Beary Scrap Sketch + Fabric

Are you feeling that long winter stretch yet? Cabin fever? Sick of the snow, cold and ice? Well that definitely must be what I am feeling-- it's been a week of sub-zero temperatures here in Idaho and so when I started looking for pictures to use this week, I was immediately drawn to these sunny photos taken last July in the old mining town of Virginia City, Montana. What I wouldn't give to put myself write into that sunny day, exploring a town in the mountains in a beautiful part of the country! Oh well, summer is going to come again someday!

I used these pictures on my Sketch + Fabric-- the element the Beary Scrap DT has added this week. I was really excited to use fabric on a layout, this is a trend I am seeing a lot of on websites, blogs, magazines and in stores. So I raided my stash (my fabric stash takes up only one drawer into my entire craft room of scrapbook supplies!) and found this lovely green & brown piece to pair with Basic Grey Origins paper.

I tore the edges of my fabric to give it a frayed look though I have to warn you that this does not leave straight edges or a perfect rectangle-- so if you are a perfectionist who loves straight lines, tearing the fabric may not be for you. Then I machine stitched it onto my background. Stitching the fabric was trickier than I thought it would be-- I didn't adhere it before I started sewing and sew it slipped a little bit as I went-- next time I would definitely put it down with some Fabric-tac or Alene's Tacky Glue. But now I know!

Here's a close up of the fabric and stitching:


This was a great challenge for me and I will definitely be using fabric again-- I love how it turned out with a slightly softer feel to the page, which I think accents the lazy feeling of the summer pictures.

I hope you are working on your own version of our sketch-- make sure to enter it in our Beary Sweet Challenge before 11:59 EST on Feb. 14th for your chance to win. And stay warm, wherever you are!