Sunday 31 March 2013

Hand Stitched Easter Cards

HAPPY EASTER!!!

I hope you are all having a wonderful Easter weekend :-)  I've had a fantastic time making, baking, enjoying time off and generally being busy with lots of fun activities in preparation for this weekend.

I can't decide what I am most pleased with this week, the Simnel Cakes I baked, or these cards... I am SO pleased with how these turned out, and even more pleased that the ones I sent to England (and worried wouldn't make it) actually got there many days early, in plenty of time for Easter!


I had been thinking of doing some kind of sewing on cards for a while now... after sewing my felt Christmas star and dog ornaments for the name places at our Christmas dinner I love the simple back stitch and the effect it creates.  So there must be a way to create an equally effective stitch but on cards!

Cards have been my long time crafting love (I have a LOT of archived photos that one day will be blogged!)  Sewing is fairly new... baking still a long time but cards probably has been around the longest for me so I am very pleased to have thought of this new way of creating cute cards that really could be changed for any occasion.

Here's a mini how-to...

I had picked up a stack of pastel cardstock from Michael's a few weeks ago and I knew I wanted to use it for my Easter cards this week.  A quick chop, a score along the middle and the cards were cut and ready to go.

I used a lace-like tape for the bottom border and then got to work on the Easter shapes.



Starting with the easiest one, the egg!  I used a cookie cutter for this.  I lightly traced the outline onto the card,  made pinpricks all around this template and then erased the pencil.


Next it was time to sew!  I used some complementary coloured threads, all Easter/Spring appropriate!  But of course if you want to go brighter, or bolder you can change this up however you like!  I backstitched along, and kept the two knots small and tight so that the back of the card didn't look messy.


For the bunny I didn't have a cookie cutter in this shape (only a larger whole rabbit that I used for my Easter sugar cookie treats last year) so I just freestyled this a little.  I drew it on paper and when I was happy with the shape and size cut it out as a template to use each time.  No risk of them being different then!


Bunny, meet Bunny - a cute gift from Mum after she visited
Canada Blooms in Toronto on their visit in March  last year!

The final shape I did was a chick, I partly used a cookie cutter for this one, but it had no legs!!  So of course I had to add these.  This one took the longest to sew for sure but in front of the tv, time didn't really matter.



All written and ready to go.  I love how versatile this design of card can be.  I have already made a white bunny on pink card for my boss who just adopted a little girl :-)  They will definitely be made for baby showers, births, and birthdays in the future... watch this space for more designs soon!!



All the cards and all the props hehe! 

I'm totally enjoying all of the new Spring like projects I've been seeing on lots of blogs this week... Feel free to leave a comment and a link to your newest Spring creation :-)  Have a great Easter!!  Thanks for reading ♫

26 comments:

  1. So cute! I love hand stitched cards

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much :-) Thanks for stopping by! Have a great week.

      Delete
  2. so nice,simple and fresh!I like ti so much!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ah thank you Anastasia! Great to have you here, thanks for your kind comment :-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. The cards are so cute! I love the hand stitching details.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much!! They were so fun to design and make, glad you like them :-)

      Delete
  5. Your cards are super cute! I'm a paper crafter, too.
    I'm visiting you today from Call me PMc. I hope you get a chance to stop by my blog and leave a comment, too!
    ~ Megin of VMG206
    Medicine Cabinet Makeover

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Megin! I've checked out your blog and I'll definitely be back :-D

      Delete
  6. These are so cute. I love the colours and patterns. I would love for you to come and share these on our Much Ado About Monday link party.

    http://www.huckleberrylove.com/2013/04/much-ado-about-monday-no-3.html

    Hope to see you there,
    Jamie
    www.huckleberrylove.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks SO much for inviting me over to huckleberrylove, it was great to link up! I'll be back each week :-)

      I LOVE the pastel colours and have been waiting for Spring/Easter to use them, now I can't stop!

      Thanks for stopping by ♫

      Delete
  7. How cute and such a great idea! If you can stitch on fabric, why not paper? Love it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Lisa, thanks for checking out my cards :-) That's exactly what I was thinking, less risk involved too than on a big sewing project! Hope to see you here again!

      Delete
  8. Your cards are adorable! What a sweet gesture for Easter. Thank you for sharing it at to What We Accomplished Wednesdays. Have a lovely week!

    Hugs,
    Deborah

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much Deborah, it was great to link up - thanks for hosting and also stopping by to check out my cards :-) Have a great week!

      Delete
  9. These are so cute!! I have just picked embroidery back up again after about 20 years (oh my goodness that makes me sound so *old*!) & have been wanting to try some stitched cards! Maybe I should begin now to have some done in time for Christmas! :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much!! Yes for sure try these, once you have a template or idea of what to stitch it doesn't take too long at all! Start small, that's what I did - for sure tried the eggs before the chick and bunny :-) I'd love to see how they turn out ♫

      Delete
  10. I think handstitching on paper is so cool! Thanks for sharing at Pinworthy Project.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much Carrie! I love the effect of it too :-) Thanks for having me at the Pinworthy Project!

      Delete
  11. These are so cute, Hannah! I love handmade cards. Thanks so much for sharing at Marvelous Mondays. Pinned to my Marvelous Mondays board!

    Julie @ This Gal Cooks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much Julie! Thanks for pinning these cards. I love the Marvelous Mondays party :-)

      Delete
  12. Congrats on being featured this week on Much Ado About Monday!! Please come back and share more projects, we'd love to see what you come up with next!

    Karla
    www.huckleberrylove.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. YEY! Thank you SO much for featuring me on Much Ado About Monday, it is so great to be featured on your great blog :-) Linked up my latest Spring project today! Thanks for having me, and thanks for stopping by here!

      Delete
  13. This is a lovely card! Thank you for sharing at our ALL MY BLOGGY FRIENDS party :-) Hope to see you tomorrow again!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much Linda! Glad to have you stopping by to check out this project!

      Delete
  14. Thanks for sharing at our Pinterest Challenge. I love these cards!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Such a sweet idea. You are very creative, Hannah. Thanks so much for stopping by my blog. I really enjoyed yours.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for reading!! Please leave a comment, I'd love to hear from you :-)