Let your celebrations bloom with Carolyn Letten's garden party

What you need...

• Floral Fabric: purple ditsy, pink daisy, plain colours
  
• Papers, assorted prints
  
• White blank, 12.7cm x 17.8cm
  
• Rub-on letter transfers
  
• Ribbon, pink velvet
  
• Wadding
  
• Adhesives

instructions

1. Floral Invite - 1 Cut black spotty paper with a pink scallop edge the same size as the card blank, allowing an extra 1.5cm to fold over onto the back of the card for a neat finish. Use glue to secure the paper to the card. Machine stitch in green across the scallop print at the bottom.
   
   2 Using the template, prepare three leaves from green fabric, then stitch details using matching thread and fold each leaf in half. Cut around several petals in floral paper, leaving the left side and bottom edge straight. Embroider petal details using assorted purple and pink threads to add shading and depth, then add details to the paper leaves. Repeat for a single floral centre.
   
   3 Stick a ‘botanical gardens’ sentiment to the front of the card at an angle, then mount the flowers across the dotty surface using foam pads. Dab a little adhesive down the fold line of each leaf to secure in place, tucking the ends just under the flowers. Mount the single floral centre to the middle of the largest embroidered flower using foam pads.
   
   4 Mount scallop-edged paper, 1.5cm x 12.5cm, onto a slightly bigger magenta glitter backing. Stitch across the scallop edging using green thread. Add the letters ‘You’re Invited’ to the centre of the label using rub-on transfers, then attach to the main front with foam pads. Add glitter glue to the flowers, then stick silver semi-circles across the bottom of the card to finish.

2. Mini Runner - 1 Pin turquoise fabric, 7cm x 32cm, to pink floral, 10cm x 32cm, right sides together, working across a long edge with a 1cm allowance. Prepare a cake slice, icing, cream, jam and cake stand in assorted colours, then back with interfacing. Pin the stand and machine embroider the detail in teal, repeat in assorted threads for the other parts of the slice, then iron on the reverse.
   
   2 Prepare two leaves and five shaded petals, then back with interfacing. Pin the purple petal to the bottom left corner of the pink strip and tuck the raw edge of the leaves underneath. Stitch the outer edge of the purple using a bright pink thread, then stitch the leaves in green. Assemble the rest of the flower with the lightest petal on top, embroider using matching thread, then iron on the reverse.
   
   3 Using the template, prepare the cupcake pieces, back with interfacing and pin in place. Sew the detail on the bun case in purple, repeat for the other two using matching coloured threads, then iron on the reverse. Trace the words ‘garden party’ onto white tissue, pin to the turquoise material, sew over the letters, then tear the tissue away and sew the words again.
   
   4 Cut purple ditsy backing fabric, 2cm bigger around the edge, then lay wrong side up. Layer with wadding the same size as the finished front, then top with the embroidered front, right side up, and pin all three layers. Use pale pink thread to machine quilt around the outer edges of the petals, leaves, cakes and stand.
   
   5 To add definition, quilt across the middle seam and around a few of the flowers in the daisy design of the pale pink fabric strip. For the binding, fold the raw edge of the backing over to meet that of the wadding, then fold over again onto the embroidered front. Machine stitch around the edge to secure. CB