Gift Idea: Fabric Embellished Cards

Ok, so this is actually a gift I’m giving someone this year. But I know for a fact that she doesn’t read this blog. So, if you happen to know her, don’t be all telling her what she’s getting, ok?

I got this idea from the November issue of Better Homes & Gardens where they featured monogrammed cards using fabric. The cards were cute enough, but I thought why stop there? So I used the same technique to make a variety of embellishments for these small cards.

First, I picked the fabric. I raided my quilting cotton that I use to make appliqued onesies & kids’ shirts. I then applied heat n’ bond to the wrong side of the fabric. I used heat n’ bond because that’s what I use on the onesies so I have it on hand, but you can use any type of fusible interfacing.

I drew out some designs– I chose a flower, a butterfly, a ladybug, a tulip, a bird and a monogram– on some thin cardboard and cut it out. Then I traced it on the wrong side of the fabric and cut it out.

I peeled the paper off the back of the fabric (with many fusible interfacings there is no paper) and positioned the embellishment where I wanted it.

I placed a press cloth over the card and ironed it according to the directions on the heat n’ bond.  The press cloth is important so you don’t scorch the card. A tea towel works fine for this. Also, place the press cloth over the card carefully as it can disrupt the fabric embellishment, and it’s not so fun to find out that you’ve attached it all wonky. If this does happen, re-heat it, and you should be able to peel it back up while it’s hot.

For the monogram, I printed out a letter “b” in the size I wanted and used that as the stencil.

I made 12 of these cards, 2 in each color. I made 6 total patterns, but switched up the colors of fabric & cards so none are the same.

hello, little birdie.

The possibilities are endless. You could make Christmas or winter themed ones. Snowflakes could be so pretty. It would also be gorgeous to use recycled paper cards. And this is a really fast project. It takes almost no time to execute. It took me a few days, mostly because I started and then stopped and didn’t start up again until a few days later. But, seriously. If you’re looking for a heartfelt, handmade gift that won’t take you as long as, say, a snowflake scarf, this is a great option.