handmade christmas, part two

While browsing with my mom at Anthropologie during her visit to New York this October, we came across the most adorable note card tucked away on their shelves of stationery. It was simple piece of cardstock stitched with red and blue thread to look like a piece of lined notebook paper. They cost something like $8 for a single card, so neither of us bought one, but the thought did cross our minds that this was something we could easily make ourselves.

I've long wanted to try sewing on paper; I think the effect is really fun. And what a better project to start with than a basic imitation of lined notebook paper? So a few weeks ago I pulled out my sewing machine, my red and blue thread, some blank 4"x6" index cards, and a box of similarly sized envelopes and tried making one. I used the 6/8 mark to the left of the presser foot as my guide for the red line, and sewed the blue lines, first 1" down from the top, then every 1/2", until I reached the bottom. It turned out so great I made a bunch, divvied them into sets of five, and gave them to Garrett's teachers and therapists as Christmas gifts.

Sewing a straight line on paper is a bit trickier, for me anyway, than sewing one on fabric, so my seams turned out a little crooked in places. But I actually liked the cottage industry effect it gave the cards. Each one is slightly different, but there is still an overall uniformity that makes it work.