How to make a cottage garden patchwork gift card

Hi

I spent my Sunday Afternoon making a patchwork from cottage garden paintings I found in a book. It was like making my own mini cottage garden but without the backache.

First I cut out a piece of thin card the same size as the front of one of my blank cards. I drew a series of lines on it to make random sized rectangles and squares and numbered each of them.

 

I cut out the shapes and used them as templates to cut out sections of the pictures I like.

I kept the cut outs with their numbered template.

I then glued them on to my blank gift card.

However .... the ideas was that the sections did not overlap but went back together like a jigsaw  - but I went a little bit wrong and around the middle it didn't work. I think perhaps I should have laid it out first - then transferred to the blank card. The ideas was that there were no gaps which I did achieve.

I think I might try this patchwork decoupage as I've fabric patchwork books which will give me lots of ideas of patterns.

Certainly doing a gift card like this is very achievable in a short space of time so good if you have a busy life.

Hope you have a lovely relaxing evening. I'm going a light a real fire, and curl up under a rug with my husband to watch a film.

Take care

Caroline

x

How to make this Beatrix Potter gift card

Hello - thank you so much for taking a look at my blog. My anxiety was really high yesterday so I decided today would be a day full of things I love doing. First on the list was taking Molly for a walk, next was doing a little craft. My crafts are about enjoying the process and the colour rather than aiming for something from a "how to live the perfect life" type of magazine or book. My rag rugs were primitive but I loved making them, my patchwork cushions were lovely colours but don't look too closely at the stitching!

I often buy second hand books from Oxfam with pictures in I can cut out for making gift cards. Pleasure for me - money for them! Double bonus. I particularly like books with watercolour art work. Beatrix Potter's "The Tailor of Gloucester" was the one that I used to make the card above today.

Making my gift card

First I cut out windows in a  A4 piece of thin card using the tools shown in the picture.

Next I chose some pages in the book with colours that went well together - Dusky Pink.

I moved the windows of the template across the pages of the book until I found views I liked. I then cut them using the same tools as above.

I then set about gluing them to the card. A big picture first representing what the story was about. Then pieces around the edge of the card - then the rest.

On the bottom right of the inside of the card I put the little picture shown above to show where the pictures came from. This was inside the front cover of the book.

And that is it - one more gift card to put into my box to share at a later date.

Hope you too have a lovely relaxing weekend of making and hopefully also baking. I will be making rye bread and carrot and tomato and lentil soup later on.

Caroline

xx