Totally In Stitches

Since I have not picked up a needle and thread since my son was born over a year ago, I have decided to change my former cross-stitching blog to a papercrafting and general crafting blog. I hope you enjoy my new ideas and what I have to share :)

My mom purchased a Cricut Expression in October to make decorations for my son's first birthday party. Ever since then, I have been hooked! I have most recently been experimenting with card-making. I decided to participate in Cardabilities Sketch #19 Challenge. My fiance's 40th birthday is coming up on the 14th and I needed a card for him. Sorry for the glare in the pictures. It was the best I could do at almost 1am. I hope to build a light box soon.

The card is 5x7. I designed it on my Gypsy. I used:

Plantin Schoolbook - Scallop (I reshaped one of the oval monograms and hid the letter.)

Smiley Cards - Guitar, speech bubble, and ROCK ON

A Child's Year - Font (I cut the sentiment out of vinyl.)

Gypsy Wanderings and George - Stars

Swiss Dots folder for the gold strip.

The metallic papers are from my mom's stash.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope you'll come back again soon! :)

Materials Needed:

Stitched Piece
Backing Fabric
StyroFoam
Quilt Batting
Cutting Mat, Cutter, and Ruler (scissors and a ruler should work as well)
Iron
Tacky Glue
Straight Pins
Embellishments (Ribbons, Buttons, etc...)

Click on any of the pictures to view a larger image.

Step 1: Gather all supplies.

I used a Styrofoam piece measuring 1-15/16 X 3-7/8 X3-7/8. (This size works perfectly for Fair & Square Squares.) This size "cube" can be purchased from JoAnn's or Michael's. I like this size because I do not have to bother with cutting the Styrofoam.

Your stitched piece and backing fabric should be able to overlap the face of the cube by at least 3/4in.

You will need at least 2 pieces of quilt batting the same size as the front and back of the cube. Depending on the thickness of your quilt batting, you may use 1 or 2 squares on the front and the back. I use two on each side because I like my cubes a little more padded.

Step 2: Place a generous amount of tacky glue on the front of the cube. Attach the layer of quilt batting.

If you are using 2 layers of quilt batting, you can usually attach the second layer without using any extra glue. It tends to stick to the first layer.

Step 3: Repeat for the back.

Step 4: Iron your stitched piece and your backing fabric.

Your backing fabric should be about the same size as your stitched piece.

Step 5: Center your stitched piece on the front of your cube. Fold the top edge of your fabric over the cube. Use straight pins generously to pin in place.

Step 6: Pin the bottom of the stitched piece to the bottom of the fabric.

I find that the more pins that are used, the tighter the stitching is.

Step 7: Pin each side of the piece onto the cube.

Your piece should look like the picture below.

Step 8: Fold your corner over and pin down.

This may take a few tries. You do not want any creasing to show on the front of your cube. Repeat for each corner.

I find that sometimes I need to cut a little bit of fabric off to help the corners lay better.

Once your corners have all been pinned down, your cube should resemble the piece shown below.

Step 9: Repeats Steps 5 - 8 for the back of the cube using your backing fabric.

I pin down my corners on the opposite side for the backing fabric. This helps to keep bulkiness from being on two sides of your cube.

(If you are using Fair & Square blocks - use your signature square for the back instead of a backing material.)

Step 10: Cut a piece of material for the sides of your cube.

This material should be twice the width of the cube and about an inch longer than the perimeter.

Step 11: Iron your strip of fabric.

Step 12: Iron a seam down on each side of the strip.

Each seam should be folded over to the center of the strip. My strip of fabric was not cut wide enough for this. If your strip was cut to be twice the width of the side of your cube, then it will fit perfectly if the seams are folded to the center.

Step 13: Iron down a seam at one end of your strip.

The seam should be about 1/4" to 1/2".

Step 14: Pin the beginning of your fabric strip to your cube.

I tend to begin the pinning at the bottom of the cube. However, depending if you are attaching a bow and the size of it, it may be easier to hide the seam at the top.

Step 15: Pin the end of your fabric strip to the cube.

On the end of the strip, I place the pins only where the ribbon from my bow will cover them. They are centered in the picture below.