2021 Topic 13: Tiny (News) Print with EAB {by Jennie Atkinson}

  2021 Topic 13: Tiny (News) Print

Aren't these spool projects so much fun!! I just love this idea and Jennie's fabric is absolutely swoonworthy, and looks superb with those words stamped in coffee in the background! And an adorable arrangement on top of the spool too, what a fun project!
~ Leandra

Hi everyone, it's Jennie (Live the Dream) with you today, and I'm here to share with you a project for our fabulous new theme of Tiny (News) Print. I love creating with tiny print papers and stamps as they really do fit my vintage/shabby style, and although I didn't set out to make this fabric and paper spool, I had a lot of fun putting it together!

My intention had been to make some roll up flowers using tiny print for a card but there was an old wooden spool sitting on the desk and it just caught my eye and .... well I was off on a totally different track! I found quite a few different ways of using tiny print .... using both stamps and old dictionary paper. They both work so well with the size and type of print used by Alison in her quote stamps. So a good match!

My local haberdashery shop sells some lovely strips of material which all come wound together and look absolutely beautiful and very appealing! They were slightly wider than the spool and do fray badly when cut, so I decided to go for a fairly rough look! Not one that would have been approved by my Needlework teacher at school, the aptly named Miss Pattern. Despite being quite heavily patterned I thought they would take the tiny print of the Words 1 plate. 

Words 1

I stamped randomly with Archival Ink (Coffee) and really loved the effect. The stamping really does blend into fabric.

I used some matching plain calico to stamp the quotes from Alison's Work and Play Edition. Again the Archival Ink works well on the calico (I always like to keep my colours the same once I start).

EAB23

The stamped quotes were stitched randomly onto the fabric ...... but trying not to cover up too much of the background tiny print stamping!

Once these were in place I was able to add some small bits and pieces of lace and muslin and other embellishments. They need to be quite narrow and not too thick in order that the roll is able to be rolled.

To cover the back of the fabric strip I used Collage Medium to paste dictionary paper onto another piece of calico. Initially it didn't look as though it was going to work but once it dried it was fine to work with and adhered to the calico well.

The two pieces were then sewn together and attached to the spool. This was the hardest part of the project as I used the sewing machine but thankfully the wonky stitching is hidden within the lace and muslin!

To decorate the top of the spool I used more of the dictionary paper and made some tiny roll up flowers (my initial intention!) 

The flowers are easily made from a circle of stamped cardstock, cut into a spiral and then wound into a rolled flower using a quilling tool.

I used a 1.5" circle punch which was the perfect size when rolled up for this project. Distressing the edges also gives a nice finish and once glued I tend to squash them a bit! 

There is a step by step tutorial on my blog HERE if you would like to see how to make them in detail.

I do love combining fabric and paper and especially when the sewing doesn't have to be neat and professional looking! Working with tiny print works best on a small project and when the wooden spool caught my eye I knew instantly that the papers, stamps and quotes would all work together on the same scale.

I was very pleased with the way the Words 1 Plate worked on the patterned fabric and I will certainly be using this technique on fabric for future projects as it certainly makes the fabric look much more interesting.

As always thank you for joining me and I hope there are a few ideas in this project which will make you want to have a go yourself.

Jennie x

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