Guest designing for Stitching on Paper

Hello, hello.

You know my long time internet pal Clair Rigby, right? Well, if you don't, you should ... because all throughout August [while I'm messing about trying to get you to blog about your height] she's actually offering paper-crafters something useful ...

Clair's creates a free 'how to' class, full of tips, step-by-steps and inspiration all based around stitching on paper which she's called ... Stitching on Paper. Because she's sensible like that.

Her tutorial yesterday - which you can read and download here - was all about incorporating stitching with stamping ... and, as I was one of the guest designers for this topic here's a closer look at my contribution.

'Essential Summer Wear':

The most basic stitching on the page is the frame around all four sides. I stitched this in two different shades of thread:

And no ... the stitching is not perfect, or neat, or enviable in any way ... but, it does follow one of the cardinal crafting rules that I live by:

• Do something wonky, splodgy, splattery, smudged or just plain wrong once ... and it's called a mistake.
• Repeat it, do it again elsewhere on the page ... deliberately ... and then it's called a design element. 

I reckon that's how Jackson Pollock started ...

Anyway, back to the stamping and stitching.

• I stamped several different decorative borders on to different patterned papers and vintage book papers;
• then I trimmed around them and put a tiny scrap of tape on the back, just to hold them in place on the layout;
• I then ran the whole page through the machine using a contrasting top thread:

I have a few approaches as to what to do with the ends of the thread once I've cut them free from the machine.

1. If there are two loose ends close to one another I sometimes tie them together, in a knot. It's what I've done in the top left of the frame design on this layout [as seen in the 2nd photo ^ up there];
2. If I'm after a neater finish I push/pull them through the paper and hide them on the back;
3. But more often than not I just trim them down and leave them on show:

As well as using stitching as a means of layering-up stamped border elements, I also added some rows of thread to use a line guides for my stamped title:

And for my journaling:

And, what page of mine would be complete without a spot of plundering some old pages to create an appropriate phrase:

... or two:

Fortunately I haven't had to use my rain mac in anger very much at all since making this page. But sshhhh ... don't tell the weather that I said that .... just in case.

Don't forget to head over to Clair's to read more about Stitching on Paper and pick up a few tips and I'll see you soon.

With another layout.

I know ... they're like buses ...

Julie :-)

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Supplies:
Papers: Papermania 'Happy Days' stack
White paint: 'Picket Fence' Distress Stain
Journaling block: Studio Calico 'Take Note'
Label sticker: Jillibean Soup 'Soup Labels'
Stamps: 'Summer' is stamped in a lovely set by Kars called 'Bold Alphabet' - which also has tiny number stamps in it ... the Holy Grail of stamps for me! 
Vintage papers: from my shop [for 10% off your order use the code: GOODTHINGS10 at the checkout until 17.08.12 ]