Monday, October 25, 2021

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge; Thinking of You- Week 4 Guest Designer Spot... Warm Quilt Wishes

It's the last new Challenge for October at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog, and that means it's the last Guest Designer spot for me at this time. What a huge honor it's been, and what FUN I've had not only creating for inspiration, but seeing all the wonderful makes everyone's been sharing on the board! I want to say a special "THANK YOU!" to everyone who has joined me on this October journey; for taking the time to stop by and find out the how-to on each SSSMChallenge! And here's a very special "THANKS!" to everyone at Simon Says !! When we join in on the Challenges, in any capacity, we not only share ideas; we inspire and lift up everyone else with our art, and that's what makes Crafters such a wonderful community! Guest Designing is always a compliment in just being offered to do so, but just giving the Challenges a try is what it's all about. It's fitting to be ending this GD spot with the Lead Team's choice "Thinking of You" as our theme.

For this Challenge, I'm using one of the newer releases from Tim Holtz that I specifically ordered from Simon Says Stamp a few months ago; Tim Holtz Stacked Hexagon Thinlits . I just knew this set was going to make a fun quilt out of paper and it'd be a sweet Birthday gift for my Bestie- who happens to also be my Cousin, Cindy, Cindy is a quilter, and an extremely talented quilter! She's also been chosen to have a couple of her quilts published in magazines. While I am an ardent admirer of quilting, and I can handle a sewing machine pretty nicely...I'm no good when it comes to long-term sewing

projects. I can hand sew things, but I have no patience for sewing something as large as a bed sheet. I do have a couple of quilts that were given to me by my late MomInLaw, just the summer before she died. They were hand sewn by her Great Aunt (my ChiefHubby's Great Great Aunt) and I just figured out they at least 55 years old now and still in very good condition for heirlooms as she intended. Cindy machine quilts hers, and has often wanted to teach me how to quilt, but my sewing machine (purchased brand new) likes to argue with me so much that I end up spending more time cutting threads and starting over, than I spend on actual sewing. I've basically had it up to *here* and am ready to just give the thing away for someone else to try their luck, and get another one. There are people out there who can make a sewing machine do practically anything like magic. But I am not one of those. Cindy, on the other hand, is! And her quilts not only bring smiles and warmth to EVERYONE (yes, I'd be hard put to name someone she has NOT made a quilt for), but it's also the LOVE she has for making these! Before I show you how I did my paper quilting, here's a few photos of Cindy's quilts she's made for me which helped inspire my own project for her birthday gift...

And now it's time to show you how I created a paper quilt...

I know you're going to want that Grungepaper- from which I die cut my spool pieces-

but you'll need to complain to TIM...it's discontinued. *crying*

First thing: a lot of die cutting from stash papers of Bazzille in red, taupe, and navy blue.

Actually, the cutting is made much easier because the TH Hexagon Thinlits have FIVE sets of

each size. You'll see I am missing one largest, but I still had 4 to cut at the same time.

That 5th is somewhere in the pile on my desk...

I had the hardest time trying to find the word QUILT in a set of lettering that had all the letters.

I finally found the full word out of the TH IdeaOlogy Alpha Tiles.(the older retired set).

And while I knew the background would be quilted paper; I still

had to plan where my IdeaOlogy would go.

Getting the Etcetera Mini Thickboard and Scalloped Shelf pieces sanded down and sides Crayoned.

Here's how I was using the Grungepaper:

Instead of using my sewing machine, I would actually draw each stitch using a ruler.

So the Grungeboard not only became "stuffing" but also the main

base holding the pieces together.

I played around with several patterns.

Each side of each die cut piece needed to be edged/distressed.

To keep it all straight (which is important if you're going to make them fit correctly),

I used my ruler to help start the first row, and used each hexagons' points for the rows.

You'll notice this was not one of the patterns shown above, but it's

the one I finally settled on that would look nice on the front side.

Once all the shapes are dry with Glossy Accents holding them down,

you can turn it over and trim off the excess colors and then fit the covered Grungeboard

to the Etcetera Tag.

Any remaining cracks- just fill them in with Distress Crayon!

In fact; when I got done with the tag, I had alot of Distress Crayon all over my fingers

(Antique Linen), so instead of wasting it, I rubbed it all over the tag- heavier in some places.

I also rubbed the tag onto the TH Glass Mat to pick up more bits of that Crayon

and the distressed look that helped give my finished product was very cool indeed.

I'm going to try that again on another project!

The drawing of stitches took the most time other than Distress Inking, but this was the fun

part and looks really nice when finished.

Oh, yeah: real stuffing! I added a Kleenex in between the Grungeboard and Etcetera Tag

just for the fun of feeling that *poof*! Trimming the Kleenex down just a bit with TH Snips.

Distress Crayons are the MOST FUN way to distress anything!

I used an old Permie Marker I had leftover in my drawer of junk...and made more stitches.

I added TH Distress Paint in that yummy Salvaged Patina for some

"grunge look" on the IdeaOlogy metal.

And this is what came from all that...

FRONT SIDE of TAG

(The Blackboard is just a prop.)

BACK SIDE OF TAG

Now, it's YOUR turn!

It's your chance to join us in the fun at

And maybe YOUR PROJECT will be shown off in a Designer Spotlight!

Each Challenge is Sponsored by:

where YOU could win

But you can't win unless you CREATE and
SHARE your make on the Challenge's page.
So give it a try and come join the FUN!!