Papercraft Meets Sewing

Ever struggle to make 'male' cards? Here's an idea for you...

Papercraft meets sewing!

Hi everyone! If you need a birthday card for a father or brother, this one is a great choice. It can be personalised with a photo, recreated in any colour and is a great way to use up small scraps of patterned paper. It was originally designed by my Grandma, Beryl, and has been a favourite ever since! (It can be adapted for the ladies in the family too, of course).

Method

To begin, take a square card blank and a piece of dark green card. Use a guillotine to cut the green card to fit on top of the card blank, leaving a small white border around the edges. Select six or seven pieces of coloured or patterned paper which co-ordinate with the dark green (lighter greens, browns and whites all work well), and practice arranging these before cutting them to fit. You needn't follow the shapes and sizes I've used exactly - feel free to get creative and use any shapes that your scraps of paper allow for! When you are ready, cut them to size with your guillotine, leaving a small, dark green border around the outside edges.

Quick tip #1: When you cut the small pieces of patterned paper, start from one corner. The second piece you cut should be one that will be positioned next to the first piece, and so on. This way, if you accidently cut one piece too large or too small, you can adjust the next piece to make up for it. Better than getting to the end and realising they don't fit properly!

Quick tip #2: A pencil may help to mark the lines where you plan to cut.

Once you've cut your patterned papers, it's time to sew them together with a dark brown thread. I sewed mine in groups of two or three and then attached these larger groups, saving the longest edges until last. A sewing machine comes in handy here (this would be tricky to attempt by hand) - I used the 'zigzag' setting with a stitch width of 2mm and length of 4mm.

Quick tip #3: It helps to use a sneaky piece of tape on the back of the pieces you're sewing together, to hold them tight and make sure they don't move.

When the sewing is finished, that's the fiddly part over! Next, print your picture on photo paper. A picture is a great way of personalising your card - perhaps one of the recipient, the two of you together, or something that's special to them. The 'frames' for the picture were cut using two square-shaped Cuttlebug dies nestled inside one another, so that you're left with the piece between the two dies. It's important to make sure your picture fits inside them, so you can use the smaller of the two dies to cut out your photo too. Then stick all the pieces together using #UHUGlue or double-sided tape.

Finally, add in your recipient's name and age using Cuttlebug dies, peel-offs, or anything else. I used the #Moxie alphabet, which comes with #TheSqueeze (although I ran it through the Cuttlebug). Simply stick these on with a glue pen, and then you're good to go! An inner with a printed sentiment, such as 'Have a wonderful day', is also a lovely touch.

Materials:

- White card blank, dark green cardstock and a variety of coloured or patterned papers

- Cuttlebug with square, letter and number dies

- Sewing machine and dark brown thread

- Printer and photo paper

- Guillotine, UHU glue or double-sided tape, glue pen, scissors and pencil.

Happy crafting - let me know how you get on!

Amy x