Tips of the week.

Tip of the week:
Try trimming off any pesky little "whiskers" of thread with your curved scissors BEFORE appliqueing your Paper Quilt panel into place. Hold your quilt up to eye level and look across the work to see any offending threads. It's easier to trim the thread closer this way.

Tip of the week:
Sometimes when sewing with metallics or when sewing together papers which are a similar colour, (or if you are just a bit tired) it is a bit difficult to see the line or curve you are suppose to be sewing. Try setting up a desk lamp behind your sewing machine to bring a little more light on the subject.

 Tip of the week:
When tracing around your cutting template pattern piece you usually use a gold gel pen - or a faint lead pencil. However :0 don't use a gold gel pen if you are tracing onto shiny, iridescent types of paper. The pen may smudge when you are sewing or later during cutting and your Paper Quilt leaving you :((

Tip of the week:
Organize your Paper Quilt Creations patterns by putting each one in a zip lock pastic bag. That way you keep instructions, cutting template pieces and master working templates all together for using the next time. Saves time and stress. :)

Tip of the week:
Here is an idea for transforming all your Paper Quilt gift card patterns into fun gift tags. Just layer the Paper Quilt panel onto card stock. Applique sew into position. Trim around the quilt following the image shape so ...that there is a scant boarder of layering paper. Now glue this on onto another piece of card stock and trim again. Embellish - this can be very 3D with flowers etc. Punch a hole and attach a ribbon. Hey presto - a gift tag with a beautiful difference. PS also makes a lovely book mark!

Please email me if you require detailed instructions. michaela@paperquiltcreations.com Cheers .Tip of the week:
Another - fix it - after a "yiks I've done the wrong thing". Sometimes, in the excitment of getting your Paper Quilt created, you start to, or completely cut out the image before zigzagging the squares into place. YIKS!!! Never fear. Just place a piece of printer/photocopy paper (a bit larger than the image) under the image and start your sewing - beginning on the plain paper outside the image and finishing on the plain paper. Now just cut out the image on your traced line. You would never know the difference. Lovely.

Tip of the Week:
Sometimes you may stitch the paper where you didn't mean too. Yiks - how the #*@^ do I fix this little problem. Carefully remove the stitches. Turn the paper over and with your fingernail carefully rub the stitching hole back and forth until the hole is covered back again. Turn the paper back to right side. The offending hole can now hardly be seen. Very nice.

Tip of the Week:
If you have left over squares and triangles from your Paper Quilt projects, don't throw them away - ("as if!" say most papercrafters I know). Keep them in their colour groups in separate takeaway containers. They stack neatly on top of each other without their lids and can be easy stored for future use.

Tip of the Week:
If you find that your stitches look irregular on your Paper Quilts, it may be that you are unintensionally fighting with your sewing machine. Relax and let the paper move through without pulling or pushing the paper. When sewing a straight line it should be possible for the paper to move through the machine hands free. You should only need to softly guide it to keep it straight.

Tip of the Week: At this time of the year crafters of the world start thinking about Christmas cards. Gift wrapping paper is wonderful to use in Paper Quilting but it can sometimes be very thin, flimsy and difficult to punch. Punch through ...

2 - 4 layers at a time so that your punch doesn't jam. And of course you will be saving time by punching twice or quadrupale the number squares at a time. You'll be finished in next to no time.

 

Tip of the week:
Working with solid black paper in a Paper Quilt can sometimes be a little tricky. Sometimes no matter how hard you try, a little bit of white paper from the working template shows where you don't want it to. Before sewing, go in with a very fine black marker pen and colour in that white paper. Magic.

Tip of the Week:
For a quick no-sew simple Paper Quilt, try using very thin strip stickers to cover where the paper squares join. The stickers come in many colours and look great on small cards and gift tags.

Tip of the week:
This week it's all about your cutting template pattern piece. When you cut out your pattern pieces, cut it out on the line or even cut the line away. In this way you will be tracing around the correct size image and not one that is too large.

