More Printing and Done

I wanted to finish the backs of my fabric postcards with the end of the sentiment printed on the front. This should be a piece of cake, I thought, as I could use a full sheet of paper covered with muslin and get two backs per sheet. On the recommendation of friend Mary Stori, I tried the alternate method to freezer paper - adhering the fabric to card stock with 505 basting spray. I think I tried this a long time ago and must have run into problems with it, leading me to use freezer paper instead. But Mary's instructions led me to believe this was worth a try. The basting spray goes on the card stock, the card stock on an oversized piece of fabric. Smooth the fabric to be sure it sticks evenly to the card stock with no bubbles, and trim off excess.

As an added precaution, apply painter's tape over the lead edge.

And it ran through the printer with ease. (This was formatted in Corel Paint Shop Pro, the outside lines serving as a guide for cutting apart.)

I didn't have quite the same success with the second one. Perhaps I should have put more basting spray on the card stock, or maybe I wasn't as careful with the smoothing. There were places where the fabric shifted and creased as it fed through. And when I pulled it off, my lines of text were no longer straight but rippled. For comparison sake, I ironed my last piece of fabric onto the heavy freezer paper and got about the same result - a total surprise. In retrospect, I think I failed to set one of the printer's properties to adjust for the extra thickness being run through it. I don't use this printer often and even though it is the same brand as the one that gets more daily use, the set-up screens and options are slightly different. And of course, I didn't take a minute to reference my notes from previous printing. This is what happens when you get cocky and are in a rush!

I always fuse my postcard backs to a piece of Decor Bond so I was able to carefully manipulate the wavy lines of text mostly back into shape. With that, it was time to assemble and satin stitch around the edges. Each postcard is slightly different. This one has a sun quilted on it.

Here's the whole set. I allowed myself to try out different colors of thread on each, both for the satin stitching around the mountains and around the outside edge. Now to add a personal note on the back and get these sent off.