DIY Stitched Thank-You Cards

I recently "made" a bunch of these thank-you cards because I had a lot of time on my hands and a lot of thank-you cards to write.  I wanted to add a personal touch to my thank-you cards and I thought this was an easy way to dress up some blank cards.  The fun part is that you can just buy a bunch of blank cards and easily turn them into cards of congratulations, happy birthdays, and thanks.  The key to stitching on cardstock is that you need to punch the holes first so you don't end up wrinkling or tearing the cardstock.

Materials:

Blank cards, cardstock, ribbon, embroidery thread and needle, stamp and ink pad, cardboard

 Instructions:

1. Cut cardstock "labels"  (labels pictured above are 2.5"x1")

2.  On one piece of cardstock, mark where you want to make holes for the stitches to border the label.  I spaced the stitches 1/16" apart and made each stitch 1/8" long.  This will be your template.

3.  Tape two sides of the template down onto a piece of cardboard (or something you can poke holes into).  Slide a second label behind it.

4.  Using a needle, poke holes through the cardstock where marked.

5.  Remove the label.  You will now have holes punched out for the stitches.

6.  Stamp message in center of label.

7.  Using two strands of embroidery thread, stitch along the punched out holes.  As you stitch, place the label in the center of a length of ribbon and stitch through the ribbon on both ends.

8.  Center the ribbon and mark with a needle where to sew the ribbon together.  (Or you could be less lazy than me and actually measure precisely how long the ribbon should be--at any rate, sew it up!)

9.  You now have a pretty loop that you can slide onto any blank card.

Have fun!