Monday, July 25, 2011

Gallery Idol Round 3: You're Sofa Away From Me

Vote here!

This was my brain on Friday morning:

WOOO HOOO!!  WOO HOO!!  PARTY TIME!  I'M IN THE TOP TEN GALLERY IDO-----insert record scratch sound----Fabric?  FABRIC?!?  Are you kidding me?!?!  I've never used fabric on a card before and only have about 3 pieces of fabric in the house and now they're going to make fabric the round three challenge?  Seriously?!?

Ok, ok, think, Meg, think.  What could you use fabric for?  Ruffles?  Flowers?  Or maybe, with a little luck and a little engineering and a whole lotta scor-tape, you could use it to make this:
Ok, ok, good thinking, Meg.  Now, what type of sentiment would you use for a sofa...sofa...sofa....oh, Mr Corgi, go cue up your Dire Straits!



(Ok, I promise I'm not usually this video-happy on my blog, but I couldn't not put this song on this post.)

Now all that was left to do was find a sofa template, cut it out, get fabric, then figure out how to cover it so it looked upholstered!  Well, I couldn't find a good sofa to use, so I made my own by tracing a picture of one in Silhouette Studio.  The legs didn't work from the picture, so I made my own by tracing a picture of a baseball bat, then adding a circle and an ellipse to the ends.   Then I used the internal offset feature to trace the inside for the two cushions.  I cut everything out and then spent some time at JoAnne's.  Did you know the smallest amount of fabric you can buy is one inch?  I need a little bit more than that, so my total amount for fabric was $1.25 and I have enough left over to make a bajillion more couches.

To make each cushion, I started by adhering three layers of interfacing to each cardstock shape (using scor-tape), then cutting to size.  Then I placed it, interfacing side down, on top of the wrong side of the fabric, then folded the fabric over and adhered it to the back, using lots of scor-tape and cutting off the excess.  Then I used my paper piercer and guide to punch the holes for the brads from the back of the cushion and inserted the brads for a tufted look.  The pillow was the same idea, only I used a 1.25 inch square and a button brad that matched perfectly!  Such a fancy couch need some wallpaper, so I used the long decorative stamp from Waltzingmouse's Very Vintage Christmas to make some.  This is why having a stamp index is so handy-I never would have turned to that set for this stamp, but there it was in the "background/flourishes" section, just calling out to be used!

I've got everything crossed over here that can be...even Addison's paws!  Thanks again for all of your support for the past two weeks!!

25 comments:

Maria@Crafty Cre8tions said...

Seriously????? Go RIGHT to the next round!

I love the 'dog hair' !! LOL Just perfection again!

Off to vote!!!!

maria :)

Cheryl said...

So stinkin' cute! I love this Meg!

I'm off to go vote

Unknown said...

wow, this is AMAZING!!! I love the creativity!!! awesome job!

Angela said...

I smell a winner. Actually, I'd like to pet this one instead...so plushy and fun! I swear, you are a genius with that Silhouette!
I also can't believe you're a fabric rookie -- looks like pro-quality work to me!!

Unknown said...

I just realized the dog hair!!! that is too much:)

judy said...

Very cute and clever card!!

Jennifer Rzasa said...

So awesome! I love the crisp clean look (and the dog hair...)

Jenny said...

Pure genius Meg...that's what you are. A brilliant and totally handmade card...love the authentic dog hair too. Lol
Jenny x

Cristina said...

This is perfection!!!!!

Smilie girl said...

Go Meg! Love the innovation on adapting things to make your couch. The sentiment has got me giggling and the dog hair has got me laughing. Love it.

Lindsey said...

OMG, Meg -- this is unbelievable!!! And thank you for the baseball bat detail, I could have sworn the legs were Chippendale. :D This is one FABULOUS card!!!

Jocelyn Olson said...

Holy moley, Meg! This card is so creative! I love how you made your own wallpaper, too. I see a top 5 in your future! Glad Addison could contribute to the card. :)

~amy~ said...

:*:*:*THUD*:*:*:*:

Sue from Oregon said...

Oh Meg...you are one crafty chick! This is just amazing...still laughing at the dog hair!

Emily Keaton said...

Love me some Dire Straits--I got the reference immediately! Great upholstery job. You used the brads perfectly. This is super fun!! And you should go to the head of the class for your cleverness. GOOD LUCK, Meg!!!!!

Stephanie Washburn said...

AMAZING, Meg! This is SO awesome! I know you're probably a bottle of nerves right now- that cruise is so close you can touch it! GOOD LUCK!

Debbie Carriere said...

Pure genius!!! I love this!! Way to tackle the challenge!! I would wish you good luck, but don't think you need it, Meg :)

Lisa Lara said...

A big congratulations Meg. Wow (I'm still not surprised). This card is brilliant! Wow. Love it.

Emily Leiphart said...

LOL, Meg, you crack me up with the dog hair!! You know I love this couch and want to order a life-size one, right? Do you take orders? :P I'm pretty sure you'll be moving on. If not, then the world is coming to an end.

Jaclyn Miller said...

I think that you and I might share a brain because in the last round, I had the same idea as you for Plan B, and in this round, I had the same idea as you for Plan B...both of which you executed way better than I ever would! You are so amazing and I love your tufted couch. Wishing you luck in this round.

Janet said...

Hi! Found your blog through a link on another blog I follow-Crafty Cr8ations, love her cards and the fact she's a dog lover.
LOVE your work! You're super talented. I hope you win the Gallery Idol challenge. I would have voted for you anyway, but since you live in Hoover, obviously love dogs and paper crafts as well as have a Silhouette, I had to! I live in Homewood, have 3 dogs and the original Silhouette.
So glad I found your blog. Good Luck with the contest!
Janet

Charlotte said...

Whoa!
That's an amazing card! Totally unbelieveable & fantastic!! Great work!

Renee V said...

So excited for you, this is just so creative and realistic, (love the doggie fur on the couch! LOL). P.S. Thanks 2 U, I am now hooked on Friday Night Lights! Poor JASON STREET!!!!!!! (I'm only on Season 1, Episode 5)

Smriti said...

Your card totally ROCKS!! That couch looks sooooo real - I kept staring at the pitcure to see if it was really a card!

Congratulations on being one of the finalists!

Billie Dee said...

Gorgeous card! great job and congrats!