Project | Cross Stitch Card
Long before I was a scrapbooker, I was into cross-stitch. I've long been familiar with the concept of adding small pieces of cross-stitch to my paper crafting projects, but up until now I've not done it because combining Aida fabric with my paper projects takes extra steps to protect the fabric from fraying and adhere it.
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But then this book from Annie's Paper Crafts landed on my desk, and I discovered that there is a material that I'd never heard of before that makes it easy to make a cross stitch card: perforated paper.
Easy Cross-Stitch Cards cover
The book was Easy Cross-Stitch Cards & Tags, which contains 27 cross-stitch projects that are designed to be made with perforated paper and then finished into cards and tags using paper crafting supplies.
The projects are small enough to finish in a few hours of stitching. I made this sympathy card in a few evening sessions. Assembly instructions for most of the projects are detailed and also simple enough for even inexperienced paper crafters.
Cross-stitch Sympathy Card
Supplies:
Bazzill Smooth Cardstock (Walnut Cream, Coconut)
Colorbox Mixed Media Inkx (Pewter)
Inkadinkado stamps (Expressions)
Crate Paper (Flea Market pad)
Mill Hill Perforated Paper (14 Count 9X12)
Working with the perforated paper was surprisingly easy compared to working with fabric Aida. It doesn't fray, and you don't have to worry about accidentally catching a stray thread instead of the hole you are supposed to use. The only difficulty I had was that I had to be careful not to scrape the edges of the holes when pushing my needle horizontally to weave my thread ends in, or the paper would delaminate and the back layer would peel off.
The design of the patterns in the book are mostly very simple, using only a few colors. This is great for ease of stitching - and also for ease of modification of the color schemes. With only a few colors that you are working with, it's a simple process to swap out colors from the pattern to create a different look and help make the patterns usable over and over. Below on the left are the three colors used for the sympathy card I stitched. On the right, are three possible substitutions that would create a more vintage - and metallic - look for the design.
Embroidery Floss
Easy Cross-Stitch Cards & Tags contains patterns for a wide variety of occasions, and currently retails for around $10 on Amazon.com.
