I am currently showing cards in a gallery in Harvard Square. It is the Stebbins Gallery at 0 Church Street, and we are open on weekend afternoons.
http://www.firstparishcambridge.org/Gallery
While I was gallery-sitting on Saturday afternoon, a woman came in and bought 2 cards, one of which was mine. She told me she “Loved those quilted cards”, and I, astonished, told her that I make them. I was delighted and stunned. I have a fan! And of course, did it occur to me to get her name or email? NO! She even asked me if I kept an email list….that’s my next step!
This above is a new card I made today. The fabric is a perfect shade of blue and it has gold metallic threads in its design. I back it with a cardboard shape, batting, sew the seams and then quilt it. Using straight seams, I attached it to an off-white card by Strathmore.
This combines fabric, paper, lace and stamps.
The card above is more typical of my work, with stamping around the edges, quilted fabric, paper and a little lace.
The idea for this card came from found materials from a trip I took to Denver in 2011. I visited the Molly Brown House and Museum, and used the words cut out from the flyer describing the tours.
I made this card over a year ago and I am surprised that it hasn’t sold. There’s paper, lace, fabric and the text from a flyer describing Molly Brown’s House and Museum in Denver. I made this one before I began to stamp or paint the frames around the card insert. Perhaps no one who has seen it has a memory or familiarity with Molly Brown’s history!
Why do I love making these cards so much? Well, clearly they appeal to my creative side. I just pull pieces of fabric and/or paper and paint together, organize them on a cardboard backing, add some batting if I am going to quilt them, and arrange them until I like the way it looks: the shapes, the colors, the feel, and the overall effect. If it looks a little bland, I might dig deep into my stash of beads and buttons, or maybe my ribbons. Or, I might tinker with the frame and stamp or paint something else on it. Each card take me about an hour all told….sitting, sifting through fabrics and colors, papers and ribbons. I use my instincts to arrange each card. My brain and hands work as one to create a never-before-seen collage of paper, fabric, and paint. I never make the same card twice. Occasionally the result is that I don’t like the card, and often I will put it away for another time. Occasionally, I cut the card up for backing cardboard and toss the remains away.
Also, from a creative perspective, this type of craft gives me an immediate result. An hour of pondering, and I have a completed card! This appeals to my “getting things done” instinct…
I do have an Etsy shop where you can buy cards. The link is:
Although beware that I am revising the site right now so these particular cards in the shop might not be available.
So, this afternoon I’ve had a pleasant time making four cards: the simple blue one, the framed St. Patrick’s Day Card, and these two:
Have a good day!
The cards are wonderful. Literally one-of-a-kind!
Yes. I find them so much fun to make! I am also working on a block-of-the-month with my local quilt store to improve my skills….more on that later! Thanks.