Salt and Sand Postcards

Welcome to day 3 of the Salt and Sand blog hop.

Many thanks to Carol of Just Let Me Quilt for her hard work organizing this fun blog hop.

When I decided to join in the fun of this blog hop, I wasn’t ready to make another quilt of any size, nor any other sizable project, so what to sew???

Yes, POSTCARDS!

And I will mail them out to 5 of my followers.

When I think of salt and sand, I think of the ocean/sea and the beach.

And the ever present seagulls.

I always complain that I cannot draw.  I did draw the seagull, but practically used up an entire eraser trying to make him look somewhat like a seagull.

Next came to mind a lighthouse.  I couldn’t make the light light up but the lighthouse building glows-in-the-dark.

From there my mind traveled out to sea for a fish or a boat.  What came to mind were those thieving salty sailors of the high seas...Pirates.

The skull and cross bones on the pirate hat glow-in-the-dark.

Can’t have pirates on the high seas without a ship.

This ship has already been in a battle...with me. The eyelets and I did not see eye to eye.  It’s a battle ship...it should show some battle scars...right?   

What’s a pirate or a pirate ship without a pirate parrot.  He keeps his share of the booty close.  Dare not to take his treasure!

What a fun time I had with this challenge theme!

If you’d like to receive one of these postcards in your mail, mention it in your comment.  Tell me which postcard you’d like to receive and your name will go in the drawing for that card.  If you want to get in more than one postcard drawing just mention which ones.  I will contact winners for mailing info.

Check out my fellow bloggers that are sharing their Salt and Sand projects today.

March 24
Ms P Designs USA
DayBrook Designs
Vroomans Quilts
Kathleen McMusing
Quilt Schmilt
The Darling Dogwood
Daughters of Dorinda
Annie’s Musings

Christmas Greetings

It’s looking a lot like Christmas inside, outside and on the Web.

And in the mail.

This year’s fabric postcards.  

Question:  Do you have/make odd sewing decor?  I’m just looking to confirm my weird.

I’ve tossed my snipped thread tails in these jars for quite a long time.  A few bits of ribbon and bobs too.  And on the left is the oddest.  I think they are called dog ears.  The bits that stick out when sewing crosswise...like from pinwheels and half square triangles.

Back on the normal front of life is my calendar journal.

Too much personal stuff to cover up.  I just want to get back to life being all fun and games on a daily basis.



I’m working on a Christmas quilt and pillow that I am not thrilled with.  It’s hard to finish a project that isn’t turning out as hoped.  But I refuse to store it unfinished!  They will get done.

Halloween Hauntings

Some Halloween sewing has been happening.

In the stash was a Halloween panel that I bought because I liked “parts” of the designs.  I took a couple of years to get to it.  I don’t always know what I’m going to do with a piece of fabric when I buy it.  Since I’ve been trying to use what I have, it was time for this piece to come out into the light of day.  I have cut it apart and used some of it.

First I made a couple of Halloween potholders.  I framed them with fabric from my massive (to me) Halloween stash.  Mitered corners are not the funnest to do and I’m not sure it made much difference with this particular striped piece.

This was a small image block that I added side borders to make it postcard size. Quilted just following lines in the image.

Then I took a “section” from one of the images I wasn’t overly fond of to make another postcard.  Again, quilting is just following the image lines.



This is the original panel piece (I had already started cutting it apart).

I have yet to make the crows, the skeleton and the tree into something.  Probably potholders/hot plate mat.

Hooray!...more stash reduction!

This next postcard is a section of a Halloween fabric and a section of paper piecing that I didn’t use for the Chillingsworth Wall hangings.

This Bat postcard is my usual style for fabric postcards, raw edge applique.  He is a Quilt Doodle Designs pattern called Going Batty Mug Mat.  I shrank the pattern to fit a postcard.

This spider I have made before but it has been many years.  This pattern is a Patch Abilities, Inc. called Eeek!  The pattern is a wall hanging of 3 spiders.  The medium spider is just the right size for a postcard.

This is my version of the pattern done several years ago.

It’s time to get my postcards in the mail!  Time flies by so fast.  Now that I am officially retired, dates and what day it is means nothing.  I have to make a point of paying attention to that now.

Happy Haunting!

Fall Postcard Sewing

It’s that fun time of year for sewing!

Fall!

I’ve made a few Fall fabric postcards

This design is a pattern from Bloomin’ Minds called Online Company

I shrank the design to fit a postcard.

This design is a pattern from The Whole Country Caboodle called Scarecrow & Friend

I shrank the design to fit a postcard.

A quilt on Pinterest inspired these next postcards.

I cut bits of scraps and then treated it like a puzzle fitting bits and pieces all over a base fabric.

That was somewhat tedious to do so I tried just cutting strips and weaving them together over the base fabric.  While it turned out similar, I don’t think it looks as creatively fun.

Hmm...maybe these two are more on the Halloween side than just Fall with the purple added in.



My September calendar journal...

Happy Fall!

Halloween Greetings

Fabric postcard Halloween greetings.

After the quilt show, I have several new patterns to shrink down for postcard making.  What a fun time I’ve had!

