This is another hand-stitched card from the large set of approximately 50 cards in A7 and A2 size that I created, giving about 44 of these as a special gift for my Mom, who is a master cross-stitcher. Of all the hand-stitched cards that I created over approximately an 18-month period, this one was my all-time favorite, and it was the only baby card that I created, because I did not think that my Mom would need many baby cards for her circle of friends.
I absolutely LOVE the little fun foam baby clothes from a set of dies by Crafter's Companion Sara Signature collection, and I especially love the dimension created by the fun foam as well as the stitched edging. I also love the embossing folder that added a quilted feel in a soft yellow. Gina K Designs is probably my favorite cardstock, but unfortunately because I cannot get across the border to pick up an online order, and Gina K doesn't ship cardstock now outside of the US, I can only use what I have for now. Simon Says Stamp does carry a few shades of Gina K Designs cardstock, and I hope that they will carry more. I was very limited in the A7 colored envelopes that I had, and this one wasn't an exact match of the same yellow, but I thought that it worked bettere ethan using a plain white envelope. When possible, I didn't use the envelopes that came with the wonderful heavyweight 200 pound card bases by SMS Simply Defined (made in England), because I prefer an envelope with a rectangular flap that I can emboss. In this case, I used another CC embossing folder, a block quilt one that I thought worked well with the other quilt-like element of the layer of yellow embossed with a diagonal stitched lines going in a criss-cross pattern.
The hand-stitching is a simple sampler, and I used lighter, muted shades than i usually use, as I wanted it to fit that baby feel. Technically this could be for a girl or boy baby, but some might not like that I used some pink and purple in the stitching, but I tried to keep the clothing die-cuts more in line with colors more traditionally geared for boys. I love the simple but very beautiful baby die-cut in that stunning font.
As wtih the other cards, I chose to keep the inside blank, so that I did not limit how my Mom could use each of these cards.
Although I bought the first hand-stitching die and started hand-stitching on cardstock purely to make some cards that I hoped that my mother would get excited about (as she was not terribly keen on other cards I had previously made for her), I was very surprised to learn that I really enjoyed stitching, and that it was very relaxing. Who knew?! I have Jennifer McGuire to thank for trying this, I had been looking for a few years to find a way to incorporate hand-stitching onto my cards for my Mom, and once I watched Jennifer McGuire's videos, I knew that I had found something that I wanted to try. Now, other companies, especially Spellbinders are coming out with other hand-stitching dies, and I hope that other companies will do so as well.
Thank you so much for taking a closer look at my hand-stitched card. When you take the time to leave a comment, you absolutely make my day, and I appreciate learning from your comments.
Stay safe and well especially during these unusual and uncertain times.
Date: Wednesday, October 6, 2021 GMT Views: 1190
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Paper: Gina K Designs Sweet Corn heavyweight cardstock, Anna Griffin silver foil cardstock, 110-pound white cardstock, Scrapbooking Made Simple Simply Defined Distinctions A7 heavyweight bright white card base, A7 envelope from stash
Paper Size: A7 (5" by 7")
Accessories: Gemini, Altenew Pegboard stitching die, Crafter's Companion baby clothes and word dies, CC Block quilt and stitched EF's, fun foam, colored embroidery yarn, size 20 needles, Darice foam strips.
Techniques: Hand-stitching on cardstock, die-cutting on silver foil cardstock and on fun foam, embossing with an embossing folder