Link for Becky's Blog:

Cardmaking: Resourcing Old Calendars Into Cards

Thank you, Becky, for letting me be a guest on your blog! 

Some time ago, I got the idea to make cards from an old Mary Engelbreit Desk Planner that I had saved for years. Because these cards are made from somebody else's artwork, I didn't feel like it would be very ethical to sell them.  In the beginning, I was going to give the blank cards away and I didn't want to spend a lot of money on them.  After I was finished with them though, I decided to send them out to my friends and family instead. 

These cards are easy, fun, and allow for a lot of creativity.  Kids would enjoy this project also.  I came up with an idea to make a card that has more writing space for those of us who like to write a lot.  What I did was put the greeting card part on top, so when you open up the rest of the card you have a front and back of white writing space. 

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

The white part above opens up to an 8.5 x 11 inch sheet for letter writing.

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

This is how I made them.  I had already cut out pictures from the M.E. Desk Calendar.  I have a pair of pinking shears that are too dull for fabric and I like to use them for cutting the boarders.  I used two pre-made inexpensive blank cards from the variety store for each card.  The brown one above was a 3"x 5" and the white one was a 5"x7".  I assembled the cards as I was watching t.v., and then went to my kitchen island to spray on the sticky adhesive.

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

I have a favorite box that I use, so that the spray doesn't get all over the place. This tacky spray works just great for my purposes.  But you had better be sure when that you lay something down, that is right where you want it.  No re-dos with this stuff.

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

I have a stack of old newspaper pamphlets that I use inside the box.  I lay down a new sheet each time that I need to spray the sticky spray on the back of a photo, drawing or piece of paper.  Make sure to coat the backs of the illustrations evenly with the spray, and then place them were you want on your pre-made cards and smooth them down with your fist.

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

I ended up making 19 cards from the calendar that day.  Here are a few of them:

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

These were not all done yet, I decorated them later, by using paint pens to make the dots on the sides.  

The cards below I made using the same technique, but with my own photos.  They are not quite done yet either, but I wanted to include them in this post.  I made a total of 30 cards that day.  

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Here are some cards that I made from my pictures at another time.  These are not layered. and are made from pre-manufactured cards featuring my own pictures:

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

So, there you go.  Cut, paste and color, that is all there is to it.  

I hope that you all have a wonderful day, and thank you, Becky, for allowing me to showcase my little cards on your blog today.  

Kathy M.

Making Easy Tapestry Pillows

Making Easy Pillows:

The other day I went to the local dollar store and purchased some tapestry wall hangings, place mats and table runners. I was lucky enough to only pay $1.50 for each of them. I did this project at Christmas, but decided to do it again and show you how.

I am featuring this wall hanging that will soon become a pillow.

I first removed the wooden dowel (I kept the string attached on one end because I want to use it later for another project). Also remove the tassels.



Lay out your muslin. Don't worry about wrinkles, you'll iron those out later. I love my island for cutting things out ... it is the right height so my back doesn't hurt. The table works too, if you don't have an island. I buy semi thick muslin, usually at Walmart or the fabric store ... it is between .99 and 1.99 per yard and the color goes well for a lot of the projects that I work on.

I usually do pillows in bulk. These are some of the tapestry place mats that I bought and cut out at the same time as the pillow that I am featuring. Lay the tapestries face down on the muslin and cut around it. You don't need to pin the two together if you don't want to.

This is what it looks like after I cut it out. It is better to have more muslin than tapestry so that you don't have to use pins (which saves you time and saves you hurting your fingers). If you are using thinner fabric you might have to use pins. You will be cutting off the excess muslin later on.

Just in case you were wondering what my sewing area looks like.

It is a lot easier to sew when you have your station always set up, if you have the room to do that. I don't always have my portable sewing machine out, but everything else is always ready to go just in case I get the whim to sew.

Sew the tapestry to the muslin.

After it is sewed, trim the excess muslin off.

Begin turning the pillow inside out.

Finish turning the pillow inside out.
Use your fingers or a sharper object in the corners.

Iron both sides, using high heat and steam. Press down hard on the seams.

Stuff it with good quality polyester fiberfill. I get a large box of it at Walmart. This time it cost me $19.95 (at Christmas it was $14.95). You can buy individual bags, but they are about $3.50 - $4.00 per bag. Make sure that you put stuffing in the corners of the pillow. I use a chopstick or wooden knitting needle for that. As you continue placing the stuffing inside the pillow, use your fingers to comb it and even it out. When you are all done, hand sew the opening.

The finished product!

Casey's Birthday Gift:

Grandma Jody's Christmas Gift:

"Dolls":