Fiber postcards - Tree Bark

I am in quilted postcard exchanges and the theme of one of the exchanges was tree bark.
This instructable is how I made my fabric postcards.
This particular postcard exchange had one requirement, that you make a 12 X 12 square of your bark and then cut it into six 4 x 6 postcards. There are 6 of us in this trade, so we mail 5 to the others and keep one for ourselves...ending up with 6 different bark postcards.

This is a rather artsy way to create bark, I wanted ragged edges and the light and dark values of the fabric to play the part rather than look exactly like tree bark.

This is my first instructable...be gentle!

Step 1 Starting the background.

I started out with a 15" x 15" square of black fabric. I thought there would be some shrinkage due to the stitching so I should start out a little bigger than 12 x 12".

I chose a stabilizer for the back of the black fabric. This particular stabilizer tears away after stitching.

The stabilizer is 11 wide, so I use two pieces, overlapping a little.

I pin the corners and the overlap.

Comments

[MizzMouse]

Nicely done! I dont send postcards very well on my own, but perhaps I would if I made them myself! Great instructable!! Easy to follow and educational.

[KKeiki]

You did a fantastic job of explaining each step in creating the tree bark! I love this technique and the wonderful results - excellent!

[Ninzerbean]

That was great! When you get your 5 postcards from your quilt buddies could you post a picture of them?

[artquilter]

Ok, I got everyones permission to post a picture of their postcard, but I couldn't get a very bright picture. I used the flash and it is sunny in the room but they seem so dark. To give you a perspective the white on the birch bark card is very white.

[Ninzerbean]

Amazing! Thank you.

[hansonl]

mmmm bacon

[artquilter]

Why is it that in my instructable some of my quotation marks (for 'inches') turned into little squares?

[artquilter]

Thanks you guys!!! Although the post office would probably rather not have such hairy postcards, they will infact mail anything you can put an address and stamps on. Try a bowling ball, a coconut, anything. When I make relatively flat postcards I just put a letter stamp on them and put them in a mailbox. The bark ones I will take up to the window and get either some queer looks or some admiration. Most the quilted postcards that are flying through the mail have Timtex in them, which makes them nicely stiff. Someday soon I'll get around to making some of them and I'll make an instructable while I'm constructing them and explain it better. A while back Minnesota Contemporary Quilters were having monthly creativity challenges to make something out of a song title they drew at every meeting. "Red Sails in the Sunset" was drawn and I made a postcard out of it that I'm attaching here. I used some sunset fabric, and put words on it by using a medium that foiling will adhere to. It has the Timtex product in it, has fabric on the address side, and I satinstitched (zigzag) around the edges in black. I mailed it to my girlfriend and she got it.

[shortone]

OOh! I love it! and the postal service doesn't have any problems with quilted postcards?

[scoochmaroo]

Beautiful! Favorited. Keep posting - I can't wait to see more of your work!!

[canida]

Oh, cool! This really gets the bark look right, and the fact you're mailing them is an extra bonus. ;)

[Sharonahhh]

You go girl. I love this Instructable - you did such a fine job of describing that I want to go right up to my studio and make six postcards!!!

[gmjhowe]

Nice work! The final effect works really well.

[rachel]

I love the juxtaposition of quilting (or quilt-like sewing) and weird mail. And it looks gorgeous, really bark-like :)