from the Design a Daydream set of papers, also still available at a discount on the Stampin’ Up! website with a purchase of at least $150.
Cutting the Squares
I have an old, old, 3/4″ square punch. To make a card this size, a punch works best. But, if you’re careful to watch where you’re placing your paper on a paper trimmer, 3/4″ squares work out fine. As I make a lot of quilt cards in any given year, I’ve kept that punch around. On the other hand, if you’re making a smaller card (this one us 5″ x 6-3/4″) a 1″ square makes a lovely card, too. Just lay it all out before you start cutting to make sure it’s going to work.
The Message on the Other Side
Oh, I didn’t tell you this was postcard style. There’s a message on the other side of the card which Carrie asked me to include. You might enjoy it, too!
A Quick Pattern
I just don’t have time to do tutorials these days. But I’m sharing the pattern I used for this project. Click here. The top image, printed at full size, is the paper on which I glued my pieces. The bottom image is what I used to guide me so that I put the correct pieces, especially the diagonals, in each square. Notes are at the bottom.
Keep in touch. Happy stamping!
