Sewing Christmas Cards

I'm a little behind in getting my cards done this year, but I finished last night. I thought I'd experiment with sewing on cards, and it worked! It worked well enough anyway. I was trying to only use papers and supplies I already had, but I did ruin a few cards, so I ended up also using some leftover cards from previous years. For these cards I cut little tree shapes out of some vintage papers I've had for a while and sewed a zigzag stitch around the border. Cute! Here are some other fun handmade card ideas I read about recently on Seeds and Stitches.

Calling Card

Recently I ordered some blog cards, cards with my blog design and contact info on the back, and I love them! I've been wanting to take pictures more often in shops I like and write posts about them, and I thought I should start appearing more professional and give the shop owner a card when I ask. I was at one shop recently that I love and wanted to ask the owner if I could come by again sometime and take pictures for my blog. I had Lois with me and had just finished a mommy group stroll, so I was looking pretty shabby and thought it best not to ask then. Normally I'm not especially shy about asking, but I really want to take pictures at this particular shop (will tell you which one soon), and now, with my cute little card, I won't be so nervous when I ask. They look so nice with Katrine's nostalgic tea party cards that I think I will use those as my official thank you notes. I just dropped one in the mail today to Lisa and Elena.

Easy Thank Yous

Lois will need to send Santa a thank you note in a few weeks so I personalized some stationery for her. I just bought some cute note packs and printed her name on them. I especially like the eyelet set. I got them at Michael's. They're part of the Martha Stewart line. The others I got at the Paper Source for free last time I was there. (They were giving away stationery packs with every purchase in the store a few weeks ago.) I like to make these for gifts sometimes too. It's really easy. I just use Word to print the text. It just takes a few tries to make sure the text will line up right where you want it on the card. Voila! You have an inexpensive, personalized gift! I also love Le Pen colored pens and usually choose an ink color that matches a pen I already have. They are thin felt tip pens that come in a range of colors. I chose lighter colored inks for both of these, so click on the pictures if you want to see them larger.

Cards from Japan

You know I love cards. I love all kinds of cards and collect them. I found this card at Yuzawaya when we were in Japan. I bought 3 of them, but now I wish I bought a few more. I just love them. It's hard to tell from the picture, but the printing is a bit raised and the background looks like a pencil sketch that got a little smeared. I think the idea was to have the card look and feel like an original collage although it's all one piece printed. The envelope basically is the card. What you see above is the outside of the envelope. There's a simple card inside the envelope, but it's the front of the envelope that really stands out. I also like the backside where you address the card. At first I wasn't so sure about the little red riding hood, big bad wolf sort of theme for a birthday card. But I think it's unique and really cute. I bought another card with a similar style, by the same artist that has a carnival theme. I love these cards! (Click on it to see it larger.)