The kids, Zac and Amelia, asked me to make signs to welcome and direct people at their reception. The reception was held at the Sarasota Botanical Gardens. It was a really nice way to make me feel involved in the process since I don’t live close and am the mother of the groom.
I decided I would use the color scheme they used for the wedding and I also used the idea for the Gingo leaves on the sign from their invitations.
The first thing I did was rummage through my fabrics and come up with colors that I liked. Then I sketched a quick design and emailed it to Amelia to make sure it was ok with her. Sorry I don’t have the sketch.
I wanted to make the signs big enough to read and also big enough to cut out the letters without to much trouble, but not so big they were hard to deal with. 20” x 24” seemed like a good size.
1.I cut out the background fabric larger than what I wanted it to be finished so about 22” x 26”. Then I fused the dark green cotton and the light green silk for the letters and the gingo leaves.
2.I fused the light green silk fabric with wonderunder fusible web #805. Once this had cooled I removed the release paper and placed it on top of the blown up drawings of the gingo leaves.
3.Using an extra fine sharpie marker I traced around the shapes and transferred them to the back of the fused light green silk.
4.I transferred the design by placing the marker side of the release paper against the fused side of the silk and pressed with a hot dry iron. The marker will "print" on the fusible web and leave a line to cut around. I removed the release paper cut out on the line or just inside it of the gingo leaves.
5.I fused them to the background fabric. I made my quilt into a sandwich at this point because I wanted to quilt around the leaves before I added on the letters. I stitched in the ditch around the outline of the leaves and added in veining lines by using 30# dark green rayon thread.
6.Next I printed up on the computer the letters. I choose Arial Black as the font, because it is a nice block letter, and blew the letters up to about 3” tall for the welcome sign and 2” tall for the cocktails; more letters. Printed them out and used them to trace around for the words on the signs.
7.I fused the dark green cotton and let the fabric cool then removed the release paper from fabric. I placed the release paper from wonderunder fusible web #805 over the printed letters from the computer and traced around them with an extra fine sharpie marker. I transferred the letters the same way by pressing with a hot dry iron the marker side of the release paper against the fused side of the fabric. The marker lines transfer to the back of the fused fabric and I could easily cut them out of the green fabric.
8.I fused these to the bottom third of my background fabric.
I cut out a long 1/2" wide strip for the arrow and a triangle for the arrow head and fused these under the letters for the Cocktails and Sunset sign.
I machine quilted stitch in the ditch around all the letters and arrow on the cocktail sign in dark green 30# rayon thread and then I stippled the whole background fabric in a finer silk thread.
9.I squared up the signs and added a fused binding.
10.I found green foam core board at the craft store and cut them to the exact size of the sign and used tacky velcro dots to stick the signs to the foam core.
We borrowed easels to prop up the signs at the reception so they could be positioned in just the right spot to welcome people as they arrived and then direct them to the area for cocktails and to view the sunset on the water.
Now the kids have the signs hanging in their home. The welcome sign by the front door and the cocktail sign by the patio door.
Easy Peasy
I was so pleased they asked.
They also asked the “mothers” to make them a quilt that everyone could sign at the reception. I designed the quilt and dyed the fabric and Linda, Amelia’s mom pieced it together. It is of pine trees.
I still have to quilt it. I hope to give it to them for their first year anniversary. Maybe.
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