Tatted Note Cards

Design ideas can come from anywhere. Always keep a little idea notebook and pencil with you and a camera. What is thought to be an unforgettably wonderful idea will soon be overpowered by the bustle of the day or the week. One idea that delights me still is my new little birdie. I wanted a signature birdie for my cards. The bird came in the form of a deflated balloon. It was the perfect bird shape with shading provided by the back light of the waning sunlight in a local park on the 4th of July.
The finished card brings so many comments and sharing the story of my birdie makes people smile. So be an image hoarder this season. Take pictures of unusual shapes and subjects. Who knows maybe the spark of shine from a Christmas ornament will be the star in your next project. I love to take pictures of flowers and other brightly colored objects. I use crop to take out a swatch of color, move it into one of my photo programs and use some of the features to create a one of a kind background for my cards or for scrapbooking or other craft applications.

Have you heard of Sure Cuts Alot? It allows the user to cut out svg images without the need for buying a Cricut cartridge for your Cricut to cut it out. Fabulous! And if you choose to buy a file of svg images it is usually between $4 and $12 for the really nice ones. Much cheaper than Cricut cartridges. Makes me wish I'd bought the larger Expression Cricut because it allows the most access to the svg files. Cannot wait to get started with doing new cards with SCAL (Sure Cuts Alot).

Tatted Gift Bags. My new passion. I make the gift bags and tags adding tatted motifs to the front or make a tatted edging and add it to the upper edge of the bag. They are darling using all kinds of papers. I make a second gift bag template out of card stock and glue to the outside paper for the gift bag giving me instant classy interiors on all my bags. They take your gifts from Thank you to Oh my, what a gorgeous gift and they haven't even opened it yet. I also make two gift tags and leave one blank so that the recipient can use the bag again, using the new tag for that.

Happy Holidays, my tatting friends....

Let it snow!

Angel in Progress

My angel is finished except her wings. She is a brand new endeavor working with some new  materials that I have had no experience using. The size and angle of each wing has to be just right. Oh, and the starching. Hmmmm. Then there is her height which can be adjusted if I want. It took me weeks to find just the right thread, Finally I found a lovely Red Lion creme #10 thread. One of the wing designs from another angel seems a good fit. Writing down the pattern as I go is tedious but the alternative is going back and doing it after I've forgotten the pattern which is harder. That's why it took me 5 years to finish Tatted Angels & More - 26 Tatting Patterns. I let the angels flow from my fingers as fast as they came. Not once did I write out the pattern as I went so........ I spent almost 3 years recreating each pattern, re-tatting each one without the benefit of the photos to see if the instructions were right. It's been a learning curve that both pleased and challenged me. I was doing all of this with grandsons surrounding me each day, being my husbands secretary for his business, co-chairing our church's prayer chain, creating enough tatted cards to keep up the inventory for a local gift and art store and to supply my needs for  a lovely craft show that I look forward to doing each fall. My granddaughter comes along (14 this year) and we have a great time sharing our crafts with the buyers and browsers. One of the favorite items at our display was the greeting cards with angels starched and sewn to the front of them, either all occasion or Christmas. I also had some cards with starched and tatted snowflakes sewn on card fronts in the same manner. They are a card and gift in one, perfect for loved ones that live far away and are on your gift list. For wedding showers I love to give a Christmas tin full of tatted snowflakes and angels, starched and ready to hang in windows, on wreaths or the tree. One of our pastor's wives asked me to make a chain for her angel so that she could wear it as jewelry. I love autumn with the lengthening evenings and chill in the air. After a long walk by the river, curling up with tatting in hand makes the end of a great day.
If you aren't a tatter, consider learning. One ball of thread, a tatting needle and some sharp scissors can save you lots of money spent on gifts. Pillowcases with tatted edges, lovely hand or kitchen towels beautifully finished with a pretty tatted fringe, a tatted heart framed for hanging or delightful little Christmas stockings topped with tatted lace. These are most likely the only tatted gifts a person will ever receive. Teach a few tatting classes and you'll be able to pay for your supplies for quite a while. Try needle tatting, which is easier to master than shuttle tatting and for those with arthritis or other disabilities is less trying on the joints. Next time I will give you tips for starching your tatting projects. Have a great autumn!.