HOW-TO: D.I.Y. Embroidered (memories) on Postcards

Ever wondered where you would use the fancy or rather overrated postcards that were either free, given or sent to you by impulse? Postcards can be freely found in hotels, one-stop souvenir shops, old to new bookstores, well, actually anywhere paper dwells and exists. At some point, we would want to dispose of them, and it would hurt, at some point (and it probably should).

Well, thanks to some good old handmade love and wonderful memories that are part of your travels, you can make them less boring and a little bit out of the ordinary by sewing through them and making some interest. The purchase of the book A Little Bit Crafty by Frankie Magazine was just in time to solve my postcard blues.

How to:

Obviously, there is nothing much to do but to gather your stash of postcards through your travels.

But if you don’t travel a lot to compile a stash, you can print your own photos or postcards at home using cardstock and/or photo paper available.

After that, start with rough sketches of simple drawings to typography that might commemorate a good (or a not-so-good) memory from your travels, ideas or dreams.

After sketching, insert at least 20 cm thread through the needle and tie a knot to hold the embroidery under the sheet of paper and continue to follow your pre-drawn outlines.

A good tip for beginners (like me), if you’re not that acquainted with sewing (especially sewing through paper or tough material), I suggest you poke small holes through the lines to have a head start, then continue widening the opening while stitching.

Simple crafts like these are what I like to make in between crazy schedules coming from a student like me.

I usually stock up on materials on my free days and create something new from the bland to keep me insane throughout the semester.

One of my favorite things to think about are making these on my actual trips to coffee shops and sending them from international post offices. Traveling is indeed one of the fulfilling things to do after a hectic school year or what-not.

But in the meantime, if you don’t have the luxury to travel every day, 24/7, let us dream through and rewind our embroidered memories. Just in time for my minor update on my room! Yep, still hoping I could have more days to just sit and just create. I mean, who knows where our memories could take us?

Love and light,

Clarisse

This article was originally published on pinturaatpintig.wordpress.com in 2015.