Stitched Cards ~ Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Hello, and Happy St. Patrick's Day to you! 

I'm just dropping in to show how I made some cards that I did for a swap recently.

I'm a member of the Silhouette Challenge Facebook Group (the link to request membership is in the sidebar) and the first of four fun swap activities for 2014 was to join in on a handmade card swap.  All the cards are in the mail back to us (I'm still waiting for mine to arrive) and some have already made it to their new homes!

Here is an example of the cards that I made for the swap...

I had a request to share how my cards were made, so here you go!

I used a cut file from the Silhouette store, design #55107 for the swap, and design #55684 for today. I did modify them a bit...I used a rounded rectangle for the base instead of the sharp corner one that it comes with.

Supplies:

• cut files (listed above)
• cardstock - green: Bazzil; white and cream: Wausau; pink: unknown
• embroidery floss: DMC
• embossing folder: Darice

When you choose your cardstock for the card base and the cut layer, I recommend a heavier weight cardstock so it can stand up to the stitching - I chose bright colors for the card base and white or cream for the cut layer.

Cut the file from your cardstock...the settings you use will depend on the cardstock you chose. Oh, and don't resize the file, you need the stitching holes to not change.

When you pull the cardstock off the cutting mat, you will probably have some stitching holes that still have the cardstock in them...just push the cardstock from the front to the back and brush it off with your fingers.

I wanted to add some extra texture to my cards, so I chose embossing folders and ran the cut cardstock through to add some dimension.

For the next step I chose an embroidery floss color that matched (as best I could) the colored cardstock that I used for the card base. I used all six strands and stitched the shape using a backstitch. 

A backstitch is a stitch made with stitches sewn backwards in the direction of the sewing. Bring the needle up in the forward hole...

Then back down through the stitch behind.

Here is what the back side looks like. I just used tape to secure the ends of the embroidery floss.

You do need to take care not to pull too hard while stitching, as the embossed paper will tear if you do. If it does, simply take the stitch again, supporting it with your finger so that it does not move through the torn spot, and move on to the next stitch.

Once the stitching was complete I added foam adhesive to the back side of the stitched piece, and adhered it to the card base. The foam adds another layer of dimension...and it would be difficult to adhere the stitched layer flat to the card with the bulk of the stitches on the back.

That's it! Your card is done!

If you are not a fan of the embossing, or just want to do things a bit differently, I also like the look of the layer with some ink along the edges to add a bit of dimension. I made this card base larger...that is why the shamrock looks like a different size.

Have fun making your own projects!

If you're interested in participating in the next group swap, we'd love to have you join in! The details will come in June, but I'll be hosting a tag swap with the group in July to play along with all my Silhouette Facebook friends!

Have a great day!

Meredith