Can I have ketchup with that?

Today I get to eat my own words.  Back in January, I commented on the wrongness of spray basting.  Well, I just tried it today.  I tried it on my Modern Quilt Guild Challenge Quilt.  I can still smell the adhesive and it wasn't a total success, but I see the merits.  That stuff is STICKY and smelly.  I did it on the front porch, so I didn't have to worry about stinking up the house and exposing my small creatures, human and otherwise fumes.  Ok, mostly I was worried about the smell and the thought that something small would dart in to investigate at the wrong moment and I'd have to bathe them.  I have no idea how dog groomers avoid the wet dog smell.  The one time I tried to bathe the dogs myself, I had to get them groomed the next day to get rid of the stench.

Back to topic.  I'm going to start quilting the challenge quilt tonight.  I stopped by the LQS this morning for some advice and walked out with a new thread and new needles, plus a few yummies that just grabbed me and wouldn't let go.

While I was outside spraying things, I thought I'd finish up a project from the fall, that got put aside when cold weather hit.  I used regular spray adhesive, not the fabric stuff I used on the quilt.  I've been saving this old calendar I got in Italy many years ago.  The illustrations were plates from a neoclassical furniture design book.  I always thought they would look lovely framed, but never wanted to spend serious money framing them.  A friend of mine showed me a great solution.  She had made color copies of old illustrations of coral and mounted them on foam core board and hung them in her son's nursery.  They were perfect for hanging over his crib, because if they happened to fall, they wouldn't hurt anyone.  I thought this would be a perfect use for my old calendar and a great solution for hanging pictures on the wall over Baby Girl's bed.

My self healing cutting mat and ruler with a lip on it came in handy cutting the foam core board.  I used a utility knife with a new blade in it to do the cutting.   Tip from my friend, cut the image to the size you want, adhere it to the board and then cut the board to size.  That way all the edges line up easily.

I did four total and used tacky glue to cover the edges in cheapo 1/4 inch satin ribbon from Michael's, just to finish them nicely.  I might use some more ribbon to hang them, or I might just use command strips to do the job.  I had the illustrations, but bought the adhesive, foam core and ribbon for much less than $20.  Pretty cheap way to do art and totally safe for hanging over little heads.