The correspondence side...

We’ve already had our Trick or Treating afternoon.  I got a big kick out of this couple.  I’m surprised that so many grown-ups were dressed up.  Maybe many of them were going to a party afterwards.  I think these two were already partying with their to-go cups in hand. 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

150 Years of Postcards

The world is celebrating the 150 years of the birth of postcards.  You know that I want to be part of that!

The interesting history of the postcard is documented

here

I sent in a couple of cards to get in on the celebration as I so love making and sending postcards.  One had to be fabric, the other art.

There is a bit of a contest for the front and written side of the cards as well. 

That meant a chance to express how you feel about postcard mail.

I’ve shared this art postcard before but had never sent the original to anyone.  Since it had a little bit of a postal theme, I sent it in as well.

My expressed words for my love of postcards.




As I say many times on my postcards...

Happy mail day!

Halloween Postcard Greetings

A few more Halloween greetings mailed out...

A Raven at Halloween is always a favorite.  I have a kinship with him for shiny things.

A black cat.

Glow-In-The-Dark Skulls!  From fabric leftovers of another make.

Here they are, glowing in the dark.  Of course they glow way better in real life.  

Take them to your bedroom at night.  They will watch over you while you sleep.  

Isn’t that a creepy thought!

**insert Vincent Price’s laughter**

Fabric Boxes and Postcards

While I continue to work on my art quilt, I have stitched up a few quick and easy fabric boxes.

I found the instructions on Pinterest where they are officially referred to as thread catchers.  But I don’t have any threads to catch, so they are boxes to me.  I seem to have a bit of an obsession with tiny boxes.

This next purple one made the perfect tiny thank you gift when I filled it with Lindor chocolates and Starbursts.

I will send this next one off with chocolates also when the weather gets cool enough to not melt the chocolates while traveling.

They are pretty simple and fun to make even with all the hand sewing they require.  I made the first one as instructed.  But I thought it to be a bit flimsy for my liking.  So I added fusible interfacing to one side for the next ones.  Much better!

After attending the Madison, Wisconsin Quilt Show and picking up some new Halloween fabrics (like I needed more), and cute patterns for making postcards, I had to get started on Halloween fabric  postcard greetings.

Such fun.

Now back to my art quilt..........

Scrappy Sewing Fun

Two little fabric boxes and one nail polishing mat have not satisfied my desire to sew ... right now!

BUT!

I'm in the middle of packing to move back to my home in Wisconsin!  My fabric is already packed!  Scraps are all that is available to play with.  

Of course a postcard always comes to mind first.  My sweet cousin-in-law is figuring out a way to carve out a dedicated sewing space in her home with red and teal as her color theme.  And I want to be virtually in that space with her.

So I mailed her a small bit of me to display in her new space-to-be.

I also wanted to share with her some of my vintage wooden thread spools for Decor.  They needed a little padding in their box so that they didn't rattle so much.  A quick potholder would do the trick.  Who can't use a new potholder?  I hadn't yet packed my printed Miracle Fabric pieces.  How perfect this piece of collaged recipes is.  She likes neutral colors too.

So I've managed to fractionally satisfy this desire to sew things.  But far from completely.  I've dug out more scraps.  I've been watching my sewing friends share scrappy projects on their blogs and I have the desire to make scrappy fabric too.  I need a soft cover for my sewing machine.  It would look so much nicer than the dish towel I throw over it.

I have chosen neutrals and low volume color scraps for this project.  I don't really have a lot of patience for improv sewing with scraps, but as this piece has grown, I've enjoyed working on it more.

Here is where I have paused this project.  I now needed something smaller and quicker.  You know...more instant gratification. 

So, back to sneaking in a little more sewing play time in between the packing of boxes.  It is so hard to put "everything" away then wait until it can all come back out again.   

XOXOXO

Christmas Postcard Swap

I wanted to join in Sheila's fabric postcard swap.  But one of her rules is that the postcard front AND back are to be fabric.  Although I started my postcards way back in the beginning with fabric backs, I quickly came to prefer paper cardstock backs.

I find that a paper back is more accepting of creativity.  

I finally let Sheila know that I wasn't joining her swap because I'm too old to spend my time playing in a way that I didn't want to.

Sheila is so kind, she offered to swap with me herself.  She was also curious about my cardstock backs and would like to see one for herself.  Sheila received this JOY postcard from me.

And I received this beautifully stitched Dove postcard from Sheila.  The music is a great background for Sheila's beautifully appliquéd Christmas dove.  Thank you Sheila!

Ho Ho Ho

xxx

Annie

Bentley Postcard

My very clever, creative and inspiring art blogging friend, Donna Gray, has designed new rubber stamp sets for That's Crafty!"  Upon introducing her new stamp sets, Donna had a giveaway.  Lucky me, I won the "Bentley" set!  I could see immediately that Bentley could be a postcard.  

Here's Bentley as he arrived to me in all his rubber glory.  Isn't that a sweet butterfly too!  Donna created several stamp sets and you can see them on Her blog, here.  Thank you so much, sweet Donna, for this fun surprise win.  

Happy Mail Day!

xxx

Annie