Lavender Pocket Card Tutorial

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This card is a combination of the Flourishes home inspiration challenge FLLCJAN and the Hero Arts pocket card challenge.  I have a beautiful terra cotta pot with moss and lavender sprigs in it. I used it as my inspiration. Since this card is a bit unusual, I did a tutorial for how to make it. It is a nice twist on a traditional card and it smells really nice.

Cut a window in your card. I used Nestabilities but you could use any square or rectangle punch. Draw a line marking the center of your card and line this up with the center line on your punch or as I did, mark enters on your Nestie die with a  permanent marker. I also embossed the shape using the Nestie die. It is hard to see, but you can, just barely. Originally, I was going to sew along the embossed line, you will see how it ended up. OOOPs. I should have checked to see that my image would fit.  On to plan B. I decided to stamp it on another piece of CS. I used chocolate chip ink and coloured the image with Copic markers. Since I am NOT a Copic expert, I didn't take photos as I coloured. The blossoms are so tiny that each one barely  took a touch of the marker brush tip. I coloured each  blossom with the palest colour, then I added a mid tone to some blossoms and a dark tone to others. You can just see it. IRL the different colours just keep the image from looking flat. Next step is  to add anything else you want to the rest of the card. Once you add the pocket with the lavender  inside, the card warps slightly making any other embellishment more difficult. I decided to paper pierce  the bottom edge with my new Ornare piercing template from Ellen Hutson. I also used my new Tim Holtz felt tool to add pale  plum ink to the edges of  the lavender image. Unfortunately I accidentally bent the image as I cut it out and the ink clung to the creased edge, ooops again! Next cut vellum large enough to cover the window with at least 3/8" border. Sew the vellum to the window using a sewing machine. Even if you wish  to hand sew it, I recommend using a sewing machine to make the holes or at least paper pierce the holes first as the layers tend to shift. I used small binder clips to hold the layers together; I added scrap CS on either side to prevent causing  dents in the card. Only sew three sides of the pocket so you can add the lavender. I would not recommend trying to stop sewing in the middle, add the lavender, then continuing to sew without cutting  the threads. I am an experienced sewer and no way would I try it! If you stop, cut the threads and start again, it just means one small additional knot on the back. It isn't that hard to lower the needle back into the last hole you sewed in when you start sewing again. I know some crafters tape their threads, in this case I recommend knots because you will not have any way to cover the tape. To make the knots, pull gently on the lower thread tails, in my case the white ones. The upper, purple thread should slide to the back just enough for you to catch it and pull it to the back. At each corner you will have 4 threads. Any combination of tying them together should be fine. I didn't do the best job with my sewing. I got a bit cocky and forgot how much harder and less forgiving it is to sew on paper! I recommend you mark the corners of your sewing, the point where you pivot, so you get nice corners. As you can see in the final card at the beginning of the post, the buttons nicely covered over these less than stellar corners. If you make a card using these directions, I'd love to see it! Please leave a link.

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamps: Old Island Stamp Company (I think)
Paper: vellum - UK, white CS SU!
Ink: chocolate chip, pale plum SU!
Accessories: Ornare piercing template, piercing tool SU!, Guttermann thread, lavender buds from my garden!, buttons-UK, foam dots Jody Morrow