Gift Tag Cards

Summer has arrived at last and we have had a glorious sunny weekend. It is so good to open the curtains in the morning and see wall to wall blue sky. 

(And not cloud over by 9.30 a.m. as it has been doing recently).

 It almost feels like being on holiday. I had to turn the bathroom cabinet out to find some sunscreen as being very fair skinned I turn lobster coloured very quickly. It was a pleasure to potter about in the garden, have meals outside, knit under the sunshade and generally soak up the warmth. The little time spent indoors, after finishing off the washing and other chores that could not be ignored involved making a few cards.

I found these calico gift tags in a sale recently and thought I could probably use them for something creative. At less than a £1 for a pack of 6 they begged to come home with me - honest.

Going to my default mode of flowers I thought some applique would work well.

The calico was sturdy enough to free machine embroider quite easily. I was initially undecided whether to tidy up the frayed edges of the calico with a border stitch, but thought the shabby chic look worked quite well so left them raw.

A brad was added and some ribbon threaded through to complete the "tag" look. It is probably just as well my immediate neighbour is deaf as she might have wondered what I was doing on a sunny Sunday morning bashing away with a hammer. My hands are not strong enough to use the proper brad tool and I find using a hammer much more satisfying (and quicker!). 

Colour coordinated buttons were added for a finishing touch.

The tags could have been left to add to gifts but as my card box is still quite depleted I thought I would use them to decorated cards.

This card pack was another bargain buy in the sale and with some pretty papers added...

...they made an ideal background for the tags.

They needed a little something else to finish them off but I did not want to commit myself by putting 'Happy Birthday', 'Best wishes' or 'Thank You' on them just yet so I went back to sitting in the garden. This was thinking time of course, not relaxing in the sun you understand.

It must have worked because I had the idea of making little fabric legends. By printing and stitching strips of fabric like so...

.....they would be ready to attach to the card of choice when required.

Having added these new cards to the card box, I went back into the garden for a celebratory glass of something cool. 

The perfect end to a lovely weekend.

Five on Friday - Bits and Pieces

Here we are again with Five on Friday joining with Amy at Love Made My Home. It has been an odd Bits and Pieces kind of week. Continuing with some projects, starting a few new ones and trying to finish off others.

1. Cards

It was my brother's birthday last week and I was surprised to find the card box was rather low. I generally make cards for friends and family and try to keep a selection in a pretty storage box. It was only when I opened the lid that I remembered I had intended making new ones but had never got round to it. One of those jobs that goes on the list then somehow drops off the bottom! As the weather has been disappointing (cold and wet) it seemed a good time to remedy the situation.

If I could not play in the garden then the next best thing was to create flower cards with pink and purple blooms in applique.

2. Pots

 It has been half term holiday here this week and unfortunately we have been under a thick veil of cloud and had several rainy days. Such a shame for those on holiday as the sun will probably come out when the children are back in school next week. However, after seeing the storms and flooding in some parts of Europe, a little cloud and rain is nothing to complain about. The early part of the week was dry enough to work in the garden and I finally got the pots finished.

The young plants are starting to fill out and hopefully with a little warmth and sunshine they will develop well. I have not had to buy any geraniums this year as I took a lot of cuttings and managed to over-winter last year's plants in the conservatory. I have no idea what colour the cuttings are as my labeling went wrong, so it will be a complete surprise when they do flower. There could be pots of clashing colours, but no matter as they will make me smile whatever happens. I think I like the process of growing things more than the end result, although that's pretty satisfying too.  

The osteospernum and petunias are making a brave attempt to flower despite the rain.

Many of my pots and all the wall baskets (5 at the back of the house and 3 at the front) are cheap and cheerful affairs that are used year after year. The green wall baskets at the back are definitely past their best with lots of scrapes and scratches but I'm hoping the plants will grow abundantly and hid the containers.

3. Treasures

 These vintage linen treasures were found in a small bric-a-brac shop last week for a few pounds.

The top one is a small table cloth and I initially picked it up thinking I would use the crocheted lace edging to decorate a future project. On closer inspection it has been beautifully handmade, with drawn thread-work and hand stitched mitered edges. I do not think I could bring myself to cut it up so it will be kept for summer days in the garden. Perfect for afternoon tea with pretty china. (Probably more likely to be a mug of tea with an oddly shaped fairy cake, but I can dream!)

 The second piece is also exquisitely hand made with drawn thread-work and satin stitch embroidery.

This is just a small piece about 20 cms square and was perhaps part of a dressing table set. I plan to make this into a small cushion.

I love the little shamrock detail and wonder if there was an Irish connection. Old pieces of embroidery and fabric, like old buildings come with their own stories and history. That is probably what fascinates me. What life did they lead and what stories could they tell?

4. CAL progress

The Dance in the Sea CAL I am doing at the moment is growing steadily. I had got behind for a few weeks but managed to catch up last week. That may slip again though because I have not started this week's pattern yet. There are now six sets of four squares.

None of the squares have been blocked yet and I must get started on that task as it will be frustrating at the end. I have learned so much already with new stitches and techniques. My favourite square at the moment is the waves - top left.

It is already possible to see how the colours are going to work together and are real reminder of all the different moods of the sea.

5. Reflection

It has been an odd week, with a general feeling of being unsettled and not very much happening. So it has been good to reflect on what has been achieved and what progress is being made. When I went out in the garden this morning I discovered the two clematis I shared last week are now fully out and showing off.

. It may have been a grey old week but if it had been hot and sunny the flowers would have gone over by now and their petals dropped. 

Perhaps there is something to be said for slow and steady 

- it makes the moment last longer.

(But could we make that the good moments please, not the bad ones!)