My mother has always been fascinated by the sea, and in the past 15 years or so, by lighthouses specifically. This love is encouraged by the fact that she lives at the beach, and sees these wondrous sights every time she looks out of her windows.

This is a small wall hanging quilt that I made as a Christmas gift for her a few years ago using the “Stained Glass” method. “Stained Glass” quilts are where the different parts and colors of the quilt are separated by black lines like the leading that separates the colors in a stained glass window.

I found this pattern in a quilting magazine, but the colors were all done in oranges and reds to simulate sunset or breaking dawn. I wanted to showcase all the jewel tones that my mother loves about the sea. As a relatively new quilter at the time, it was a challenging project for me, and I enjoyed it immensely.

My nephew had a pirate-themed birthday party back in October, and I was inspired to make this treasure chest gift box for him. It’s made with 12 x 12 brown scrapbooking paper, and accented with yellow “hinges” and a belt to keep it closed.

I created my own template for the box, and filled it with gold-foil covered chocolate coins. Of course, with a five year old, the paper box didn’t last long as it was the chocolate he was after! I can’t really fault the boy, as I’ve been so desperate for chocolate a few times that I would have torn through actual wood to get to it!

Papercrafts are not my only vice — I also love to quilt. I look at quilts as fabric jigsaw puzzles. I rarely tend to make quilts for myself, usually giving them away as gifts. I like making something with a person and purpose in mind, whether it’s a quilt, a greeting card, or a sculpture. I like taking what I know about a person, and translating what I know about them into something made with love especially for them.

This quilt was made for a friend of mine named Crystal, whom I worked very closely with for two years. I knew that she loved blue and green, and had a very fun-loving spirit. I chose this pattern because it would showcase both the blues and greens in the printed fabric and because it had a sense of fun about it that really reminded me of her.

I machine quilted all the blocks together, and hand quilted (if I remember correctly – it was a while ago, and I’m lucky if I remember my name most days) the finished quilt using the “stitch in the ditch” method. This method follows the natural seams made in each block, and uses mainly straight lines, rather than lots of swirls and flourishes.

The paper is regular scrapbooking paper, usually in 12′ x 12′. I also purchased quilling paper that was already pre-cut in narrow widths. You can occasionally find quilling paper at your local craft store, but there is a lot more available online. The paper comes in a variety of colors and widths.

For this centerpiece, there are candles, white Christmas roses, greenery springs, tiny pinecones, and holly berries. Total construction time for the first one I made was about 10 hours all total, but successive ones took less and less time, as I got more comfortable with each of the elements included.

You open the bottom of the can with a Safety can opener, and dispose of the contents. Wash and dry well. I then insert a small gift, like a rubber stamp or candies and some shredded paper filler. A good tip for this is to put the gift item in first, and then the paper filler. That way, when the recipient pops the top of the can, the surprise is on top and immediately viewable. Then, hot glue (or Super Glue, but be VERY careful when using Super Glue) bottom back on.

Cover the can with pretty patterned papers, and attach a gift tag.

This can is covered in Stampin’ Up!’s Designer Series Paper in “Dashing” with Real Red accents and a Many Thanks tag.

The images are from Stampin’ Up!’s “Double Line Doodle” set. The inks used are Wild Wasabi, Purely Pomegranate, and Groovy Guava. The scalloped edge is from Stampin’ Up!’s “Darling Doodles”, in the Designer Series Paper. The ribbon is SU!’s Double Stitched Ribbon in Purely Pomegranate.

This was really an exercise to play around with the “Groovy Guava” color. I am not a fan of orange, and I have to make serious effort to incorporate it into my work. As you can see, I still didn’t get much of the Guava in this project, but I did manage to use it.

Mother's Day Card

Sympathy Card

My husband needed a Sympathy card for a coworker of his who had suffered a recent loss. This is what I came up with…

The large flower image is a rubber stamp from Stampin’ Up! called “From the Garden.” It was inked with Basic Black ink onto watercolor paper. I then watercolored the leaves in Wild Wasabi green, and the flower in a mixture of Yoyo Yellow and River Rock. I used Stampin’ Up! paper, and some slick black ribbon from Target. I also affixed a small black brad to the junction where the two ribbons meet.

]]> http://ashleesart.wordpress.com/2008/07/17/todays-project/feed/ 3 ashleesart Sympathy Card http://ashleesart.wordpress.com/2008/07/17/hello-world/ http://ashleesart.wordpress.com/2008/07/17/hello-world/#comments Thu, 17 Jul 2008 19:33:09 +0000 ashleesart ]]> My name is Ashlee, and I am a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator in Savannah, Georgia. This blog is a place where my friends, family, and customers can see my art and the projects that I make.