Easy Organizer Project: Cabinet Cards and Napkins

There was a nice little feature about my blog the other day on The Vintage Moth, a fantastic site for free vintage images, (thank you Abbie!) At the bottom of the post was an image of the back of an antique cabinet card (look around, she has more!) …and so my wheels began turning. That same day I was in an antique shop and one of my favorite dealers had a box of such photos. I picked up the box, turned it completely around backwards and began to thumb through the cards not by the photographs, but by looking at the fantastic 1800s graphic designs on the back. I bought 6 cards, scanned them into digital images and came up with an easy and inexpensive project for using their graphics.I found two square muslin dinner napkins at Kohls on sale for $.97 each.I laid out one, then the other on top scooted up some. It’s important to note that these pre-hemmed napkins don’t always line up evenly. I recommend you lay them out at the store to find a pair that mach up best before buying. I then folded the bottom piece up and over the top to create a section for sewing into pockets. I stitched along the side edges, across the center and up through the pocket area to create 4 pockets. (Stitching simulated in red as the stitching is nearly impossible to see in my photographs.)I reinforced the top stitched areas of the pockets with a zig-zag stitch in place. I flopped 4 of the card images and printed onto T-shirt transfer sheets as per the instructions. Cut out each card image and pressed one onto each pocket section.I peeled off the backing paper and hung the entire piece over the arm of my couch. For most all graphic design projects, I start in my living room with resource books, pens, and sticky-notes, from my my favorite chair in the corner, where I have access to my library as I sketch ideas. I now have an organizer that hangs over the arm of the couch within reach to hold my research supplies, reading glasses and more.Enjoy these beautiful free images for your own crafts!