 

Tip of the WeeK:
Applique. When you are appliqueing around a curve or a complete circle, pretend that it is a clock face. Stop your sewing machine, with the needle in the down position at every hour of the clock face. Lift the machine foot, turn the paper slightly, lower the foot and sew again till the next hour. So if you are sewing a complete circle, you would stop 12 times. And remember - sew slowly for great results. Happy Paper Quilting :)

Tip of the Week:
Paper Punch Maintenance.
To lubricate your punchs, punch through wax paper. To sharpen your punch, punch through aluminium foil or very fine sand paper. To stop a punch repeatedly jamming try giving your punch a rest in the freezer for 30 minutes.
From Anne Stewart of A White Dragon Papercraft Store: Another maintenance product for punches Michaela is called "Ezy Glide" it comes in a spray on can which can be purchased from any hardware store:) The spray is a non grease base so doesn't need any thing else done to the punch it has been specially made to unzip zippers LOL:)  Thanks Anne - brilliant as always.

It's time for an early Tip of the Week:
Use an egg container - cardboard, plastic or a china one to arrange your paper or fabric squares into their pattern letters. Label the container compartments with A, B, C, D etc. Makes Paper Quilting even easier.

Tip of the Week:
If you are using a particular cutting template repeatedly, it can get a bit worn around the edges. Trace it onto quilters template plastic (thin soft plastic) or some quilters use old x-rays. Cut it out on the traced line so no line shows (to get the correct size). You will have a lasting template which you can use with all the different Paper Quilt techniques.

Tip of the Week:
When you are creating Crazy Paper Quilts - try adding strips of ribbon or fabric to the mix. These sorts of additions are just the unexpected element which will make your Crazy Paper Quilt into a unique piece of craft art.

Tip of the Week: when you buy your Paper Quilt Creations Pattern, remember that if you wish to create more than one quilt, use the working template section as a master and print a copy onto 180-200gsm/100lb paper or onto printable fabric (if you are creating a fabric quilt). Happy Paper Quilting.

Tip of the Week:
I have been using felt to create felt quilts from my patterns. When cutting small felt squares or shapes with your Sissix machine - or other cutting machine, the felt can become full of static electricity and it sticks to the perspex plates. Try spraying both sides with anti-static spray (used for lingerie, hosery and other clothing), allow to dry and then cut. Makes it a bit easier to handle.

Tip of the week: Applique. When sewing around curves, please take your time. Sew slowly. Stop your machine with the needle down, turn the paper slighlty, then sew again. Sew slowly. Stop often. Take 3 minutes rather than 2 minutes and you will get a great result.

Tip of last week - a bit late! Use the Pretty Corset, I Want That Shoe and Honestly Darling Handbag patterns to create fabric quilts as decorations for lingerie, shoe and bag - bags. Makes a beautiful gift. Please email me at paperquiltcreation@tpg.com.au for instrucions.

Tip of the Week:
If in doubt, don't punch it out. Sometimes the card stock, magazine cover or other type of paper is more like cardboard than paper. Don't risk misaligning your paperpunch. When using this type of paper, use your Easy Square Creator and scissors or paper trimmer to cut your squares and save your paper punch.

Tip of the week.
Cut out your Cutting Template Pattern Piece with a craft knife (please be careful). This way you will have your pattern piece to trace around - and the left over stencil hole to place over your papers to see what the finished design will look like. Stand up and look down on your work to see if anything stands out and needs changing before you sew if together.

Tip of the week.
What paper should I NOT use?
There are some beautiful “fabric papers” which are available in pads. Unfortunately, the ones with the self- adhesive backing are NOT suitable for sewing through. The adhesive which backs the fabric will attach itself to your sewing machine needle and cause the sewing thread to break. The adhesive is like the double sided tape adhesive which is also unsuitable for sewing through. By all means, use these lovely fabric papers in your other craft projects or as an embellishment which does not require sewing with a sewing machine.