Gnome Greeting Cards

I discovered another outlet for my creative talents and find creating gnome greeting cards a great hobby. Greeting cards are becoming very expensive. I love to receive mail and so like to send mail. I make and keep a few of these on hand at all times. Each one is totally unique and no two are ever the same. Thanks to writer Joyce Becker for all her inspiration!

Quilted cards are created with regular 8½ x 11 inch card stock folded in half. A frame is cut out from the front fold. A little quilt is created and glued to the inside of the front fold so that it shows through the frame. Then I glue a piece of card stock onto the back of the inside front fold over the back of the quilt. This creates a sandwich with the quilt in the middle. Then I put a decorative stitch on the frame to hold it all together. The inside of the back fold is blank. I use my Word program to create little versus on regular paper stock and glue it onto the inside back fold. These are cut slightly smaller than the size of the card so that they are centered nicely on the card. Edges of the cards and/or the inserted verse sheets can be made more eye appealing with decorative edged scissors. 

The fun part is in the creation of the little quilts that get mounted into cards. Most consist of 3 main parts. A sky, a middle ground and a foreground. These are joined together with a variety of decorative stitches. This can be done by hand, however I use my Janome 10000 embroidery machine. Next, I like to add life to each one with the addition of gnomes, birds, animals, trees, etc. Some are machine embroidered while others are cut-outs affixed with fusible backing (iron on). And remember you can paint on fabric using regular craft paint.

Shopping for suitable fabrics is a lot of fun and you do not need a lot of material because each card uses such a little bit of fabric! Try to choose fabrics with small designs to keep perspective within your scenes. If you do not own an embroidery machine you can choose to use fabric cut-outs. You do not even need to use the fusible backing - a stick glue works too! I use both. Glue sticks can be used in place of pins to hold your work in place, while you sew it, or as adhesive for embelishments.

Just as an artist paints a picture - you will be creating fascinating scenes! Why not create greeting cards with family and friends! Here are thumbnails of some of my creations.

This one was created with a layer of organza over the water to make it shimmer! The gnome is a cut-out from another piece of fabric. The 2 pine trees are embroidered	The red bird is a cut-out and is both fused on and affixed using a zig-zag stitch. The gnome and little bee are machine embroidered.
This one has an embroidered peace bird and a very peaceful cut-out of a "Sleepy Gnome" (or to be correct "Disney Dwarf".) This one was done with soft pastel fabrics and vibrant details.	The one on the right was created using one piece of fabric with the addition of the details. Note how I cut the fabrics for the one on the left.
The gnome in this one was missing a foot because I cut him from a scrap. So, I cut a little slit in the fabric and slipped his legs through the slit so it appears like he is walking behind the bushes and you would never know he is missing parts.	I try to select card stock that sets off my choice of materials or some detail in the picture. This one is a large size (full 8½x11 inch) that I did to mount in a picture frame.
This card was created for a special person for their Birthday. The gnome is painting dew drops onto the flowers. The dew drops are not visible in the picture. They are created with drops of white glue that dries clear! The border and decorative stitching is done with variegated threads. This painter gnome is one of my creations and you can purchase the embroidery file from QueenGnome. Most machine formats available via email	Christmas in July! Here are two Holiday Greeting Cards created with Stan-the-Gnome. He sure is in a hurry to get somewhere and has Mr and Mrs Snowman's attention. The borders on these two cards are done with variegated rayon thread in Christmas colors! The scenes are complete with painted shimmering ice crystals (not picked up in the scan).
Meet Chaco the first in a series of 10 different gnomes that I am creating for Christmas. Why 10? Because there are only 10 weeks left until Christmas! This collection of gnomes are all Canadian Gnomes dressed for our cold winter! Chaco was drawn and digitized by QueenGnome herself!	This wonderful little card was inspired by a request from Joyce Becker and will be featured in her next book.
I recently attended a "Stampin' Up" card group - now I'm hooked! I created several little 4x4 cards and matching envelopes for Easter. These little cards are  made from paper and card stock; I thought it worth showing them on this page. Inside the card is stamped "thinking of you" and contains a short Easter verse. Tiny metallic butterflies in matching colors adorn the inside and glitter was applied to the right edges of the card. It is very easy to get carried away with this fun hobby - for all ages. And just imagine receiving one in the mail.  Starting in May 2006 I will run monthly features on creating greeting cards in WWGA newsletters.

If you want to purchase one of my fabric cards I do make them for $5 each (including personalization and postage). Contact QueenGnome to order or if you have any questions on how to create one of these mini quilted cards.

I highly recommend these two books:
Luscious Landscapes by Joyce R. Becker, ISBN 1-57120-194-7
Fabric Landscapes by Linda Crone, ISBN 0-87341-836-0