how to of the day: embroidered crazy quilt Christmas card

I posted one of my Christmas projects on Saturday, an embroidered crazy quilt Christmas card.  Here are the step-by-step instructions to make your own.  The key to remember about projects like this is there is no “right way” to make them.  Have fun, play with your fabrics and enjoy the process

I started off by cutting a 3″ X 5″ rectangle of cotton fabric and fused a heavy weight interfacing on the back. The interfacing makes it easier to embroider the fabric, but if you prefer to work with your fabric in a hoop you can skip the interfacing.

I cut two triangles (don’t worry about making edges perfect at this point – you’ll trim everything later) out of dupioni silk scraps.

I cut two Christmas trees out of another cotton print (remember what I said about playing with your fabric?) and then layered on two strips of sheer ribbon.

Next it was time for some lace and a yo-yo.

I liked the gold stars on the background fabric, so I added some gold rick-rack to emphasize it.  I also changed the yo-yo.

I used embroidery floss to stitch the decorative elements to the background.  I chose to go with contrasting colors to floss to make the stitching another decorative touch.  After everything was securely fastened to the background I trimmed all the edges.  I just followed the edges of the background, but you can measure and use a rotary cutter if you prefer.  I used another color of embroidery floss and blanket-stitched all the way around the outside.

And the finished card!  I decided to add some Christmas themed buttons to the card as well   I glued the embroidered panel onto a folded piece of cardstock, but most larger craft stores carry blank cards which work beautifully.

Yes, this is a little time-intensive for each & every Christmas card – but it’s sure fun to make a few