Fabric Embellishments for Greeting Cards
For those of us who always seem to have scrap fabric around, there are many different options to use these scraps, no matter how small they may be. One of the best and easiest crafts is to make cute greeting card embellishments. Regardless of the amount and size of fabric you have available, there are endless things you can do with them:
Cute Bow
A bow is simple, cute, and can be combined with other things for any occasion throughout the year. The first thing is to cut out a large rectangle or smaller rectangles from the fabric. Set any leftovers aside for extra decoration later. Next, fold the fabric accordion style, pinch and secure the middle. You can use staples, twist ties, thin ribbon, clear tape or make a small stitch to keep all of the pleats together. Finally, attach it to the card with hot glue, double sided tape or another stitch through the paper and bow. Now, you are free to add any other details that you would like. Create a present with the bow on top, draw a tree with bow decorations, add it as a hair tie for a little girl, on a kite string, balloon, make a butterfly and so on… there are hundreds of things you can do!
Shapes and Textures
Fabrics come in a wide range of textures and can generally be cut into any shape imaginable, so why not get creative and cut out rough shapes and arrange them as a collage, a puzzle or add one larger shape to frame or layer another decorative piece. No matter how plain a card may seem at first, just adding one single piece of fabric with some decorative touches using a metallic pen, a card will instantly have depth and visual appeal. One simple example is to cut out a few squares and rectangles, arrange them around the card (front and back) then quickly draw in a little bow above each shape. These instantly look like wrapped gifts, making them the ideal handmade card for Birthdays Anniversaries and holidays like Christmas.
Extras
Other great extras that can add depth to a card and help create a fun unique card is to add little decorative items like sticker, buttons, pins brooches and so on. Look through old jewellery boxes or old junk drawers to see what can be used. It’s incredible the amount of crafting materials we can find when looking through forgotten drawers and boxes around the house!
As I always say, play around with the fabric and get creative with what you have on hand. Try to get inspiration from sites online or try to create something unique. Not only will you make something from the heart but you will also help out the environment by keeping items out of the trash!
