I challenged blog readers to make a card, or something, from their stash this week. Anything at all, so long as they didn’t have to buy anything to make it … and I thought I’d better take up my own challenge and make something from stuff I had hanging around my craft room.
I dipped into my scraps drawer and found some bits of left-over papers which toned nicely together, but had a slightly vintage look about them. I took a card ‘dress form’ (mannequin) – from a selection which I’ve had for about 12 months and only used one of, and aged/distressed it to give it the right ‘feel’. I knew I had some sewing themed stamps in my unmounted stamps collection, which had come free with a magazine last year – so grabbed those and chose the ones I wanted to use for the card.
My pinking shears from my sewing box came into play to cut out the little squares of paper – in order to make them look like fabric which I’d quilted and sewn.
I stamped the sewing machine, first onto some craft card which was also in my scraps drawer, then cut it out and mounted it onto a scrap of black card, then cut round it again – but making sure to leave a tiny border of the black card visible, to make the sewing machine stand out and not get lost on the card.
The little card with the sewing thread wound around it, was again a stamp which was part of the sewing stamp set which was a freebie with a magazine. I was really surprised at how well these stamps worked. Normally stamps that you get free with magazines aren’t that well cut, but these were fabulous!
I knew that I wanted a short length of measuring tape to wrap around the dress form (mannequin), but didn’t have any of that ribbon which is printed up like a measuring tape. So I took a short length of Rayon Seam Binding and using black ink, I stamped a ‘rule’ stamp onto the seam binding. It looked exactly what I wanted, so I wound it around the mannequin and pleated it a little to make it look just right.
The addition of some teeny-weeny tiny little buttons, in vintage colours, and the front was finished.
But … I hate to leave cards without something of a surprise, – so I drew and cut out a little Something for the Weekend, from another scrap of card and added it to the inside….
which I ran up on the sewing machine.
Hung from a tiny wire coat hanger – a little dress! … Made from some of the same green and white dotty card which I’d used on the front of the card. I added a belt from a scrap of paper left over from the squares on the front of the card and all that was needed then were some pale green teeny, mini buttons down the front. Voila! Something for the Weekend! All made from stash and scraps.
Have a fabulous weekend!
The Art of Cobwebs 