ver since I was a little kid, I would never just sit down and watch TV, I’d always have a craft project going at the same time, particularly if I was watching an entire series of a show. I just like doing things with my hands. I’m also a shocking snacker, particularly at night so if I do something that uses both hands it keeps my little piglet fingers out of the biscuit jar!
I saw some little DIY embroidery packs at a market on the weekend and I though how easy it would be to make my own embroidered Thank You cards. I’m a bit old-school and twee sometimes and I still send Thank You cards so I though I’d pop together a little how to make embroidered gift cards DIY.
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What You Need
Tracing paper
Backwards ‘Thank You’ template or an iPad (you can englarge or shrink it to suit the cards you have)
A pencil
Blank white cards and envelopes
Scissors
Embroidery thread (I bought mine in a pack from Daiso)
Embroidery needles
Sewing machine
1. Trace the backwards ‘thank you’ on to tracing paper. It needs to be the mirror image so that when you turn it around and shade the imprint on your card, the Thank You is facing around the right way. My printer is on the blink so I just traced mine on my iPad.
2. Take your traced Thank You and place it pencil marking side down on your card. Then shade firmly over the top to transfer the image to the card.
3. Using your un-threaded sewing machine, punch holes about .5cm apart on your letters. I removed the presser foot from my sewing machine so I could see better and I just winged it, punching holes at regular intervals. I also only used the fly-wheel NOT the pedal. The pedal didn’t grip the paper properly and left unevenly punched holes.
4. Choose your thread, tie a knot in one end and use a simple back-stitch (tutorial here) to fill in your letters. I stuck to the one colour on my cards but feel free to mix it up. I also used shorter lengths of thread (about 40cm) and tied them off regularly to avoid tangles with a long unwieldy length of thread.
5. Snip off any loose threads and you’re done! If you don’t like the look of the inside of the card with the wrong side of the embroidery showing, you can stick an extra piece of card on top to hide it. I quite like the organic look of it though so I didn’t bother. I added some extra stitches at the top and bottom too.
This activity is utterly perfect for people who want to keep their hands busy at night to stop themselves from snacking, smoking or checking Facebook constantly. It’s also really useful – each one of these cards (not including my time obviously!) cost about 60 cents to make. It’s a great way to give yourself a relaxing brain break and save money on expensive gift cards at the same time.
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Do you have trouble sitting still? Do you need activities to do in front of the TV or are you happy just watching?
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6 Comments
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These look fab. I love a nice thank you card or note. My stepmum has been to card making classes and we get the most beautiful handmade birthday and Christmas cards. They are truly stunning. To keep my hands occupied I sometimes do my nails. It can take an hour’s episode to do a bit of buffing and filing and massage in some cuticle oil and hand cream. (To avoid after dinner snacking, I clean my teeth and insert my retainers. I’m too lazy to go through doing all that twice in one night) xx
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Author
So has my grandma! She makes the most gorgeous cards for us every birthday. I’m a big doing my nails in front of the TV gal. My nails are always painted – I’ve been doing it at least once a week since I was about 12!
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I love this! Imagine making one for someone with their NAME on it – how cool would that be?
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Oh that’s a great idea! I’ve been loving making these – they’re such a brilliant brain break for me!
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these are so cute smags!
a lovely personalized gesture and most people appreciate that!
(well the one’s I need to thank!)
I have always needed to use my hands too, hence hairdresser and artist!
do I know myself?
I don’t watch much tv so I listen to music and doodle in my doodle books and journals!
happy chappy! got a problem finishing off those chrissy chocolates! … I know! give them away!
lol m:)X-
Yes! Give them away! I give mine away almost immediately! I do watch TV (I wouldn’t say heaps but I do watch whole seasons of things so I’d never watch something for the sake of it!). Like right now, I’m doing The West Wing and that’s a huge commitment – def need to do something at the same time! 🙂
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