Making your own embellishments for your cards and other paper crafting projects is fun and easy to do. Lately I've been creating with hand-stiching and thought I'd try out some stitching templates to create some of my own accents.
Today I have two projects to share with you. I love how well hand stitching works on both clean and simple, vintage or shabby, and more freestyle designs.
The Amy Tangerine Embroidery Stencils are super cute and I love how they come with a piercing mat and embroidery flors and needles. I've used the Hello Cut and Paste Stencil today, but check out the Right Now Cut and Paste Stencil as well for more fun options.
Working with the stencils is very easy. Simply lay the piercing mat onto your work surface, layer the paper you want to stich on top of that and then lay out the stencil where you want to stitch your image. I used the Alterations Edition Die Pick to pierce the paper but you can also use one of the enclosed needles. You do want to make sure you pierce all the holes first before trying to stitch.
If you're new to hand-stitching, what you want to do is a simple back-stitch so that each of the holes is filled with floss. Come up through a hole with your needle, take a stitch backwards and then the next time your needles comes up through a hole, it should be two ahead. Take another back stitch and continue with the pattern until you are finished stitching.
For my first card, I've simply stitched on heavy black cardstock using the leaf template. Stitching directly on the card base or a panel that's layered above it makes a lovely accent.
A tissue paper flower was die cut from layers of white tissue paper and added to the design.
One thing you may want to note is finishing off your thread on the reverse side of the paper. When finishing off your stitching or when you run out of thread, slide your needle under a few of your previou stitches to secure it.
I love how sweet the ampersand looks stitched! Instead of having it on the card base of my next design, I wanted to be able to cut it out as a layer.
An easy way to cut out something and make it look more professional is to plan where you are going to cut before you start doing so. Sketch out an outline around the ampersand in pencil. This gives you nice even edges and makes your cut edges smoother. Remove any pencil lines still left after cutting.
Once your stitched element is cut out, you can begin to put your card design together. I've adhered it with a dimensional foam adhesive. I find a foam adhesive works well to hide the bulk of the stitching on the reverse side.
Thanks for stopping by the CLASSroom! Have a fabulous weekend!
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