I’m pleased to announce that I have completed the 80th birthday card for one of my dad’s cousins, featuring Jeanne Dansby’s blackwork Flower design.
In my previous post (In Stitches), I had reported that I needed to add some final additions to the design. After completing that task, I had hoped to add some stitched text to the design, but unfortunately discovered that there wasn’t enough space. I briefly toyed with the idea of purchasing a larger-sized card, with a larger-sized aperture. However, because the Flower design is quite small, I decided that a larger-sized card wouldn’t do the design justice.
I spent a lot of time thinking about how I could add text to the front of the card. If I were skilled in the art of calligraphy, it would have been one option to consider. Eventually, I decided to stitch the text, using pink and silver thread, so that it would tie in with the colours used in the design, and then adhere it to the card itself. I was incredibly lucky as I literally had just enough silver thread. I must remember to purchase some more.
Below is an image of the front of the card. If you click on it, a new tab/window will open displaying a larger-sized image.
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| Front of card |
I placed a blank insert sheet inside the card, and used Microsoft Word to add a suitable message. All I can say is that I’m glad I recently passed my ITQ Word exam, as I was required to draw upon my recently acquired skills. The first step was to measure the width and length of the insert, and then change the Page Setup to reflect the dimensions, and change the page orientation to Landscape. Next, I inserted a borderless table (for the text), which was great fun (Not!). I think it took me three attempts to get the position of it just right.
7 comments:
Dear Crazy Stitcher,
I like the blackwork. The dsign you have done very well.
Just a thought, for the card, would it have been an idea to use a contrasting colour of card? A colour from the blackwork may be?
Wow! Your card is lovely CrazyStitcher!
I really like the font you used (it's so hard to find nice small alphabets!), and the use of the same pink/metallic combination that you used for the flowers is a cute touch, as is the little bit of pink on the thread spool on the lovely label on the back :)
Your slideshow is great! It's wonderful to see all the aspects of the card :) And the seed beads look really nice on the front! I think the white card was a good choice, as it really allows all the colours in the design to take precendence, especially with the additional text, and I'm not sure you would have been able to get a card that exactly matched any of the flosses you used.
I don't know much about making cards (and it sounds like a lot of trouble!), but your text insert and the finished project look very beautiful to me. I hope that Joyce will love it as well! A hand-stitched card is a beautiful and thoughtful gift :) Congratulations on finishing your very first blackwork project!
Mum - Thank you for your comment. I appreciate the feedback.
I think Aurelia's comment has touched upon what I was going to say. If I'd used a different-coloured card, which was the same size, I think the white Aida bearing the stitched text would have stuck out like a sore thumb. x
Aurelia - Thank you for your lovely comment, which has provided me with some much-needed reassurance. I really wasn't sure that I'd done the right thing by adding the stitched text, as the finished result wasn't as perfect as I felt it should be.
I made a special point of using the same pink thread for the spool on the back, as it was important to me that it tied in with the front of the card.
Thank you for your comment about the slideshow. I will admit that it took several attempts. Lol.
Your blackwork looks so lovely finished and it looks great all made up as the card :) I think it's a lovely touch to add the text to it too, it makes it even more special being personalised like that. I hope she really loved it!
The slideshow is a great idea by the way - it's nice to see the middle and the back of the card too. And I still love your little handmade tag onn the back! :)
Rainy Day - Thank you for the lovely comment. I can't quite believe that my handmade labels are proving to be such a big hit. They really are so easy to make.
It's not Joyce's birthday until Tuesday, and as she doesn't want to open her cards until then, she hasn't yet viewed the card.
Wow! I love what you've done with the design. The card is lovely.
Thank you Jeanne, that's really sweet of you to say.
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