Monday, March 3, 2014

Merry Monday Stitched and Buttoned

It's Merry Monday time again.


Sue chose this fun challenge for us this week.


I used to sew all the time.

 I made all our daughter's and my clothes for many years.

That's in the past.  

My sewing machine is closed up.

Grandsons and open sewing machines don't mix well.

So I've reverted to faux sewing

and buttons.

And I love the way this turned out!

Except that I can't draw stitch lines any straighter than I can sew them!

The little buttons were punched out of scraps with a 1/4" circle punch.  Before I punched them, I used my Paper Piercing tool to punch a couple of holes so they'd look like buttons. This way the card is fairly flat and will mail easily.

The background looked a little bare and none of my embossing folders seemed quite right so I held a ruler on it and "stitched" the basting lines with my Sahara Sand Marker.

The Stitched Mats Rectangle (Lil Inkers) finished it off perfectly.

The Christmas tree stamp was made by Outlines Rubber Stamp Co. which is no longer in business.  I was lucky enough to see this for sale on another blog.  Yay, Monika! I finally used it!

Cuttlebug Mania
gets another visit with the Touchy Feely bit of buttons and twine.
I used my Big Shot for the star and the "stitching" around the edge.

Pixie's Snippet Playground
cuz I used some itty bitty snippets!

I hope you'll join us at Merry Monday this week.

Be sure to check out the rest of the Design Team cards.
They're sure to inspire you!

Thanks for the visit.

Enjoy!

Card Recipe
Stamps:  Christmas Tree (Outlines Rubber Stamps)
Ink:  Gumball Green, SU Marker (Sahara Sand)
Paper:  Very Vanilla, Cherry Cobbler, Snippets
Other:  Stitched Mats Rectangles (Lil Inkers), 1/4" Circle Punch (Wal-mart), Paper Piercing Tool, Big Shot, Star Die (Verve), Linen Thread, Ruler (DH)

46 comments:

Benzi said...

Love it, Bonnie. Your basting lines are just super and I love the tree full of buttons. Great job!!! Love the star.

Sue said...

Such a cute card, Bonnie. I love the "faux" stitching and buttons!

Di said...

Oh Bonnie, this really is such a fabulous take on the inspiration photo. Gorgeous card - love it to pieces and how do we follow that huh!?

Thank you so much for your lovely comment earlier - mwah!

Hugs

Di
xx

Cynthia said...

I loooooove that tree!!! And the faux stitching is just perfect on this card!

Susan Joyce said...

Love your tree with it's faux buttons and the faux stitching Bonnie, your card has plenty of Country Charm.

Tracey McNeely said...

Awesome stitched background!

Sue - said...

Your lines look very straight to me! Love the tree!

Marisa said...

Love the BG stitching and what a darling use of the bottons/sequins.

Wendy said...

Such a pretty card, Bonnie! I just love all the stitching you did on this and that adorable tree! My hubby bought me a sewing machine 2 years ago for Christmas and well, 2 years later it still sits in the box! One of these days I must dig it out and use it! LOL Anyways, I love the country feel to your beautiful card! Have a wonderful week! :)

Aileen said...

A fab design Bonnie. Love the tree. Your faux stitching looks brill to me. x

Irish Cherokee said...

Bonnie you know I love CAS. This is just masterful. Cherokee has been looking over my shoulder all morning and I can't convince him it isn't and arrow head. LOL love you fun card.

Blessings

jimlynn said...

The "stitching" lines look just perfect to me! Love that pretty tree too. Really has a country flavor to it!
Lynn

Karren said...

Wonderful card, Bonnie! Love your stitching and your tree is gorgeous - I didn't realise Outlines Rubber Stamps were no longer in business. I have a few of their stamps.

Notes by Nina said...

Fabulous card Bonnie, the background looks like a quilt to me and is a perfect backdrop for your fun tree.

♥Gemma♥ said...

Love it Bonnie and love your background too...
hugs and xxx
Gemma

Hettie said...

Wow Bonnie. This is brilliant. I love that tree and the buttons are so cute! Well done.
Hugs
xxx

Princess Judy Palmer said...

Stitched and buttoned indeed! This challenge is um... challenging for sure, but you've done it proud. I like the wee little buttons on your tree which reminds me of these teeny button brads I have. Ah... the hamster wheel is turning.

Kimbo said...

