How-To's Day: CRAFTED Upcycled Stitched Stationery

Since this week (and next) is the big build up for CRAFTED at the Port of Los Angeles, I thought I would share a project I did for their gift bags. I created sets of stationery using upcycled paper that I saved from a friend also using CRAFTED's rubber stamp with their logo for the design, then stitched onto the paper adding paper detailing. The paper shapes are also upcycled out of old maps, magazines, and anything else I could find that had a nice pattern or color.

In case you need some more details on Upcycling, we define it as using materials that could be trash or recycled but are saved and re-purposed into the materials for a new use. Here, the main material for the card utilizes this really wonderful handmade looking paper that came from a friend getting furniture delivered from Restoration Hardware. All of her furniture was wrapped in this very nice, double-sided, natural looking paper and I saved every piece possible for supplies.  I made sure to swap sides of the paper placing some designs on the  light tan side as the front and some on the reddish brown, further mixing up the assorted nature of the stationery.

Stitching on paper may even be more enjoyable that sewing on fabric... You will just have to try it out and see how much you enjoy it ;) It works just like sewing "regular projects" just keep in mind it really dulls out your sewing needles so if you do enjoy sewing on paper you should keep some needles that are just for paper.

I was able to also source some fancy old envelopes that didn't have any matching cards that fit inside. Once I had those together I was able to determine what size to cut the paper for the cards. The cards are just one piece, not folded and are more a quick note or a thank you.  With the one sided card you get to see and feel all the stitching on the back too, which I think is pretty cool.

Here is a round-up of all my card variations-

I really like projects where you can make multiple variations and just play around with your materials.  Using similar techniques and materials while creating a series makes each one feel similar and together but allows the freedom to have a different story or theme on each card. Sometimes you can create a pattern or image that is unexpected and can open the door on a new project you have not yet imagined, so this can be a really great project too if you have a creative block or just want to shake things up!

We'd love to see what you come up with. Please share comments with us on what you came up with or post to our Facebook to share with others.

XOXO, KC