Mother's Day and spring birthdays always remind me of those elegant ladies walking along the great gardens in olden days.  I really wouldn't want to live in those times, but they were pretty in some ways.  
This is Mary.....a die from Tattlers Lace that I got from Ecstasy Crafts that I adapted for Iris Folding.  This reminds me of Downton Abbey, one of my favourite series.  I can never do just one card. .    

This is Olivia.  This design was inspired by an Instagram post by @paperwishart.  It is a die from Tattered Lace.  It amazes me where the inspiration comes from.  

I love creating these designs.   This is a die from Tattered Lace, one of my newest discoveries and I am so happy I found them.  The die cuts are lovely on their own, but all I could see was iris folding.  

This workshop will teach you how to make these lovely cards.  You will have time to complete at least one of these cards.  The Easter cards are way more easy than they look.  The flowers fit for many occasions, maybe even Mother's Day.  Why not have fun, learn someting new and give someone a lovely surprise?  These cards require little more than needle & thread & cardstock.  Everything will be supplied 
This workshop is at the Ailsa Craig Art Centre which is a new venture for the village of Ailsa Craig in Southwestern Ontario.  This is a great place, run by volunteers bringing some fun times and beauty to the region.  
You can get full details and register at
https://ailsacraigartscentreampquiltfibreartsfestival.wildapricot.org/event-2830893

When I am making Paper Embroidery Cards, aka Stitching Cards I always prick at least two cards at a time.  The only "added work" is cutting the piece of cardstock and then it is the same process.  When I am doing a brand new card, I always make the two cards differently, even in a small way.  

This is another example of a small change, but it makes a substantial difference.  I should have made the second one a boy but the pink thread was handy......so I tried a different pattern two different ways 

Starting to get going for Easter.  

On Sunday I ran my first ever iris folding card workshop.  It was so much fun.  I have taught a few friends how to do this....in my dining room with wine, conversation & munchies.  I have led numerous workshops, classes & seminars in my professional life but this was my first professional card making activity.  As with all these things, the prep  work is way more than you expect & you do way more than you actually need to so it reminded me a little of my old life but really fun.  However, the one thing I did forget,  was to take some pictures.  It was on my mental list to do but that list just wasn't active enough, I guess.  I will post a pic of the diplay that was in the Art Centre before the workshop to let everyone know all the lovely things you can do with Iris Folding.  
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This workshop had a Valentine's Day theme and participants could choose from a number of patterns.

I learned a lot from my participants.  None had ever done Iris Folding, but some were experienced crafters.  One astute observation was that this craft would be easier to hide than others,  Not a consideration I had before, but definitely a new selling point. 

Well, I finally managed master Canva enough to design a logo which is displayed on the business card above, also thanks to Canva.  I'm sure I will get better at all of this, but it really does take time.  I do wish I could think in pixels.  I'm barely bilingual in imperial & metric.  

What good is a card without an envelope?  Well  actually, these techniques are great for creating post cards, gift tags and lovely bookmarks, but that's another story.  
When you create a beautiful card, sometimes you just don't want to cover it up in a plain white wrapper, so I started making envelopes.  Honestly, sometimes I got carried away and made cards that were such an unusual shape I had no choice but to make one to fit. That is how I discovered the joys of envelope making.  
There are many templates for envelopes on line, but I find the easiest and most versatile tool is the The Envelobox Creator by Crafters Companion. 

This is a really simple choice.  I just embossed the standard white envelope.  
However, this is my first time working on picture taking in my craft room and I wasn't alone. 

This is Shadow and she decided I was not to be trusted with such an important task.  Arguing with Shadow is usually fruitless so, I let her play an important roll. 

Now she is showing just a little too much interest.  Time to go. 

This is a colouring page I used after I had fun colouring.

Sometimes you just don't want to hide the card.  This is when vellum comes in handy.  Not good for mailing,but....

It surprises me how great abstract or simple forms can look with paper and thread. These are good cards for men.  There seems to be many more card choices for women, I would say that is because women like pretty things, but these cards are very pretty and most men I've given them to do appreciate the beauty. 
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