Milestone Marking: more fabric postcards

Fabric Postcards (click to enlarge)

   Martha wrote from Amarillo that she would be 95 last Friday. She still drives her younger friends, is the same size when she married, and plays bridge with people my age. I hope she will pass on her secret. After I post this blog, I will write her a long letter, but I got off her birthday fabric postcard along with four others today.
   Martha's cake sports a 95, music and a suggestion of long life from the fortune cookie. Andreas, a teen who fell off a 30-foot cliff and only broke a leg, thank goodness, has fortune cookies that mention his magnetic personality and his long life. I cut those two from unused quilted blocks I made at workshop, but had not put into a quilt. My teen neighbor Lloyd brought over a chocolate artist's palette and brush he found in Exeter as a birthday gift, so he gets a thank-you. And belatedly I am thanking Liz for the gold thread she gave me for my needlepoint. Last, but not least, is a card for Georgia whose birthday and 50th anniversary come up this month. I LOVE milestones. More reasons to celebrate, to craft!
   Cut a piece of flannel and a front and a back fabric with rotary cutters, each 4 1/2 inches x 6 1/2 inches. Put the front and back right sides together, and the flannel below. Stitch 1/4-inch around except for 2 inches at one end where one will turn out after clipping the corners. Iron, then sew 1/8 inch all around. I use white thread and color appropriately with fine Sharpie permanent markers. I use a gel pen to address as it does not run. I have a "postcard" stamp and I adhere self-adhesive stamps, rubbing them in firmly and take to the US Post Office to be hand-cancelled. The Post Office people always smile big and the cards have always arrived, locally overnight.

Easy Fabric Postcards

The easiest fabric postcard to make, IMO, is what I created today. I made eight of them and took them to the PO to be hand-stamped after I had afixed a self-adhesive stamp and rubbed it in with the back of my nails. I know, from experience, some will arrive locally, tomorrow. (click on both photos to view)

I sent the sparkling fairies to thank my grandchildren for my birthday gifts, the pencil prints (Kaffe Fassett design) with the cakes to thank for other gifts or to wish a happy birthday to people here and far away, and the baseballs to Evan who put up our paper when we were gone.

First, with a rotary cutter, cut a front, a back and a piece of flannel, all 4 1/2" x 6 1/2."  I used an antique stamp to print Post Card, but writing it is equally nice or better. I ironed on the cakes with something like Wonder Under. Next,  stack, the pieces and pin:  the flannel on the bottom, then the back and front, their good sides together.  Stitch all around 1/4 " from the edge (leaving a two-inch opening mid-end so that you can turn the pieces after clipping the corners). Press after turning. Now stitch 1/8" from the edge all around which will close the opening. I used white thread, and Sharpies to color where I did not want white lines. I used a gel marker to write without the bleeding of ink. I wish I could move more slowly to give the ink time to dry!