Friendship Squares

 We've seen a number of posts recently featuring these little squares, much like what are called "Artist Trading Cards" (ATCs). I was thinking that when each person makes a set so that everyone gets one, they are like the friendship quilts my grandmother used to make, so I decided to call them "Friendship Squares". These measure 2.75" square, and are easily coordinated by selecting a series of Designer Series Paper (DSP) and a theme such as flowers, a season, a holiday, etc. Our demonstrator group decided to do a swap in May, and I've grouped some of the delightful designs above to illustrate how you might use them for a piece of home decor in a 12x12 frame (blanks could be filled in with additional designs or with a printed label such as "SU! Demos, Summertime, May 2014").

But what else could you do with them, I wondered? How about some cards? How about a simple approach that could be used with any set of colors or content??!

I came up with a set of quick and easy layouts for the squares using the coordinating colors specified by the DSP. Basically, you add a square from your stash and a sentiment that matches the occasion for which you need a card!

Here I've simply added a 3x4" base for the friendship square created with the Petite Petals punch and Secret Garden framelits.

In this example (folded from the hexagon punch), I grounded the Friendship Square with 2 punched squares for a little extra weight and pizzaz.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aren't these duckies delightful? You'll find them in the Baby's First framelits. I saw somewhere out in the wide world of the internet the idea of putting a Sharpie dot on one of our halfback pearls to make bulging eyes. The "waves" are popped up on dimensionals.

A simple notch with a square punch makes this paper ribbon strip, and a variety of flower punches from scraps balance the stamped nest from World of Dreams. Tiny pearls and a candy dot add extra dimension. In this case the art piece is up on dimensionals so that it casts a shadow.

This little fellow is a real hoot, isn't he? The creation of Monique, I simply centered him and added a big block sentiment from Bravo.

Using just a small portion of a larger stamp (in this case Postage Due) is a great way to find "new" images. I used the Perfect Pennants framelits to make my "racing flags", and Petite Pairs for the set of sentiments inside and out.

I forsee several versions of Friendship Squares in my future, made from different DSP with different themes. To find them all, click on the label "Friendship Squares" at the bottom of this post or in the sidebar.

Better yet, try your hand at it and leave a link in the comments section!

Kathy