Quilt with a background pattern

First, let me say, Happy Card Making Day!!! Hope you can grab a little time to make some cards!

I was in Big Lots recently and saw a $2 stamp with a solid quilt pattern on it....I thought of the technique where you ink up a background stamp and then impress a solid stamp on that inked background to create the background in the shape of the solid stamp. I thought that would be cool to use to create a patterned quilt. Above you see the finished quilt after it went through the Wizard with gutter guard for the quilted embossed look. I also did some stitching around the edges, once I made it too my sewing machine (I told you I was the Queen of too much stuff!!)

Here you can see the pattern from the background stamp. Notice also that the pattern is a little off center....I always learn something when I do a card and I learned something on this one.

Before running the "quilt" through the Wizard, I applied some of these creamy metallic rub ons. These have always been one of my favorite products, but I have been concerned as I had not seen Dennis, the man that sold these, at recent trade shows. Well, at my recent visit to Bonnie Boyle's shop, I learned that he retired and sold the company to a friend of mine, Ellen. I met Ellen through her sister, Carolyn Hurst. Anyway, to make a long story short, Bonnie carries these. I did not see them on her website, but I know she has them. These babies are one of the best values in the stamping world!

Another great buy is the EK Success Stamp-a-ma-jig stamp positioner! I have loved this since it first came out! You see, this quilt was made with a small stamp.

But, with the wonders of this stamp positioner, you can make your quilt as large as you want!

My card is a six inch square, made up of nine stamped images.

If you have never used a stamp positioner, you place the clear imaging sheet in the corner of the stamp positioner. Ink your stamp with dye ink and allow the corner of the wood block (or acrylic mount) to go down that corner (noticing the direction you have your stamp so you can repeat that direction each time) and stamp an image on the imaging sheet. Use the clear imaging sheet to place the dye stamped image exactly where you want it, placing the positioner up in that corner. Hold on to the positioner and remove the imaging sheet. Now ink the stamp with the ink you want to use and slide it down the corner of the positioner. There you have it! I also told you I learned something when making this card. Why not use the stamp positioner on the getting the background image I am transferring to the solid stamp in a centered position rather than it being off center? I did not redo this card, but on the next one, I will use the positioner on this particular background.

To ink your background, just apply ink to the background as it is laying flat. Obviously, the background needs to be larger than your flat stamp for an overall pattern.

Yes, the Stamp-a-ma-jig stamp positioner and metallic rub-ons are a couple of my favorite things! I am sure there are names for this technique....I first saw it in the Rubber Stamper Magazine (another past favorite thing!). Speaking of which, it won't be long before the Nov/Dec issue of Crafts N Things will be coming out....I have not been able to get any paper crafting items published in that magazine, but should have a couple of other type items in that issue.

One other note, while at Big Lots, I picked up some Martha Stewart Crafts kits for making black eyed susan flowers and also photo holder cards. I plan on making more strip quilts for those photo holders and K & Company has the perfect paper to go with the colors! I will share those later :-)