Embroidered Postcard Tutorial

I participated in the Iron Craft Challenge this week, which was to create a postcard. Since I love love love postcards, I couldn't pass it up! I have quite a collection going of vintage postcards.

I had wanted to paint a postcard, but that wasn't going to happen. I decided to embroider a postcard. I've embroidered on scrapbook pages before, it's pretty fun.

Here's some pages I did in the past with embroidery:

 Even the wording was embroidered!

Butterfly gardens:

 Used this butterfly design on my postcard. It's a fave.

Stitched the butterflies to the page and stitched their "trails":

I like butterflies. Who woulda thunk it?

I found some kraft cardstock and found some templates for butterflies. I used tracing paper and traced three from an Aunt Martha's transfer sheet, and the upper right one from a purse of mine.

You'll need two 4x6 inch pieces of kraft cardstock. I used a decorative edge scissor and some chalk ink to make the front stand out. Your front piece is now about a quarter of an inch smaller all the way around than the back piece.

I placed my butterflies and taped them down with very small amounts of masking tape. I then went over the tracings with a pushpin (I have a paper piercer somewhere!) to make holes to sew through. I had a piece of corrugated cardboard underneath to protect my table from the pushpin.

It's important to pay attention when piercing the holes- you have to place a hole where there is a corner and you have to round out a curve. It's also important to not put the holes too close together or you might rip through them when sewing.

 I stamped on the front and began sewing. Keep your tracings handy as a reference when you're sewing- sometimes it's hard to remember how all those dots are arranged.

 

After piercing your postcard, you are left with pretty cardboard!

I designed the back of my postcard backwards so that it would be the correct way when flipped over. Punch the holes for it, too. Be sure your elements are in far enough so that the stitching won't show- your front is about a quarter of an inch smaller all the way around then the backside and there's the potential for the stitching on your backside to show.

Embroider away!

I knotted my embroidery floss when I began (I used two strand of floss for ease) but not when I ended a strand. I just wound it through my stitching and left about 3/4 of an inch for a tail- it's not going anywhere.

I used a smaller needle so that I could pull it through the pre-punched holes easily without the eye of the needle getting stuck.

If your stitching doesn't look the prettiest on the back, who's gonna know?

I used some large flat glue dots (not the "3-D" kind) to attach the front to the back, centering it and being sure to cover the stitching on the backpiece.

Voila!

And the back is cute too!

It might survive the mail, but a better way would probably be to mail it in a greeting card envelope. Or make your own envelope!

My mind is boggling with the postcard possibilities- so many cute motifs to do!