Use Your Scraps! Crazy Quilt Embellishment Tutorial

If you've been scrapping for any length of time, you will have amassed a stash of scrap papers, from the almost complete 12x12 sheet that you used for just a couple little punches, to the teeniest sliver of a favorite paper that you just couldn't bear to throw away. I of course am no exception!

The featured supply this week on Practical Scrappers is SCRAPS. Even though it's not my week to submit a project, I decided to share one of my favorite uses for scraps: "Crazy Quilt" Embellishments.


I've always loved Victorian crazy quilts, and even though I don't quilt or even really know my way around a sewing machine, I knew there had to be a way to translate these to paper.

The best thing about making these embellies, is there are no rules!
The example I'm going to show you today is very simple, but you can do so much with this basic idea.

Basically, the only things you need are:
Your scraps
Some base cardstock
Adhesive / glue (I use ZIG 2 way glue)
Scissors

You may also want:
Stencil or template
Piercing tool and pen (for faux stitching)
Sewing machine or
Needle & thread
Embellies for your embellie (like tiny buttons or punches)



I chose papers from the same color family, and cut my scraps into strips of fairly uniform width, but remember, anything goes! You can use different, more random shapes and of course any colors.

Now you're going to glue your scraps to you base cardstock. If you've chosen a coordinating base color or pattern, you can get really messy with how you glue down your pieces. You need to use a glue that gives full coverage and dries flat without warping. I glued my strips down slightly overlapping.

It is important to get all the pieces glued down as securely as possible, because if you're going to be using the sewing machine, you want to make sure the pieces don't start to lift. (NOTE: I've heard that some adhesives can gum up your sewing machine needle, so keep that in mind. I've never had a problem with it, and I've used different adhesives too. But I only use my machine for scrapping, so proceed with caution)

And if you're not going to be sewing, you won't have that extra security from the stitch, so it's all about the glue :)

I knew I was going to make a heart, so I had that in mind as I glued down my strips. If you're going to be using a stencil, you can trace it out first to make sure you've got full coverage. Or just wing it like I did!





Once you've got your shape cut out, the fun begins! Stitch it up (if you want) anyway you want. You can do some faux straight stitching around the outside, some cross stitches through the middle, anything goes. Even if you don't do a thing to it beyond this point, you've still got a great little embellie and a fun way to use up scraps!



I decided to use the heart on on cute little card for my hubby (shhhh.... um - hi babe!)
It's a good thing this is supposed to be a crazy quilt, because I can't sew straight to save my life. I just did a simple (nice and crooked) straight stitch around the outside and some zigzags through the middle.

I hope some of you have found this useful. If you decide to try it out, I'd love to see what you come up with :)

p.s. Don't forget my BLOG CANDY