Three Things : Fabric (& a giveaway)
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(Unikko - Orange, Mirabelle Red (Alexandar Henry), Alfie Barkcloth (Yellow))
One of my favorite parts of my recent creativity travel was working with fabric in my projects. I have been playing with bits of it with my sewing machine and starting to collect small pieces here and there (haven't gotten into any clothes sewing yet).
Here's a fabric layout I made in Christina Lazar Schuler's class at Inspired called Textile Anthology (check her Etsy store for available kits):
She talked about making an entire album of fabric pages (the one above is 8x8). I like that idea and I also love that this sort of page can just go in my regular albums as well (put it into a page protector or add grommets to fit to your album rings).
So why fabric? I like to think of it in the same way I think of pattern paper - a decoration. A bit of color. The cool thing about fabric is that it also lends texture to your project. We can all use a bit more texture in our lives. Fabric can be added to a layout with adhesive or stitched on by hand (I actually really liked the process of hand-stitching the photo on the layout above) or with a machine (quick and easy). Try using it in place of patterned paper on your next project. It's also especially great for covering chipboard albums.
Currently I am storing my fabric pieces in my metal shelf:
Here are three of my favorite sites for checking out fabric include Sew Mama Sew (love searching by color), Purl Soho (especially loving their contemporary collection), and Repodepot. You can also search etsy for vintage fabric sellers like Shabby Vintage Mom who has some cute bundles of vintage fabrics.
The giveaway today is for Donna Downey's newest book Fabric Scrapbooking. It's very much a project-based book with step by step instructions and supply lists to walk you through each project.
To enter the giveaway simply leave a comment below. I will close comments and pick a winner on Wednesday night around 7pm (April 23).





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1595 comments
I LOVE Donna's books... and would love trying fabric projects... I am fabric challanged...lol...
Thanks for the wonderful blog... I love checking in daily to see what's new in Ali's world...
Alicia P.
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Would LOVE that book for my collection! Thanks so much for being so inspiring!
Brandi, Wake Village, TX
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love fabric..
i'm always just a little bit hesitant to use it on layouts though...is it "safe" to use with my pics? time to stretch out a little bit i think...
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Long before I became a scrapper, I was deep into sewing. Mostly for the home, lots of quilts, pillows, curtains and such. I have always like to combine the two crafts together with incorporating fabric in my layouts. Fabric is great in strips for borders or for use like ribbon, or even as a background in place of patterned papers. I love to leave the edges frayed for added textures. As in some of my "freeform" quilts, the colors, textures and patterns in fabrics can mimic the world around us and add more vibrant accents than paper.
Cheers,
Karen Geckler in CT
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I love Donna's books, and I have plenty of fabric to get creative with! Thanks for sharing your ideas & inspiration with us.
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I took a altered fabric book class a few years ago. I was a great class.
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Awesome inspiration from you as always! I'm looking forward to the projects you come up with using fabric...one of my favorite art mediums!
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I didn't come from a creative family, so I'm not sure where all of my obsession with this all my life came from. BUT, it also means I'm almost 35 and have never used a sewing machine in my life. My Grandma owned one, however, and I'm going to try my hand at hers that she passed along to my mom. A book helping me with ideas of what the heck to do with it would be pretty fun :) I'm thinking of doing something like your scrapbook page above and incorporating it onto a canvas. We'll see :)
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Oh - I would love this book - your fabrics are so inspiring!
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I am so sorry I gave away an old sewing machine five years ago my mom gave me when she bought a new one. It was my impression (wrong !!!) I had little use for it. She was not too happy when she new I gave it away. But now after scharpbooking for five years I realized the big mistake. Now my mom and I enjoy sometime together when I visit her and bring some pages to sew on her machine.
Elaine, Cabo Rojo, PR
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I've gotten more into experimenting with fabric on pages and I'm loving it. I would love to try out Donna's fabric projects. Thanks for the great giveaway!
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Is it sad that the only thing Ive used my sewing machine for is scrapbooking? Would love to actually try fabric with the machine even though technically it would still be scrapbooking :)
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Looks like you had great experiences in your classes. So cool! Love the idea of the fabric covered albums - definitely something I want to try.
Thanks, as always, for sharing!
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I have lots of fabric that I, too , need to incorporate into my pages. The DD book would be awesome!
Have a great day!
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I have so many bits of fabric, some are scraps from a quilt my husband had as a child...I honestly never even considered using them in a scrap project...I would love to read about Donna's ideas. Thanks for the chance!
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I love all things fabric and I'd like to check this out a little closer. Thanks for the giveaway
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Oh I have not done much with fabric. Looks like there are some fun things I could try!
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It's never gonna happen but, as a scrappin quilter (or quilty scrapper....?) I'd LOVE this book. Watch that fabric pile,Ali, it'll take over that metal unit given time... !!
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I'm going to do a fabric layout this weekend for sure!!
Staci Taylor
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Love your blog!
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