A hand-made greeting card with stamps, Angelina Fibers, fabric bead by Fagen Designs.

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A paper person who makes greeting cards will have a terrific time in a quilt shop, and would do just fine buying small "fat quarters" of fabric, basically about a quarter of a yard cut. Using a sharp pair of decorative scissors, cut the fabric into various small shapes to glue or stitch onto the front of a card. Add some yarn, a great vintage button, perhaps a charm or two, and of course, stamps, and the result is a warm, textured piece that will be treasured by the recipient for a long time to come.

Angelina Fibers, the "fiber du jour" for many art quilters today, come in a wide assortment of fabulous shiny and sparky colors. The mylar-type product can be ironed, stamped, embossed and attached to a hand-made card as well as to fabric.

Using two sheets of copy paper, paper towels or a Teflon sheet, place a small amount of Angelina Fibers between the two sides. With a hot, dry iron, flatten the fibers with just a few seconds of pressing. The resulting undulating colors in the flat piece can be glued or stitched to a card.

Or, place a rubber (not acrylic) stamp with a large design face up on the ironing board. Place a small amount of Angelina Fibers on top of the rubber stamp, and after covering the fibers with the Teflon sheet, use the hot iron for 3-10 seconds, and the impression will remain in the Angelina Fibers.

Buttons and beads of all kinds can be found in many quilt shops, and will add another fun element to cards, journals, photo albums and other projects a paper artist might be working on, Or, make your own beads and buttons out of polymer clay to perfectly match the colors, size and theme of your paper or fabric project. Polymer is an easy medium to work with, comes in a wide assortment of colors, and can be baked in a home or toaster oven at low temperatures. Got a favorite old button from your grandmother that you want to use? Use a small ball of conditioned polymer and press the button into the clay and bake. You now have a mold of that wonderful button, and can make as many reproductions as you'd like.
Now, the challenge is, where are you going first: to the scrapbook store or the fabric shop?

Laurie Fagen of Fagen Designs is a contemporary fiber artist in the Valley who welcomes commissions for wall or wearable art, and shows far work in area galleries and shops. She can be reached through her website at www.FagenDesigns.com. Fagen and Burch also teach a variety of classes at the Bernina Connection fabric and sewing machine store in Phoenix, at www.BerninaConnection. com.


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Reprinted from the Country Register May/June 2006