A great Christmas card and I love those cute little buttons. Thanks for playing along at Cuttlebug Mania this time x

Debbie Henderson Debbie's Designs said...

The tree image is so nice and the addition of the buttons is perfect for the country charm!

Greta said...

Oh for crying out loud! I had no idea those were faux stitches until I read it! The buttons are so creative & realistic, too--wonderful card, Bonnie!

Kristie Goulet said...

I think you did a lovely job with your "stitching", Bonnie! Love your faux buttons! Such a sweet card! Have a great week!

Susan said...

Fabulous for the challenge! I don't have a clue what to do with it as I've never used buttons on a card.

Kathy Schweinfurth said...

Darling card, Bonnie! I adore that background - it's perfect!

Joni Andaya said...

What a Gorgeous Tree Bonnie!!! Love the way you decorated it specially the stitched background! So Fun!!!

scrappymo! said...

I think you'l be quilting next!
I think your hand drawn stitching has a lovely country feel and the bottuns on the tree carry this theme forward!

Katie Melhus said...

I'm so jealous of your sewing skills. Making a piece of clothing just might as well be magic or rocket science as far as I'm concerned. I love the quilted look you gave your card with your faux stitching. Beautiful tree, too Bonnie!

Irene said...

Love, love your card Bonnie, and what ispiration. I had to look twice at your buttons as I thought they were real. The tree looks amazing and the idea with the ruler is brilliant.
luv
irene
xxxx

Faith A at Daffodil Cards said...

Your drawing lines look good to me Bonnie and I love the buttons on the tree

Mrs A. said...

A beautiful home spun card. I too used to make all my clothes plus my daughters and even sons kiddy clothes. Now I'm stuck making darn/delightful Christmas elves instead! Hugs Mrs A.

Paper Creations by Shirley said...

What a beautiful and fun design ! Your stitching is excellent, the buttons add charm to the tree. Have a great week, Shirleyx

Kerry said...

Lovely card. Thank you for joining in with our Let's Feel It challenge at Cuttlebug Mania x

Stacey Schafer said...

awesome take on the challenge!

Just Me said...

Beautiful card ..thank you for sharing I am going to have to try this Faux stitch .. and this challenge.

Brenda said...

Cute card Bonnie! I think you faux stitching is fabulous and very straight! Love those cute faux buttons too, what a great way to decorate a cute tree! Hugs!

Karen Davis said...

Hi Bonnie :-) You have captured the feel of the challenge perfectly with this gorgeous tree and faux stitching. I love your background crosshatching, so clever, and I love the wee buttons you made too.

Loll said...

Adorable. Love the diamond pattern you've created with your faux stitching - fabulous backdrop for your sweet tree. Loll xx

MaryH said...

As an ex-quilter I love this! Your lines are terrific..Wish I could do 'em this swell. Love your buttons this tree & that's a great pattern on this tree stamp. Don't remember having seen it. Also gotta snare some of those Lil Inkers too. If I'd stay out of stores & off the internet, I might have a few extra dollars to get some!! :-) Wonderful card Miz B. TFS & Hugs

Lesley said...

Super sweet and LOVE that background, Bonnie!

Deepti said...

I adore that Christmas tree n that beautiful diamond stitch BG :)

Darnell said...

Totally fun and terrific, Bonnie! I don't sew either and love how you've made a beautiful card with faux stitching and buttons ... and I can see I'm not alone in feeling this way!! Hugs, Darnell

Nancy Thomas said...

Great faux stitching for the background. Beautiful card.

Jannie said...

Véry nice!

Thank you for joining us at the "Let's Feel it" challenge at Cuttlebug Mania!

Cuttlebugs & Hugs
Jannie

Lori Turner said...

Tons of country charm here, Bonnie! Love that tree, the quilted background and faux buttons! AWESOME!

JD/ Jill said...

Very pretty Christmas card! I can so relate to your comment. I used to make a lot of my daughter's clothes too (and mine) Jim used to think I was attached to the sewing machine (Poor Machine just sitting in a closet gathering dust now!) smile...

Margaret Moody said...

As always, I love your card, Bonnie! Love your tree and the stitched background too!

Colleen Dietrich said...

You did a great job drawing on those basting stitches. I didn't realize they were drawn on until I read your post further. Wonderful! I do so love to see the L'il Inkers Stitched dies you use often. Now I need to have them! LOL