Hand Embroidered Cards for Christmas

I promise I have not dropped off the face of the earth. I am working on so many projects right now, but most of them are not done! The other evening I sat down to watch a movie with my husband, and I just am not good at sitting still. Ask him...it might just drive him insane. Ha! I grabbed some note cards out of the drawer, and decided to try some hand embroidery.

I have a stash of card stock note cards and envelopes that I purchased at Michael's. After tracing my design in pencil, I used a needle to punch holes at an even distance on the design. Next, erase the original pattern completely. I knotted the end and began sewing with a backstitch. Sew So simple! Here is a photo of the back. I decided it looked neat enough, that I would not even back it with additional paper.

I made several cards. This one is just a simple tree with Joy written under it.

These cards would make a lovely gift for anyone. Of course, they don't even have to be a Christmas theme. Give them a try. They are a relaxing thing to do while snuggling on the couch watching a good movie! I hope your holidays are off to a good start.

Father's Day Card with Tie

I created this card for my dad today. Here is the simple tutorial to help you create your own. Please note I used different colors in the examples then are on the card.

I added a Happy Father's Day note. You could also put for a Tie-riffic Dad!

Father's Day Golf Themed Card

Father's Day is sneaking up around the corner. We are still working on our gift, but I helped my son create this card for his dad today. We chose to stick to a golf theme because his dad is slightly obsessed with the sport. Good thing I like golf too. (He proposed to me on a golf course 6 years ago. He won huge points for creativity and the element of surprise.)

We chose a 5 x 7 size card. The golf course grass (i.e. teebox) was designed with green paper and lots of cutting and zig-zag bending. I enjoy adding the three dimensional effect.

I used a circle cutter to punch out three photos (i.e. golf balls). Then we made several golf tees out of different colors.

For a little more "eye candy" we put a 19th hole flag on a toothpick.

 At the bottom we added the text, "To a Tee-rific Dad on Father's Day!"

Here is another Father's Day card with tutorial...for a Tie-riffic Dad! Click here for the tutorial.

  

http://thegirlcreative.com/

Personalized Cards and Stationary

I am just now getting around to writing thank you notes for my son's birthday three weeks ago. Sticking with the vintage train theme I made these simple cards.

I started by printing his name on the front of these ivory cards. You can buy a pack of 25 for around $5 at Michaels. I usually just play with one card until I can get the printing centered where I desire. Then I just added the same train punch I used for our original birthday invitations to decorate the bottom. Fast, simple, and classic.

Centering the printing is trial and error for me on the computer

I also like to make stationary as gifts quite often. Several of my friends have had their second and third child recently and they don't need many baby items at this point. I like to make personalized stationary to capture their newest addition(s) to the family.



I removed their family name for privacy purposes



Here is another example of some western thank you notes I made for my son's second birthday party.

Personalized cards make great gifts for teachers too! I just google the type of image I want and then I use Microsoft Word to type in the words.

Parties I linked to:

Transform Child Crafts Into Cards

If your child's preschool is anything like mine, your children bring home crafts on a daily basis. Our fridge has only so much surface area but my three year old is very proud of his works of art and wants to display them all. I finally started transforming his crafts into cards.

These personalized cards are a hot commodity with the grandparents. I just quickly back the art work on a piece of scrapbook paper and I try to do several at a time. Then my son can color inside while I am getting dinner ready and it is a win win situation for everyone.

This is a tissue paper Easter egg he made at school last week. We ended up making two more at home so we could send one to all three sets of grandparents.

We turned this colorful hand print into a birthday card with all its vibrant colors.

We completed this St. Patty's Day card a little late but it will still be perfect to send out next year.

This adorable snowman foot was from last Christmas. I made color copies of it and used the multiple cards we created to send out thank you notes for all the presents. (Yes...my son does a lot of hand and foot art in the three year old class. Luckily, neither one of us tires of his adorable prints.)

Dazzle Fast Cards

I know some of you may be very into creating paper cards. You likely have a room full of supplies, already perfected the art, and you may strive with each card to top the creativity of the last one. For other individuals it can often be a daunting task to create your own ideas, gather supplies, and find the time to actually make the cards.

I am very into shortcuts for simple but unique cards. I was at Michael's this week browsing their dollar section...because I can never resist. I found these cute cards with shoes on them and a pack of felt jeweled flowers. An idea was born.

I used a tape runner (glue would obviously work too) and attached the flowers to the shoes. I found some stickers with useful sayings and added them as well. For $2 I created these cuties.

I know you may not be able to find the exact same cards and flowers but I hope you can learn from the concept. Just adding a little three dimensional aspect to pre-made cards can make the world of difference!